Ruby Sinreich's blog

Initiating matters

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on April 23, 2011 - 10:21pm

As we've mentioned before here on OP, the Town of Chapel Hill is preparing to revise its decade-old Comprehensive Plan (CP). In addition to documenting something of a shared vision of the community, it is also used as the basis of the Town's LUMO (Land Use Management Ordinance) which contains the actual policies and regulations with which all developers must comply. In an attempt to ramp up the process of creating this community document, the Town Council is trying a new approach: they decided to empanel an "Initiating Committee" (IC) that will lay out the process through which the actual CP wil be created.

Getting students on board

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on March 28, 2011 - 11:56am

Apparently students have been applying to serve on the Town of Chapel Hill's Transportation Board, but none have been appointed recently. I'm a bit surprised to see this, but it's hard to draw conclusions without knowing the details of each applicant. In the past students have contributed a lot to the T-board (and others). In fact, joining the board when I was a student in 1991 is one of the things that got me hooked on participating in local politics two decades ago!

With a seat on the board, Medlin said students would have more of a voice about routes and bus schedule times.

Dakota Williams, student body treasurer, said students should embrace the higher fees and advocate for better representation.

“If we’re paying 41 percent … there is no excuse for a student not to be on that board,” he said.

“Those decisions need to be made by the people who are paying for them, which is students more than ever,” he added.

Taking OP to the next level: editors!

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on March 26, 2011 - 10:58pm

For the folks who missed our OP Happy Hour on Friday, you missed my big announcement. Ever since I launched this site in 2003, I have always wanted OP to be led by a team of people who can bring in a wider range of perspectives. This month, we are beginning an experiment that is a first step toward establishing something like a board of editors or formal leadership team for the site!

The inaugural board of editors is: Damon Seils, Molly DeMarco, Jason Baker, and Erin Crouse. They have alrerady had a positive effect on the amount and quality of discussion here on OP. I'm so excited to have their energy and ideas invested in this community.

Geeking out at OP

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on March 14, 2011 - 8:09pm

Some of you may remember that OrangePolitics has used three diferent content management systems in it's 7+ years. We started on MoveableType in 2003, moved to WordPress in 2004, and then made a huge leap to Drupal (and a managed server) at the very beginning of 2008. There are a few more changes coming for OrangePolitics. Some are technical and some are not, some will be obviously noticeable and some not so much (I hope). 

Entering Ephesus

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on March 10, 2011 - 1:52pm

I might have heard something about this before, but in reading the annual update from the Town of Chapel Hill's Economic Development Director, I realized that the Town is not just beginning but actually finishing a plan for the area around the intersection of 15-501 and Ephesus Church Road (including Eastgate and Ram's Plaza). 

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