Ruby Sinreich's blog

I thought this was a very direct point about the philosophical divide on economic development (ED) from the Carrboro Board of Aldermen's recent annual retreat.

The aldermen agreed that some organizations just don't get Carrboro's vision, especially the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, and Orange County's Economic Development Commission, and they wondered aloud whether they should seek support from those two groups for the Think Local First Campaign.

- The Herald-Sun - Carrboro wants people to Think Local First, 2/2/2010  

Brian has written about this divide before, but I've never seen it laid out quite so starkly.  Can't we all just get along?

Dozens of people are commenting in public at rallies, in newspapers, and in Town Council meetings about how two men, Kerry Bigelow and Clyde Clark, were fired from the Chapel Hill Public Works department last fall. However, almost none of those people have access to the private details of the personnel decision that was made by the Town. How is it that these folks have a better understanding of the Manager's decisions than the Manager? Why don't the two fired workers make these details public? As Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt pointed out tonight, they and they alone can speak publicly about their ongoing appeal process with the Town.

I am increasingly alarmed at the confidence of statements I hear from people who seem to know almost nothing about the situation. No-one likes to see people lose their jobs, but I haven't heard any evidence that the Town has done anything wrong, and I'm not willing to condemn any staff members nor elected officials - who are legally obligated not to comment on the matter, especially while the appeal is ongoing.

Do you know the truth? If so, please spill the beans. If not...

Elizabeth Edwards passed away this week and is being warmly remembered from all corners. Many people talk about her great heart and the strength of her resilience, and it's true that she was an incredible model for anyone dealing with personal pain.

But I remember her best for being whip smart and unbelievably charming. I met her once (when the not-very-good photo at left was taken), and she was even more brilliant and impressive in person. Her death is a huge loss for Chapel Hill, for North Carolina, and for the whole country that has been a beneficiary of her health care activism in recent years.

For those who haven't been reading OP forever, here's the first of several comments she posted here in 2005 after the Edwards' moved to Orange County. And below is the text of a 2006 OP post called "Elizabeth Edwards, keeping it real."