History

In national politics, we often criticize the mainstream media for covering the "horse race" between candidates instead of the issues. Do voters really need to know how much money someone has or do they need to know which candidate's health plan with help their family the most? In reflecting on OP's discussion of this year's election, I find it a little more horse-race oriented than I would like, although there is also a great deal of substantive and useful commentary.

Earlier this evening, Joe Herzenberg passed away at UNC Hospitals. Joe had been in failing health for some time.

This is a very sad moment for those of us who worked closely with Joe through his Chapel Hill political career in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Sadder still for those who remained close to him until the end.

For newcomers who did not know Joe, there was a time when he was the standout progressive leader on the Chapel Hill Town Council, a strong neighborhood advocate and civil libertarian. He was highly popular, the top vote-getter in 1991, and considered by many at the time to be a likely mayoral candidate.

As wikipedia summarizes it, "Herzenberg was narrowly defeated in a 1979 bid for the Chapel Hill Town Council, but was later appointed to the town council when council-member Gerry Cohen stepped down following a failed bid for mayor. Herzenberg lost his reelection bid in 1981, but he returned to the council in 1987 and was reelected with overwhelming support in 1991."

The Town of Chapel Hill has seen and suffered through numerous disasters in the past 10 years. Starting after Hurricane Fran, preparedness plans were set up and a command center was designated and staffed and given a dedicated generator. Meals were brought in for the crews working to clear storm damage from the 2000 snow (22 inches of snow in 24 hours), the ice storms of 2001 and 2002, back-to-back hurricanes in September 2003, and many others, most of which passed below the public's radar, such as the flooding at Camelot Apartments around the same time as the flooding at Eastgate shopping center.

Yesterday, 16 April, the plans did not materialize. Crews were sent out at 7 am to do their normal routine, despite weather predictions of very high winds and heavy rains. Within an hour and a half, phones were ringing off the hook at the Public Works with reports of trees and power lines down. Still, a plan failed to materialize until after 1 pm.