A committee to help pass the sales tax referendum has been created with representatives of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Carrboro Board of Alderspersons, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools Board of Education, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, The Partnership for Children, the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, the Orange County Schools Board of Education, the Greater Chapel Hill Association of Realtor, and Orange County Justice United. 

I am serving on the Campaign for Jobs and Schools committee as a representative from Orange County Justice United. Justice United discussed the referendum at one of it’s full meetings and voted to endorse it. We are supporting the sales tax because funds raised in this way will reduce the exorbitant sewer and water rates for our lower income neighbors in the north of the county and will also reduce the tax burden on county homeowners, while supporting our schools.

Carrboro's joint advisory board on September 1 reviewed a concept plan for a large commercial development on 40 acres at the intersection of NC Highway 54 and Old Fayetteville Road. Residents of southern Orange County know the property as the Lloyd farm. Cows still roam what is one of the last large parcels of relatively undeveloped land in the town. What people may not know is that the southeastern portion of the property, across from Carrboro Plaza, is also the last remaining property in Carrboro zoned for large-scale commercial development.

I just wanted to extend a quick official welcome to two UNC students that are working with OrangePolitics this semester for the service-learning component of a class they are taking: Sociology 273 - Social and Economic Justice with Professor Neal Caren. Jeff Miles will be covering public participation in the Comprehensive Plan revision process (a.k.a. Chapel Hill 2020), and Burton Peebles will be exploring how social justice issues are (or are not) talked about in local municipal and school board campaigns.

Each will be writing about 10 blog entries between September and December. All of their posts will be tagged SOCI 273. I hope you will all welcome them with some supportive comments and constructive feedback.