I just left a public information session put on by the Town of Chapel Hill about the Chapel Hill/Carrboro/UNC Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), as discussed on the Town's website. Chapel Hill's plan includes the assumption that the LRTP of the Durham-Chael Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) will be adopted and that light rail will be a reality along the NC 54 corridor and on some of US 15/501. Other than that admittedly optimistic assumption, the plan is extremely feasable. Don't get me wrong, I desperately hope that light rail will implemented, but it is far from assured.
The day before Thanksgiving, El Centro Latino shut its operations down. For the past five years or so my office suite at People of Faith Against the Death Penalty has been located right next to El Centro Latino’s offices in downtown Carrboro. Every day year after year my colleagues and I saw scores of people enter El Centro for help and receive it. Every day we saw and heard happy children run and play and get tutored around the officesof El Centro. We saw adults taking classes. Every day El Centro’s clients overflowed into the hallways of the building. Every day we saw dedicated and caring staff members of El Centro try meet the needs of so many.
I often wondered how they managed. It was clearly exhausting and unrelenting work.
But even though I was so close and saw the amazing work theywere doing I think I took El Centro Latino for granted. I think our community probably has too. Had I not seen it all I would not have known the great work being done there.
So I am embarrassed to admit that before the festivities at home begin, here I am on OP writing a little something on Thanksgiving. We have a thread about things we should tax. Today I propose a thread about things we like, things we think are just fine the way they are, things not deserving of a special tax, and people do something nice. So I'll start the ball rolling....
I'm thankful for OP and Ruby, for this site doesn't run itself.
I'm thankful for the many misguided souls who don't agree with me on this site. You're fun.
I'm thankful for Fred Black because he challenged people with grace. I miss Fred. I wish he would post again.
I'm thankful that I live in Chapel Hill and it's next door to Carrboro.
I'm thankful for town officials and employees.
I'm thankful for the deer that graze with abandon in my yard.
Happy Thanksgiving, you guys.
Local governments need money. Meanwhile items are sold locally that are a burden on the public and cost citizens money. Likewise for bad practices. One solution to balance these things out is to tax the undesirable activities and products, both to discourage them and to provide funds to help offset their costs to the community.
Here is a commentary I contributed to WCHL last week (it ran last Friday, but I can't find links to their recordings anymore). It was a little too long so the bit in gray was not on the air.
Much has been said about the abrupt departure of Bill Strom from
the Chapel Hill Town Council. Whatever frustrations we may have had
with him, at least we can take comfort in the fact that Strom will no longer have
any influence on Orange County politics.
As they have done with
all other mid-term vacancies in recent history, the Town Council will
appoint a replacement to finish Strom's term. The Town Council also has
a long-standing tradition of using the appointment process to ensure
that there is at least one African-American sitting at the table.
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