OPTV Election Week 2007

The last video went over well, so here's another. I recapped what went on on the site this week, and managed to keep it under 14 minutes...
Play

Sorry for the errors and weird editing. The fan noise is actually my laptop (which is recording the video) so I can't turn it off. I'd like to get it shorter, but that would actually take me longer! Your feedback is welcome. I'm learning...

And FYI, OPTV is archived here.

More election stuff

A few things I want to note but don't have time to write a full blog post about...

Blogger Xan Gregg created some interesting charts showing the results in Chapel Hill.

Chuck Morton wrote a really thoughtful essay on his web site about his experience running for mayor of Carrboro. Not only do I hope he stays involved with Carrboro politics, I hope he starts a blog so we can continue to enjoy his thoughts and opinions.

I noticed that the returns came in incredibly quickly from the Board of Elections on Tuesday night. While there were some glitches with machines over-counting, they were are all resolved quite easily. The Carrboro Commons (student publication) has this story about the technology and people behind the election returns.

The Politics of Public Memory at UNC, in Orange County, and in North Carolina

A week from today (11/16), newly reelected council member Sally Greene (congrats, Sally!!) and I will host a day-long conference at UNC that returns attention to the oft-debated question of how we remember, and why we continue to honor, some of our most checkered ancestors.

The ancestor in question is Thomas Ruffin, the pride of Hillsborough and of UNC (and of the state generally). Ruffin was Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court for most of the three decades leading up to the Civil War and a UNC trustee for 42 years. Scholars have placed him on par with John Marshall as a jurist. There's a dormitory that bears his name on the UNC campus, and his imposing statue guards the front door to the North Carolina Court of Appeals building in Raleigh.

Election 2007 Maps: Chapel Hill

These are the precinct-level maps for the Chapel Hill election. The complete set is available here. As with the Carrboro election maps, the maps below are based on unofficial results published on November 8 by the Orange County Board of Elections. And thanks again to Brad for the technical wizardry.

As shown below, the Chapel Hill municipal boundary contains part or all of 22 precincts, including 1 precinct in Durham County.

Smith Level Road, NCDOT, Reductio Ad Absurdum

On Monday evening, 11/5, NCDOT held a "Citizens Informational Workshop" on the Smith Level Road "improvement" project. Turnout was, to be kind, sparse. Now we enter the "public comment and public hearing" phase, the last stop before the asphalt meets the roadbed. The current DOT project plan for Smith Level (the section between Rock Haven Road and the Morgan Creek bridge) could best be described as resembling MLK Blvd.

Does the Town of Carrboro really want a multi-lane monstrosity within the town limits? Aristotle had a phrase for DOTs proclivity to seek to relieve congestion by adding travel lanes: reductio ad absurdum. At a moment of fatigue (discussion on this issue began back in 1986) the Board of Aldermen gave DOT the green light to continue planning based on the current project plan. Now here we are.

Two actions seem to be required to turn this project from boondoggle to actual improvement:

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