Last year a mini controversy erupted around the awarding of a consulting contract to then Planning Board Chair Tim Dempsey. Seven months later, are we getting our money's worth?
I believe the answer is yes. Tim did a tremendous job co-chairing the Manager search process with Anita Badrock (BTW, congratulations on your new Chamber chairmanship- there is no one better suited for the job in my book!)
One of the things Tim worked on of late was pulling together last weekend's Council retreat, which by all reports was much improved from previous years.
I thought Sally Greene, now becoming a Council veteran, had an interesting perspective, this being her fourth retreat:
I learned from the N&O's excellent new Orange Chat blog that Roger Perry's University Village project has changed it's name to "East 54" due to Chapel Hill Planning staff concerns that the "University" name could confuse emergency responders. The staff has raised the same issue about other recent projects such as "McCorkle Place" condos, which are located across from the UNC quad called McCorkle Place.
Problem is, while East 54 definitely sounds hipper, it's even more geographically ambiguous than the previous name - it's the name of an entire road!
Meanwhile, former Town Council member Pat Evans is reactivating the group calling itself "Friends of Downtown." (You know, as opposed to those enemies...)
The erstwhile Chapel Hill Downtown Commission set up the Friends of Downtown initially as a 501c3c nonprofit, so it could accept tax-deductible donations for the commission, Evans said.
As published in the Chapel Hill Herald on Saturday, January 20th:
Orange County won the state championship in 2005, finished a close second behind Guilford County last year, and is already well on its way to another state championship this year.
I wish I was talking about football or SAT scores or something of that ilk. Unfortunately I'm talking about the county's relative standing in the number of rabies cases it has compared to the rest of the state.
It seems like every day when I open up the paper there's been another confirmed rabies case. Most of the time I don't bat much of an eye. The vast majority of the cases are way out in the county, and since I live near downtown Chapel Hill, don't affect me.
But I kind of reached my breaking point when one of 2007's first pair of cases was a rabid fox that attacked someone walking near UNC Hospitals. I walk around there all the time, and that could just as well have been me.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System has an important announcement about our newest high school:
Teams at Carrboro High School will be known as the “Jaguars†and will wear uniforms that are purple, black and white.
Principal Jeff Thomas said he was pleased with the selection. “It gives some thematic unity with the Chapel Hill Tigers and East Chapel Hill Wildcats. The selection will only add to the pride parents and students have in the school and the Carrboro community,†Thomas stated.
You can already buy your Jaguars gear online.
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