economic development
The Orange County Economic Development Commission still exists, I know this because I am a member of it! Yet the County is functioning as if the board has been disbanded even though it has taken no such action. This is the culmination of a dysfunctional history in Orange County Economic Development. But the part that really bothers me now is a closed session being held tonight by the county commissioners on the topic of economic development without input from citizens, citizens who were appointed by our elected officials to advise them on the diverse set of opinions held by residents of Orange County.
To me this sunsetting of the Orange County Economic Development Commission is a tactic to silence dissent. It's true there are many people on the Orange County Economic Development Commission who did not agree with the former director on policy or plans. It's true that many of our meetings were frustrating. But to subvert democracy when you no longer find it agreeable is wrong. I hope as we consider a new organization to represent us in economic development matters that we remember how the county has acted.
Could there ever be any semblance of justice for any of Orange County's Native Americans? Perhaps.
Before the Europeans
I am not an archeologist or anthropologist, but it is clear from historical records that the area that is today Orange County was inhabitted by Native Americans long before the advent of Europeans. The closely related Eno (a.k.a. Occaneechi or Sapponi) and Saxapahaw (a.k.a. Sissipehaw) people lived throughout the Haw and Eno River valleys. There were numerous Native American villages in this area, but there was a particularly prominent village called Acconeechy (or Occaneechi) on essentially the same site that is now Hillsborough.
Welcome to Carrboro Ms. Stone! The following is a press release from the Town of Carrboro about the hiring.
Carrboro Names New Economic and Community Development Director
Annette Stone, a native of New Bern, North Carolina, has been appointed by Town Manager Steve Stewart to the position of Economic and Community Development Director for the Town of Carrboro.
One of the positive economic development efforts by Orange County in conjuction with Alamance, Chatham, and Durham Counties is the Piedmont Food Processing Center. As it's website says its "A business incubator for food entrepreneurs and farmers in the Piedmont Region to add value to local farm products and create new local food businesses." Today they announced that a manager for the Center has been hired. See the press release below for more information.
I thought this was a very direct point about the philosophical divide on economic development (ED) from the Carrboro Board of Aldermen's recent annual retreat.
The aldermen agreed that some organizations just don't get Carrboro's vision, especially the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, and Orange County's Economic Development Commission, and they wondered aloud whether they should seek support from those two groups for the Think Local First Campaign.
- The Herald-Sun - Carrboro wants people to Think Local First, 2/2/2010
Brian has written about this divide before, but I've never seen it laid out quite so starkly. Can't we all just get along?
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