March 2015

This Week in Orange Politics: March 2-8

It’s another busy week for Orange County’s public bodies. The Carrboro Alderfolks will make several appointments and discuss the town’s affordable housing fund, while the Chapel Hill Council will hear about capital priorities. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board will consider designating over-  and under-crowded schools for the next school year, the county commissioners will review their legislative agenda and consider approving funds for the Family Success Alliance.

The Hillsborough Town Board and county school board are both in recess this week.

Here’s the full summary:

CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERPERSONS

CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

How a Chapel Hill Town Council Vacancy is Filled

With the impending resignation of Chapel Hill Town Council member Matt Czajkowski, the OP Editors thought it might be useful to revisit exactly what happens in the case of a vacancy. The relevent code falls under Chapter 2, Article II of the town code of ordinances.

Since Czajkowski's seat is up for election this year, any person filling the seat would do so only until his successor is elected in the municipal election this fall.

When Art Reflects Reality (Even After 130 Years)

As I took my seat in the Paul Green Theatre last Saturday for PlayMakers Repertory Company’s production of An Enemy of the People, I had no expectation that the performance would resonate with the kind of local government discourse and behavior I see right here in Chapel Hill. Yet, as the play began and the story unfolded, that is exactly what happened.

Written by Henrik Ibsen in 1882 and adapted by Arthur Miller in 1950, Enemy tells the story of Dr. Stockmann, a physician who attempts to expose an inconvenient truth about his town, only to find himself and his family alienated, alone, and in danger as a result of his actions.

As the play reaches its climax, Dr. Stockmann makes a final attempt to convey his findings and alert his community to what he has uncovered. But rather than being able to speak freely, he is silenced from speaking about the issue at hand, which causes him to dive into a monologue condemning the tyranny of the majority, the silencing of his freedom of speech, and the hypocrisy of those around him who abandon their values in the face of inconvenient truths.

Implicit Bias Education Session

Implicit Bias Community Series

Session I March 19: Overview of and Evidence for Implicit Bias – Dr. Keith Payne, Professor, UNC-CH Dept. of Psychology

The session will be interactive and reflective to help participants understand the impact and manifestation of implicit bias on decision-making. Payne is part of a small community of academic scholars from around the world who are associated with Project Implicit – a multi university research collaboration to study implicit bias. The Payne lab studies social cognition—thinking and feeling about people and socially important issues. They are especially interested in the unintended and the unconscious. Using a variety of methods, from behavioral experiments to large scale surveys to mathematical modeling, they are turning up answers to questions like:

  • Why do people sometimes act in prejudiced ways even when they intend to be fair?
  • Do you have opinions or beliefs that you don’t know about?
  • How do people set aside unwanted biases and act the way they want to?
  • And what happens when that process breaks down?

Date: 

Thursday, March 19, 2015 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: 

Rogers Road Community Center, 101 Edgar Street in Chapel Hill

Implicit Bias Panel Discussion

Session II (April 21): Initiatives to Interrupt Implicit Bias

a.     Panel

i.     Sheila Kannappan, Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy at UNC  – Combatting Implicit Bias in Admissions

ii.     Jeff Johnson, Professor & Vice Chair for Diversity, Department of Chemistry at UNC – Combatting Implicit Bias in Hiring

iii.     Chantel Johnson – RTI Survey Specialist and former MSW intern, City of Seattle Office of Civil Rights: Race and Social Justice Initiative

b.     Small Groups

i.     What have you learned?

ii.     What might you implement in your organization?

Date: 

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: 

Rogers Road Community Center, 101 Edgar Street in Chapel Hill

Community Meeting on Affordable Housing and Community Development Needs

The Orange County Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development invites the public to join the discussion and voice opinions about affordable housing and community development needs and how to eliminate barriers to fair housing choices.  

The meetings will be hosted by the Orange County HOME Consortium, which consists of the County and the Towns of Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro.

The Orange County HOME Consortium and the Town of Chapel Hill are preparing the FY 2015-2019 Five Year Consolidated Plan and FY 2015 Annual Action Plan for use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In order to determine the most pressing needs and to develop effective strategies to meet those needs, HUD requires a Consolidated Plan.  By attending these meetings, the public can help to identify priority needs and strategies in the areas of affordable housing, homelessness, special needs and community development and how funds are to be received over the next five years to help address needs identified.  

The Plan details housing needs of very low income, low income and moderate-income families, and population groups with special needs in addition to outlining the strategies and plans for addressing those needs.  The Plan can also serve as a foundation for the development of a long-range, strategic affordable housing plan for the participating communities. 

As part of the public input and planning process, a survey is available online to obtain more public input in identifying the needs and ideas on how residents would like to see funds budgeted to address needs with CDBG and HOME funds received, as well as identifying and addressing any impediments to fair housing choice. 

Click on the link to take the confidential survey (en Español). 

For more information, please contact the Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development at 919.245.2490.

Date: 

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Location: 

Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson Street, Chapel Hill

Community Meeting on Affordable Housing and Community Development Needs

The Orange County Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development invites the public to join the discussion and voice opinions about affordable housing and community development needs and how to eliminate barriers to fair housing choices.  

The meetings will be hosted by the Orange County HOME Consortium, which consists of the County and the Towns of Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro.

The Orange County HOME Consortium and the Town of Chapel Hill are preparing the FY 2015-2019 Five Year Consolidated Plan and FY 2015 Annual Action Plan for use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In order to determine the most pressing needs and to develop effective strategies to meet those needs, HUD requires a Consolidated Plan.  By attending these meetings, the public can help to identify priority needs and strategies in the areas of affordable housing, homelessness, special needs and community development and how funds are to be received over the next five years to help address needs identified.  

The Plan details housing needs of very low income, low income and moderate-income families, and population groups with special needs in addition to outlining the strategies and plans for addressing those needs.  The Plan can also serve as a foundation for the development of a long-range, strategic affordable housing plan for the participating communities. 

As part of the public input and planning process, a survey is available online to obtain more public input in identifying the needs and ideas on how residents would like to see funds budgeted to address needs with CDBG and HOME funds received, as well as identifying and addressing any impediments to fair housing choice. 

Click on the link to take the confidential survey (en Español). 

For more information, please contact the Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development at 919.245.2490.

Date: 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Location: 

Whitted Human Services Building, 300 W. Tryon Street, Room 250, Hillsborough

Community Meeting on Affordable Housing and Community Development Needs

The Orange County Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development invites the public to join the discussion and voice opinions about affordable housing and community development needs and how to eliminate barriers to fair housing choices.  

The meetings will be hosted by the Orange County HOME Consortium, which consists of the County and the Towns of Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro.

The Orange County HOME Consortium and the Town of Chapel Hill are preparing the FY 2015-2019 Five Year Consolidated Plan and FY 2015 Annual Action Plan for use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In order to determine the most pressing needs and to develop effective strategies to meet those needs, HUD requires a Consolidated Plan.  By attending these meetings, the public can help to identify priority needs and strategies in the areas of affordable housing, homelessness, special needs and community development and how funds are to be received over the next five years to help address needs identified.  

The Plan details housing needs of very low income, low income and moderate-income families, and population groups with special needs in addition to outlining the strategies and plans for addressing those needs.  The Plan can also serve as a foundation for the development of a long-range, strategic affordable housing plan for the participating communities. 

As part of the public input and planning process, a survey is available online to obtain more public input in identifying the needs and ideas on how residents would like to see funds budgeted to address needs with CDBG and HOME funds received, as well as identifying and addressing any impediments to fair housing choice. 

Click on the link to take the confidential survey (en Español). 

For more information, please contact the Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development at 919.245.2490.

Date: 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Location: 

Whitted Human Services Building, 300 W. Tryon Street, Room 250, Hillsborough

Community Meeting on Affordable Housing and Community Development Needs

The Orange County Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development invites the public to join the discussion and voice opinions about affordable housing and community development needs and how to eliminate barriers to fair housing choices.  

The meetings will be hosted by the Orange County HOME Consortium, which consists of the County and the Towns of Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Carrboro.

The Orange County HOME Consortium and the Town of Chapel Hill are preparing the FY 2015-2019 Five Year Consolidated Plan and FY 2015 Annual Action Plan for use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In order to determine the most pressing needs and to develop effective strategies to meet those needs, HUD requires a Consolidated Plan.  By attending these meetings, the public can help to identify priority needs and strategies in the areas of affordable housing, homelessness, special needs and community development and how funds are to be received over the next five years to help address needs identified.  

The Plan details housing needs of very low income, low income and moderate-income families, and population groups with special needs in addition to outlining the strategies and plans for addressing those needs.  The Plan can also serve as a foundation for the development of a long-range, strategic affordable housing plan for the participating communities. 

As part of the public input and planning process, a survey is available online to obtain more public input in identifying the needs and ideas on how residents would like to see funds budgeted to address needs with CDBG and HOME funds received, as well as identifying and addressing any impediments to fair housing choice. 

Click on the link to take the confidential survey (en Español). 

For more information, please contact the Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development at 919.245.2490.

Date: 

Thursday, March 12, 2015 - 12:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: 

Seymour Senior Center (Auditorium), 2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill

Durham-Orange Light Rail Project Public Meeting

Triangle Transit will present the results of their environmental studies, from the UNC Hospitals station to the Duke station alternatives, at 4:15 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., followed by an open house when project staff will be available to answer questions.

The data presented and public comment received will be used in several key decisions to determine the recommended alignment alternative.

More information can be found at www.ourtransitfuture.com. Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvpAa0EOCE8&feature=youtu.be

Questions or concerns can be emailed to info@ourtransitfuture.com; if you need special accommodations to participate in the public meeting please call 1-800-816-7817, at least one week prior to the meeting.

Date: 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 - 4:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

Friday Center for Continuing Education, 100 Friday Center Dr, Chapel Hill

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