Ruby Sinreich's blog

It looks like Chapel Hill may end up being more deliberate in hiring a new police chief than they were hiring a new manager last year. From a recent Chapel Hill town news notice:

What qualities do you want in a new police chief? This is the question to be posed in a series of focus groups for citizens, the Council, staff and the police department.

The focus groups are being held to gather early input that will help develop community criteria for the police chief. Those criteria will be used to assess the skills of candidates for the position.

Interested citizens may attend any of the following meetings to be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, at Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive; and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, at Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson St.
- Public Input Sought on Police Chief Search

OK it's not politics, but it seems worthy of passing on this tip from my friend Ross for the show at the Cat's Cradle tonight in Carrboro:

If you've never seen the Cat's Cradle completely packed to the gills with equal parts middle-aged parents and teens, all screaming wildly for the occasionally pretty-damn-good (or at least pretty-damn-weird) high school bands onstage, then maybe it's time you gave it a try. I'm not saying you'll enjoy it per se, at least not in the traditional "what a great rockshow" way, but it can be gratifying to see how many kids are in bands, and how many of their friends want to see them play.
- trianglerock.music

Chapel Hill's police chief recently announced that he's retiring after working for the CHPD for over three decades. Chief Jarvies has constantly impressed me with his intelligence and sensitivity, which are not things you expect in a cop.

"I think we've done a great job in bringing in folks that understand how to work with the community," Jarvies said. "It takes a lot of effort to keep them here and keep them motivated."
- heraldsun.com: Jarvies to retire after seven years

I first met him when I was living next door to a very sensitive man that called the police whenever more than 5 people congregated on my porch. He was always very understanding and did his best to try to make everyone happy (although that was noever going to be possible.) In recent years, I have harangued him constantly about the lack of officers on foot patrol in Northside, and he has always listened and done his best to respond to my concerns.