July 2004
The Mayor of Chapel Hill has been gradually taking money and power away from the Downtown Commission and directing it toward this new body, Chapel Hill Downtown Economic Development Corporation. It's quite clear from yesterday's Chapel Hill Herald article that the University is involved deeply with this new body - not that they weren't pretty influential with the old one, for that matter. But the suggestion that the first staff person for this corporation should be hand-picked by the University is too much. And if you weren't sure whether to be suspicious, I have two words for you:
OK, well almost. WCOM is on the air, but without any programming yet. I think this could be a great asset to our community, but there's a lot of work to be done if it's going to happen. And so far the organization is unproven.
What kind of programming would y'all like to hear on WCOM? Some people have suggested some kind of OrangePolitics talk show where we would discuss the latest issues that are on the website and interview local public figures. What do you think?
Guest Post by Terri Buckner
The Chapel Hill Libraries and town manager, Cal Horton, are at odds about the value of internet filters.
The Children's Internet Protection Act, upheld by the Supreme Court a year ago, requires libraries to install filters or lose federal money.
We don't think filtering works very well," said Robert Schriner, library board chairman. "We don't think it does the job, and it basically interferes with getting access to real sites. It has been shown to filter out sites that are perfectly legitimate."
... Town Manager Cal Horton, on the other hand, will recommend to the town council that some computers with filtering turned on must be made available through the library. "Parents could choose whether they want their children to have filtered or unfiltered Internet sessions."
"We see it as a service," Horton said. "We know that filters are imperfect mechanisms, but we see this as providing a service."- News & Observer, 6/24/04
To filter or not to filter....what do you think?
The Hank Anderson Breakfast Club has issued endorsements in the County Commissioner race. I must commend them on their good taste - they picked the same pair I have been favoring: Moses Carey and Valerie Foushee.
(FYI: I am a member of the Breakfast Club, but I haven't attended in many months and was not involved in the endorsement process. Just so you don't think I'm referring to myself in the third person or something.)
... it's a mixed-use project, combining offices and residential condominiums, called simply "605 West Main Street." Technically, it's a three-story building, the maximum allowed in the B-1(g) [Carrboro] zoning district in which it is located. In actuality, though, the building will stand four stories tall; the entire ground floor will serve as a parking level. - Chapel Hill News, 7/12/04
I'd have to agree with Alex Zaffron that parking is not as good a use of the ground floor as retail. But what's really remarkable is the lack of an outcry against this building. It appears (at least from the skeleton) to be a break from tradition - and that's not a bad thing. The only complaint from a neighbor the reporter could find was that it's being built "too close to the street."
Have you seen it? Is it a visionary step forward or an out-of-place behemoth?
If you don't know me that well, you might be surprised to learn that I am one of the happiest people in town to witness the long-awaited opening of the free-standing Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC. It's future existence was the primary purpose of my day-to-day existence during my last two years of college. As a member of the Student Coalition for a Free-Standing Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center, I organized marches, spoke at rallies, met with administrators, slept in South Building, and wrote flyers, press releases, and site analysis reports. I dedicated myself to helping the University community understand the compelling need for this institution.
I think comments and everything are working correctly now. I don't feel 100% confident of that. And conveniently, I'm supposed to go out of town for work today (and for fun this weekend and for work again on Monday). So let me put it this way: it had better be working!
Interestingly, there was a point yesterday when I couldn't make changes to the site at all. Many of you were e-mailing me, and the only way to get a mass announcement out was through the OP Readers Digest list. So sign up for that list if you really want to know the latest news about the site - including sneak previews of the new blog software!
"Dollar dollar bill, y'all..." Sorry I don't have time to write more, but here are some articles in today's Herald. Looks like it's all about money!
It turns out SEANC paid for the so-called "push polls" that appeared to be promoting Barry Jacobs in House District 50. No wonder, SEANC (the State Employees Association of N.C., pronounced "scenic") did endorse him.
Doesn't look like those calls have hurt him in the pocketbook, anyway. Bill Faison is the top spender in the House 50 race, having spent $59,000 to Barry Jacobs' $17,500. Faison has raised a total of $109,175 - including $103,000 of his own money. Jacobs' has raised $39,272 so far, most of which came from donors who gave $100 or less.
Commissioner Marget Brown, who failed to file her finance report by last week's deadline, raised more than any of her opponents in her re-election bid. She has raised $12,692.50, and has over $10K left to spend!
I think most folks have made up their minds about the Orange County board race, but what about the "obscure" statewide offices that even heavily involved folks don't know much about? Well, most of us default to the Indy endorsements, which just came out. But sometimes I get a little nervous when so many people rely on one source for such opinions. Did they get it right this year? For instance, I've heard great things about both Tom Gilmore and Britt Cobb for commissioner of agriculture. I've got some major liberals pulling me to vote for Gilmore on one side and some other liberal friends asking me to vote for Cobb on the other. But the Indy paints a pretty clear picture that Gilmore is by far the best. Is that fair?
And what about the Court of Appeals Judge? Is Marvin Schiller really the best candidate? I haven't seen much to be able to make up my mind. The Indy states that Schiller "appears to be a far stronger candidate on paper". That kind of scares me. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of this guy?
Having followed the County Commissioner campaign as closely as I know how, I just went down to Town Hall and cast a single vote for Margaret Brown. Here's why: over the past eight years, where the county has made progress, Brown has been a leader. Not just a reliable vote in support but a true leader. I know some people have trouble with Margaret's personality or style but, on a five member commission, I think you have to give such key leadership on the issues the lion's share of the weight. As to the particulars, heres what The Independent has to say:
I'd love to hear - in a positive way - who people are voting for in tomorrow's primary. The rules: only write who you are voting for (and why, if you like). Do not refer to any candidates for whom you are not voting. If you do not follow the rules, your comments will be removed.
So, who floats your boat? Or who bugs you less than the alternative?
Today is the day. Orange County Democrat and Unaffiliated voters will decide who our next two County Commissioners are. While there is a general election in November, it is perfunctory in Orange County.
While no one can know just how this race will end, I think I can see that there are realistically only three main possibilities. Here's what they are and what they will mean:
Alternative 1: Valerie Foushee and Pam Hemminger win
I think it is pretty clear what this scenario will mean. Orange County voters are a lot better at understanding elections than we necessarily give them credit for. It may well be that NoMerger.org correctly understands that there is a deep visceral reaction against school merger out there. If Val and Pam win then there is just about no way to look at it other than that the County's voters don't want merger. While Moses and Margaret have their detractors for other reasons, merger will be the only reason that anyone will remember for their undoing.
Tonight, as the results come in, please OP.org readers, come one come all to post on this thread to update everyone on what is happening around the county and comment on how the preliminary results look.
I will go over to Carrboro Town hall at 7:30 to get the preliminary results from the Town Hall precinct and will post them here. Likewise anyone with preliminary numbers from other precincts please post those numbers here (Orange County Commissioner and OC School Board numbers only, please).
This should be fun if a couple of us do it. Blogging is the future of media and we should be able to scoop the newspapers with the commentary and anecdotal data on OrangePolitics.org. So join the fray . . .
because this crow tastes terrible! So much for my career as a political pundit . . . So what DOES it all mean?
I think someone on the Late Breaking News may have hit on something by calling this a referendum on Margaret Brown.
Clearly this is neither a rebuke for NoMerger.org nor an endorsement of school merger.
I said it twice yesterday, the voters are not stupid. I suspect that they saw two good candidates and voted for them. In fact, I spoke to quite a few people who said that they were voting for Moses and Valerie. I just figured they were significantly in the minority.
That said, there were a number of comments on this site from people who said that Margaret rubbed them the wrong way. I still think NoMerger.org did Margaret a disservice by painting her with same brush they used on Moses.
Here are the theories I heard bandied about tonight (I am not saying that I buy these ideas):
1) Margaret was punished for trying to have it both ways on merger (or that she was punished for failing to take a stand).
In the newly ratified version of the state appropriations bill, the Orange-Chatham Judicial District (15B) is slated to get a new, second superior court judge. Here's the language:
"The Governor shall appoint a superior court judge for the additional judgeship in Superior Court District 15B as authorized by subsection (b) of this section to serve until December 31, 2006. The successor to that judge shall be elected in the 2006 election to serve an eight-year term."
The way I've seen it interpreted, this means that the governor has to make an appointment quickly. Rumors are, of course, flying around the courthouses in Orange and Chatham. Who will want this new job? My unscientific poll leads me to the conclusion that, by general agreement, there are three leading contenders and one dark horse:
Leading contenders:
1. Joe Buckner
2. Joe Hackney
3. Lunsford Long
And, as disturbing as this might be, the dark horse:
1. Jill Cheek
Guest Post by Paul Jones
nomerger.org - Foushee and Hemminger
Sierra Club - Brown and Hemminger
Independent - Brown and Carey
CH News - Carey and Hemminger
Breakfast Club - Carey and Foushee
I have I'm sure missed several -- Teachers Associations, Soccer Alliances, and others that didn't get my attention. Several for the Town Council race seem to be missing this time out or I missed them. Housing, Police, CAN, Neighbors Near Campus, Tax watchers. Many of these had not much of a stake in the County race, but others did. Did they matter? Did any of the endorsements matter?
Paul Jones is the director of ibiblio. He is married to Chapel Hill Town Council Member Sally Greene.
Guest Post by Matt Compton
The facts are pretty clear. Barry Jacobs got outspent by about $41,000 on Tuesday. But I’m not so sure that was the deciding factor in the House 50 race. In fact, there were at least three other things that contributed to Barry’s poor performance everywhere north of Hillsborough, and they in turn, led him to lose the race. These are simple observations. In most cases, I don’t have scientific evidence to back up my perceptions, but I think they are valid nonetheless.
1) The "Push" Poll
I don’t think Barry Jacobs had anything to do with the poll that was conducted by the State Employees Association of North Carolina, but it didn’t help him at all. SEANC made it a point to play hardball in this year’s primary, targeting five races, but for the most part, their efforts did more harm than good. Faison showed good political instincts by responding to the charges early and hitting back hard. Jacobs didn’t have a good answer when he was asked about it, and that left a bad taste in peoples’ mouths.
Since this site started last September many of you have called for restrictions on anonymous posting. All of us involved with OrangePolitics.org couldn't agree more. That's why I have been working for over two months on moving the entire site to a different blogging platform that will allow for more control over posting.
The move from MovableType to WordPress will allow us to require and validate real e-mail addresses for every commenter. In case this system is abused, we also have the ability to turn on moderation for all comments. This will be a real bummer for everyone, so let's hope we don't have to resort to that.
The new site is in its final stages of development, and all it needs now is testing. That's where you come in. Soon (this week or next), the subscribers to our reader's digest e-mail list will be invited to check out the new site before it gets launched to the public. If you would like to help with that effort, please join the list by entering your e-mail address in the form on the right side of this page.
According to the N & O, the future vice president of the U.S. might have his home away from Washington in... drum roll please... Carrboro.
"The candidate and his wife Elizabeth Edwards bought 102 acres of land four miles west of Chapel Hill on Old Greensboro Road June 24 for $1,316,500."
Lots of questions arise here. I mean, are we going to start seeing Secret Service agents infiltrating Weaver Street Market's Thursday night music night just before the Edward's family arrives for their tempeh burgers? And are the Edwards children going to be hula-hooping on the lawn?
And the big question.... can they really shut down Horace Williams airport if the vice president needs it to commute to DC?
Hmmmm....
An earlier line of discussion on the "New Jackson Hole" post made it clear we needed a new thread for discussion of the urban growth boundary (or whatever terminology you want to use).
In my limited understanding of the issue, the towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill have attempted to limit growth by creating a line in the sand and refusing to extend city services, including water and sewer, past that line. Since much of the land north of town doesn't perk and since much of the land west of Carrboro is in the University Lake watershed, this means that only lots larger than 5 acres can easily get through the process for development.
If you find any problems on this web site or have questions about how things work, please comment in this thread. If you have trouble commenting, Contact Us directly.
So there are at least three ways I can set this up to control who comments. As Dan and others have noticed, in the new system e-mail addresses are never diplayed on the website, although they can be viewed by the authors.
- The current arrangement. Requires user to verify the e-mail address every time she comments. Problem: a bit of a pain.
- One-time verification. This would require the user to verify the address the first time she comments, then that address is stored as automaically approved for future comments. Problem: can be abused if I want to impersonate somone whose address I know.
- User registration. This would force users to actually register on the site before being able to use the comment form. This has the added benefit of allowing folks to create and manage their own profiles, but I have ot figure out how to make those visible. I don't think it would prevent them from registering with a fake address, though. Problem: bigger pain in the ass, and I'm not sure exactly how it will work .
What do y'all think?
Well I didn't get a chance to join my neighbors in Northside for a night out last night, but I have walked many times past the notorious crack house on Nunn Street. My neighbors attest that this has been a known place of dealing for over 10 years. And it doesn't take an expert to see it - young men commonly stand in the middle of the street, approach slowing cars, exchange bags and bills in broad daylight.
Police got so desperate about the situation last April that they arrested the wheelchair-bound woman who lived there. She was basically trading her home for some minimal elder care from the dealers and their friends. This is not an unusual arrangement around here. I'm told by some neighbors that she recently took a turn for the worse, and her family put her into a rest home.
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