July 2009

10 Acre Lot Question

Submitted by Jeff Danner on July 1, 2009 - 1:57pm

I have been following up on my previous blog regarding small farm development in Orange County.  A key to any successful entireprise is being covered by the NC Bona Fide Farm statute.   I find the statute wording to be confusing, but a key provision is that 10 acres of land needs to be comprised of land in production or contiguous woodlands or wetlands.  Based on this rule, the minimum practical size for a Bona Fide farm in NC is approximately 11 acres, 10 to meet the rule in the statue and at leasts an acre for buildings and roads. 

How are you celebrating July 4th? & Ideas on celebrating locally?

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on July 2, 2009 - 4:57pm

I'm thinking of staying in Chapel Hill for the fireworks instead of hitting up the State Fairgrounds (my usual romping grounds on the 4th ever since undergrad at State). How do they compare? Who has been to the firework display in Chapel Hill, is it very good? Are there any good spots in town where you can park & watch w/o going to the main event as you can with the State Fairgrounds firework display? Will WCHL be covering the event live? Any other fun ideas for the 4th in Chapel Hill/Carrboro? What are you doing for the 4th?

 

I found this News Release on the Town of Chapel Hill's shiney new website:

 

http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.aspx?page=22&recordid=385&returnURL=%2Findex.aspx

 "News Review

And so it begins... Filing officially starts today!

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on July 6, 2009 - 5:44am

From the Orange County Board of Elections :

2009 Municipal and

Chapel Hill/Carrboro School Board

Election Schedule and

Candidate Filing Information

 

Election Day is November 3rd

In observance of Independence Day, the Board of Elections office will be closed

Friday, July 3rd.

 

Filing will start at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, July 6, 2009,

and will end at 12:00 Noon, Friday, July 17, 2009.

Citizens for Responsible Government

Submitted by jason on July 7, 2009 - 10:50pm

Does anyone know anything about this new group reported in Orange Chat, Citizens for Responsible Government.  They appear to be a political action committee of some sort that intends on influencing the upcoming election. 

 The website says that their mission is to, "support candidates and policies that promote the responsiveness, efficiency and fiscal health of our local governments." 

Eastgate / 15-501 intersection is ridiculous

Submitted by Jose on July 7, 2009 - 11:18pm

So you're on 15-501 going towards Durham.  You pass the Estes Dr / Univ Mall turnoff.  And you pass the one (Elliot Rd?) with the Burger King right was after you turn and with a little shopping center on the right.  (BTW, whatever happened to that big chunk of land that was going to have an expanded movie theater but the movie company and CH butted heads?  That thing has been a big empty patch for a decade or so.)  And you go to the next one...Eastgate on the left, Holiday Inn on the right.  That intersection is crazy.

The Truth About Voter Owned Elections and why Penny Rich is Participating

Submitted by Brooks Rainey P... on July 9, 2009 - 4:19pm
It is important to recognize that the goal of Voter Owned Elections is not simply to reign in campaign spending but to put government back into the hands of the public.  Voter Owned Elections help to ensure that politicians are accountable to the voters and not to well-funded special interest groups that donate large sums to campaigns.  Public campaign financing also ensures that marginalized groups, such as women, minorities and low-income citizens who may not have access to special interest funding or the ability to loan themselves large sums of money still have an opportunity to participate in the electoral process.

Steve Silverleaf at the Century Center opening reception

Submitted by ChrisBeacham on July 10, 2009 - 1:32pm

Drop by the Century Center tonight on the 2ndFriday Art Walk for an exhibit of new oil paintings by wonderfully talented artist Steve Silverleaf.

The Conversation 1

Elections 2009

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 18, 2009 - 3:01pm

Candidate information and election guides will be added to this section as they become available. Unlike the rest of the site, our election information is completely nonpartisan.

Please visit the Orange County Board of Elections for a wealth of information about the 2009 election: http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/2009MunicipalElection.asp

Please contact us if you would like to help build out OP's election guide by doing research, writing, or programming.

Candidates

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 18, 2009 - 3:03pm

2009 Candidate Filings from the Board of Elections

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/2009CandidateFilings.asp

Incumbents are identified by an asterisk (*) beside their name. Web site URLs added by OP when available.

 

Important dates

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 18, 2009 - 3:09pm

Key dates from the Board of Elections

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/2009MunicipalElection.asp

Orange Dems Launch New Web Site

Submitted by Jim White on July 22, 2009 - 11:25am

The Orange County Democratic Party has redesigned its web site and launched it today.  While the content is still a little sparce, it will ultimately be driven by our precincts, who will each have their own page, blog and calendar.  It is Drupal based, and much more flexible than our earlier page.  Much of the heavy lifting was done by Dave Tillery, and Jason Baker, our 3rd vice chair, will serve as webmaster.

Page View

Election 2009 - let's do this

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 26, 2009 - 3:43pm

Hey all! Thanks for doing such a great job of keeping the conversation going while I am jugging a new job and my newly expanded family!  With the municpal and city school board elections coming up, I want to make sure OP continues to be a key source of information for voters. In the past, our election section has carried nonpartisan candidate information, links to media guides, and listing of events.  On the new OP we can do much more.

Since we have a proper calendar now, folks can submit events directly, and we'll all be on top of the latest forums and candidate schmoozefests. We can also use the database power behind the site to make more useful candidate lists (I got halfway there with the 2008 candiate list last year), and maybe even some handy maps like those contributed in 2007.

More helpful links

Submitted by Jason Baker on July 26, 2009 - 3:59pm

Will be adding more as we find them. Please contact us with any URLs that should be listed here.

Map

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 27, 2009 - 9:42am

County Board of elections data on all 2009 candidates formatted in KML by the wonderful Damon Seils, imported to Google Maps by Ruby Sinreich. Click here to see the full map and a list of candidates.

Should OWASA pursue access to Jordan Lake water?

Submitted by Mark Marcoplos on July 27, 2009 - 2:33pm

Despite serious misgivings among some local officials, OWASA is moving forward on discussions with the City of Durham, Chatham County, Orange County, and other neighboring jurisdictions to secure future access to Jordan Lake water.

There is a lot of pressure from Chatham County because they over-built beyond their capacity to provide water during the high growth heyday of the Bunky Morgan era.  OWASA is a valuable ally to these other jurisdictions because it owns a prime piece of land on the west shore of Jordan Lake that is ideal for a water intake.

Bill Strom resigning!

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 29, 2009 - 3:57pm

As reported by Kirk Ross of the Carrboro Citizen on OP and on the CC site, Chapel Hill Town Councilmember Bill Strom has announced that he will be resigning as of August 1, and will be leaving the area.

The interesting political implication is that I think the Council will now be expected to appoint a replacement since this resignation did not happen within the 40-day window before an election candidate filing period which would have led to an automatic appointment of the 5th vote-getter.

Election Day

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 29, 2009 - 5:17pm

Date: 

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - 1:30am to 2:30pm

One-stop early voting

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on July 29, 2009 - 5:22pm
Voters may register and vote on the spot.  Locations TBA.

Date: 

Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 8:00am to Saturday, October 31, 2009 - 9:00am

More Information: 

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/onestop.asp

Orange County Justice United in Community Effort founding

Submitted by James Barrett on July 30, 2009 - 1:00pm
After building relationships across faith, ethic background and economic status for almost three years, J.U.I.C.E. is ready to become a permanent organization. Leaders of the Committee have been patiently putting together the building blocks of collective power. They focused on recruiting institutions, raising their own money, traininghundreds of leaders, identifying priorities and developing a collective agenda.
 
The committee will become a permanent organization at a Founding Ceremony scheduled for the night of Monday October 26, 2009.  Hundreds of leaders from across the County have pledged to gather to officially launch the organization. The Founding Ceremony will coincide with an important election time in our County. All candidates seeking public office in the area will be invited to attend.Our organization never endorses any of the candidates, but we always ask the candidates to publicly endorse our community agenda.  
 
         Founding Ceremony:
 
  •     Monday October 26, 2009 at 7:00 PM. United Church of Chapel Hill 
    • The Founding is a celebration of our collective commitment for Justice. 
    • The organization will be launched by those that want to be Founding Members. Those that have completed training will be recognized, and we will unveil our new name and agenda.
    • Those seeking elected office will be invited to endorse or speak against our agenda

Date: 

Monday, October 26, 2009 - 3:00pm to 4:30pm

Location: 

United Church of Chapel Hill

More Information: 

http://www.unitedchurch.org/directions.html

DSI comedy routine featuring CH Town Council candidate Jon DeHart (free)

Submitted by James Barrett on July 30, 2009 - 1:57pm

Free Mister Diplomat show featuring true stories told by Jon DeHart. Anecdotes inspire a world of absurd scenes, fully improvised by the most aggressive improv comedians in North Carolina. 

 

Sounds like a completely different way to get to know a candidate....

 

Date: 

Friday, July 31, 2009 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

200 N. Greensboro St. CARR MILL MALL between Elmos and Southern Rail, Carrboro NC 27510

More Information: 

http://www.dsicomedytheater.com/shows/details/mister-diplomat/
 

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