January 2012
Last week, the Meadowmont Community Association (our homeowners' association) sent out a letter (a paper letter, via actual mail!) with the nominal purpose of informing residents of upcoming hearings before Town Council on the routing of the proposed light rail line. (For details on the issue, see my first blog post and my followup.) It omitted some important details however, so I wrote a response and emailed it around to some of my neighbors. I've posted it on my new single-issue website http://meadowmontlightrail.com, and I'm reprinting it below. I hope everyone has a great 2012. — Geoffrey F. Green
January marks Chapel Hill 2020’s fifth month, and if the schedule of planned events is any indication it will its busiest by far.
On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro will make history by becoming one of the very few, longstanding Occupy encampments in the country to peacefully and voluntarily transition to a new phase in its evolution.
Members of OCHC are planning a special day in celebration of the power and potential of the 99% movement. And they have invited the whole community. That means YOU!!
The day’s events will kick off at 3 p.m. with taking down tents and cleanup of the Peace and Justice Plaza, 179 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. Press are welcome to attend. This will be followed by a press conference at 4:30 p.m., at which Occupiers will present plans for the future. A General Assembly will be held at 6 p.m. at the Plaza.
Following the General Assembly, OCHC will be hosting a dance party at the Plaza, starting at about 8 p.m.
OCHC’s immediate plans for its evolution include: a Plaza presence consisting of General Assemblies, teach-ins, outreach, discussion circles, and events; roving encampments; participation in Occupy the Courts on January 20; and continuing active support for The Chapel Hill Carrboro Human Rights Center.
Official news from Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro:
On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro will make history by becoming one of the very few, longstanding Occupy encampments in the country to peacefully and voluntarily transition to a new phase in its evolution.
Members of OCHC are planning a special day in celebration of the power and potential of the 99% movement. And they have invited the whole community.
The day’s events will kick off at 3 p.m. with taking down tents and cleanup of the Peace and Justice Plaza, 179 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. Press are welcome to attend. This will be followed by a press conference at 4:30 p.m., at which Occupiers will present plans for the future. A General Assembly will be held at 6 p.m. at the Plaza.
OCHC’s immediate plans for its evolution include: a Plaza presence consisting of General Assemblies, teach-ins, outreach, discussion circles, and events; roving encampments; participation in Occupy the Courts on January 20; and continuing active support for The Chapel Hill Carrboro Human Rights Center.
As part of the global Occupy movement towards economic justice, some of our long term endeavors will include an assistance program for people facing foreclosure; the establishment of central indoor space; further outreach to other Occupies, UNC students, the general public, and Triangle activist organizations; and the study of solidarity economy and its potential development in our area.
Following the General Assembly, OCHC will be hosting a dance party at the Plaza, starting at about 8 p.m.
The best is yet to come!
You may RSVP here
Date:
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 3:00pm to 10:00pm
Location:
Peace and Justice Plaza, Franklin St. Post Office, 179 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill
President
Obama’s power is growing.
Today’s’ presidential
appointment of Richard Cordray to head the CFPB breaks the traditional recess
appointment process. Generally the congress must be in recess for 3 days before
the President can do this. This was even the administration position in an
argument before the Supreme Court in 2010 to reaffirm the three day window the Clinton shortened from
the historical ten day window. Interesting how things change….
And speaking of change…the complete silence from the Democrat party on the signing
of the National Defense Authorization Act and the potential of indefinite detainment
of citizens is a real change from the howling we heard under Bush…much less the “audacity” of the Patriot act. The really
interesting part is the absurdity of the president signing statement as a ruse
to “protect” US
citizens.
Announcement from the Orange County Human Relations Commission:
The Orange County Human Relations Commission invites you to
Human Relations Month Forum 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
THEME:
“Defining
Marriage in North Carolina by Constitutional Amendment:
What are the Implications?”
PANELISTS:
Stuart Campbell, Executive Director - Equality North Carolina
Maxine Eichner, Professor UNC-CH School of Law
Brett Webb-Mitchell, Visiting Associate Professor North Carolina Central University
MODERATOR:
Milan Pham, Attorney NicholsonPham Attorneys at Law
PLACE:
Carrboro Century Center
100 North Greensboro Street
Carrboro, NC 27510
Refreshments and Entertainment by The Moaners at 2:30 PM. The public is invited.
For more information, call (919) 245-2487.
Date:
Sunday, January 29, 2012 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Location:
Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro Street, Carrboro
Alderman Dan Coleman plans to introduce a resolution against corporate personhood to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. In an e-mail to his colleagues on the board, Coleman asked that the draft resolution be added to the board's January 17 agenda. The resolution responds to the 2010 US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, which essentially cleared the way for unlimited election spending by corporations and other groups.
Presentation offered by Friends of Bolin Creek with the UNC Institute for the Environment.
Date:
Saturday, February 11, 2012 - 9:00am to 1:30pm
Location:
NC Botanical Garden, 100 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill
A moratorium on development in Northside and Pine Knolls was enacted this past summer. In the intervening months, staff of the Town of Chapel Hill and members of the Sustaining OurSelves Coalition have worked together to develop recommendations to curb development that is contrary to the spirit of their neighborhood conservation district strictures. A community plan has been developed, which includes recommendations around affordable housing, cultural and historic preservation, enforcement, education and outreach, parking, and zoning.
This information will be presented to the Chapel Hill Town Council at their Monday, January 9th meeting.
Two months later, Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil has published his memorandum to the Town Council, outlining his "conclusions, actions and recommendations" related to the occupation of and subsequent police raid at the Yates Motor Company building on W. Franklin St. last November. It's an impressively bland endorsement of paramilitary police action, largely devoid of content. Stancil wastes no time in reaching the conclusion you may have expected him to reach—that the police did everything right and nothing wrong—and that if anything needs to happen as a result of these events, it's that the CHPD should adopt a new media relations policy.
Ellie Kinnaird has announced that she will running for re-election to the NC Senate this year. In past years she claimed that she was ready to retire, but only if she could find a suitable female replacement. Here's the press release:
North Carolina State Senator Ellie Kinnaird
Contact: Senator Ellie Kinnaird
ekinnaird1@nc.rr.com
919 824-5240
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
SENATOR ELLIE KINNAIRD SEEKS RE-ELECTION
At the Town Council meeting Monday night, I and many others felt frustrated, after issuing our statements and as the Council was deliberating, unable to respond to or correct the circuitous discussion between council members, Chief Blue, Mr. Stancil, Mayor Kleinschmidt, and Attorney Karpinos.
Last month Chapel Hill 2020 Co-Chair Rosemary Waldorf asked a group of former Chapel Hill Planning Board Chairs to write short essays about why they believe the Comprehensive Plan is important. In addition to my response, replies from the Mayor, the Manager, the chair of the Sustainability Committee, and 3 other past and present Planning Board Chairs were posted on the Town web site and in The Chapel Hill News.
I have "School Board 101" tomorrow and Friday, so if I were smart, I'd probably wait to write this after being trained in how to avoid saying something stupid. But that's never quite been my style, so here goes. As always, note that I speak here for myself only, not the CHCCS board in this.
This just arrived from Town Manager Roger Stancil:
In consultation with the Town Attorney, I have developed the following statement that we will provide the media. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Presentation by Kenneth Pennoyer, director of business management services for the Town of Chapel Hill
Date:
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Location:
Council Chamber of Chapel Hill Town Hall
Date:
Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 5:00pm to 6:00pm
Location:
Council Chamber of Chapel Hill Town Hall
Tavern Talks: We will be holding six meetings, one for each theme, which we have loosely renamed for these meetings. Two meetings will take place on the same evening, at the same time (all meetings will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m.). The following is the schedule for the meetings, including the topics:
These would be informal meetings where people could come to give their input and talk about the topics, but also mingle with one another and learn more about the comprehensive plan.
Thursday, Feb. 2, Kildare's: Transportation: Getting from Point A to Point B Easily and Sustainably
Thursday, Feb. 2, West End Wine Bar: Show Me The Money: A prosperous and financially stable community that has a place for all
Date:
Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Location:
Kildares, and West End Wine Bar
Tavern Talks: We will be holding six meetings, one for each theme, which we have loosely renamed for these meetings. Two meetings will take place on the same evening, at the same time (all meetings will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m.). The following is the schedule for the meetings, including the topics:
These would be informal meetings where people could come to give their input and talk about the topics, but also mingle with one another and learn more about the comprehensive plan.
Thursday, Feb. 16, Caribou Coffee: All 4 One, and One 4 All: Diversity, Safety, Cultural Vibrancy, and the Arts
Thursday, Feb. 16, The Crunkleton: A Balancing Act: Bringing together environmental protection and growth
Date:
Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Location:
Caribou Coffee and The Crunkleton, Franklin Street
Tavern Talks: We will be holding six meetings, one for each theme, which we have loosely renamed for these meetings. Two meetings will take place on the same evening, at the same time (all meetings will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m.). The following is the schedule for the meetings, including the topics:
These would be informal meetings where people could come to give their input and talk about the topics, but also mingle with one another and learn more about the comprehensive plan.
Thursday, March 1, Jack Sprat: The Hot Spots: Developing new spaces and supporting existing places
Thursday, March 1, WXYZ Lounge: Coeds and Co-ops: Learning, Innovating, and Using the Intellectual/Social/Financial Capital of the Town and University
Date:
Thursday, March 1, 2012 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Location:
Jack Sprat and WXYZ Lounge
The Chapel Hill 2020 team invites the public to “Future Focus,” work
sessions scheduled Feb. 15-16 at the UNC-Chapel Hill Friday Center to
explore ideas about growth, change and visualizing our community in
2020.
The input and results of the work sessions will be incorporated
into the ongoing Chapel Hill 2020 planning process. Chapel Hill 2020 is
the community-wide effort to create a new comprehensive plan. The Chapel
Hill visioning process is open to all residents – and others who live,
work, play, study and invest in Chapel Hill.
The February special event will include facilitated roundtables focused on areas of potential growth.
Participants will look to the ongoing Chapel Hill 2020 conversations for ideas about potential types of change.
Participants will explore the fiscal trade-offs for the scenarios.
There will be opportunities for the community to comparee scenarios and
identify preferences.
The work sessions and analysis will be led by Seven Hills Town Planning Group Inc. and Urban Collage.
“Future Focus” community modeling and visualization sessions:
- Wednesday Session: The work session from 6
to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, will be held in Trillium A of the Friday
Center. The session will include an overview of current conditions in
the community, a discussion about growth areas and a focused exploration
of the future vision for downtown. Participants can expect to learn and
share their vision for where change could happen and what change might
look like in Chapel Hill.
- Thursday Sessions: Two identical work
sessions will be offered on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m., both in Trillium A of the Friday
Center. These sessions will be facilitated “roundtables” focused on
areas of potential growth. Participants will evaluate growth areas,
using several scenarios as a starting point, and propose their ideas
about potential types of change. The scenarios will include financial
information, current conditions and potential changes based on the
Chapel Hill 2020 process.
Participants’ input will be collected and analyzed after the work
session and the results will be shared at the Chapel Hill 2020 meeting
scheduled for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at Estes Hills
Elementary School.
The community will have an opportunity to consider the analysis
of the work session results, including fiscal trade-offs. They will
compare new scenarios, identify preferences and make recommendations to
the 2020 process. After the Feb. 23 meeting, information will continue
to be available for review and reaction to the work session materials.
For Chapel Hill 2020 meeting materials and news updates, visit the website at www.townofchapelhill.org/2020
To catch the latest comments and posts, visit the blog: www.2020buzz.org
Please help us involve more people who care about our community in planning its future. Contact compplan@townofchapelhill.org or 919-969-5068.
Date:
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location:
Friday Center, Trillium A
On Chapelboro.com:
Posted: Saturday, 14 January 2012 11:05AM
Carolina North Meeting To Provide Development Updates Thursday
CHAPEL HILL - UNC is inviting members of the public to attend a meeting this week to learn about the latest updates on the development of Carolina North.
The event will include the discussion of topics of construction of the utilities duct bank, inclusion of a methane gas pipeline and the design of a greenway. The design of a research building, which will be the first to be built at the site, will also be a focus of the meeting.
UNC staff members will also discuss a proposed modification of conservation areas near the development area.
The meeting will be held on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Magnolia Conference Room of the Giles F. Horney Building at 103 Airport Drive.
Free parking will be available outside the building and the Chapel Hill Transit NU route will provide transportation to and from the site.
Date:
Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 5:30pm
Location:
Giles F. Horney Building at 103 Airport Drive, Chapel Hill
In case anyone wants to see the anarchist point of view on the Yates building, their views apparently include killing police officers, "cops are bastards", and "pigs gonna pay". And since when is wearing masks in public something that is considered benign?
http://anarchistnews.org/node/17958
This Wednesday, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be
holding a public hearing on the proposed Shortbread development- a seven-story mixed-use building across from Breadman’s on Rosemary Street. The residential component of the building will be rental units that will cater to students- a much-needed addition to downtown that will help alleviate pressure on the adjacent Northside neighborhood.
The Conference on Race, Class, Gender, and Ethnicity would
like to announce its 16th Annual Conference, “Waking Up from the
American Dream: The Sober Reality of Class in America.” On Saturday, February
25th, 2012, academics, community activists, practitioners, and students will
come together at the UNC School of Law Rotunda to contribute to the
rejuvenation of a discussion of class and inequality. We hope to encourage a
heterodox approach grounded in the intersection of an honest exploration of
class and the realities of racial, feminist, ethnic, and queer identities and
the law. For more information and to register please visit our website, http://studentorgs.law.unc.edu/crcge/conferences/2012/default.aspx.
Date:
Saturday, February 25, 2012 - 9:00am to 5:00pm
Location:
UNC School of Law, Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, 160 Ridge Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3380
Well the Transit Tax for Orange may have some added poison. I say poison as for the Proponents of the Transit Tax for the Light Rail will not want an added sales tax Governor Bev Purdue has cast into the political winds this year. Outside the overwhelming distaste for more taxes by District Two, the poison for D1 is not notion of paying more tax for their costly train, it is the added threat to fuel to the fire in the pockets of D2 Citizens who have no use for a Choo Choo in a huge election year.
Agenda
I. Review of previous month’s content
II. Upcoming topics
III. Policy issues
IV. Technical issues
V. Upcoming events
Date:
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Location:
The Station, 201-C E Main Street, Carrboro
This weekend, a group of people who have been involved since the very beginning of the Chapel Hill 2020 process (including the editors of OP) drafted a letter to town leaders asking them to take more time. You can see it at http://bit.ly/ch2020-letter. Currently the entire timeline from kick-off to plan approval is less than 8 months. Last week when UNC planning Professor David Godschalk gave a talk about comprehensive planning, he referenced the plan done in Fort Collins, CO which took 18 months to complete. That is the fastest of any of the other examples I've heard. The City of Austin is currently reviewing a draft plan after spending almost a year and a half on their visioning process alone.
No, no, really (he says, doing his very best, over-the-top, under-the-weather Ricky Gervais). Bear with me for a sec. If those who advocate for corporations to be persons (*cough* *hack* -- the 1%) follow through consistently with their political beliefs (granted, with Gingrich and Romney as standard-bearers, not very likely – but this is my satirical piece, so let me finish) …
Anyways, if corporations are persons (especially those megadeath Wall Street banks), then it follows (a la Tea Party Republicans in Mississippi) that they are persons from the point of their conception.
Now, bearing in mind that it can take years, if not decades, for corporations to be incorporated (and, therefore, start to pay taxes), long after they have been conceived, I would say that most of America’s corporations (keep thinking, megadeath Wall Street banks) owe gazillions in back taxes. Cha ching!
Back to Tea Party Republican principles, if corporations are persons, then you can’t abort them. So, all those insolvencies are now redundant. And a whole slew of ‘former’ corporations owe another huge chunk of back taxes. Double cha ching!!
Passing on an invitation from a friend:
Dear Friends,
I've mentioned the 100,000 Homes Campaign and my work as the Coordinator here in the Triangle to many of you. NOW is the time to consider volunteering. Read on for more information....
The national 100,000 Homes Campaign is a grassroots effort to find and place the most vulnerable, long-term homeless individuals into 100,000 households across the country by July 2013. To learn more about the campaign, please click here and be inspired by these videos: 100K Homes Introduction , 100K Homes Registry Week
As part of the national campaign, the United Way of the Greater Triangle, the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness and the Wake County Partnership to End Homelessness are planning a weeklong effort called “Registry Week” to identify and help persons who are homeless obtain and sustain permanent housing.
The goal of Orange and Wake Counties’ Registry Week is to create a by-name registry of people living on our streets and in shelters, enabling us to prioritize those who have significant medical issues and have been homeless the longest. The Vulnerability Index is administered in the form of a survey, which captures a homeless individual’s health and the duration of his/her homelessness. This ranking allows those with the most severe health risks to be identified and prioritized for housing and other support. What we learn together during Registry Week will help us reduce chronic homelessness in Wake and Orange counties.
We are recruiting dedicated volunteers to canvass streets and shelters to survey the most vulnerable homeless individuals and families. To ensure the most accurate count possible, we will survey individuals during the early morning and evening hours for three consecutive days. The survey findings will be presented at a community debriefing at the conclusion of Registry Week on Friday, January 27th.
Volunteer opportunities include:
Administering surveys to homeless individuals on the streets, in campsites and shelters throughout Orange and Wake Counties in early morning and evening hours
Entering survey data at the United Way offices in Morrisville
For more information about training times and volunteer opportunities, check out visi thttp://www.unitedwaytriangle.org/100khomes/
Consider joining us in two weeks and help us end homelessness in our community.
Best,
chantelle
Chantelle Fisher-Borne
Coordinator, 100K Homes – Triangle Registry Week
cfisherborne@unitedwaytriangle.org919 260 2189
Date:
Saturday, January 21, 2012 - 12:00pm to Friday, January 27, 2012 - 12:00pm
The leadership team of Chapel Hill 2020 discussed the timeline issue yesterday afternoon. Apparently the conversation was quite passionate and the group is divided with strong opposition to extending from co-chairs George and Rosemary. I'm a bit surprised since they have always said they had an open mind and were committed to getting it done right. I have yet to hear a clear articulation of why this comprehensive plan should be created in less than a year.
I have heard some people raise valid concerns about sustaining people interest for a multi-year process, but I think that points to changes that may be needed in the process. For example, what if the stakeholders only met monthly rather than every 2-3 weeks? What if we let the community lead the process more and didn't lean so heavily on the staff to run things? If you would like to explore these questions rather than rushing to complete, please sign on to our letter asking for more time.
Last night marked the first meeting of the Orange County Board of Commissioners this year and hopefully the first post in a push by OrangePolitics to take a deeper look at the board and its biweekly meetings. Since the board had not met in over a month, the agenda was quite crowded, but a few items are worth delving into.
Race to the Ballot, a statewide campaign to raise awareness of the effects of Amendment One, the current hate campaign against gay and lesbian North Carolinians, will arrive in Chapel Hill on February 16.
Over a five-week period, from January 27 to March 2, 2012, Protect NC Families Communications Director Jen Jones, trailed by a team of campaign organizers, social media street teams, and documentarians, will run 322 miles across the state of North Carolina, from the mountains of Asheville, N.C., to the coastal city of Wilmington, N.C., to raise awareness about the harms of the Amendment.
You and your friends can participate in the race and invest in its success.
Race to the Ballot will support the voter education and registration efforts of the Coalition to Protect NC Families.
Date:
Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 12:00pm to 9:00pm
Just received this email:
James,
Because your support has been so important to me, I wanted you to hear from me that I will not seek another term in Congress.
Serving in Congress has been a remarkable opportunity. Thank you.
I knew Republicans in the legislature would
dismantle the district that I have represented for the last decade, and
they did. The thirteenth district was split six ways. I also knew that
they would create one packed Democratic district in the Triangle, so
that all the surrounding districts would be Republican, and they did. I
knew that both David Price and I would both reside in that district, and
we do. And I knew that the district would include the neighborhoods
that we have each looked to for our support, and it does.
The Chapel Hill 2020 team invites the public to “Future Focus,” work
sessions scheduled Feb. 15-16 at the UNC-Chapel Hill Friday Center to
explore ideas about growth, change and visualizing our community in
2020.
The input and results of the work sessions will be incorporated
into the ongoing Chapel Hill 2020 planning process. Chapel Hill 2020 is
the community-wide effort to create a new comprehensive plan. The Chapel
Hill visioning process is open to all residents – and others who live,
work, play, study and invest in Chapel Hill.
The February special event will include facilitated roundtables focused on areas of potential growth.
Participants will look to the ongoing Chapel Hill 2020 conversations for ideas about potential types of change.
Participants will explore the fiscal trade-offs for the scenarios.
There will be opportunities for the community to comparee scenarios and
identify preferences.
The work sessions and analysis will be led by Seven Hills Town Planning Group Inc. and Urban Collage.
“Future Focus” community modeling and visualization sessions:
- Wednesday Session: The work session from 6
to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, will be held in Trillium A of the Friday
Center. The session will include an overview of current conditions in
the community, a discussion about growth areas and a focused exploration
of the future vision for downtown. Participants can expect to learn and
share their vision for where change could happen and what change might
look like in Chapel Hill.
- Thursday Sessions: Two identical work
sessions will be offered on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m., both in Trillium A of the Friday
Center. These sessions will be facilitated “roundtables” focused on
areas of potential growth. Participants will evaluate growth areas,
using several scenarios as a starting point, and propose their ideas
about potential types of change. The scenarios will include financial
information, current conditions and potential changes based on the
Chapel Hill 2020 process.
Participants’ input will be collected and analyzed after the work
session and the results will be shared at the Chapel Hill 2020 meeting
scheduled for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at Estes Hills
Elementary School.
The community will have an opportunity to consider the analysis
of the work session results, including fiscal trade-offs. They will
compare new scenarios, identify preferences and make recommendations to
the 2020 process. After the Feb. 23 meeting, information will continue
to be available for review and reaction to the work session materials.
For Chapel Hill 2020 meeting materials and news updates, visit the website at www.townofchapelhill.org/2020
To catch the latest comments and posts, visit the blog: www.2020buzz.org
Please help us involve more people who care about our community in planning its future. Contact compplan@townofchapelhill.org or 919-969-5068.
Date:
Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 11:30am to 1:30pm
Location:
The Friday Center, Trillium A
The Chapel Hill 2020 team invites the public to “Future Focus,” work
sessions scheduled Feb. 15-16 at the UNC-Chapel Hill Friday Center to
explore ideas about growth, change and visualizing our community in
2020.
The input and results of the work sessions will be incorporated
into the ongoing Chapel Hill 2020 planning process. Chapel Hill 2020 is
the community-wide effort to create a new comprehensive plan. The Chapel
Hill visioning process is open to all residents – and others who live,
work, play, study and invest in Chapel Hill.
The February special event will include facilitated roundtables focused on areas of potential growth.
Participants will look to the ongoing Chapel Hill 2020 conversations for ideas about potential types of change.
Participants will explore the fiscal trade-offs for the scenarios.
There will be opportunities for the community to comparee scenarios and
identify preferences.
The work sessions and analysis will be led by Seven Hills Town Planning Group Inc. and Urban Collage.
“Future Focus” community modeling and visualization sessions:
- Wednesday Session: The work session from 6
to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, will be held in Trillium A of the Friday
Center. The session will include an overview of current conditions in
the community, a discussion about growth areas and a focused exploration
of the future vision for downtown. Participants can expect to learn and
share their vision for where change could happen and what change might
look like in Chapel Hill.
- Thursday Sessions: Two identical work
sessions will be offered on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m., both in Trillium A of the Friday
Center. These sessions will be facilitated “roundtables” focused on
areas of potential growth. Participants will evaluate growth areas,
using several scenarios as a starting point, and propose their ideas
about potential types of change. The scenarios will include financial
information, current conditions and potential changes based on the
Chapel Hill 2020 process.
Participants’ input will be collected and analyzed after the work
session and the results will be shared at the Chapel Hill 2020 meeting
scheduled for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at Estes Hills
Elementary School.
The community will have an opportunity to consider the analysis
of the work session results, including fiscal trade-offs. They will
compare new scenarios, identify preferences and make recommendations to
the 2020 process. After the Feb. 23 meeting, information will continue
to be available for review and reaction to the work session materials.
For Chapel Hill 2020 meeting materials and news updates, visit the website at www.townofchapelhill.org/2020
To catch the latest comments and posts, visit the blog: www.2020buzz.org
Please help us involve more people who care about our community in planning its future. Contact compplan@townofchapelhill.org or 919-969-5068.
Date:
Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Location:
The Friday Center, Trillium A
From chkehilla.org:
The "Marriage" Amendment and the Jewish Community. Sun., Feb. 5, 10-11:30 a.m., Chapel. A discussion about the proposed constitutional amendment to limit LGBT and other relationships in North Carolina. Presentation by Dr. Maxine Eichner on the meaning of the proposed constitutional amendment and its potential effects on gay couples and non-married opposite sex couples.
Date:
Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 10:00am to 11:30am
Location:
Chapel Hill Kehilla, 1200 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill
Historic Thousands on Jones Street People's Assembly 6
14 Point People's Agenda for North Carolina
-
-
-
Health Care for All. NC
ought to provide its people with health insurance and prescription
drugs, while funding public health programs to treat social diseases
that plague Black and poor communities including HIV/AIDS, diseases
caused by environmental pollution and warming, drugs, domestic violence,
mental illness, diabetes, and obesity.
-
-
-
Lift Every HBCU. NC
must financially support our Historically Black Colleges and
Universities to develop equitable infrastructure and programs with
doctoral-level leadership for today's challenges.
-
-
Provide Affordable Housing and Stop Consumer Abuse. NC
must provide an Affordable Housing Trust Fund for low-income renters,
vouchers for wounded veterans who can not find accessible housing,
meaningful tax breaks for seniors forced out of their homes, and
protection against predatory lending and foreclosures.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Date:
Saturday, February 11, 2012 - 9:30am to 12:30pm
Location:
Assemble at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC
This landed in my inbox earlier today from the Orange County Democratic Party:
"Phone Banking Against Amendment 1
The Coalition to Protect All N.C. Families will be conducting a phone bank at the offices of the Orange County Democratic Party (209 Lloyd Street, Suite 310, Carrboro) in order to identify our supporters, i.e. those who want to defeat Amendment 1. We will be in the office from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday, February 1st. We hope that you will join us in educating NC and defeating Amendment 1."
Date:
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Location:
Orange County Democratic Party (209 Lloyd Street, Suite 310, Carrboro)
I was booking tickets today for a flight in March, and was once again reminded how difficult it is to use public transit to get to the airport. A few questions come to mind:
Why does the "airport shuttle" not run when the airport is operating? I assume the first flights leave at 6 a.m., and the last appear to arrive at 11 p.m. And yet, the first TTA bus arrives to the airport at 6:39 a.m. (missing all the early departures out of RDU) and the last bus leaves at 10:09 p.m. (missing several of the late arrivals). And, of course, there's no Sunday service, adding to the difficulty of using the airport shuttle for any practical purposes. Who is the shuttle supposed to serve? Airport employees who work mid-day shifts? Airport tourists?
As a result of poor transit service, the real cost of flying jumps considerably, as one either pays $6/day (or more) to park, takes an expensive taxi in one or both directions, or opts for some even more expensive/difficult option. I know that the transit tax is supposed to improve bus service to the airport, but in the meantime I'm surprised that such poor service has been tolerated for so many years.
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