November 2013

Rosemary Imagined Process - Next Steps

The Rosemary Imagined Neighborhood Project Team, which is helping guide the process for the Town of Chapel Hill and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, met again on November 1, 2013 to discuss next steps for the development of a Rosemary Street Concept. We were given a summary of the feedback that has been garnered from the process so far.

Handicapping the CHTC race and your other commentary

I've had to remove several comments on the endorsements thread as they were not in fact endorsements. But I'm certainly interested in what y'all have to say, even the snarky stuff. 

The Chapel Hill Town Council race is an interesting contest this year with two incumbents and four strong challengers running for only four seats. In the past we had a "Pundit of the Year" contest to see who could best predict the results. We'll be a little less formal this year and just throw our educated guesses out there.

For example, I think Sally Greene will come in strong and that Ed Harrison will continue to hold on to his Council seat. I think George Cianciolo will have broad support, and I see a tight race between Maria Palmer and Amy Ryan for the last spot. I'm not sure which one of those will win, it may depend on who campaigns harder, and I don't have a sense of which that would be.

Let us know who you think SHOULD win in the endorsement thread, and who you think WILL (or won't) win right here. 

Election Day Open Thread

Let us know what you're seeing at the polls, chatter about the candidates, where the parties are toight, etc.

Our main question about today is: Low voter turnout, or lowest voter turnout? 

OP Editors Monthly Open Meeting

Date: 

Sunday, November 10, 2013 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Location: 

Weaver Street Market Carrboro lawn

election is over

I came in 6th in almost all precincts. I came in 2nd in the precinct where Sally Greene and I live. It looks like the write-ins for town council were very minimal. Today I have been busy collecting yard signs and taking them to Cedar Falls Park. While I was there sorting the signs, a woman came by and talked. She did not vote yesterday first because she could not find information about the election and secondly because she thought she could vote on Tuesday at the Senior Center. In terms of signs Maria Palmer and I have the union label on the signs and Sally Greene had the name of a local company on hers. About half of us used plastic and half used paper. (Two candidates had no signs.)At the polling sites George, Maria, James, Ignacio and I had the most signs. Amy and Sally managed to include their Daily Tar Heel endorsement (given early election day morning) on some of their signs. Maria listed her Indy Endorsement and George listed all of his. I had my AFL-CIO and Sierra Club endorsements on my precinct signs. My son Carl told me he had never heard of the AFL-CIO until I mentioned to him my endorsement from them in September.

Making Sense of the 2013 Election Results

With another Election Day behind them, our elected officials in Orange County are now tasked to turn their attention from the challenges of the campaign trail to the challenges of governing. But following a sleepy election cycle in which all mayoral candidates ran unopposed and election results show most races were uncompetitive across the county, what message should our electeds take with them as they prepare to take their seats at the dais for new sessions?

With just 11.72% of eligible voters casting ballots in 2013, it’s unclear what message voters are sending. Was municipal turnout its lowest in over 10 years because voters simply don’t see any local issues directly affecting their lives? If so, does that mean voters are content with the status quo of the towns, which is why they didn’t get to the polls in the first place? Or are voters simply apathetic and nothing more can be discerned from the low turnout figure?

Chapel Hill Advisory Board Reorganization Moves Forward

Up on Monday's Town Council agenda is the next iteration of the advisory board reorganization process. I have generally supported reworking the advisory board structure to ensure that the work of citizen board members is meaningful and provides Council with the type of input they need in order to make decisions. Making advisory boards' role in development review clearer for developers, and citizens, isn't a bad idea either. But the proposal the Town Council is considering Monday night isn't ready for adoption yet. While I think the committee descriptions are reasonably sound in a broad sense, it isn't clear to me that the proposals have been fully vetted by the existing town boards to be sure that all current board responsibilities have been captured and assigned.

Board of Elections needs your input

In the coming months the Orange County BOE will be setting the early voting plan for the 2014 election cycle.  Since there have been issues with the Rams' Head one-stop site, we are looking for alternatives for an early voting location that will serve Chapel Hill, and the campus community in particular.

Keeping in mind that certain factors -- parking, ADA compliance, internet access, the ability to secure the ballot box, etc. -- are mandated by statute, we would appreciate your input about sites that would best serve the students, faculty, staff and residents during the abbreviated 2014 early voting period.

While we all mourn the loss of Morehead Planetarium as a one-stop site, that facility has been repurposed by the University and is no longer available to us, so we need your help in finding somewhere that can be just as successful.

'Luxury' Changes Coming to University Mall

It was just announced this morning that big changes are coming to the University Mall (no more Dillards sadly - where will I buy my ladies underpinnings...) and a 13-screen, $16/movie ticket high-end movie theater instead. More details are here. So, what do you think? Do we need another movie theater when we already have 4 first-run movie theaters within a 15-minute drive? How about a high-end one with dining featuring a $9.75 mini-cheeseburger?

Wake county just isn't crowded enough to support rail transit outside experts say

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/12/3365566/wake-county-just-isnt-crowded.html

The panelists said Wake County was not likely to attract the federal funding it would need for a light rail line, and it doesn’t have a dense downtown employment center that would support rush-hour commuter trains.

“It’s a mass mode,” Polzin said. “And you need mass to make it work cost-effectively."

But Chapel Hill is going to bet $30 million (with Durham) that we could use for other transit on getting federal and state funding?  Now that's something worth ranting about!

Orange County Assembly of Governments Meeting

Agenda TBD, the status of water and sewer for Rogers Road will be discussed

Date: 

Thursday, November 21, 2013 - 7:00pm

Location: 

Southern Human Services Center

Public Input Session on Orange County Manager Selection Criteria #1

More information:

 

Media Contact

Donna Baker

Clerk to the Board of Orange County Commissioners

Phone: 919-245-2130

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

ORANGE COUNTY SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON MANAGER SELECTION

ORANGE COUNTY, NC (November 8, 2013) — Do you have an interest in the future of Orange County and how the County operates? The Orange County Board of Commissioners has retained Springsted Incorporated to assist them in recruiting candidates for the position of County Manager. An important part of the selection process involves obtaining public input concerning what qualities, qualifications and experience you believe are important characteristics for the County’s next County Manager to possess. 

If you would like to know more about what the County Manager’s responsibilities are, why their selection is important to the County and provide your opinions concerning the qualities, qualifications and experience that the Board of Commissioners should consider when selecting the County’s new Manager you are invited to attend one of two (2) meetings with Springsted representatives on:

  •  
    • Wednesday, November 20th in the Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
    • Tuesday, November 26th in the Orange County Main Library, 137 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, Main Meeting Room, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For more information please contact Mr. John Anzivino, Senior Vice President of Springsted at 804.726.9750

Date: 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: 

Southern Human Services Center

Public Input Session on Orange County Manager Selection Criteria #2

Date: 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: 

Orange County Main Library, 137 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, Main Meeting Room

Rogers Road Proposal Under Consideration this Week Deserves Support

My op-ed from today arguing that the proposal under consideration this Thursday reflects the best of our progressive traditions while beginning to repay our debt to the Rogers Road community:

In 2011 a conservative faction of the Greensboro City Council moved to expand their White Street Landfill, located in the overwhelmingly African-American northeast portion of the city.

As the attorney for community members opposing this expansion as well as a long-term resident of Orange County, it was endlessly frustrating to me when expansion supporters pointed to our own Rogers Road to justify their decision.

CHHS Principal Unfamiliar with the Definition of Plagiarism

I was pretty surprised to read in the Independent that the new principal at Chapel Hill High has been copying large passages of text by other people and passing them off as her own memos, letter, and policies. What really shocked me, though was her indignant response:

"I'm not under the impression that I can't use that," [Sulura] Jackson said. "This is not anything that I'm selling. This is not anything that I'm using for personal gain."  

She is presumably being paid for serving as the pricipal, but she's trying to say that if she's not being graded, it shouldn't matter. Is this what we're teaching high schoolers?

And I was also disappointed, but not terribly surprised, to see this incredible response from the school system's rep:

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spokesman Jeff Nash referenced the school's transfers when discussing Jackson's case, blaming the public allegations against the new principal on "disgruntled folks over there who don't like change."

Justice United, Renters call on Towns and County to Support Tenants' Rights

Over the last two years, Orange County Justice United has been working with renters to address discrimination and wrongs they have faced as tenants. These efforts spurred Justice United to work with renters in our community and the UNC Civil Law Clinic to develop the Declaration of Tenants' Rights and Responsibilities. The document, available in both English and Spanish, outlines renters' rights based on state statutes. 

Justice United and renters from our community have asked the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill and Orange County to endorse this Declaration and help to distribute it to all tenants in their municipalities. More details can be found in this article in the Chapel Hill News. 

"Focused Dialog" about Glenwood/Carrboro Elementary programs

Just got the following somewhat cryptic press release from the CHCCSS. As usualy I had to download an open a Word doucment and get more than halfway through it before I could even figure out what the topic is ("Enrollment Levels at Glenwood Elementary School").To learn more about this issue, see the recent Indy story: Redistricting Rankling Carrboro Parents.

I can theoretically understand the value of this type of  meeting, but it's hard not to feel like the schools would prefer that most of us are seen and not heard.

 

Focused Dialogue

6:00 p.m. - Monday, December 2 - East Chapel Hill High

 

Chapel Hill, NC - The goals, vision, and strategies of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) long range plan are rooted in a set of guiding principles. These guiding principles were crafted after significant input from staff, parents, community, and students. One of those principles reads "We believe in a culture that promotes collaboration, civility, mutual trust, and community partnerships."

In support of that belief, the administration of the CHCCS will be initiating focused dialogues in an effort to engage parents in meaningful conversations on important issues that impact our schools. Furthermore, it is our intent to provide parent representatives with accurate information about current initiatives. The PTA Council offered a number of suggestions regarding the make-up of these dialogue groups.

In order to maintain a workable group, it has been suggested that for an elementary school issue, for example, no more than four individuals from each school will be selected. At least one representative should come from the School Improvement Team and one from the PTA. Depending on the issue, a faculty representative may also be included. Other parent representatives would be selected from the general school community. All parents and community members are welcome to attend as there will be an opportunity for those who are not at the discussion tables to share input electronically.

"The focused dialogue model has been used in other school districts with tremendous success," said Superintendent Tom Forcella. "Parents and community members have an opportunity to discuss issues in greater depth and collaborate on recommendations."

A pilot focused parent dialogue will be conducted on the topic, "Enrollment Levels at Glenwood Elementary School." All elementary schools are asked to participate as potential solutions could ultimately impact some or all elementary schools. The event is set for 6:00 p.m. on December 2, 2013, in the East Chapel Hill High Commons.

This particular topic generated significant input from parents at the November 7, 2013 Board of Education meeting and is not slated to come back to the Board until January. The December 2 focused dialogue will provide sufficient time for the administration to combine the input from this session with other available information in order to make a recommendation to the Board of Education.

It is important to know that the parent dialogue is not meant to keep people out, but rather to invite a more representative parent voice in the decision-making process. As always, parents may utilize all the existing communication avenues such as email and public comment to voice their opinion. The parent dialogues simply add another layer to the conversation.

Thank you for your consideration as we attempt to improve communications with parents and community.

 

Date: 

Monday, December 2, 2013 - 6:00pm

Location: 

East Chapel Hill High School

Advisory Boards

Last night the Town Council postponed their discussion of the new Advisory Boards until tonight 11/26 after the Central West Plan which begins at 6PM. I've emailed my suggestions but hope others will attend or write comments.

Come Beta Test the New OP!

After a considerable amount of work, we're pleased to announce that the next iteration of OrangePolitics is now entering a public beta. Please check it out and let us know what you think! Feel free to log in, mess around, look for old content, and try out posting and commenting! The site reflects a pull of our current database which I made about a week ago. Related, if you have recently changed your password, the change may not be reflected on the new site; if you're having trouble logging in, let me know and I'd be happy to help!

What kind of County Manager do we need now?

As you hopefully know, Orange County is in the process of looking for a new Manager to lead the county government. Last week OP editor Molly De Marco attended the first session along with CHCCSS School Board Member James Barrett and probable County Commissioner candidate Mark Marcoplos. And that's it. No-one else attended the meeting. The second meeting was held last night in Hillsborough, but I was not able to make it (as I had hoped to do) and I doubt many other did in that miserable weather!

Personally, I think the most important trait in a government leader is a dedication to democracy and open government. There are many more priorities, but if a good leader listens to the people of the county then those things will follow.

Down But Not Out

Hi all, I would like to clarify my statement made to WCHL on election night, I said im resigning from Chapel Hill politics, But  I did not rule out the possibility of running  for public office again on the  county, state, or federal level. This may or may not  happen sooner or later. Thank you, Gary Kahn
 

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