January 2014

January 2014 Open Editors Meeting

Submitted by Molly De Marco on January 2, 2014 - 10:58am

Date: 

Sunday, January 5, 2014 - 12:00pm to 2:00pm

Location: 

Bread & Butter (on Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill)

What should we be watching for in 2014?

Submitted by OP Editors on January 2, 2014 - 12:15pm

A lot happened in local politics in Orange County in 2013 and Orange Politics covered much of it (as noted in a previous post). There's bound to be quite a bit of action in 2014 as well. Kirk Ross had some ideas over in the Chapel Hill News about issues to watch for. What do you think will be the big stories? What should we all be paying attention to?

February 2014 Open Editors Meeting

Submitted by Travis Crayton on January 5, 2014 - 1:52pm

Date: 

Sunday, February 9, 2014 - 12:00pm to 2:00pm

Location: 

The Tiger Room, Carrboro

Carrboro Planning Board Chair, Bethany Chaney, Enters Race for Alderperson

Submitted by OP Editors on January 6, 2014 - 3:03pm

Cold Weather and libraries

Submitted by ldhintz on January 7, 2014 - 3:24pm
Today there was a 2 hour delay for the public schools because of the cold weather. Carl got up at the usual time and walked to Southern Village to see a friend. I biked to the UNC campus and visited the Science Library Annex in Wilson. It's been a while since I have been there. The departamental libraries (Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Geology etc.) have been combined.    A number of books are now in storage including many of the tropical birds books by Alexander Skutch. I was sad to see that many of the paper jounals are gone: the bound volumes of the classical ornithology journals have been discarded. I can't dojournal browsing anymore. (Since I am not a UNC student, I can't access the electronic journals.) I then explored the new eating places on Franklin (and overheard one conversation: room is locked, don't have the key, room mate isn't back with key due to cancelled flights.) The bike ride home was nice and cold. Hope the freeze kills the ticks and zancudos.

Mia Burroughs to Run for County Commissioner

Submitted by Travis Crayton on January 10, 2014 - 7:04am

Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board member Mia Burroughs will seek the Orange County commissioner seat being vacated by Commissioner Alice Gordon, OrangePolitics has confirmed.

Guns in Parks: Wrong for Chapel Hill

Submitted by leestorrow on January 12, 2014 - 12:00pm

On Monday night, the Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss complying with new state laws passed by the General Assembly in 2013 that specify that cites and towns cannot bar concealed handguns in parks and greenways (House Bill 937, now Session Law 2013-369). We’ve received many e-mails from community members who are concerned about this new law, but unfortunately we have limited ability as a Town Council to react to these changes. Many cities and towns in North Carolina have struggled to figure out how to come into compliance with these new laws. In Asheville and Durham, their City Councils unanimously passed resolutions in opposition to these new laws. The town of Kernersville attempted to keep up their signs banning guns in parks, but recently chose to remove them after pressure from the group Grass Roots North Carolina, who threatened to sue the town if Kernersville did not change the signs. Discussions about gun violence and the second amendment have taken on a new intensity in our country in the last year. These issues at times can be polarizing, but the nuances are

Chatham Park and water quality

Submitted by ldhintz on January 12, 2014 - 1:32pm

Thursday I attended a Sierra Club meeting in Pittsboro and learned more about the water issues associated with the huge Chatham Park development. The local goverment of Pittsboro will be deciding what happens there. First the area watershed has rare or endangered species of fresh water mussels and tiny fish called shiners. Of course it drains into Jordan Lake which is already impaired.   The state government has delayed the Jordan Lake water protection rules and has created a weird situation where if communities want to have better environmental rules they  will have to enact them this year with a 100% agreement vote. Also the state has reduced funding and resources for the state agencies that monitor and protect our water. Originally after hearing the Triangle Realtor presentation last summer I thought Chatham Park (for 55,000 people) was a done deal. I think there are a lot of reasons for believing it can not be that big. Much of land has streams and steep elevation and if logical stream buffers and slope rules are used that would limit what can be developed. The original proposal would result in population density and percentage

This Week in Orange Politics: January 13-19

Submitted by OP Editors on January 13, 2014 - 9:54am
We're trying something new for the new year. Each week we'll post what will be happening in the coming days in Orange County politics. What will you be talking about this week? Tell us in the comments.
 
CARRBORO
 
Monday, January 13th
  • 6:30 pm Arts Commission, Rm 1 Century Center
  • 7:15 pm Open Streets Planning Meeting, Rec & Parks Department
  • 7:30 p.m. Northern Transition Area Advisory Committee, Rm.

CHCCS votes to expand Mandarin Dual Language

Submitted by laurad on January 17, 2014 - 4:36pm

Thoughts? 

 

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