Dan Coleman's blog
Well, I don't believe Ray Gronberg is gone to Durham never to be heard from in Orange again. Neil Offen did report today that Ray has been reassigned to a Durham County beat. Unfortunately Neil's piece is not available through the on-line edition.
Ray does have a great memory of votes and issues over the years he's covered Orange. If you don't believe that, try having him edit your work on some of those issues! I still have some of the lengthy email exchanges to attest to it.
I'm sure, despite his Parkwood address and Durham beat, he'll be popping up on these pages from time to time to keep us honest.
Good luck, Ray.
Carrboro now has a competitive alderman election. Four candidates (at least) for three seats. The following accompanied Randee Haven-O'Donnell's announcement:
Today I filed for a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. As you know,
the November election will bring change to the longstanding leadership in
Carrboro. My experiences as a long time Carrboro resident, a teacher, and
community advocate have prepared me to be an effective voice for the
community.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday July 09, 2005
To hear Carrboro mayoral candid ates and incumbent Aldermen Mark Chilton and Alex Zaffron tell it, the election of one or the other will greatly influence the path Carrboro takes with certain key issues in the coming years.
For example, last week Chilton announced his campaign with the assertion that Carrboro's Northwest Small Area Plan needs to be rewritten. He said the plan does "not adequately protect Bolin Creek and it has attracted the most expensive sort of development." Chilton refers to a planning document that is closely identified with Zaffron, one of his signature achievements on the Board of Aldermen.
Zaffron, not showing any strong attachment to his work, agreed that it should be "updated, simplified, and strengthened."
Or, to take another case, Chilton wants "to rewrite a number of rules related to affordable housing," some of which are his opponent's handiwork.
Zaffron identifies no such rewriting but does want to "add new strategies to our toolbox" for affordable housing.
Neither of these are exactly headline grabbing disagreements.
According to Chapel Hill News Editor, Mark Schultz, Chamber of Commerce Director Aaron Nelson told him that our community is “a place where many people still think if you're a successful business person you're exploiting someone or destroying the environment.†(quote is Schultz paraphrasing Nelson)
Now, according to the Herald editors, I'm the farthest left person they know (a debatable point I suppose) and I don't think that. Nor am I aware of any who hold this belief.
So my question to Aaron is: do you really believe what you said to Schultz? if so, who are some of these "many people" you refer to? Or, did you, like Ed Harrison, inadvertently mislead Schultz and it's not your fault?
My question to Chamber members is: does it really serve your interests and your organization when your director makes such hyperbolic and divisive statements?
According to today's Herald,
the NAACP has selected Chapel Hill attorney Al McSurely as this year's winner of the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award. This is the highest honor the national civil rights group gives to an attorney.
McSurely is slated to receive the award July 11 at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's in Milwaukee.
Congratulations to Al on this well-deserved honor. For background on McSurely and some of the many reasons why he is deserving of this award, read the Herald article.
McSurely's winning this reward should be a sobering as well as a celebratory moment for our community. After all, to win an award like this from the NAACP, one must be active in a community where there is persistent racial discrimination.
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