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I don't think I ever met him but Daniel Okun's name often came up whenever you heard about activism around the environment, peace, or civil rights. Okun passed away on Monday. He was 90.

He also has left us a wonderful legacy through the next generation of his family, many of whom are great activists in their own right. My thoughts go out to the whole Okun clan. The entire community truly benefited from Okun's long tenure in Chapel Hill and we fortunate to have him with as long as we did.

What do y'all think about the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership's new "Real Change from Spare Change" program? Folks have been talking for years about something like this to discourage "panhandling." The idea is to encourage folks to give money at approved kiosks instead of directly to individuals, and to use the money to help homeless people to get connected with the services they need.

Ever since living in Miami in the 80's when I got asked for money on every block, I personally decided to never give money to individuals in the street. It seems unfair to only help some (who randomly asked me) and not all who equally need help. I wish no-one ever had to ask for money, it's an unpleasant experience for all involved. I've also heard anecdotal stories about people being harassed for money downtown, which is clearly a problem, although I don't know how widespread it really is.