Blogs

In the past here on OrangePolitics, we have discussed whether endorsements matter, and made fun of candidates' yard signs (both of which I hope we will do again this year). Now that candidate websites are becoming more common, the Chapel Hill Herald has started the conversation about whether an online presence makes a difference in local campaigns. (And they have helped me complete the web site listings for the OP Election Guide, thanks!)

For the readers who are not at the Sierra Club's Hillsborough Candidate Forum right now (and that's all of you except for one) I am reporting live from the Battle Courtroom.

I was very disappointed (and a little shocked) to learn that only one candidate in each of the races - Mayor and Town Board - is attending the forum. But it's more understandable when you realize that this is the very first time the Sierra Club has done a Hillsborough forum. Plus this is just not the same political environment as Chapel Hill and Carrboro, where environmentalism is the norm.

Kudos to Town Board incumbent Mike Gehring (in old-timey politician bow tie) and Mayoral challenger Tom Stevens (in 80's modern t-shirt & blazer) just for being here!

I will report more on the forum if anything notable happens.

Filmmakers Len Morris and Robin Romano will discuss child labor around the globe tonight at 7.30 pm in Memorial Hall on the UNC campus. This lecture is free, open to the public, and will include never before seen footage of the conditions in which children labor so the rest of us can have carpets, coffee, and--in the US--fruits and vegetables. These are award-winning filmmakers doing front-line activism--worth the trip in to town.

You can meet the filmmakers at a reception celebrating Robin Romano's photographs this afternoon at 4 pm; room 039, the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in Graham Memorial.