Environment

Community involvement fails its first test

In the most likely scenario that Charterwood will be approved tonight,  Chapel Hill citizens may choose to make some conclusions about the future of citizen input into how OUR town grows.

Despite significant environmental impact (not only to Eastwood Lake and Lake Ellen but to the Booker Creek headwater streams and the old growth trees), the disregard for neighborhood protection, the bastardization of process, the economic shakiness of the proposed plan, the reversal of affordable housing goals, the widespread public objections, the applicant’s frequent “misstatements,” and the precedent setting nature of the approval, Charterwood is virtually assured of passage.

What does this presage for the 2020 Future Focus Areas?  Will citizens, once again, be involved in busy work?  Will their work, like the work of citizens involved in the original Southern Small Area Plan,  the Northern Area Task Force, and 2020 be ignored?

"Dream Up Downtown" with the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership is ramping up YOUR involvement in the Chapel Hill downtown with the "Dream Up Downtown Walks." These walks are moving conversations to explore and engage in our downtown. The walks are on the first Thursday of September, October, November and December, beginning at 6 pm at the University Baptist Church Memorial Garden at the corner of Franklin Street and Columbia Street.

Not Ready to Cheer CH2020

As the June 25 deadline for completion and possible adoption of Chapel Hill’s new comprehensive plan draws near, kudos and congratulatory pats on the back abound. Unfortunately, I am not able to join in the current Chapel Hill 2020 lovefest. While there are many positive points that can be made, the final product is certainly not shaping up to be anything we should celebrate.

CH2020 co-chairs George Cianciolo and Rosemary Waldorf have touted this process of creating a new plan as “our people’s vision” with “a wide-open opportunity to break with the old ways of doing business.” Additionally, at the May 21 Chapel Hill Town Council meeting, there were but a few exceptions to the parade of valentines for the 2020 leadership and town staff.

There is no doubt that a great deal of time and effort on the part of a lot of people went into this thing. I certainly applaud the months of arduous work and self-sacrifice by all of those involved. However, let me suggest an alternative, far less rosy perspective of the 2020 process and its resulting document.

This Week: Just Do It!: A Tale of Modern Day Outlaws! & Deep Green Resistance Roadshow

Do you want to seel real change in the word and in the way we live on this planet?  Are you tired of hearing about species going extinct everyday, methane plumes in the Antarctic, dead zones in the ocean?  Would you like to meet more people like yourself, and create a reinvigorated movement.  If so, then you're in luck, because there are two events coming up this week in Chapel Hill for you!

Thursday  June 21st, free screening of the documentary film Just Do It! A Tale of Modern Day Outlaws 7 p.m.  405 W. Franklin St.@ Internationalist Books

Saturday June 23rd, a presentation by the Deep Green Resistance Roadshow from Wisconsin 7 p.m. @ Internationalist Books 405 W. Franklin St.

 Descriptions below:

Go Chapel Hill - Carrboro Annual Spring Roll Cruiser Ride

Go Chapel Hill - Carrboro presents the Annual Spring Roll Cruiser Ride. Cyclists are invited to meet at the Wallace Deck, 150 E. Rosemary St., at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 18, for the annual cruiser ride. This no cost event is open to families (2 miles) as well as cruisers (8 miles) to enjoy the spring weather and help promote riding a bike for work, errands and play. There is no registration fee. William Dawson's Band will kick off the evening along with contests, fun and food! Bring your bike, dress it up for the Most Outrageous Bike Contest and wear your most fun cycling clothes!!!

Come and learn how to load your bike onto transit buses from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 19, at the Farmer's Market at University Mall, 120 S. Estes Drive. Enjoy this no cost workshop, get your name in the hat for a drawing and enjoy a quick tour of a Chapel Hill Transit Bus! If you can't bring a bike, come by anyway. a bike will be provided to show you the technique.

For more information on these events call 919-969-5065.

Date: 

Friday, May 18, 2012 - 5:30pm to 8:00pm

Location: 

Wallace Deck, 150 E. Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill

Pages

 

Community Guidelines

By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.

 

Content license

By contributing to OrangePolitics, you agree to license your contributions under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Creative Commons License

 
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by WeebPal.