Category: OrangeCounty

  • Voting NO on 2011 Orange County 1/4ct Sales Tax

    I did a recent WCHL 1360 commentary reiterating my reasons for voting NO this year for Orange County’s .25% sales tax bump. Basically, it comes down to a lack of fairness and skewed spending priorities. For some odd technical reason, my commentary isn’t posted on WCHL’s website. I have a copy here (MP3) for readers […]

  • Support Our Local Farmers

    A last minute request of support for Orange County’s agricultural community. The PFAP program is working “to create a strong base to help launch and grow new food-businesses in the Piedmont, focusing on a 75 mile radius in all directions.” Orange County is home to a wide variety of farms producing specialty items for the […]

  • Snobarista

    I haven’t been a big coffee drinker since my days on the engineering mezzanine at Northern Telecom (I never met a bunch of folks that could guzzle joe like Northern’s engineers). The last decade, though, I easily go a month without drinking some form of coffee; a double bang cappuccino with extra foamy milk being […]

  • Whereas What’s The Best Use Of The Sales Tax Increase?

    I’ve had several folks ask me about my suggested and rejected changes to the recent Democratic Party resolution supporting the 1/4 cent sales tax increase (Orange County Dems: Thanks for the Consideration…). This is a terrible year to raise any tax yet the Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) decided 4/5/2011 (VIDEO [my comments at […]

  • Orange County Dems: Thanks for the Consideration…

    Among the many other activities going on today was the Orange County Democratic Party all-precinct convention. Quite a turnout with many familiar faces. Local heavyweights US Rep. David Price, former State House Speaker Joe Hackney and House colleague Verla Insko along with State Senator Ellie Kinnaird (who changed a tire on the way to the […]

  • OWASA: Penalizing Conservation

    The Carrboro Citizen has another report on Carrboro’s BOA’s decision not to amend the inter-local agreement governing access to Lake Jordan water. I was bothered by this passage: Board member Joal Hall Broun said the issue was not the lake water, but freeing up OWASA in the event of emergencies and allowing the utility to […]

  • Zoned Out

    Spent a tad more than 5 hours discussing zoning and zoning related issues today. Had an incredible work session with UNC’s Counter-Cartographies Collective (www.countercartographies.org), who “seek to create collaborations for engaged research and cartography — transforming the conditions of how we think, write and map and the conditions about which we think, write and map.” […]

  • Election 2010: Sales Tax Referendum

    [UPDATE 2] The referendum is shelved with a margin of over 1,000 votes. Next up, the transit tax referendum. [UPDATE 3] Just listened to a really inept analysis of the sales tax referendum problems on WCHL. WCHL is usually ridiculously deferential to Aaron Nelson of the local Chamber of Commerce – rarely calls him out […]

  • Election 2010: Lincoln & Library

    As of 6pm Lincoln Center was at 241 voters, a better than expected turnout for this year’s mid-term. As of 6:35pm the Library weighed in at 647 voters, lagging Caldwell. Considering that Estes Hills precinct had a large early voting contingent, the numbers on the ground there are not necessarily indicative of voter disinterest. I […]

  • Election 2010: Caldwell Precinct Turnout

    Quick update on Caldwell precinct located in north Orange County near Rougemont. I handed out Democratic party voter guides from 9:30am until 4:00pm to a steady and heavy stream of voters. With over 680 voters clocking in by 4pm, the precinct was trending towards a very healthy showing – a possible total for today of […]

  • Nov. 2nd, 2010 Election

    In case there’s any confusion, Morgan Freeman had nothing to do with this post! I’ll be helping the Orange County Democratic Party over at the Caldwell precinct in northern Orange County from 9:30am to 4:00pm. Drop by if you’re in the area. Over the last week I’ve received emails asking my recommendations for the judicial […]

  • A Busier Week: University Square Meeting, Aug. 18th

    In listing the roll of important events this coming week, I accidentally left out one that promises to be quite interesting. Cousins Properties Inc., which is leading the redevelopment of University Square for Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings Inc., will host a public meeting Wednesday, Aug. 18, to discuss the long-term vision for the […]

  • Coming Events: Summer Slumber? Not!

    Summer in Chapel Hill can be somewhat slow as far as community initiatives. Council is on hiatus. UNC downshifts. Most folks have their hands full dealing with the heat, their jobs, kids home from school, vacations. Summer, though, is not always a time for sluggish vigilance. For instance, I learned many years ago UNC’s favored […]

  • IFC Community House: Balanced Social Services?

    One of the common criticisms of the Inter-Faith Council’s (IFC) proposed Community House site is that the Homestead area of Chapel Hill already hosts more than it’s fair (“a four letter word for responsible growth”) share of social services. Is that the case? The IFC and UNC’s School of Social Work put together this map […]

  • A Special Request For A Special Cause

    Elaine and Lee are my next door neighbors. I’m usually hesitant to participate in these corporate campaigns but….the need is there and Elaine and Lee are working hard to address the growing demand for recreational opportunities for special needs folks in this community. That was enough to get me beyond my initial trepidation. Please consider […]