Citizen Will

Tag: Downtown

  • A Plaza for All? Looking for Chapel Hill’s Public Commons

    Last night I made a few remarks to Council before they codified a series of restrictions on the use of Peace and Justice Plaza Downtown by organized and disorganized activist. We renamed the small patch of ground outside the Downtown post office to Peace and Justice Plaza to honor its central place in Chapel Hill’s […]

  • Recreation Fee Reduced Redux

    Last month I took my concerns about the proposed recreation fee structure amendments to Council (Parks Impact Fee: How Many (More) Goodies Do High Density Developers Need?). Tonight, Council revisits the proposal for possibly the last time. Unfortunately, the issues I raised Oct. 18th were ignored by staff. The reason I petition Council at their […]

  • Tar Heel Basketball, Proven Excellence

    Though I wished UNC had clinched the ACC championship, tonight’s 89-72 stomping of Michigan State provided a conclusive and satisfying end to UNC’s great 2009 basketball season. In case you haven’t heard the rumble rolling forth from Downtown, UNC fans are as jubilant as the players. I’ve had the uncanny luck to have seen the […]

  • Halloween 2008 on a Diet

    Wow! A %50 reduction in this years Halloween crowd. The Town of Chapel Hill successfully reduced the size of the Halloween event on Franklin Street with an estimated showing of 35,000. Town Manager Roger L. Stancil said he believed the “Homegrown Halloween” campaign assisted in reducing the number of revelers, and strategies implemented by Chapel […]

  • Oct. 30th: Downtown Parking Forum

    As a member of the Town’s Downtown Parking Task Force I lobbied vigorously for a baseline study of parking conditions Downtown. Why? The data covering typical parking patterns was spotty at best. Further, there was no adequate model to plug any data into to analyze suggested improvements. A year on the Downtown Partnership is rolling […]

  • Election 2007: Money on the Street

    X-posted from my campaign website. “Eyes on the street” in one of the key mantras the incumbents substitute for a solid financial analysis of the economic benefits of their publicly underwritten million dollar Downtown condos. Supposedly the $8.5 million tax dollars (so far) and land worth $5-8 million ($13.5-16.5 million) will help increase Downtown’s minuscule […]

  • Election 2007: Friends of Affordable Housing Questionnaire

    X-Posted from my campaign website. I hadn’t heard of this organization prior to this election but they appear to have been active for the last 10 years. Friends of Affordable Housing is a non-partisan Political Action Committee that has been active in selective elections within Orange County during the last 10 year. The organization was […]

  • Election 2007: Chapel Hill News Candidate Questionnaire

    Here’s my answers to the Chapel Hill News candidate questionnaire. If the answers seem a bit terse, it’s because brevity was required. POLITICAL PARTY AND EXPERIENCE: 2005 Candidate for Town Council Town Advisory Boards: Horace-William’s Citizen Comm., Downtown Parking Task Force, Technology Board Other: Community Independent Expansion Comm. , Friends of Lincoln Arts Center While […]

  • Election 2007: Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth

    This year the NRG decided to vet the candidates via email. In 2005 they held interviews and presented the audio responses. Trying to be thorough, I went a bit overboard this year. Figuring no one would want to wade through 10 pages of answers, I tried to boil down this final response to the NRG. […]

  • Election 2007: Chapel Hill’s Diminished Environmental Credibility

    I’ve been clear – our Town’s ability to negotiate with UNC and other developers on environmental standards (or pretty much any other issue) is directly related to how well we practice what we preach. Southern Park is a great example. The Mayor and the incumbents (sans Jim Ward) thought the difficult decision was to authorize […]

  • Tracey Coleman on Rogers Road: Most Popular Video To Date

    At 1460 hits, this video is by and far the most popular one I’ve posted on youTube. No surprise to me as Tracey did an incredibly eloquent presentation on the flawed Solid Waste Advisory Board’s search for a new trash transfer site.

  • Election 2007: League Of Women Voters Forum

    A big thank you to the local chapter of the League of Women Voters for an excellent forum this evening. Vicki Boyer, who occasionally posts on OrangePolitics kept the show moving along with a variety of audience questions. Unlike the Sierra Club forum, the environmental and social justice issues surrounding our neighbors out on Rogers […]

  • Visions of Avalon

    Last night there was an unfortunate and possibly gang-related incident at Rosemary Street’s Visions nightclub. At approximately 1:00 a.m. this morning officers responded to a report of gun shots at Visions Night Club located at 136 E. Rosemary Street. Multiple shots were reportedly fired from a handgun by an unidentified black male suspect after a […]

  • Hail to Our New Chief: Brian Curran Takes the Helm

    [UPDATE:] Not 15 minutes went by before I got the chance to congratulate Chief Curran in person. He was making his rounds through the Northside neighborhood (I noticed him rolling around Town before – he doesn’t seem to be much of a desk jockey). [ORIGINAL] I’ve had an opportunity to meet Brian in a few […]

  • Election 2007: Sierra Club Interview

    X-Posted from Will Raymond for Town Council 2007: The local Orange-Chatham Sierra Club participates in the local election process two ways: endorsing candidates and sponsoring a forum. Last Sunday, Chairman Bernadette Pelissier, Political Chair Loren Hintz and member Matthew Scheer interviewed me on behalf of the Sierra Club to determine if I qualified for an […]