Citizen Will

Month: April 2011

  • Northside Memories

    A couple excellent student driven articles on Northside appeared this week. Carrboro Commons’ Megan Gassaway published this article which reviews the history of the Northside community through long time resident Ms. Keith Edwards eyes. Too often local media focuses narrowly on the business of carving up the community rather than providing a broader context – […]

  • Au Revoir Steve Stewart

    Unlike snobaristas, in my experience Carrboro’s current Town Manager Steve Stewart has consistently provided professional service with a friendly and personalized touch. Tuesday Steve announced he was moving on. Hired in 2003, he helped add resiliency and flexibility to Carrboro’s management structure – the qualities the fast growing Paris of the Piedmont needed to survive […]

  • 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 […]

  • Another Splash in Lake Jordan

    Quick update on last week’s post Easthom: Let’s Revisit Lake Jordan. Several weeks ago Chapel Hill approved an amendment to language of the 2001 Water and Sewer Management, Planning and Agreement (WSMPBA) which gave OWASA much more leeway in tapping OWASA’s 5 million gallon per day (5Mg/d) allocation from Lake Jordan. At that time there […]

  • Phase I 2011 Affordable Housing Community Outreach Wraps Up

    Today is the final meeting in a several week series of outreach sessions seeking community input to help formulate a new Affordable Housing Strategy for Chapel Hill. Staff sought advice from a broad range of local residents – from current affordable housing residents to professionals managing a wide variety of community programs. Council, after a […]

  • 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 […]

  • Easthom: Let’s Revisit Lake Jordan

    Tomorrow Council member Laurin Easthom is petitioning her colleagues to sharpen up their decision to allow Orange Water and Sewer (OWASA) tap Lake Jordan for less than dire and near catastrophic need. Several weeks ago Chapel Hill approved an amendment to language of the 2001 Water and Sewer Management, Planning and Agreement (WSMPBA) which gave […]

  • SWABbing Together

    [UPDATE] Valerie said she was “appalled” not “ashamed”. Turns out so is the Chapel Hill News. Tomorrow night Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt will petition his colleagues to appoint a representative to participate in discussions with the County’s Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) on the future of the Interlocal Agreement on Solid Waste Management. That agreement, coordinating […]

  • Charterwood Proposal: A Forest without Trees

    This Monday (Apr. 11th,2011), the Council will have the first of two hearings on the Charterwood development. This proposed development supposedly aligns with the goals set forth in both the Town’s aged Comprehensive Plan and the problematic Northern Area Plan. I’ve read well over a hundred of planning proposals the last decade and have seen […]

  • 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 […]

  • Think Blue: Baldwin Park Bolin Creek Restoration Commemoration

    Though the day was grey, this morning’s formal commemoration of the end of the current phase of Baldwin Park’s stream restoration project was well attended by local pols: Carrboro Alderman Randee Haven-O’Donnel, Lydia Lavelle, Sammy Slade, Chapel Hill’s Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Council member Donna Bell (who lives a few steps away from the park) […]

  • Think Blue: Four Toes in the Creek

    Local environmentalist and incredible photographer Mary Sonis has made a stunning discovery in her backyard. Below is a rare 4 toed salamander, “a species of special concern in North Carolina” (to quote her excited announcement). Mary contacted an expert at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Sciences who said he had never seen one […]

  • Think Blue: Earth Action Day Apr. 9th, 2011

    Bolin Creek Restoration Project from Town of Chapel Hill, NC Our community spends a lot of time talking “green”. We’ve encouraged developers and policy makers alike to commit, with some success, to an environmentally sustainable future. Most of the effort has been put into conserving energy, lowering the impact of development, preserving green-space and securing […]

  • Trash Talk: The Neverending Story…Ends?

    [UPDATE:] WCHL’s Elizabeth Friend has a great summation here. Over a decade ago, just as I was beginning to get involved in local issues, I heard then local NAACP President Fred Black and Roger Road resident Rev. Robert Campbell brief Council on the fairly extensive list of negative impacts our landfill was having on the […]