Tag Archives: Community

ChapelHill, Community, LocalArts, Ruminations, Transportation

Halloween means Helicopters

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5:33pm, Tuesday, Oct. 31st, 2006, Halloween in downtown Chapel Hill means helicopters.

As I stepped out of my building at the corner of Church and Franklin streets, the first portent of tonight’s Chapel Hill-o-ween was the thrumming beat of helicopter blades. Two of the beast hovered high above downtown’s Franklin in a vain attempt to suss out the scope of tonight’s festivities. Why vain? Downtown was fairly quiet as the clouds continue to roll in and a very light drizzle falls.

Farther from town center, several apartment complexes appeared to be charging for parking. Town staff were busy setting out barrels. And the large portable traffic signs were positioned for action.

In years past the hubbub of Halloween is clearly audible from my home. With tonight’s anticipated record crowds the best way to see the action is to take the bus.

Realtime bus information available HERE.

On Tuesday, October 31, 2006, Tar Heel Express service will be provided to support the Halloween event. Buses will run from the following locations:

* Friday Center parking lot
* Jones Ferry park-n-ride lot
* Southern Village park-n-ride lot
* University Mall parking lot

Trips will begin at 9:00 PM and run until 2:30 AM. The cost is $5.00 per round trip, $3.00 one-way.
Chapel Hill Transit will also operate a modified service for the following night routes: D, J, NU, & TG

* D will end at 8:51 pm at Franklin @ Estes
* J will end at 8:56pm at Rock Creek Apts.
* NU will end at 8:56 pm at Carolina Coffee Shop
* TG will end at 9:20 pm University Mall.

For service concerning any of the information, please contact Chapel Hill Transit at (919) 968 – 2769.

Chapel Hill on Halloween is quite a sight. Please take your time, take care and, if you think of it, post some pics on Flickr using the tags “halloween”, “chapel hill”, “2006”.

ChapelHill, Community, EconomicDevelopment, Ruminations

Downtown’s Homeless: What is the message? Who is the messenger?

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…whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me…

While I was in Boston last week, the DPC’s (Downtown Partnership) Kiosk Giving Task Force morphed into the Downtown Outreach Work Group.

As the next step, the Downtown Outreach Work Group recommends a public-private partnership effort amongst the Town of Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina, the Downtown Partnership, the human service agencies, the downtown property and business owners, religious organizations, the media and others, to jointly develop “the message” to request that citizens not give money to panhandlers in downtown Chapel Hill but to encourage them to give to the agencies that address the human service needs of downtown.

Once the message is clearly articulated, then the means and materials needed to address the target audiences will be identified. This is similar to efforts across the country typically called Real Change Not Spare Change campaigns. Raleigh is our closest neighbor that has adopted this program.  In Denver, they have adopted the Give A Better Way campaign, www.giveabetterway.com; and there are a number of other variations on this type of educational initiative.

Though encouraging on the face of it, I’m a bit troubled that this Town-sponsored group has taken on the “official” mantle of managing downtown’s homeless population issue with very little discussion.

The DPC’s charter is business-oriented, their issues business-directed. Panhandling is antithetical to their core directives. I’m concerned that this in-built bias won’t result in further draconian efforts to drive “undesirables” from downtown.

Today’s thoughtful analysis by Council member Sally Greene highlights the potential pitfalls in her excellent post Panhandling and Community Values.

Not all approaches are appropriate as Malcolm Gladwell’s recent New Yorker article “MILLION-DOLLAR MURRAY:Why problems like homelessness may be easier to solve than to manage.” points out.

Sure, I doubt our community would stand for criminalizing homeless support programs ala Las Vegas’ criminalizing feeding the hungry but it might blindly accept the recommendations of an important sounding group, like the Downtown Partnership, whose make-up and charter are not representative of the town as a whole.

CitizenWill, Community, Elections, LocalPolitics, OrangeCounty, Ruminations

Soundbite: Carey, CitizenWill and the 2006 Redistricting Referendum

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WCHL1360 caught a small taste [MP3] of Wednesday’s “debate”.

I’ve since heard the radio ad promoting,to some small extent (and, hopefully, unintentionally), the referendum. Besides surmounting all the advertising – radio, print – the layout of the ballot will probably prove to be the hardest obstacle to overcome. As someone (thanks) pointed out to me, most folks will read the first sentence describing the expansion of the board to seven members – something I agree with – and skip all the rest of the legalese. My concern? That on this strategic layout alone will the referendum be decided.

Community, Elections, Government, LocalPolitics, Ruminations

WCHL Commentary: Oct. 24th Superior Court and BOCC Voluntary Campaign Finance Disclosure

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More on this issue later.

Here’s the text of my Oct. 19th WCHL1360 commentary:

This week, I am asking candidates for this years Superior Court and Board of Commissioner races to voluntarily report their campaign finances by Wednesday, October 24th.

The last we heard about campaign fund-raising was June 30th.

At that time we discovered that one of our commissioner candidates was well on track to nearly double or more the previous record for election contributions. And much of that money came from out of the county.

Four months ago we also discovered that another local campaign record was in jeopardy as a couple of our Superior Court candidates raced towards the $100,000 mark.

Judge’s Anderson and Fox had raised and spent roughly the same amount of money. $25K for Anderson, $28K for Fox.

Judge Baddour, campaigning hard to retain his appointment to the bench, had raised $56K – $150 from myself.

But beyond all the candidates, celebrated Attorney Adam Stein, with a steady flow of $100 or more contributions, had raised $82K.

What has happened since? October 24th we can find out.

3 days after the end of the 3rd quarter reporting period.
6 days prior to the date the reports must be post-marked.
14 days before the election.

A voluntary disclosure of campaign finance activities will enhance our publics confidence in our election process

A voluntary disclosure also measures our candidates willingness to promote greater transparency in our justice and political systems.

Oct. 24th, our local voters deserve a timely report of our candidates campaign finances.

And here’s my “breathy” delivery [MP3]..

It sounds like I delivered my statement after chugging up a couple flights of stairs, which in a sense, I did (ran in during my lunch break from work – and tried to squeeze too much content into too little time).

Thanks Ron Stutts for the opportunity to raise a general election issue.

ChapelHill, Community, EconomicDevelopment, OrangeCounty, Ruminations

Homestead Twins: Joint Hearing Oct. 19th

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Homestead Road is becoming quite the corridor. Stretching roughly east-west along the Chapel Hill/Carrboro urban boundary, the road, already servicing several developments and schools, will become a vital connector to UNC’s Carolina North (whether we want it to or not).

Tonight the Town Council and Orange County Commissioners will hold a rare joint zoning hearing to review a proposed development, Homestead Twins, on the corner of Seawell School Rd. and Homestead. While the development, with its 72 “twin” townhouses – some sized over 2000 sq./ft. – will obviously add to the traffic load on Homestead, the applicant has made a fairly decent case for pedestrian transit. The Town’s Comprehensive Plan emphasizes walkability, and with nearby schools, Homestead Park and the new Senior center, residents should have plenty to do within a quick jaunt.

Further pluses are the developers commitment to set aside %20 of the units for affordable housing and preservation of over %60 of the 21.5 acres as open space.

Further information for tonights 7:30pm hearing is here, background on the application is here [PDF].

Carrboro, ChapelHill, CitizenWill, CivilLiberties, Community, Government, Hillsborough, LocalPolitics, Media, OrangeCounty, Ruminations, Technology

Here comes the Judge: Superior Court District 15B Oct. 16th Bar Forum

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There were 20+ folks tonight – with a couple from the media – maybe 4 or 5 organizers – some town staff and the balance being interested citizens. I was already convinced that District 15B voters have a heck of slate of candidates before them – tonight I was more impressed than ever.

Very simply – we can’t lose. Of course, we have to pick and the candidates did a good job differentiating their philosophies, approaches, procedures and performance.

Due to what turned out to be poor placement of the camera and some technical issues I botched Adam Steins opening statement. In my defense, I set my camera up early – on a tripod as per BrianR’s excellent recommendation – well away from onlookers and the moderator. But then “dancin’ Doyle” decide to move stage right. By that point, my bobbing photographic nemesis for the night had taken the high ground.

Opening statements in reverse order appearance on the ballot. Essentially, Adam Stein reviewed his service before the bar, his work on the Mel Watt and Daryl Hunt cases and laid out his career as per the first forum.

I apologize for cutting Judge Fox off during question on political parties influence: essentially he gave a reprise of his answer on parties and politics from the 1st forum.

Some interesting highlights.

  • Anderson on reforming the system for selecting judges – especially the perception of the public about what the effect of money has on jurisprudence.
  • Anderson on keeping current with the law.
  • Stein taking up the transition challenge with his closing statement.
  • Stein on why he’s punctual now – great story of his youth.
  • Fox on managing high profile cases.
  • Baddour on how a short term can hurt our system of justice.
  • Baddour on direct outreach and keeping the “common Joe” in the picture.

Again, I apologize to the candidates for weaving around, botching the focus, not anticipating “dancing Doyle” and, in Mr. Stein’s case, completely zapping a segment. I’m working to get better at this vLog business.

And to my readership, thanks for the feedback. I wasn’t sure if these videos would have any utility.

Carrboro, ChapelHill, CitizenWill, CivilLiberties, Community, Government, Hillsborough, LocalPolitics, Media, OrangeCounty, Ruminations, Technology

Oct. 16th Superior Court 15B Forum: Opening

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Opening statements. I botched Mr. Stein’s statement. Later this week I hope to retrieve a video copy from the cable telecast.

youTube link to opening statements.

Carrboro, ChapelHill, CitizenWill, Community, Government, Ruminations

Oct. 16th Superior Court 15B Forum: Stein’s Short Term

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This was one of the most interesting questions of the evening. Essentially, what did the candidates think if Mr. Stein was elected to serve only 2+ years of an 8 year term.

Judge Anderson dodged and weaved. Judge Fox left it to the people. Mr. Stein defended the propriety. Judge Baddour, in the most direct and thoughtful response, spoke of how a short-term can harm the system around justice – that beyond the public interest, litigants and court personnel alike will be impacted.

youTube link to video on Mr. Stein’s “built-in” obsolescence – a pre-determined exit less than 1/3 of a way through his term.