Citizen Will

Tag: Downtown

  • Mark Zimmerman: Give Them a Home

    A nice follow up to Terri’s homeless census post is Mark Zimmerman’s My View column in the recent Chapel Hill News How do you solve the homeless problem? Give them a home. That almost sounds like a bad joke, doesn’t it? But it’s what the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness Steering Committee is about […]

  • Chapel Hill 2035

    [UPDATE] The Chapel Hill News’ OrangeChat noted the growth Mar. 5th. The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan Socio-Economic projections are in and, as Sally notes, they forecast a whopping increase in population. Table 1: Draft 2035 Plan Socio-Economic Projections Jurisdiction Population Employment 2005 2035 % inc. 2005 2035 % inc. […]

  • Giving Kiosk Out, Panhandling Meters In?

    Last year, the Downtown Partnership (DPC) commissioned a “giving kiosk” for Downtown. Callie Warner, my neighbor and metalsmith, designed what Liz Parham, Direcor of the DPC, described in this May 16th, 2006 Chapel Hill News column [PDF] as an “economic development tool”: This past week the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership carried a concept proposal for […]

  • Not Everyone Walks Across the Crosswalk

    Ellen, a small step in the right direction. From the Liz at the Downtown Partnership The Chapel Hill Public Works Department with assistance from White Oak Construction will be replacing handicap ramps at prominent downtown crosswalks in the following locations beginning on March 12: * Franklin Street at Columbia Street * Mid-block crosswalk at Porthole […]

  • Parking Downtown: Water, Water Everywhere, Nary a Drop to Drink

    I served on Chapel Hill’s Downtown Parking Taskforce, which wrapped up its business two weeks ago and which will be presenting its findings formally on Feb. 26th [AGENDA]. I meant to comment more frequently on our work but circumstances and some cautionary notes from staff intervened. It’s an interesting issue – how much of the […]

  • Treasonous Slime: I know how Howard feels…

    Used by Joe Killian’s kind permission. Automatic Writing’s Joe Killian caught NC’s Rep. Coble (R) returning to Greensboro after his finally joining in with the critics of Bush’s Iraq “surge” nuttiness. Howard, I’ve been part of the treasonous cabal protesting our actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan since the beginning – welcome to the our […]

  • Chapel Hill News: Crushed by Council’s Jagganath

    I commented Dec. 4th that the Lot #5 development juggernaut was powered by an all-consuming illogic I fully expected to crush rational opposition. I wasn’t disappointed [VIDEO]. Echoing that sentiment, today’s Chapel Hill News speaks of a “proposal…so big and had so much town involvement — Mayor Kevin Foy and council member Bill Strom have […]

  • Jon Wilner’s Shocking Culture

    From the Chapel Hill News ‘blog OrangeChat, a guest post by Jon Wilner, executive director of the Carrboro ArtsCenter: Culture Shock would be a vehicle for marketing the arts in our community in an attempt to create a destination for what the evening’s facilitator, Bill Flexner, called the “diamond in the rough.” The “diamond” refers […]

  • Downtown Development: Feb. 12th Council Debate

    [UPDATE:] The video below streams from my site – here’s the Google Video that streams faster. Here’s the complete “debate” Council held on the Lot #5. Note how quickly the expedited SUP application was approved.

  • Downtown Development: The LEEDs Trade-Off, AIA 2030 Up Next

    Sally Greene suggested trading formal LEEDs certification, which RAM’s VP Casey Cummings said cost $225K, for a required %20 energy reduction, as measured against ASHRAE standards. Cummings claimed that $14.5K of the $225K involved energy modeling and measurement – the rest involved paper shuffling. After reviewing the current proposal, it is still not clear that […]

  • Downtown Development: Feb. 12th Citizen Comment

    Endorsing the flawed deal: Anita Badrock Chapel Hill/Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Criticizing the misbegotten proposal: Andrea Rohrbacher former Council candidate, Chair of the Downtown Partnership, representing the Sierra Club. Francis Henry downtown business owner, longtime resident of Chapel Hill. Jean Brown Chapel Hill/Carrboro school advocate Tom Henkel Long time resident, brilliant alternative energy consultant. Mike […]

  • Godzilla vs. Bambi::RAM Development and Chapel Hill

    If I worked for RAM Development, I’d be dancing quite a jig this evening. Not only have they negotiated the sweetest of deals – their own publicly underwritten Downtown tower of wealth – they’ve gotten the friendliest of non-reviews by the majority of Council. Maybe folks will like “rah rah” growth RAM Development style. If […]

  • RAM’s VP Casey Cummings – The Sixth Beatle?

    Is RAM Development’s Casey Cummings the sixth Beatle? I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get some video snippets (wish the Town was streaming video!) to get direct confirmation but it sure seemed like he was comfortable jumping up to the podium sans a request of Council. I’m not quite sure the propriety of his […]

  • Downtown Development Intiative: Thank you Sir, May I Have Another?

    I missed the exact vote but the Council has not only authorized the Lot #5 development but put it on a fast-track. Talk about compounding a mistake. What’s clear, especially after this evening, is the bulk of Council does not comprehend the consequences of their decision. From my understanding, the SUP (special use permit) gives […]

  • Downtown Development Intiative: Easthom, Ward on Hazardous Waste Liability

    Live ‘blogged from hearing: Laurin Easthom picked up on a point that I didn’t have time to speak to this round: hazardous material remediation. It’s incredible that a hazardous waste assay hasn’t been done on a piece a property that is known to have had oil and gasoline exposures. Back in the ’80s I used […]