March 2005

The Terri Schiavo case is a bit far afield for this blog but it's worth reminding people that in North Carolina it is possible to record both a living will and a health care power of attorney. There are many attorneys in the area who do this work, and who can make sure that the language of each accords with North Carolina law.

I found a good overview of these items including links to pdf files for the necessary forms at the New Hanover Health Network.

An interesting debate has erupted nationally over the lack of women among the punditry. Katha Pollitt (niece of our own celebrated Dan Pollitt) wrote in the April 4 Nation about recent reports including one that only 20% of the LA Times op-ed authors were women. The Washington Post has only one woman among its 19 pundits and only 10% on its op-ed page.

Pollitt quotes the NY Times' Maureen Dowd that there are "plenty of brilliant women.... We just need to find and nurture them." To which Pollitt replies "Oh, nurture my eye. It may be true that more men than women like to bloviate and 'bat things out'--socialization does count for something. So do social rewards: I have seen men advance professionally on levels of aggression, self-promotion and hostility that would have a woman carted off to a loony bin--unless, of course, she happens to be Ann Coulter."

OWASA cordially invites citizens to participate in a community outreach meeting on Thursday night, March 31st at 7:00 pm to discuss our plans for the future and to receive comments and questions from customers.

The meeting in the Century Hall at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street, will begin with a presentation on questions such as:

• Will our community have enough water when the next major drought occurs?
• How much water per day can our existing lakes provide in a drought?
• How much will water use rise in coming decades?
• What is OWASA doing to prepare for future growth in water demand?
• How important is the future reuse of highly treated wastewater for non-drinking purposes?
• How important is water conservation for our community's future?
• Can we have an adequate water supply for the long term with our locally-protected water sources?

The floor will then be open for questions and comments about any of OWASA's plans, services and policies.

I've noticed a lot of people grumbling lately about the Town of Chapel Hill's "Percent for Art" Program, which designates 1% of the budget for new facilities toward public art. Some penny pinchers feel this expenditure is extravagant during our current budget squeeze. I disagree.

Creativity is a fundamental part of humanity. I picture a world without art as something between George Orwell's "1984" and Cary - in short, not a place I want to be. We live in a community that is uniquely expressive. For example look at Franklin Street on Halloween, you will see thousands of adults publicly expressing their creativity and humor. This is not something that happens in other towns.

On her blog, Council Member Sally Greene wrote a thoughtful response to the Chamber of Commerce Director Aaron Nelson's questions of why the new Town Operations Center should waste money on public art. According to the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission: