June 2005
State Rep. Bill Faison defends his opposition to the cigarette tax increase in an interview with Barbara Solow in this week's Independent.
The incredible and troubling aspect of the interview is Faison's dismissive attitude toward the tremendous health problems and costs associated with tobacco. He tells Solow:
I know the health argument, but on balance, we have a lot of things that cause health problems. Sugar contributes to obesity. It could lead you to look at sugar as something that ought to be controlled.
"On balance"?!? Tell that to the families of the multitudes who die from smoking related illnesses each year.
After reading the discussion on a recent thread, I told Ruby that I would find a political spectrum test and let everyone determine his or her correct "label". She said something along the lines of "that's just what we need (not)!"
I looked at several around the net and liked the OKcupid Politics Test. I liked it because it allowed a range of responses and had lots of questions.
I know that this will be distasteful to some and that others will take the test but prefer to keep the results to themselves.
I don't mind sharing my own score which I know will shock many:
You are a
Social Liberal
(86% permissive)
and an...
Economic Liberal
(1% permissive)
You are best described as a:
Socialist
You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.
Who knew?
One value I found in taking this test was the recognition that I did not have aready answer to every question. Some I had to think about and some might have different responses if I took the test again.
Here's another chance for the town of Chapel Hill to catch up to Carrboro: free wireless Internet downtown.
It seems to have been a resounding success for Carrboro. Some businesses might worry about dozens of folks setting up their laptops for hours while only buying a pastry and coffee, but WSM has got plenty of space on the lawn, and more importantly having free wifi just adds to their role as the community hub. That attracts customers that aren't even using the wireless.
But Chapel Hill has a new angle on this. They are discussing covering the downtown neighborhoods like Northside where some residents can't afford high-speed Internet access.
Across the town line in Carrboro, officials decided last year to put a few thousand dollars into expanding the wireless network in the downtown area, enabling people to connect -- for free -- to the Internet with their laptop computers equipped with wireless cards.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday June 25, 2005
Over the 26 years since the accident at Three Mile Island, dangerous and costly nuclear power has seemed a technology on the way out. Now, thanks to the power-industry friendly Bush administration, there is a renewed push for the construction of nuclear power plants. Both area utilities, Duke Power and Progress Energy, are exploring expansion of their nuclear operations. Nuclear power is a cash cow for the utilities with huge profits from construction, state-guaranteed profits from operations and federal protection from liability.
Of particular concern locally is the possibility of additional capacity at the Shearon Harris plant. Originally designed to support four reactors, thanks to the changing economics and politics of nuclear power, the plant was built with only one. Even so, it has been among the worst performing in the nation.
In recent years, Shearon Harris has appeared regularly on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's watch list because of its high rate of emergency shutdowns.
I am happy to inform you (before the papers do) that Mark Chilton is officially a candidate for Mayor of Carrboro!
Here is his statement posted here on OP earlier today:
With Mike Nelson stepping down, I am officially running for Mayor of Carrboro this fall. I held a short press conference this morning at Carrboro Town Hall about this and I am sure the papers will report the details tomorrow, but here is a short synopsis of what I said this morning.
1) The Northern Small Area Plan needs to be completely re-worked. 2) We should take up the Friends of Bolin Creek's challenge to create a Bolin Creek Preserve. 3) We must take a number of steps to strike a balance between increasing our commercial tax base and protecting existing neighborhoods. And 4) we need to rewrite a number of rules related to affordable housing including the Density Bonus, downtown performance standards, and voluntary annexation standards in order to increase affordable housing development in Carrboro.
I also talked some about my view of the role of the Mayor. In short I believe that I will play three roles as a Mayor - a listener, a mediator and a leader.
According to today's Herald,
the NAACP has selected Chapel Hill attorney Al McSurely as this year's winner of the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award. This is the highest honor the national civil rights group gives to an attorney.
McSurely is slated to receive the award July 11 at the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's in Milwaukee.
Congratulations to Al on this well-deserved honor. For background on McSurely and some of the many reasons why he is deserving of this award, read the Herald article.
McSurely's winning this reward should be a sobering as well as a celebratory moment for our community. After all, to win an award like this from the NAACP, one must be active in a community where there is persistent racial discrimination.
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