September 2005
The Chapel Hill Herald reports on the second of two public hearings about establishing some kind of geographic districts for electing the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
One option calls for five commissioner seats to be nominated from districts. Voters countywide would then vote on the candidates in the general election.
Another option has five commissioner seats nominated from districts in the primary, with two additional at-large seats. Voters would elect candidates in the general election.
The final option would split the county into a northern and southern district. The northern district would have two seats; the southern district would have three. Nominations would be district-based, with voters choosing candidates from both districts in the general election.
- The Chapel Hill Herald, 9/1/05
With such unbelievable suffering occurring in areas ravished by Hurricane Katrina, it is becoming a little harder each day for me to concentrate on local politics. Please use this thread to alert readers to local fund-raising events and relief efforts. In the meantime, an easy and important way to extend help is by donating online at www.redcross.org
Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County have engaged in a program to study greenhouse gas emissions in and around their respective facilities. The first step has been to hire Toronto-based contractor ICLEI Energy Services, the technical services branch of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. According to their website, after conducting an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, the consultants typically provide clients with software and access to an extensive set of best practices from local governments around the world. "From technical software support to advice regarding the selection of an emissions reduction target, quantification questions, emissions inventory and Local Action Planning assistance, and protocol issues, IES has gained a great deal of insight into the issues faced by local governments in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions."
Jim Protzman writes:
There will be millions of people descending on DC on
September 24th to protest the war in Iraq . . . and I suspect the focus
will expand to all aspects of the miserable failure that is George Bush.
Will there be a companion event here in the southern part of heaven?
Will we take to the streets in outrage at the state of this country and
our failed national leadership? I'm ready to help make that happen.
Maybe OP could lead the charge.
It strikes me that the proper focus for such a protest would be
David Price's office off Weaver Dairy Road (or, perhaps his home [not
far, I believe, from Jim's] given the extent to which Katrina has hit
people in their homes). If we view Bush's immoral spending priorities
as the main focus then the Democrats' failure to fight against them
would be the indisputable runner-up.
Put simply: if Price is not leading us in our expression of outrage then he, along with Bush, should be the object thereof.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday September 03, 2005
Thursday night, the OWASA board of directors will consider a proposal to launch a campaign promoting OWASA water as an alternative to imported bottled water. As well as highlighting the value of low-cost, high-quality OWASA water, the project also could involve educating residents on the global problems of water privatization as well as the solid waste, transportation and other environmental costs stemming from the bottled water industry.
The upcoming discussion is in response to a petition from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the Peace & Justice Committee of the Community Church.
According to WILPF, "Water is the earth's most precious resource. Access to safe and affordable water is a human right. Local, democratic control of water is essential for food security and peace. Everywhere accelerating privatization threatens public control over access to water while scarcity looms from overuse and pollution."
When a recent attempt to make a technical correction in the Chapel Hill Carrboro School System's gifted program resulted in an hour of angry testimony from gifted parents, the school board simply gave up.
Board member Ed Sechrest said he would vote "against his conscience" to forestall the legions of e-mails he receives if he votes against what the parents of gifted students want.
"I don't want to read 20,000 e-mails from parents, saying you cheated us, you lied to us," he said. "So I am voting against my conscience."
- Chapel Hill Herald, 9/7/05
Congratulations to these parents who have proven that they are better organized and have more time and energy to spend on this issue than anyone else in town.
The Orange County Democratic Women is hosting a forum from 7:30 to 9:30 tonight for candidates for Chapel Hill Mayor and Council and for Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board.
Location: Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill
7:30 Forum for Chapel Hill candidates
9:00 Forum for School Board Candidates
Moderator: Dan Coleman
Audience members will be invited to submit questions to the candidates.
Last Tuesday I was elected to be the Chair of the Chapel Hill Planning Board. And on Thursday I started a new job!
None of this should impact what goes on here at OrangePolitics, but I wanted to go ahead and say right now that nothing I write here represents the Planning Board or the Town of Chapel Hill (unless I say otherwise, of course).
In other news, Tuesday September 27th is OrangePolitics' second birthday! (Or is it an "anniversary?")
I'd like to have a little celebration and maybe invite all the current candidates to come. Anyone have suggestions for a location or other ideas?
Here's a list of public candidate forums. Anyone know of others?
Pa'lante (Hispanic Youth & Journalism group)
Friday, Sept 9, 6:30pm, Club Neon, Carrboro and Chapel Hill (very small space)
Sierra Club
- Monday, Sept. 19, 7:00 - 9:00 pm, Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro Mayor and BOA
- Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 - 9 p.m., Battle Court Room, Hillsborough Mayor and Commissioners
- Tuesday, Sept. 27, 7 - 9 p.m., Chapel Hill Town Hall, Chapel Hill Mayor and Council
Morgan Creek Neighborhood Event
Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m.
Coker Hills/Colonial Heights/Booker Creek Neighborhood Event
Saturday, Sept. 24, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Chamber/Empowerment/WCHL
- Wednesday, Oct. 5, 6:00-8:00 pm, Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro Mayor & BOA (broadcast live on WCHL)
- Tuesday, Oct. 11, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Hargraves Community Center, Chapel Hill Mayor and Council
Orange County Democratic Women
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 7:30 pm, TBA, Carrboro and School Board
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday September 10, 2005
Last Thursday night, the Orange County Democratic Women sponsored the first forum for Chapel Hill Town Council candidates. Despite scant publicity other than to OCDW members, the meeting room at the Southern Human Services Building was pretty full and a sharp audience provided plenty of good questions. I moderated the discussion.
Here is my impression of how well the candidates succeeded in furthering their campaigns
that night.
The big winner has to be Bill Thorpe. Many Chapel Hillians are unfamiliar with Thorpe's previous two terms on the Council.
He spoke forcefully and eloquently, tying his experience from two decades ago to today's concerns. Particularly effective was the reminder of his vote against approving the Dean Dome out of concern for its impact on a neighborhood that today is not much more than a memory. He assured voters that he would always look out for their interests.
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I have added a new calendar of events to the site. I would like to keep it limited to mostly just election-related events for now. You can find a link to it near the top of the side bar to the right.
Please contact us if you know of additional events we should add, and include a link or as much information as you can find.
Guest Post by James Protzman
The idea of communitiy wi-fi is emerging as a potential local election issue -- and would seem to warrant broader public discussion as well.
Some say wi-fi should be a purely commercial undertaking left to the private sector. Others (like me, for example) see wireless connectivity as an increasingly critical part of community infrastructure -- similar to sidewalks, parks and public safety -- services that support the common good.
My view is simple: we cannot allow the issue of connectivity to become yet another element in the growing "digital divide." That is, no one should be disadvantaged for not having resources to buy high-speed access for their homes and families.
There are plenty of ways to think about this and many experiments going on around the country. Some of them are reported here . . . and I'm sure there are other good resources. If you know of any, please share them.
The importance of streets to community was articulated by Ivan Illich in his essay Silence is a Commons. Here is the excerpt:
What a difference there was between the new and the old parts of Mexico City only 20 years ago. In the old parts of the city the streets were true commons. Some people sat on the road to sell vegetables and charcoal. Others put their chairs on the road to drink coffee or tequila. Others held their meetings on the road to decide on the new headman for the neighbourhood or to determine the price of a donkey. Others drove their donkeys through the crowd, walking next to the heavily loaded beast of burden; others sat in the saddle. Children played in the gutter, and still people walking could use the road to get from one place to another.
This event will discuss the history of Chapel Hill's own 1970 lynching of African American James Cates (the cousin of my friend Nate Davis). He was murdered in public on campus by a white biker gang called the "Storm Troopers." No-one was convicted.
Blood Done Sign OUR Names
The Lessons of Censored History For Our Struggles Today
Monday, September 12, 2005
7:00 pm, Murphey 116
Panel Discussion
This just in from local organizer Vinci Daro:
Carrboro's third "Really Really Free Market" to be held Saturday, September 17, 1:00-5:00 PM at the Carrboro Town Commons
What: The Really REALLY Free Market, a celebration of alternative economics.
Where: Carrboro Town Commons
When: 1:00-5:00pm, Saturday, September 17.
Everyone is welcome at this free event, where all are encouraged to give, receive, and create on their own terms. This free and open market will be a celebration of the cooperation and gift-giving that make life possible beyond the constraints of capitalist markets. The event is self-organized by everyone who participates. No authority rules over the RRFM. As at previous events, we trust that people sharing rather than competing will be able to find their own ways to cooperate with each other and function smoothly.
Well that was fast. According to the Daily Tarheel, Students for a Progressive Chapel Hill have released their town council endorsements. Challengers Jason Baker, Laurin Easthom, Will Raymond and incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt all got the nod. They are also supporting incumbent Mayor Kevin Foy (why bother?).
"We expect candidates to have a record of service to Chapel Hill, a record of progressive leadership ... and a record of reaching out to students," the organization said in a statement.
The meaning of "progressive" includes standing up for the underprivileged and supporting civil liberties, said Tom Jensen, chair of the group.
The decision was based on questionnaires and position papers submitted by the candidates. Only mayoral candidate Kevin Wolff did not respond, acknowledging that he had not lived in town long enough to meet the criteria.
Jensen said that about 30 members of the group were ready to volunteer in the campaigns.
As part of the Bring Them Home Now Tour, which is cris-crossing the country on the way to the huge September 24 march for peace in Washington, DC, there will be a show at the ArtsCenter on Friday:
Relief Not War Fundraiser with Medea Benjamin, “The Lidsâ€Â, and Cakalak Thunder Drum corps.
Friday, September 16, 8:00 pm, Carrboro Arts Center
The NC Peace & Justice Coalition is Holding a “Relief Not War†Fundraiser, on Friday September 16 at 8:00 pm. The event features performers, speakers, and musicians. Headlined by Medea Benjamin, Co-Founder of Code Pink, performers include spoken word phenomenon Dasan Ahanu, Carrboro cover band “The Lidsâ€Â, Greensboro's “Cakalak Thunder Drum Corpsâ€Â, and Emerson Waldorf Middle School's Flag Corps and Fire Twirlers. We will show excerpts from the Empowerment Project's newly released film, “Soldiers Speak Outâ€Â, show in Fayetteville during the March 19 demonstration.
Guest Post by George Cianciolo
The Orange Community Housing & Land Trust is kicking off a 30-day fundraiser beginning tonight at Whole Foods on Elliot Road from 5 PM - 8 PM. The fundraiser is utilizing a raffle for four (4) bottles of premium wines. The wines are a Los Carneros Syrah (value $ 16.99), a 2004 Saintsbury Chardonnay ($19.99), a 10-year old Tawny Port ($31.99) and a Ferrari-Carano Merlot ($24.99). The tickets are $5.00 each and the winner gets all 4 bottles. Of course, it is all for a good cause, even if you don't drink. After tonight, tickets will also be available through October 14th at the Land Trust office at 104 Jones Ferry Road, Suite C, Carrboro. The telephone number for the Land Trust is 967-1545.
So, if you can, show your support for the Land Trust and affordable housing in Orange County by buying a ticket (or several).
Thanks.
Chapel Hill Town Council Member Sally Greene has tons of great info on the local community efforts to "end homelessness" on her blog. After the most recent homelessness forum, she posted the text of Mayor Kevin Foy's remarks, which attempted to put this economic struggle in context with the recent debacle in New Orleans and to encourage out community to strive for something better. Foy said, "it is possible to have a society as rich as ours based on moral values that does not accept that some people just will be homeless."
After reading her report on the second Homelessness Roundtable back in February 2005, I was impressed by the effort, but confused at the presence of Philip Mangano, the federal "homelessness czar," touting the Bush Administration's efforts. He was back again this time.
Guest Post by Tom Jensen
The Carrboro Sierra Club Candidates Forum is tonight at 7 PM in the Board Room at Carrboro Town Hall. The forum will start with 75 minutes of questions for Aldermen candidates, and conclude with 45 minutes of the Mayoral candidates.
We will be taking questions from the audience, so if you have anything you want asked but can't be there feel free to post here and I will add it to the pool of possible questions.
This is the first opportunity to see the Carrboro candidates face off, so you should all either come or watch it live on the People's Channel!
Tom Jensen is a Senior at UNC on the Sierra Club Political Commitee. He is also the chair of Students for a Progressive Chapel Hill.
Forum for Carrboro Mayor and Board of Aldermen candidates at Carrboro Town Hall
Chapel Hill is at risk of losing one of it's most dedicated, inspiring, and historic leaders. I just got the following message about former Chapel Hill Town Council member, UNC professor, local civil rights agitator, and tireless activist for peace and justice all over the globe Joe Straley.
Friends of peace with justice,
The seeds of hope and the struggle for justice and peace continue in us and all who share the struggle as Joe Straley departs.
- jerry
.........................................................
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 07:33
Subject: Please keep Joe and Lucy in your hearts.
Dear friends and neighbors,
Joe Straley is in intensive care. His blood pressure is very low. Kidney function is poor. All his children have arrived.
There is little that can be done. The time for a lot of help will be when Lucy is alone.
Please keep Joe and Lucy in your hearts.
Joan Garnett
Any of you who watched The End of Suburbia recently should be ready for this: tomorrow is Car Free Day! If you pledge to go car free on the NC Car Free web site you can win a prize, and everyone is invited to Weaver Street Market to celebrate Car Free Day. (Considering that it's Thursday at 6pm, car-free is about the only way to get to WSM anyway.)
On September 22, 2005, Orange and Durham County citizens in North Carolina will join over 1400 cities and towns throughout the United States and 37 other countries in celebrating World Car Free Day. We'd like you to join the celebration! http://www.gocarfree.com
There will be an event at Weaver Street Market from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. on Car Free Day (Sept 22) with information about public transportation, carpooling, biodiesel, Village Project Concept Plans for Carolina North, and more!
Filmmakers Len Morris and Robin Romano will discuss child labor around the globe tonight at 7.30 pm in Memorial Hall on the UNC campus. This lecture is free, open to the public, and will include never before seen footage of the conditions in which children labor so the rest of us can have carpets, coffee, and--in the US--fruits and vegetables. These are award-winning filmmakers doing front-line activism--worth the trip in to town.
You can meet the filmmakers at a reception celebrating Robin Romano's photographs this afternoon at 4 pm; room 039, the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in Graham Memorial.
Forum for Hillsborough Mayor and Commissioner candidates at Battle Court Room
For the readers who are not at the Sierra Club's Hillsborough Candidate Forum right now (and that's all of you except for one) I am reporting live from the Battle Courtroom.
I was very disappointed (and a little shocked) to learn that only one candidate in each of the races - Mayor and Town Board - is attending the forum. But it's more understandable when you realize that this is the very first time the Sierra Club has done a Hillsborough forum. Plus this is just not the same political environment as Chapel Hill and Carrboro, where environmentalism is the norm.
Kudos to Town Board incumbent Mike Gehring (in old-timey politician bow tie) and Mayoral challenger Tom Stevens (in 80's modern t-shirt & blazer) just for being here!
I will report more on the forum if anything notable happens.
I hope you have a very good reason if you are not going to the big peace demostration in our nation's capital tomorrow. Then again, if you're energetic you could do all of these things and still ride the bus to DC and back on Saturday...
On Friday night and Sunday morning, Zen Master/Peace Activist Kaz Tanahashi will be at the Chapel Hill Zen Center.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday September 24, 2005
Remembering Joe Straley
This week, Chapel Hill lost it's great icon of progressive activism of the past half-century. Since the 1950s, Joe Straley, who died last Wednesday at age 90, has been a continual force in Chapel Hill politics, one whose range of concerns was truly global.
From civil rights and anti-war activism in the 1950s and '60s, to a stint on the Town Council in the 1970s, to leadership of the Carolina Interfaith Taskforce on Central America in the 1980s and into the 21st century, Joe Straley did it all. He was an unflinching advocate for racial justice, civil liberties, solidarity with oppressed peoples the world over and for peace. In this age of self-congratulatory American empire, Joe was an anti-imperialist and an internationalist.
But beyond the issues and the activism, Joe was a special kind of person. Not a great orator, Straley was always on point and well-spoken. By no means a charismatic leader, he was warm, easy-going and down-to-earth, with a depth of compassion and a big heart that drew people to him and his projects.
The Chapel Hill Sierra Club candidates forum is tonight at 7 PM in the Town Council chambers. It will also be televised live on the People's Channel, but you should come out and see the candidates in person!
As with the Carrboro forum, there will be questions from the audience. If you have one but can't be there post it here and I will submit it for you. I will also try to live blog it as I did for the Carrboro forum.
We hope to see you out tonight for what promises to be a spirited and informative debate about some of the biggest issues facing Chapel Hill in the coming years!
As noted by the Daily Tar Heel, it's OrangePolitics' second birthday, and we will celebrating in Hell. They will be serving a special beverage called the OP - it's mostly orange but it's got some red in it. ;-)
You can come either during or after the Sierra Club forum (which will be televised at the bar), but there is not likely to be Internet access, so you may want to stay above ground to witness Tom's unstoppable liveblogging, round 2.
(Anyone who wants to come but is not 21, get in touch with me before 7 pm and I will see what we can do.)
Guest Post by Ryan Tuck
For the first time in its history The Daily Tar Heel will host a municipal elections forum designed to attract more University community interest in municipal elections. The 329 student-aged voters who participated in 2003 are a constant reminder that the campus community has held a passing interest in local political affairs. We feel a responsibility to help change that.
With co-sponsors in student government, the College Republicans, Young Democrats, VoteCarolina, Black Student Movement, the Graduate and Professional Student Federation and the Interfraternity Council, we will host an informal community speak-out style forum THIS WEDNESDAY from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Greenlaw 101 - the one next to Lenoir Dining Hall. A map is available at: http://sils.unc.edu/about/visit.html.
Forum for Chapel Hill Mayor and Town Council candidates at Chapel Hill Town Hall
With co-sponsors in Student Government, the College Republicans, Young Democrats, VoteCarolina, Black Student Movement, the Graduate and Professional Student Federation and the Interfraternity Council, the Daily Tarheel will host an informal community speak-out style forum on Sept. 28 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Greenlaw 101.
This event in Chapel Hill will kick off a whole month of activities for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Connecting the Dots: It Is Your Business
Domestic Violence Awareness Month Kickoff and Hopeline Phone Drive
Sponsored by
North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County
Interact
Made possible by a generous grant from
Verizon Wireless
Monday, October 3rd, 2005
The Friday Center
Chapel Hill NC
7:45am – 12:30pm
featuring
Nationally Known Author and Activist
Kevin Powell
and
North Carolina Survivors and Activists
Tanisha Bagley, author of The Price of Love
Heather Thompson, Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships Representative
During last week's Sierra Club forum in Carrboro, candidates were asked what they felt needed to be done to increase the stock of affordable housing in town. Each of the 4 candidates who addressed this question agreed that it is the most complex problem before the BOA.
Both Carrboro and Chapel Hill work from a version of inclusionary zoning that requires new developers to include affordable units along with their market priced units. In Carrboro developers who comply with the "small house ordinance" are given a density bonus to help them recover some of their lost opportunity. In Chapel Hill, developers can provide payment in lieu of compliance. New units developed through the Carrboro plan are deeded over to the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust as a means of ensuring they stay affordable. Buyers own the dwelling but not the land upon which the dwelling sits. Chapel Hill is currently clarifying the legal the language around their affordable housing options.
Word on the street is that Erskine Bowles will be the next president of the UNC System, succeeding Molly Broad.
One OP reader wrote in about this selection saying "He is not perfect BUT - He loves this school and state and is not taking the job as just another rung on a corporate ladder. Someone who thinks about more than money and donors will be great."
He certainly has the ability to out-corporate UNC's chancellor (and that's saying something), but he could also be a powerful advocate for the state's education system. What do you think?
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