May 2006

At their meeting tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be considering 4 possible Neighborhood Conservation Districts, covering Coker Hills, Greenwood, King's Mill, and Pine Knolls. Tomorrow the Planning Board will discuss the NCD process in light of the fact that at least two more neighborhoods are requesting them.

I've written before about the many concerns I have about this process. What is the best way to preserve the character of our beautiful older neighborhoods, while still allowing a moderate amount of well-managed change that is necessary to keep our community healthy and affordable as we grow?

In response to the After Chill shooting, the Town Manager is proposing that ALL downtown gatherings be cancelled, moved, or severely curtailed with the exception of NCAA championships. This seems like a really bad idea to me. Not only are these festivals and parties great community-building events for the town, many of them can't be stopped even if we want to.

When over 70,000 people come downtown for an event that no-one has organized or even planned, you can't just tell them to go away. They are individual adults with their own decision-making authority. Just like you don't get to tell me what do on my Saturday nights, you don't get to tell them where to celebrate Halloween.

Franklin Street's days as party central might be numbered. Town staff members are floating proposals that could eliminate all but one of the main drag's main events.

The unofficial Halloween celebration might be killed by a 10 p.m. curfew. Wins over Duke and in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament might move to campus. Festifall could go to Chapel Hill High School.

Some local parents have been watching the process to appoint a new member to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education and hoping for someone who would represent the growing Asian population in our schools.

Roughly one in eight Chapel Hill-Carrboro students is Asian.

Among school board members, it's more like none in seven.

A group of Chinese parents hope to change that by presenting an Asian candidate to fill departing member Ed Sechrest's seat.

"It's a different culture with different thinking," said Yu Lou, member of the Chinese School at Chapel Hill's board of directors. "If the school board could have at least one Chinese representative, it will bring a lot of benefits."
- newsobserver.com | Asians want board seat, 5/19/06

I'm an internet studies researcher at Syracuse University studying the local blogging phenomenon and writing a book chapter on the topic, focusing on OP as a case study. In late March I visited Chapel Hill and Carrboro and conducted a series of interviews with about 14 contributors to the site. I would like to expand the net of participants in my study to include more readers/lurkers, and others who post and comment.

I am interested in hearing feedback on the following questions:
1. Why do you participate in this site (whether as reader or contributor)?
2. Has your participation changed your ideas about local politics or your community in general?
3. Have you taken any direct actions or made any decisions based upon your participation in the site?
4. Describe instances in which your life in the community has been affected by events played out in the site.
5. What new role if any does the site play in the local community and the lives of its residents?