July 2008
From the Chapel Hill Herald news briefs:
CHAPEL HILL -- State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, Democratic candidate for
North Carolina Senate District 23, will discuss her campaign on July 14
at Town Hall Grill at 4 p.m.
Town Hall Grill, located in Southern Village in Chapel Hill, has
launched a nonpartisan community issues forum called "The Village
Voice," which will feature various political candidates in a series of
seven events.
Attendees are invited to reserve their seat using the online
reservations form at www.thetownhallgrill.com. The Village Voice is
sponsored by The North Carolina Center for Voter Education and
MyNC.com.
Date:
Monday, July 14, 2008 - 12:00pm
Location:
Town Hall Grill, Southern Village
This is co-op owners' opportunity to hear from current and prospective board members. Voting on the board is open from 10/13/08 to 11/2/08.
Applications to run for a seat on the board are due by 9/7/08. Contact board@weaverstreetmarket.coop for more information.
Date:
Sunday, October 19, 2008 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Celebrate Graig Meyer's Birthday and Support Barack Obama!!Sunday, July 13, 2:30-5:30 PMThe Station at Southern Rail in Carrboro (adjacent to Weaver Street Market)Spread the word to all your friends. This event is open to the public!RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gt4h Anyone who has given or gives to by July 12 gets in free. You can give online here:http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/Graig%0A For any registered voter who hasn't given, admission on the day of the event will require a minimum $10 donation to the Obama for America campaign. Unregistered voters get in free by registering at the door.Children under the age of 18 get in free.Enjoy these four great bands: Stan Lewis and the Rockin' Revelers, The Marla Vickers Band, The Willie Painter Band, and The Water CallersHear spoken word poetry from the Sacrificial Poets (Chapel Hill's youth poetry slam team, including one of Graig's former students).Support Graig's trip to be an Obama Delegate at the Democratic National Convention by purchasing raffle tickets to win these great prizes: Custom made Obama gear; including Obama Mama t-shirts, Obama Boy t-shirts, Obama kitchen aprons, Michelle Obama pins. Your choice of bottles of fine wine. Gift certificates from businesses and restaurants around Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Grand prize: You get to choose the wording on a sign that Graig will hold up for the television cameras at the Democratic National Convention.Can't afford to make a donation right now? Email us. We need 5-6 volunteers to make this happen and we'd love to have you come for free.RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gt4h See you on the 13th!Graig and Jen Meyer
Date:
Sunday, July 13, 2008 - 10:30am to 1:30pm
This fall, the Orange County Commissioners are scheduled to approve a new Comprehensive Plan; the first such vote in nearly thirty years! If you work, live or own land in Orange County, the Plan affects you; it sets a vision for how the county will develop over the next 20 years. Please take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of Orange County by voicing your interests and concerns to the Orange County Planning Board and County Commissioners.
Once adopted, the new Comprehensive Plan will begin to impact decisions about our tax base, the kind of jobs and housing created in the county, where new development will occur, what that development will look like, and how we will move about the county.
A new citizenship test is being rolled out:
In October 2008 a new version of the U.S. citizenship test will be taken by all applicants. Could you pass it? The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 samples that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview. Some are easy, some are not. We have picked some of the more difficult ones.
NOTES: Candidates are not given multiple choices in the naturalization interview. The following questions have been adapted from the immigration service’s sample questions.
Given the concerns about the process of becoming a US citizen, this 4th of July might be a great opportunity to see if those of us who are citizens could pass the sample test.
No references allowed!
A recently-completed feasibility study has smiled upon the idea of rail service in HIllsborough, and the town is purchasing land for a future station. Amtrak and NC DOT say it makes financial sense, but they also say that it can only work if the town gets serious about long-term planning.
Just in time for the Orange County Comprehensive Plan, which some think is overly reliant on sprawling growth and not doing enough smart land use planning!
The town would need to further develop and adopt a concept plan of
how rail service would fit into overall community development, such as
plans for land use, road networks and transit, bike and pedestrian
access. The rail service would need to coordinate well with other modes
of transportation.
A comprehensive review of the local rail infrastructure, including nearby road and pedestrian crossings, would be needed.
The
town also would need to locate a site for a rail/transit stop.
Concurrently, the town is obtaining property in Central Hillsborough
that has the potential to serve as a rail stop and transit center.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing Van Jones speak. He co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and is founder and president of Green For All. He spoke convincingly of a future of increased equality and how one of the roads to this future is green jobs. Green-collar jobs are employment in the environmental or agricultural sectors of the economy. [Source: Wikipedia] But they also include any work that will help transform our society into a more environmentally sustainable one.
One way our local government leaders could participate in this national movement is to sign the Green Jobs Pledge. Its goal is to "rebuild American competitiveness and environmental leadership by growing a green economy that fights global warming, pollution and poverty at the same time." Here are the five steps this pledge asks our leaders to agree to:
- Commit to Action
- Create a Green-collar Jobs Taskforce
- Identify Goals and Assess Opportunities
- Create a Local Action Plan
- Evaluate, Leverage and Grow
How will he be remember in our community?
For me, I will never forget what he was willing to do to win an election.
CARRBORO BICYCLE PLAN WORKSHOP
#2
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008
4:00 – 7:00 pm (DROP-IN
FORMAT)
On CARRBORO TOWN COMMONS (at
the Farmer’s Market)
Thank you for attending the first public workshop for
Carrboro’s bicycle transportation plan, back on April 10th.
The second workshop will be held on July 23, 2008 on the Carrboro Town
Commons, at the Farmers’ Market. Please stop by
anytime between 4:00 - 7:00 PM to learn about preliminary recommendations (this will be new information from the
consultants), talk to Town staff and project consultants, and provide more of
your input to the process.
Attached is a flyer for that meeting. Please feel free
to distribute this so that all Town citizens are informed.
In addition, you can visit the project website: www.greenways.com/pages/CarrboroBicycle.html,
which houses current project information and
contains a link to an online comment form for you to
fill out (if you have not done so
already).
Thank you for your time.
Happy and safe bicycling!
-Town of Carrboro
Adena
Messinger, Transportation Planner
Town
of Carrboro
301
W. Main Street
Carrboro,
NC 27510
919-918-7329
amessinger@townofcarrboro.orgDate:
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Location:
Carrboro Town Commons (site of the Farmers' Market on west main street outside the town hall)
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
