October 2010

OP 7th Birthday Party

Date:

Monday, October 4, 2010 - 3:00pm

Location:

GlassHalFull, 106 S Greensboro St, Carrboro

More Information:

http://www.orangepolitics.org/heres-to-7-more

About This Web Site

OP Happy Hour

BJ, when you first started running against David Price, George W Bush was still president of our country and the leader of your party. You seemed different, a breath of fresh air - you talked about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and seemed to have some idea of the dangers of powerful government. As a civil libertarian, I wanted to find out more about you, so I contacted you and we had a wonderful three-hour breakfast meeting where we seemed to agree on a lot of principles and issues. After that we met once, perhaps twice, for more pleasant and stimulating conversations. I even invited you to a liberal political group, where you impressed other liberals with your apparent earnestness and even with some of your ideas.

At one point I asked you why you belonged to the Republican Party. You replied that the party was broken, ripe for takeover. That sounded reasonable, given the ways that a Republican President and Congress had tossed away a budget surplus and gone to war against a country that hadn't attacked us. That Republican Party is dangerous, I said, and you seemed to agree.

Candidates Forum with David Price & BJ Lawson

Ask them yourself! US Rep David Price (D) & BJ Lawson (R)  debate the issues at a candidates' forum co-sponsored by the Independent Weekly & BullCityRising.com. Public may submit questions to the candidates at the event or in advance by e-mailing editors@indyweek.com. The 4th Congressional District includes Durham, Orange & parts of Chatham & Western Wake (Cary, Fuquay, Holly Springs, New Hill, Morrisville) counties. In the second-floor public space of the Durham Transportation Center, 515 W Pettigrew St.

Date:

Friday, October 8, 2010 - 2:30pm

Location:

Durham Transportation Center, 515 W Pettigrew St., Durham

More Information:

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/candidates-forum-with-david-price-and-bj-lawson…

Elections

Lt. Choi in the Triangle AND the MarshallBomb Oct 8th

As the Technician recently reported, Lt. Dan Choi will be hosted by the Union Activities Board & GLBT Center for an on campus lecture and discussion of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

Who: Lt Dan Choi is a West Point graduate, decorated officer, Arabic Linguist, and was discharged under the DADT policy
When: Tuesday, October 12 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Where: Stewart Theater - NCSU campus - Raleigh, NC
Admission: Free

"I speak about the consequences of telling the truth under Don't Ask Don't Tell and of living a lie through my personal journey," Choi said. "I let people know our belief system is against our integrity."

For more information, see the facebook event.

Early voting begins

...Tomorrow! (Read on for details.)

LOCATIONS, DATES AND HOURS FOR EARLY VOTING
   for the November 2, 2010 General Election

Please note differences in times and days for each of the 3 sites

   Board of Elections Office
   208 South Cameron Street, Hillsborough

   Thursday – Friday - October 14 – October 15 – 9 am to 5 pm
   Monday – Friday - October 18 – October 22 – 9 am to 5 pm
   Saturday - October 23 – 9 am to 1 pm
   Monday – Friday - October 25 – October 29 – 9 am to 5 pm
   Saturday - October 30 – 9 am to 1 pm

   Morehead Planetarium
   250 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill

   Monday – Friday - October 18 – October 22 – 9 am to 5 pm
   Saturday - October 23 – 9 am to 1 pm
   Monday – Friday - October 25 – October 29 – 9 am to 5 pm
   NO voting on last Saturday - Oct. 30 at Morehead
   **** UNC Football Game starts at 1:00 pm ***

*
   Seymour Senior Center
   2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill
   Monday – Friday – October 18 – October 22 – 12 pm to 7 pm
   Saturday - October 23 – 9 am to 1 pm
   Monday – Friday – October 25 – October 29 – 12 pm to 7 pm
   Saturday - October 30 – 9 am to 1 pm

Date:

Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 5:00am

More Information:

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/onestop.asp

Elections

Early voting ends

Date:

Saturday, October 30, 2010 - 9:00am

More Information:

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/onestop.asp

Elections

Orange County Democratic Party Annual Breakfast

Where: Carolina Club, UNC Chapel Hill Campus

Tickets: Purchase online with credit card or reserve with check: www.ocdplegislativebreakfast.com

$40 in advance, $75 at the door

Host: Sponsored by the Orange County Democratic Party

This is not your usual political event! The food, coffee and acoustics are great! Guests will lead the conversation with at least three representatives as elected officials rotate from table to table. Meet and greet for candidates from 8 to 8:30 a.m.

Confirmed Guests: Congressman David Price, House Speaker Joe Hackney, Secretary Elaine Marshall, Senator Ellie Kinnaird, Representative Verla Insko, Representative Bill Faison, Representative Alice Borsden, Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, District Attorney Jim Woodall, Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass, Judge Joe Buckner, Judge Beverley Scarlett, Judge Page Vernon, Judge Carl Fox, Commissioner Valerie Foushee, Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier, Commissioner Steve Yuhasz, School Board Member Mia Burroughs, Chapel Hill Council Member Penny Rich, Chapel Hill Council Member Laurin Easthom, Carrboro Alderman Randee Haven-O’Donnell

Date:

Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 4:30am to 6:30am

Events

OCDP

Wrong way

The need for signs to help people find their way around town has been discussed for several years. The Town of Chapel Hill recently installed their first wayfinding signs. This initial step is welcome, but I'm a little disappointed with the implementation. First of all, I think they are needed downtown much more than at our entryways, which is where the program is currently focused.

A few nights ago I was driving home on MLK Blvd and got my first look at the signs. They appear to be white text on a light blue background, rendering them nearly impossible to read! In addition, the UNC branding would seem to indicate that these are signs for how to get to the University, rather than to a variety of local destinations. And of course if the signs can't be read from a moving car, then they aren't doing much good on a 5-lane road.

Prayer and Rec. League Football

It has come to my attention that some coaches in the Chapel HIll Parks and Rec. football league are requiring their players to say the Lord's Prayer before and after their games. This is in direct violatoin of separation of Church and State. I contacted the P and R dept. in September and Mark Troutman replied that he would "address this issue with the coaches." Well, it is mid October and the team is still saying the prayer! I'm not anti-religion but since this is a government sponsored league and we have a very diverse population, it seems like this activity is inappropriate at the least and possibly uncomfortable for any Jewish, Muslim, Buddist, etc family that chooses to participate in Rec. League football. What do others think?

Souls to the polls

It may be hard to think of a tax increase as "justice," but Orange County has an example of just that in its proposal on the November ballot to raise the sales tax by one-quarter cent. A portion of the revenue if this wins approval will go toward providing a solution for Habitat for Humanity homeowners in Efland (many of whose homes were built by our member churches), who have been facing a 300 percent increase in their sewer rates. Justice United agrees that this tax increase, which means paying 25 cents more per every $100 you spend, equals social justice.

We will gather at 9:30am at United Church. After a brief press conference with our partner groups, we will walk over to the Seymour Center to cast our votes.

Date:

Saturday, October 30, 2010 - 5:30am to 7:00am

Location:

United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 MLK Jr. Blvd

More Information:

http://ocjusticeunited.org/Souls_to_the_Polls

Elections

New back door for OC spending?

There was a mention of this on CHL the other night; Did anyone else catch this public hearing popping up?

The net net as far as I can tell is that the manager wants to refinance our debt (sounds like a good thing), saving $4.6m over the life of the debt. And then he proposed $2m in new spending right along with it.

We were told over and over again this past budget cycle that everything had to be cut because there's no money. Now, instead of balancing all those things which were cut against this new proposal, some glitzy technology thing gets to jump to the front of the line with little public input to gobble up a large portion of savings that are found.

What I really don't understand is how we can cut basic services in the county and then go spend large amount of $ on "nice to have" like a better property info system (I have no idea if the radios are really needed or not). I've certainly used the current property info system enough to know it isn't the best. But can we really afford right now to buy a better one?

CVS Planning Major Development in Downtown Carrboro

View in a larger map

CVS is in the process of buying up properties in downtown Carrboro across from Weaver Street Market to potentially build a 2 story building that would house a retail tenant (presumably CVS) on the 1st floor and office space and/or apartments on the second floor.

Ruby talked a little bit about the new development on the corner of Greensboro and Weaver Street in a previous post. To recap: Weaver Street Market needed money to help pay for debt they have incurred the passed few years and they sold 3 downtown properties to CVS. (See Map) They sold the property on the corner of N. Greensboro and Weaver Street (where WCOM and Community Realty used to be), the parking lot next to that building and 104 Center Street. The house on 104 Center Street is an historic Mill House built around 1910. This house will most likely be torn down in the near future. The developer working for CVS is close to purchasing 203 N Greensboro St (Debra Seaton’s Dental practice) and the hair shop on the corner of Short and Center Street. This would mean CVS will own all but one the property on the block.

CH Transit hearing

Thanks to this flyer I spotted on the bus last week, I went to the first of two public hearings held by Chapel Hill Transit this week. The second one is tomorrow (Tuesday) at Chapel Hill Town Hall.

I was running in and out of the meeting after my son who also likes buses, but isn't very patient with meetings. I did get a chance to say my piece, which included advice about making the time between buses ("headways") more consistent and supporting longer service hours. But it wasn't until chatting with Loren Hintz after the meeting that I learned that part of the purpose of the meeting is to get feedback for a major study that Chapel Hill Transit is undertaking,

The town website says that "The Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA), a joint effort of CHT and its funding partners, Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will lead to recommendations for service improvements for overall system efficiency and effectiveness." Apparently this includes major realignment of the routes, which is probably a good idea. Many of the routes haven't been updated for over a decade, and I think the community might be better served by rethinking how to create a web of service that includes more of a service grid (think: east-west connector along Estes Drive and linear routes on Greensboro, MLK, and Franklin, for example) and reduces the number of franken-routes like the J bus where you could ride for half an hour to go a distance that could be walked in 20 minutes.

Apparently this week's meetings are just the first in a series of events to collect and share information. If you can't make the hearing tomorrow, Chapel Hill Transit would still like your input via one of these methods:

1. Call CHT at 919-969-4900, press 1
2. Email us at coa@townofchapelhill.org
3. Fax to 919-968-2840 (Attn: COA)
4. Mail to CHT, Attn: COA, 6900 Millhouse Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-8175

What will you tell them?

Date:

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 - 2:00pm

Location:

Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Chapel Hill

More Information:

http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?recordid=2162&page=1209

Planning & Transportation

Public input session on CHPD

Date:

Thursday, November 4, 2010 - 12:30pm

Location:

Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Road, CHapel Hill

More Information:

http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=22&recordid=2170&returnURL=/inde…

Government

The cost of Homegrown

I was looking for some information on the Town of Chapel Hill web site about Halloween logistics yesterday, and I came across some interesting data. It seems that since the town instituted the new "Homegrown Halloween" rules in 2008 to keep the the downtown party more manageable, they have greatly reduced the size of the party, but the cost to the Town is about the same!

I don't doubt that the evening is a much safer and probably healthier one for most of Chapel Hill, but I worry that the clamp down may also put a damper on the fun.

McKee swatting a fly with a shotgun

I was surprised to read on the OrangeChat blog this week that Democrat Earl McKee, running for an open County Commissioner seat in District 2 (northern and western Orange) has raised and spent well over $10,000. He already won the primary in May, in which he narrowly beat Renee Price, and promises to be the kind of (relatively) conservative voice that the not-so-new-anymore county commission districts were designed to elicit.

McKee is running against a Republican who has raised less than $3,000, most of which is a loan to his campaign. Oh, and did I mention he's a Republican? He is not going to win a county-wide seat around these parts. Like that fact or or not, it hasn't happened in decades, and even if Karl Rove's PAC starts buying ads on WCHL, it's not going to start now. (I'm not saying never, though.)

Durham Tech's Orange County Campus hosts special FREE Small Business Seminar featuring Mayor Tom Stevens 11/4

New! Edge of the Box Thinking
Date: Thursday, November 4
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Orange County Campus, Hillsborough, NC

Resist mediocrity, overcome complacency, cultivate creativity, foster innovation - and make your small business or organization exceptional. It all starts with how you think! This presentation is designed to stimulate insight, practical ideas, and creative thinking about strategy, marketing, innovation, and performance – exploring how small business scale and agility can be leveraged for success.

Keynote Seminar featuring: Tom Stevens

A leadership advisor, professional speaker, and seasoned facilitator, Tom’s experience spans business, non-profit, and public organizations. He was a teacher and therapist before serving a dozen years as the top executive of a growing family service agency. In 2001 he founded and continues to grow Think Leadership Ideas, a boutique consulting firm helping leaders create and sustain exceptional organizations. In 2005 Tom was elected Mayor of Hillsborough, and is now serving his third term.

Tom is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, Tom’s articles on leadership have appeared in numerous business magazines as well as his own publication, THINK!, and Tom is the creator of the 7 Ideas Coach podcasts on Apple iTunes. In addition, Tom is an artist, an enthusiast of antique woodworking tools, a casual gardener, and fan of local history.

There is no prior registration required (first come-first serve). For more information about this event check out the event web page.

Interested in learning more about our Small Business Center programs, seminars, and services? Check out the OCCnews blog.

I am here to help create opportunities that meet the needs of Orange County residents and businesses as you pursue your education, workforce training, and lifelong learning objectives. If there are topics or programs that you wish we were offering (or that you could offer) please let me know!

For more information, contact Carlo Robustelli, Director of Orange County Operations, at carlo@durhamtech.edu, 919-536-7238, ext. 4202, or Dub Gulley, Director of the Small Business Center at Durham Tech, gulleyd@durhamtech.edu, 919-536-7200, ext. 4501.

Click here for directions.

Date:

Thursday, November 4, 2010 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Location:

525 College Park Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278

Events

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