July 2014
As counties in the Triangle move forward with plans to expand transit options and enhance mobility, please join us for a discussion about the importance of incorporating equity components into transit planning. By prioritizing and committing to equitable development, lawmakers can ensure that the benefits of transit investments are broadly shared so low- and moderate-income residents will not be left behind as new opportunities enter the Triangle. Transit investments can be a powerful force for social and economic equity if lawmakers choose to protect residents from displacement and enhance connectivity by coordinating transit, housing, and jobs policies. The result: strong, affordable, and accessible communities.
Date:
Friday, July 25, 2014 - 8:00am to 9:30am
Location:
Junior League of Raleigh, 711 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh
During budget discussions last night, some members of the Chapel Hill Carrboro School Board indicated that they would support a strategy to cut their budget that would affect some of our lowest income workers. A proposal was made to move 15 custodians from being school district employees making $11/hour to contractors making only $9.60/hour. This would save $30,000, but is it really the way we want to save money? Not me.
The School Board may vote on this budget cut on July 17th, depending on when the North Carolina General Assembly passes the state budget and what it includes.
Early voting for the Orange County Sheriff’s Run-off between David Caldwell and Charles Blackwood kicks off this Thursday. Below are excerpted answers from Blackwood and Caldwell from the
OrangePolitics’ Sheriff’s Forum.
office hours with Gary Kahn are Mon -Fri 2-5 pm at Tabbacco Road Chapel Hill. in the Bar Area. to discuss campaign issues anyone might have. Thanks. Gary Kahn.P.s. Now through election day.
I’m not turning into Karl Rove. Honest. But I do not
understand why progressive writers I otherwise deeply respect, like #BobGeary of #TheIndependent (‘Supreme Court
rulings reinforce workplace discrimination'), have such an
obsession against corporate America.
To be honest, I sense it has nothing to do with constitution, law or
rights, and an awful lot to do with the fact that these folks do not like
Republicans. And most large corporations are run by Republicans.
Look. I don’t much care for Republicans, either. But that does not mean
that they do not have rights. And it does not mean that corporations do not
have rights, too.
Date:
Sunday, August 10, 2014 - 11:00am to 1:00pm
Join Chapel Hill Town Council Member Lee Storrow for open office hours to discuss your concerns in Chapel Hill.
I'll provide refreshments, just bring yourself. Come whether you have a specific concern, or just want to hear more about what local government is doing. Past conversations have tended to go in a lot of different directions, but am definitely interested in feedback and thoughts about downtown Chapel Hill for this gathering.
Date:
Thursday, July 24, 2014 - 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Location:
Industry- 403 West Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill NC,
Though many of Orange County’s public bodies are off this week, don’t forget to vote in the runoff/second primary for sheriff. The polls will be open 6:30am to 7:30pm. Both school boards will also be meeting. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board will consider a technology contract, while its Orange County counterpart will get an update on the budget for the upcoming year. The Hillsborough Town Board will have two meetings, one for general matters and other for changes to the Unified Development Ordinance.
Here’s the full summary:
CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERPERSONS
CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO BOARD OF EDUCATION
Today is runoff day across Orange County!
Democrats in all precincts have the chance to choose between Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell in the Democratic primary for Sheriff while Republicans in the northern part of the county can vote to choose the Republican nominee for Congress in North Carolina's 6th district. Unaffiliated voters who voted in the May 6th primary may only vote the same party in today's runoff. Unaffiliated voters who did not vote on May 6th can vote today and, if applicable, choose which party ballot they wish to cast. A total of 1519 voters cast their ballots early at the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough.
What are you seeing at the polls today? I was voter #1 at Smith Middle School just after 6:30am this morning with no other voters in sight.
Results will be posted online after polls close at 7:30pm tonight.
Yesterday, I attended the Board of Elections meeting where they were to approve the early vote schedule for the fall. Though I knew there could be some others in attendance regarding an early vote site on campus (I was part of the informal committee looking for sites and suggested Carolina Hillel as a possibility, which was eventually approved). There were at least a dozen people in attendance speaking, as I did, in support of expanded hours on Saturday and adding Sunday as a voting day. While Orange County exceeded the number of hours required by law in the primary, I believe we should expand hours even more. Because of the response, the Board is delaying their decision next week.
On Tuesday, July 22 at 11:15am, members of the Orange County Board of Elections will consider our county's early vote plan. They were originally slated to approve the plan at yesterday's meeting, but due to the number of people present in support of expanded opportunities opted to postpone their decision.
Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell faced off in a second Democratic primary election Tuesday to determine who will be Orange County's first new sheriff in more than 30 years.
The map below shows the precinct-level results of this runoff election. The results are shown as the ratio of votes for Blackwood to votes for Caldwell. (As usual, these preliminary precinct-level results are inaccurate to the extent that early votes may have differed from votes cast on election day. See the raw numbers in this Google spreadsheet. Thanks to Damon Seils for providing the map.)
A total of 8413 Orange County residents voted out of a possible 91,173. So, only 9.23% of voters participated in choosing our next sheriff.
Rooftop solar power provides clean, local and independent energy, all while saving money on your electricity bill. Solarize Chapel Hill is a non-profit, grassroots effort that makes it easy both to find out if solar is right for you, and to get solar on more roofs.
By organizing neighbors together for group discounts, vetting solar installers, and helping you maximize the tax incentives, Solarize Chapel Hill makes it simple and affordable to go solar. More than 300 people participated in our recent program in Carrboro, so we know that many in Chapel Hill could become more energy independent and save money by adding solar.
The biggest challenge is getting the word out about how affordable solar power has become. We are currently recruiting volunteer Neighborhood Solar Ambassadors to get the word out in neighborhoods around Chapel Hill.
If you are interested in becoming a Neighborhood Solar Ambassador or just want to learn more, please join us at TRU in Chapel Hill (114 Henderson Street) on July 22 at 7pm for drinks, appetizers, merriment, and the opportunity to learn more about Solarize Chapel Hill. FIRST ROUND AND APPETIZERS ARE ON US! More info at www.solarizeChapelHill.org
Date:
Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - 7:00am to 8:30am
Location:
TRU bar and deli, 114 Henderson St. Dwntwn Chapel Hill
From April to May, Solarize Carrboro helped more than 300 people find out if their home was right for solar. While many are still evaluating their proposals, more than 30 homes and businesses have already committed and are going solar. These solar rooftop power plants will generate enough electricity to replace FIVE MILLION pounds of coal, all while keeping our energy dollars local.
We are excited to announce that in September we are kicking off new Solarize campaigns for Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and the rest of Orange County. If you are interested in helping organize, please join us on July 22 at 7pm at TRU bar + deli (114 Henderson St, Downtown Chapel Hill) for drinks, appetizers, merriment, and the opportunity to learn more about Solarize Chapel Hill. FIRST ROUND AND APPETIZERS ARE ON US! More info at www.solarizeChapelHill.org or let us know you are coming on facebook
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Tomorrow the Orange County Board of Elections will adopt a plan for early voting for the fall election. The Board will consider both the locations and hours for early voting. When it comes to locations, the board should keep the same voting locations used during the spring primary to maintain consistency. After considering a number of options, the plan adopted for the primary included five early voting sites, including a location in rural Orange County at Master’s Garden Preschool, and a location adjacent to UNC’s campus at North Carolina Hillel. I’ve been a strong advocate for securing a site that is accessible to the faculty, staff, and students who attend UNC, and while NC Hillel might not be the perfect site, it is accessible to pedestrians from UNC and we should maintain stability from the primary.
This morning I attended the Orange County Board of Elections meeting where they determined the early voting plan for the Fall 2014 elections. I have been attending BOE meetings in Orange County for several years, and this was by far the largest turnout (over 50 people by my count) I have ever seen.
This meeting was called to consider adjusting the fall early voting plan to include voting hours on Sunday. At the board's meeting a week ago, some citizens representing Jews for Justice requested expansion to Sunday to provide a non-weekday voting option that didn't fall on the Jewish holy day, Saturday. The meeting opened with the Chair asking the audience to try to keep their comments brief. The board intended to limit public comment to 30 minutes, with each side receiving 15 minutes for their speakers to speak. I spoke in support of extending voting hours to Sunday, as did Hillsborough Commissioner Jenn Weaver and Carrboro Board of Aldermen Member Randee Haven- O'Donnell. Several other citizens spoke in support, including representatives from Jews for Justice, the League of Women Voters, and the Orange County Democratic Party.
There are numerous developments in various stages of the planning process in both Carrboro and Chapel HIll, so many that it is hard to keep track of them. Here we provide a rundown of the status of developments of most interest in Southern Orange County.
Carrboro
A summary of active development applications can be found here and is updated monthly. The Town staff also created a map of the active developments. Active or recently approved developments are:
I attended the last two Orange County Board of Elections public meetings as a resident who cares about easy access to voting for all citizens. Tuesday’s meeting was a complete sham. While the meeting’s purpose was advertised on the Board’s web site as “[t]o receive public input on the 2014 November One-Stop voting hours and location,” the Board’s actions said otherwise.
Citizens eager to provide input filled the room to overflowing, and yet Chairwoman Knight opened the meeting by directing each “side” (her word) to organize (how?) to speak for 15 minutes in support or opposition to adding Sunday early voting hours. By allocating 15 minutes to each “side,” she pre-determined that the board would hear equal opposition and support, and have no opportunity to understand the balance of citizen opinion in the room. This pre-determined allocation led, for example, to the board hearing a very long statement by a representative of the Republican Party but not allowing an African-American supporter of Sunday voting to speak at all, despite his repeated attempts to do so.
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