Jeff Miles's blog
Wednesday marked the deadline for applying to be appointed to the Chapel Hill Town Council seat vacated by Matt Czajkowski when he resigned earlier this year.
A total of six folks applied. You can read their applications online, and find a short description of each candidate's background in a news release issued by the town. In a special meeting of the Council on Monday at 6 p.m., each candidate will have the opportunity to make brief remarks on why they're most qualified, and the following week, on Monday, May 4, the Council will decide whether or not to make an appointment.
At a work session earlier this month, the Chapel Hill Town Council received a report on the fiscal sustainability of Chapel Hill Transit. The report describes CHT's current situation as akin to “tale of two cities.” One the one hand the system has been enormously successful in attracting new ridership and on the other hand facing some fairly significant obstacles because of that sucess. The report identifies funding as the chief area of concern, noting that the urgent need for capital expenses mostly to help replace the agency's aging fleet.
In response to the meeting, a slew of stories appeared with headlines like "Chapel Hill Transit Could Start Charging For Bus Rides." That got me and a few of OrangePolitics' other editors thinking: what would happen if the system really were to start charging fares as a way to be more sustainable? After talking it over a bit, we came up with (at least) two potential issues:
More than 40 people came out to Carrboro Town Hall earlier last night to give the Board of Alderman their thoughts about a proposed Carrboro Arts and Innovation Center downtown. The project, a joint effort of The ArtsCenter and Kidzu, would consist of a center with three performing arts center and kids museum located at at the intersection of Main and Roberson Streets.
The two partners propose raising half of the $15 million cost, with the town paying for the other half. They argue that the costs on the public side would be covered by tax revenues from a new hotel on the current ArtsCenter site that would also be part of the development. The town would own the new building, and the two non-profit partners would form a new organization that would raise funds for operations and manage the facility. That organization's new board will be appointed by the town. The partners estimated the economic impact of the project at around $320 million over the next 25 years.
In case you haven't heard, this year's general election ballot includes a referendum on a constitutional amendment allowing defendants charged with all but the most serious felonies to waive their right to a jury trial, and have a judge decide whether they are guilty or innocent instead. Forty-nine other states and the federal government allow criminal defendants to opt for bench trials.
Since coverage of the amendment has been fairly low-key, here are two views on whether to vote for or against amednment to help you decide.
The Independent Weekly supports the proposed amendment:
The Orange-Chatham Group of the Sierra Club issued endorsements in some of the upcoming Orange County primary races last night. Their picks were Barry Jacobs and Mark Marcoplos for the Orange County Board of Commissioners and Bethany Chaney for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. Here's more from the Sierra Club press release:
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