Ruby Sinreich's blog
A couple of recent letters to the editor are stretching logic and hyperbole in order to make their points. I think they end up having the opposite effect. In today's Daily Tar Heel for example, senior Chris Garrison complains that "if Benito Mussolini can get public transportation to run on schedule" why can't Chapel Hill? Do we really have to answer that, Chris?
In last week's Independent Weekly, Sharon Cook wrote a letter taking issue with that paper's October 2007 characterization of her as a newcomer to the issue of justice for the African-American neighbors of the landfill. She accused the Indy of shoddy reporting, and explained her history of supporting her Rogers Road neighbors.
Just got an info item that will be on the Chapel Hill Town Council's agenda tonight. Apparently the "Innovations Center" is on next week's agenda (1/23/08), but of course the Council needs to know about the plans for Carolina North to understand the context for this first building. So UNC proposes to toss off a presentation about the Carolina North Master Plan at the same meeting and then go on with presenting the concept plan of the Innovations Center.
I would think the Town would need a moment to actually comprehend the plan before trying to understand something that is supposed to fit into it. But of course that would assume that UNC actually wants
elected officials, staff, or citizens of Chapel Hill (and Carrboro) to analyze, understand, or respond to anything they're doing.
It sounds like UNC's plan is just to do a quick presentation, and listen to public comment at this meeting - with one week's notice - and then just go along their merry way building the first phase Carolina North without any substantial input from the community.
School starting times have long been a peeve of mine, even though I don't have kids. When parents work typical office hours, getting kids up and ready for classes that start before 8 am and end around 3 pm has got to be a frustrating ordeal. Of course not all parents work at white collar jobs, but 9-to-5 is probably more common than the agrarian schedule that our school day used to be planned around. Not to mention the impact of dawn classes on the students!
Here's a cool idea:
The Hillsborough Police Department has started issuing crime reports by
e-mail, giving a snapshot of the significant reports made in the past
24 or 48 hours.
- News & Observer: "Police post reports of crime by e-mail" 1/9/08
When I lived in Northside, the police sometimes brought a print our of the crimes reported in the area for the last month to our Community Watch meetings. I think more immediate information could be very helpful, especially if we need to be on guard for specific people or recurring problems. On the other hand, some people are already too paranoid as it is...
As part of their annual planning retreat this weekend, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be holding a special planning session with UINC officials to discuss Carolina North. The meeting is open to the public, although no public comment will be allowed. I haven't been able to find an agenda or list of attendees, all I know is that it's from 1 to 5pm Sunday at the Southern Orange Human Services Center on Homestead Road.
From the Town eNews (which isn't archived online, grr):
Stated goals for the Sunday meeting are to engage Town and University representatives in a shared discussion about Carolina North. They will identify common interests and decide how to address those interests.
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