Ruby Sinreich's blog

In a good example of both thoughtful leadership and why elected officials should use blogs, County Commissioner Mike Nelson recently posted his response to the local Democratic Party's resolution in support of the Rogers Road neighborhood and against siting a waste transfer station on Eubanks.

Here's an excerpt:

While the actual transfer station itself is not a dump, it does attract the stigma of a dump and has the unmistakable stench of environmental racism. The responsible course of action is to seek an alternative solution.

Additionally, it must be acknowledged that the manner in which the search was handled was flawed. By not conducting a thorough and transparent search, the BoCC reinforced the community's fears. This was a mistake; we can, and should, do better here in Orange County.
- Leading from the Left: Waste Transfer Station

Today Chapel Hill's own Jim Neal who is running for U.S. Senate against Elizabeth Dole next year (if he wins the Democratic nomination, for which he has no competition yet) was a guest for an hour of live-blogging over on BlueNC this morning. A surprising question came up, but not as surprising as the answer:

I've heard you're gay...
omega_star on Sat, 10/20/2007 - 10:09am
[...]
I am indeed. No secret and no big deal to me-- I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise.
JimNeal on Sat, 10/20/2007 - 10:18am

The Town of Carrboro is scheduling a public hearing for an "anti-lingering ordinance" - basically another way of saying a loitering ordinance - that would apply only at certain times of day and only at the intersection of Jones Ferry Road and Davie Road (ie: across the street from Abbey Court apartments, aka Old Well when I was in college). If you've ever driven by in the morning, you know that this site is used daily by contractors to pick up day laborers.

The problem is that after those with jobs leave, a lot of guys hang around, look unsavory (hardly a crime), and sometimes cause real problems. Back in September the Board of Aldermen directed the town staff to step up enforcement of alcohol rules and to work with property owners and neighbors in the area to address problems with littering, etc.