Media

Guest Post by Sally Greene

Congratulations to Ruby! Orangepolitics.org was named by the Independent Weekly today as "Best Blog" in their "Best of the Triangle."

Our own pick for Best Blog is a site that demonstrates how effective the
medium can be as a civic forum: Orangepolitics.org, created by activist
and techie Ruby Sinreich, is a buzzing site full of news about every
conceivable issue: school merger, town'gown relations, traffic, you name
it. Local politicians, activists and commentators often contribute guest
posts, and the message boards host some very lively debate. The site is
elegantly designed and constantly updated, despite being ad-free and
non-commercial. We wish every community in the Triangle had an online
venue like this one.

Sally Greene is a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council. She can be reached at sally AT ibiblio DOT org.

Guest Post by Nick Eberlein

Now that UNC and Chapel Hill are prepping for new discussions over zoning and campus expansion, it seems like the editorial pages in the local papers have been handed their collective wet dream: "contentious negotiations," always ripe fodder for the opinion pages.

Woe is me, however, when I read rants like yesterday's editorial in The Daily Tar Heel entitled "Hostile Intention." I'm now convinced that what hampers both UNC and the town the most during these times of critical decision-making and long-term planning is the tendency of some in our community to blindly hop to one side of the fence or the other in reaction to either side's "hostility."

As both a UNC student and town native, I take strong issue with the DTH editorial board's assertion that "town residents would ideally like to live in a college town without the students." Nothing is further from the truth.

Guest post by Nick Eberlein

Once the brouhaha over November's council race and the implications it would have for the town - and more pointedly, for town-UNC relations - died down weeks afterward, we have seen very little in the press about what we may expect in the coming months, years, etc. between the two parties. But when I was made aware of Bob Burtman's fresh column in this week's Indy, it seems that a whole new round of mud-slinging, compromising, controversy, stonewalling, or stalemate could easily begin very soon.

The article, I think anyway, does a good job of weaving a synthesis between the successful advocacy candidates, the gearing up of Carolina North negotiations, the matching of university powerbrokers with elected officials to shoot the bull over common issues, and the ensuing lobbying petition that has resulted. What makes this article interesting is it sourced entirely with anonymous quotes (e.g., "a council member," "a student enrolled in Jonathan Howes' class") and makes some pretty damning allegations.