Education
OK it's not politics, but it seems worthy of passing on this tip from my friend Ross for the show at the Cat's Cradle tonight in Carrboro:
If you've never seen the Cat's Cradle completely packed to the gills with equal parts middle-aged parents and teens, all screaming wildly for the occasionally pretty-damn-good (or at least pretty-damn-weird) high school bands onstage, then maybe it's time you gave it a try. I'm not saying you'll enjoy it per se, at least not in the traditional "what a great rockshow" way, but it can be gratifying to see how many kids are in bands, and how many of their friends want to see them play.
- trianglerock.music
Big news in today's N&O on a farming incubator being established in Orange County by the county, the state Cooperative Extension, and NCSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This is very good news for Orange County as the continued vitality of local farming will be critical to our future sustainability.
Consider the following, according to Michael Pollan:
Food energy in a 1-pound box of prewashed organic lettuce: 80 calories
Fossil-fuel energy spent growing, chilling, washing, packaging, and transporting box of lettuce from California to East Coast: More than 4,600 calories
That's a 57.5 to 1 ratio. And, there is nothing on the horizon to improve upon it. In fact, as gas supplies dwindle while demand rises, it is likely to get much worse. This means that the value of locally grown produce will continue to rise as will the value of farmland (and even garden space).
Remember John McCormick? The lawyer for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (and the money that went missing with him) hasn't been seen since his abandoned car was found at Duke Forest on July 11. The School Board fired McCormick after his disappearing act - only about a decade too late, in my opinion - and now they're hiring a replacement to advise and represent the school system.
2006 seems to be the year of new executive staff at at our local governments with the managers of Chapel Hill and Orange County retiring as well.
Representatives of the three firms will participate in one-hour interview sessions with subcommittee members on Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 4-7 pm at Lincoln Center. The subcommittee is scheduled to meet at 6 pm on Oct. 17 at Linclon Center [sic] to determine its recommendation regarding legal counsel to the entire Board. That recommendation is expected to appear on the Board agenda on November 2.
While I appreciate the effort to address this growing problem, this policy seems destined to not have much impact besides affirming for teenagers that gangs are really cool. Why else would The Man be trying to shut 'em down?
The Board of Education is slated to discuss -- but not vote on -- the policy during a 7 p.m. meeting Thursday at Lincoln Center in Chapel Hill. ...
Chapel Hill-Carrboro's proposed policy, however, lays out some possible consequences in instances where students are "suspected of displaying gang affiliation."
The steps include a verbal or written warning, photographs, the removal or covering of gang-related clothing or markings, and the removal of any identifying signs of belonging to a gang.
- heraldsun.com: Schools consider new policy on gangs
I'd like to see some policies that try to better understand and validate student voices and do more to let students air the frustrations that make them consider violence and violent culture.
A few important decisions are hapenning this week...
74 acres north of Jones Ferry Road near Old Greensboro Highway will be permanently preserved to protect University Lake's watershed. That'll make a nice viewshed, too.
-OWASA to buy 74 acres at lake, 6/20/06
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board will selecting it's newest member today at 6pm.
-School board to pick a new member, 6/21/06
And of course the Chapel Hill Town Council hopes to hire a new manager this weekend. Here's a little more information about the three white men in the running. (Thanks to the Town of Chapel Hill for photos.)
Frank Ragan
Deputy City Manager of Community Services in Aurora, CO
Roger Lane Stancil
former City Manager in Fayetteville, NC
Sean R. Stegall
Assistant City Manager in Elgin, IL
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