Zoning reform matters for housing affordability, racial equity, environmental sustainability, and economic growth. The Chapel Hill Town Council should be moving faster on reform, not discussing ways to slow it down. Last week, the Chapel Hill Town Council held a work session where they discussed, among other things, the town’s plans to rewrite its land use […]
Posted inCHALT
Mapping out CHALT-connected websites
Over the past several years, many websites have popped up in Carrboro and Chapel Hill related to local development and transportation projects. Using the network analysis methods described in this CJR piece, I discovered that some of them share IP addresses and various analytics identifiers. As noted in the CJR piece: “It is highly unusual […]
Posted inCarrboro, Carrboro Town Council
The 203 Project and What It Means to Prioritize the Climate
Last night, the Carrboro Town Council voted to approve financing for the 203 Project, aka the new library in Carrboro. The vote was 5-1, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Sammy Slade. In a letter to the Daily Tar Heel, Slade outlined his reasons for voting against the project. The opening paragraphs of his […]
Posted inCHALT, Journalism
The Local Reporter, CHALT and the need for disclosure and transparency
Update: April 7 The Local Reporter, a non-profit news organization, launched in September 2019, touting itself as a way to plug Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s news deserts after several papers here closed over the past decade. An interview with its first editor – there have been three, and the paper’s currently looking for a fourth […]
Posted inUncategorized
Carrboro’s Skills Development Center
An astute reader reminded me that the Skills Development Center (NC Works) will be co-located with the new library project. The Skills Development Center has needed to be relocated since Orange County sold the property it sat in on Franklin Street to WELL Dot to bring in tax revenue and 400 jobs. It is important […]
Posted inBike and Walk, Chapel Hill Town Council, Connectivity, Development review, Planning Board: Chapel Hill
R.E.M., Chapel Hill, and the Importance of Micro-Connections
Music aficionados are likely familiar with R.E.M.’s place in the local music scene in the early days of the band’s career. The band played its first show outside of Georgia at the Station in Carrboro, where the members met Jefferson Holt, who went on to manage R.E.M. for 15 years as it grew into America’s […]