A lot went on this week. We’re trying to keep up with it! Here’s a summary of civic news. New Carrboro town budget dropped You can read the proposed budget here. No property tax increase. We’re still going through this and will write up something longer in the coming days. #BudgetSeason Carrboro Town Council member […]
Posted inChapel Hill, Chapel Hill Town Council, Housing
Why I support the housing choices proposal: Anne Gordon
We are publishing statements made during the May 24, 2023 public hearing on the Town’s housing choices proposal. My name is Anne Gordon and I’m here from Spring Glen, a community made up primarily of duplexes and condos in the Franklin-Rosemary Historic District here in downtown Chapel Hill. Most people don’t know about us – […]
Posted inChapel Hill Town Council, Connectivity, DCHC MPO, NCDOT, Triangle Region
Thanks Mayor Pam Hemminger for your letter to NCDOT!
Earlier this week we wrote about NCDOT’s surprise “Express Design” for US 15-501 around I-40. It really hit a nerve with a lot of people. A lot of you contacted the NCDOT directly and also wrote the Mayor and Council. Indyweek also did a Q&A with us about it. We’d like to report the Mayor […]
Posted inDowntown, Bike and Walk, Chapel Hill, Connectivity, Transportation
Why do we need a vision for mobility in downtown Chapel Hill?
Last November, the Chapel Hill Town Council committed $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to a “Streetscape Enhancement Mobility Plan,” that would focus on how people move around downtown. In February, the town selected Toole Design, a national streetscape design firm that has offices in Raleigh, to conduct a study of downtown streets. […]
Posted inOrange County, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Housing, Triangle Region
The power and under-reported achievements of Justice United
More than 300 people attended the Orange County Justice United (JU) “Accountability Assembly” on Tuesday, May 16. To say that it was well attended is to understate the size and importance of the crowd. I helped put out the signs that identified the many organizations represented: there were Anglicans, Methodists, Episcopalians, AME, UCC, Baptists and […]
Posted inAnimals
Exclusive: Interview with @ChapelHillBear
Every few years, a black bear or two is spotted in Chapel Hill. This is so normal that Orange County’s Animal Services has multiple guides for what to do if black bears are spotted. Each time a bear is spotted, the one-bit Twitter account @ChapelHillBear awakens from hibernation to muse on being in the (very) […]