Tonight’s Town Council meeting includes several interesting nuggets, not the least of which is a proposal to extend the taxpayer-financed elections program, known as Voter Owned Elections, set to expire on July 1, 2012. VOE, which the General Assembly signed into law in 2007, authorizes the town to give taxpayer-generated revenue to candidates running for […]
All posts for the month April, 2012
Elections bought and paid for
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 30, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/30/elections-bought-and-paid-for/
Hailing the chief
A local TV station broadcast the arrival of Air Force One on Tuesday and live-streamed the coverage to the giant video screens at Carmichael Arena, where a near deliriously happy SRO crowd in Carmichael and an overflow crowd in Woollen Gym watched President Obama step onto the tarmac and shake hands with various political leaders, […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 27, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/27/hailing-the-chief/
Timing
Gene Pease put it in a nutshell last night. In response to the concept plan review for Carolina Flats presented by Florida developer Russ Greer of Progressive Capital Group, Pease said, “Your timing is lousy.” After Greer and Scott Radway presented the “back of the envelope” plan, as Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt called it, and a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 24, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/24/timing/
Sharp eye on Flats
I support smart growth in appropriate venues, a minority position among many of my peers. I’d like to be able to lobby for high-density projects, but when a developer seems to portray a project as something it isn’t and smacks down moderately priced housing for a half-mile stretch, that makes the task all the harder. […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 23, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/23/sharp-eye-on-flats/
Windfall
I’ve read about people who come into money and then the trouble starts. Town Council showed a hint of that at Monday night’s meeting when they began talking about how to spend the money from the sale of “two-thirds” bonds. These bonds don’t need voters’ approval, but council does have to approve the sale. The […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 19, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/19/windfall/
Back from break
Town Council resumes meetings tonight, presumably refreshed and rarin’ to go after its 3-week spring break. Tonight’s agenda includes a number of interesting items, and perhaps a little gift. Community Home Trust starts the festivities with a petition for the town to commit to designating 13 of its parking spaces at 140 West Franklin for […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 16, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/16/back-from-break/
Keeping up with campus
Five of nine council members made sure we now have a law banning some people from talking on cell phones while driving (although those five council members are exempt). The law will cost taxpayers an undetermined amount of money in an extraordinarily tight budget year. It will be impossible to enforce, according to police, and […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 5, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/05/keeping-up-with-campus/
Decision by Ouija
I don’t think I ever went to a slumber party as a kid that someone didn’t bring out a Ouija board to divine answers to life’s mysteries of who liked whom and would I ever be kissed. I don’t recall at what age I finally figured out that the little plastic table wasn’t picking out […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 2, 2012
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/04/02/decision-by-ouija/