Another season of Town Council meetings begins tonight at 7, and it already looks like déjà vu all over again. Over the summer some council members seem to have gotten in touch with their inner sneak. Like students returning from summer break, they are trying to see how much they can get past the teacher […]
Business as usual?
Posted by Don Evans on September 15, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/09/15/business-as-usual/
Rational decisions, or not
After almost a year of tracking the Chapel Hill Town Council and how it works, I’ve concluded that the folks on the board are not especially smart. Many times during the year the board members had to decide on an issue, and rather than base that decision on the facts, members chose to vote by […]
Posted by Don Evans on August 3, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/08/03/rational-decisions-or-not/
In the slow lane
For the past five weeks I’ve felt a bit like the fellows in the kgb commercial. You know, the one in which two men frantically search on their cell phones for a Japanese translation of “I surrender” before the sumo wrestler attacks. So I have an unbounded sympathy for the poor fellow who is so […]
Posted by Don Evans on July 20, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/07/20/in-the-slow-lane/
Seeing economic sense
The Wake County school board may be on the wrong track with its neighborhood schools decision , but at least some of the board members can tell when is not a good time to ask taxpayers to allow them to borrow more money. On Wednesday, the board’s chairman, Ron Margiotta, told The News & Observer […]
Posted by Don Evans on June 18, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/06/18/seeing-economic-sense/
Check-out lane at library
If you’re going to double the size of the public library, you had better double the amount of parking, right? As I circled the parking lot at the public library Monday at 11:30 a.m., I wondered what was going on – all the library’s 110 spaces were taken, and there were several vehicles prowling for […]
Posted by Don Evans on June 16, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/06/16/check-out-lane-at-library/
Thrills and chills
When I watch a horror movie, I can usually peg which characters will be picked off by the deranged villain or will succumb to whatever toxic element threatens the community. The good (and rare) horror movie is the one that has me guessing about the fate of each character. That’s why I was completely shocked […]
Posted by Don Evans on June 10, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/06/10/thrills-and-chills/
Betting on the bonds
Tonight’s the night. Not only will the Town Council approve its budget for fiscal 2011, its members also will vote on issuing $20.4 million in general obligation bonds that include $16 million and change for doubling the size of the town library. The crucial vote is the decision on whether to issue the library expansion […]
Posted by Don Evans on June 7, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/06/07/betting-on-the-bonds/
Disclosure and N&O
After I read the story in Saturday’s News & Observer about Blue Cross Blue Shield looking at off-shoring some of its work and jobs, I couldn’t help but get in touch with my inner cynic. It seems the folks in Raleigh believe that BCBS outsourcing work overseas is wrong. The story quoted Dana Cope, executive […]
Posted by Don Evans on June 1, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/06/01/disclosure-and-no/
Traffic safety for everyone
What’s more dangerous than riding a bicycle in Chapel Hill? Riding a bicycle in Chapel Hill at the Estes Drive-Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard intersection. That’s why some residents plan to petition the Town Council at the business meeting tonight at 7 in Town Hall to end right-on-red turns at the intersection and paint wide […]
Posted by Don Evans on May 24, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/05/24/traffic-safety-for-everyone/
Who you gonna call?
What was the difference between The Cottages and Obey Creek? Both projects went before the Town Council Monday night. The Cottages would build 330 dwellings on 33 acres off Homestead Road. Obey Creek would put 1,200 dwellings and 570,000 square feet of retail/office space on 120 acres across the road from Southern Village. Council members […]
Posted by Don Evans on May 20, 2010
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2010/05/20/who-you-gonna-call/