Last week Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents swept through the Triangle and snatched up more than two dozen Latinx residents suspected of being in the U.S. without proper documentation. An ICE spokesman claimed that the majority of those taken into custody had criminal convictions. But anecdotally, those in Chapel Hill were law-abiding, gainfully employed […]
All posts in category Budget
Fear trumps finances
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 16, 2018
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/04/16/fear-trumps-finances/
Light Rail at Our Own Risk
Alex Cabanes, the founder of SmartTransitFuture.org, has done in-depth analysis of the proposed Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project and has explored its implications and transit alternatives. He shares his insight into the latest plot twist of the DOLRT saga. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved moving the 17.7-mile light-rail project into the engineering phase — […]
Posted by NancyDon on July 31, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/07/31/light-rail-at-our-own-risk/
A Blast on the Fourth
I would like to say that my choice of where to live has been motivated by work and family, but you could make a case that fireworks factored in. Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. From the time I was a kid, I woke up every July 4 knowing it was going to be […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 10, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/07/10/a-blast-on-the-fourth/
Better planning for affordability
Last year, when Orange County commissioners proposed a $5 million bond to be used for affordable housing, I pushed for a plan. The county commissioners instead offered a slogan — 1,065 homes for $5 million — that was so unlikely to be achieved that it didn’t rise to the level of a goal. Trying to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 26, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/26/better-planning-for-affordability/
Paying our bills, and extras
You can craft a budget by starting with the money you expect to have in the coming year and determining how to spend it. Or you can envision the lifestyle you want and figure out how to afford it. Chapel Hill’s budget for Fiscal Year 2018, which starts July 1 of this year, does a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 12, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/06/12/paying-our-bills-and-extras/
Trumped in Orange County
The Trump Era has pierced Chapel Hill’s bubble. Last week five of the seven Orange County Commissioners voted for taxpayers to take responsibility for 18% of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit costs not covered by federal and state governments, plus 18.5% of the debt service, on top of 20% of the regular maintenance costs of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 1, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/01/trumped-in-orange-county/
If we build it, they will park
We walked to our downtown E. Franklin Street church Easter morning to avoid a lengthy search for parking. The Morehead lot fills up quickly, as does Lot 2 on the corner of E. Rosemary and Columbia streets on a typical Sunday morning. Sometimes the Wallace Deck has no room, either. Bub O’Malley’s gravel lot used […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 17, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/17/if-we-build-it-they-will-park/
Chapel Hill’s Central Park?
Dream first; set your sights; then figure out what you have to do to get there. That philosophy has worked for me over the years, and town staff used it, too, last Saturday by hosting a charrette to find out what value taxpayers believe the 36-acre parcel we bought from the American Legion could add […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 10, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/10/chapel-hills-central-park/
Funding Our Bubble
Chapel Hill’s bubble has been both boasted about and blasted, depending on the politics of the critic. We have a reputation of being a haven for bleeding-heart liberals, a sanctuary city in sentiment and practice, albeit not codified. But a sneak peek at the proposed Trump administration budget indicates that our bubble is about to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 20, 2017
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/03/20/funding-our-bubble/
Best practices, best officers
In North Carolina, a barber needs 1,000 hours of training to get licensed. A law enforcement officer receives 616 hours. As society and circumstances change — think the closing of mental health facilities at the turn of this century that left law enforcement officers to intervene when a mentally ill person posed harm to the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 22, 2016
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/08/22/best-practices-best-officers/