Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger has calendared the Greene Tract resolution for a vote at town council’s Nov. 17 meeting — after the election, so that voters can’t hear candidates’ views on development of one of the last remaining natural areas in Chapel Hill, but before new council members who might be more committed to […]
All posts in category Housing
Greene Tract series continues
I took time out for a lengthy vacation, half of it spent abroad and half among the 85% of Chapel Hill residents who don’t realize Chapel Hill has a town council. Stepping back gave me a new perspective on town business and how lives are lived by people who feel fulfilled, even if they know […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 27, 2020
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2020/01/27/greene-tract-series-continues/
Rising above
I landed in London as the British were waking up to Boris Johnson’s landslide victory. Over the course of the ensuing few days, I chatted with people I met about what they thought of the election outcome. Their responses lead me to predict four more years of Donald Trump. Johnson’s wide margin of victory surprised […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 23, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/12/23/rising-above/
Hospitality
Staff at the Durham Performing Arts Center have that hospitality thing down pat. Even if your ticket is for a seat in the very last row of the upper balcony, DPAC staff welcome you as if they are delighted that you’ve accepted their invitation to their soiree. Yet, statistically, a certain percentage of them have […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 9, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/12/09/hospitality/
Two views of affordable housing
I attended two events over the weekend that showed the complicated issue of boosting the amount of affordable housing, from the perspective of the investor and the end-user. Each left me somewhat disheartened. Community Empowerment Fund’s “Affordable Housing: The Musical” poked fun at council members, developers and others in the community while sharing the experiences […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 25, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/25/2852/
Community Home Trust’s next chapter
When Robert Dowling accepted the offer Joe Cook and two colleagues extended in 1997 to head what would become Community Home Trust, Cook had one and only one directive. He shook hands with Dowling and said, “Don’t screw up.” And 22 years later, we can testify that Dowling heeded that advice. Having launched the nonprofit […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 18, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/18/community-home-trusts-next-chapter/
Look before you vote
I flat out enjoy canvassing. When else can I knock on a stranger’s door and start a conversation? After weeks of traipsing through neighborhoods all over town, I feel confident about giving directions to any Amazon Prime driver. Regardless of what part of town I’m in, someone on whose door I’ve knocked will ask me, […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 28, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/10/28/look-before-you-vote/
Feel-good decisions
As I interact with people when I do errands, I often ask them whether they live in Chapel Hill and why. I ask those who live in town what they would like Town Council to know. Usually, I hear the Big Three Issues: affordability, flooding and traffic. Not long ago, I heard a new one: […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 16, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/09/16/feel-good-decisions/
Senior housing
Plan ahead. Senior housing consultant Michelle Lytle-Westrom wants you to take that message to heart, above all else. The future will be here before you know it. Lytle-Westrom spoke to a standing-room-only crowd, most of us with gray hair, at the library last Sunday afternoon to run through various options once we were ready to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 29, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/07/29/senior-housing/
The flummox of FLUM
The gavel came down on our final meeting of the 2019 fiscal year at 11:34 p.m. last Wednesday night. Community members packed the auditorium at Town Hall at the beginning of the meeting for various last-minute petitions, and many town residents stayed almost all the way to the end to weigh in on the Future […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 1, 2019
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/07/01/the-flummox-of-flum/