What are the chances that a lottery ticket you buy might change your life? Not good odds. But here’s something you can do that likely could change your life and everyone’s around you. Go to the polls and vote. Tuesday, May 6, is primary day in Orange County. The candidates we elect will make decisions […]
All posts in category Spending
Vote Tuesday, May 6
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 5, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/05/vote-tuesday-may-6/
Hauser’s plan for schools
Bonnie Hauser, my choice for county commissioner-at-large, brings a fresh perspective to many important issues we face. In her words and from her experience working on numerous issues in Orange County for more than a decade, here’s her proposal for the county to reprioritize spending to address school funding needs: In my “previous life,” I […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 30, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/30/hausers-plan-for-schools/
See schools run
Recently, I listened to a couple of longtime friends reminisce about their early days as first-graders at Glenwood Elementary School. Both of them entered first grade already knowing how to read. They were put into the Dick and Jane reading group. Average readers were sent to the Spot and Puff group. Those not yet able […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 21, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/21/see-schools-run/
Office-retail only
Ellie Kinnaird’s voice was drowned out during her final years in the N.C. Senate by affluent colleagues who, having reached a high level of creature comfort, put in place policies that closed off that path to others. After several years of advocating for laws that made life better for residents in all socio-economic classes, Kinnaird […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 14, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/14/office-retail-only/
Know the numbers
Orange County’s annual budget for 2014 is around $220 million. Chapel Hill’s is about $95 million. Owasa’s is another $43.5 million. Add those up – $358.5 million, even without Carrboro and Hillsborough – and divide by 365 (the number of days in a year), and you come up with the startling fact that our local […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 3, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/02/03/know-the-numbers/
Money, money, money
I read over the agenda for tonight’s Town Council meeting and felt the way I often feel when I pick up the mail this time of year – everyone wants my money. Over the past few months, council has heard about some wonderful plans to make our town a better place. And now it comes […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 27, 2014
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/01/27/money-money-money/
Back of the line — again
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? For being able turn on your faucet and drink a glass of clean water that doesn’t taste funky and leave you worried about what sorts of toxins or carcinogens it contains? For never having to budget for pumping out the septic tank and remediation efforts when it fails? […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 25, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/11/25/back-of-the-line-again/
Sorting out recycling
Does Wake County get a volume discount for recycling? It seems to be able to handle recycling at half the cost as Orange County. Then again, Wake County is a little more than twice the area of Orange County (857 square miles compared to Orange’s 401 square miles), yet it has nearly seven times the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 11, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/11/11/sorting-out-recycling/
Buybacks
Tell me I’m not the only person to have donated something to the PTA Thrift Shop, then a month later bought it back. Town Council members know the feeling. They are asked to give away affordable housing as they vote to approve redevelopment projects, then scrounge for town resources to buy affordable housing somewhere else […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 21, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/10/21/buybacks/
A roster with ballast
“Fling … ends” read the headline in a local newspaper over a story about candidates running for office. And as I read through the profiles of the final candidates to file for Town Council – Loren Hintz, Jonathan Riehl, Amy Ryan and D.C. Swinton – and the school board – Andrew Davidson and Ignacio Tzoumas […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 22, 2013
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/07/22/a-roster-with-ballast/