At various times in my life, I’ve been comforted to remember that most of the problems I’ve faced so far have been ones that could be solved by money. The Town of Chapel Hill, on the other hand, seems comforted by the thought that, no matter the problem, it can be solved by consultants. Which, […]

Assessing property often requires a judgment call, especially when selecting comps, deciding how the properties measure up against one another and evaluating condition. What frustrates me as a taxpayer is that the county assessors always err in the county’s favor. According to the property tax office, the assessed value should reflect 100 percent of the […]

Now maybe the county commissioners will listen to their constituents. Nearly 45 percent of registered voters cast ballots in yesterday’s election, an “off” year devoted mainly to local races and local issues. According to the election results reported on the Orange County website, precincts in the rural sections of the county were among those with […]

At tonight’s Town Council meeting, members of ABetterSite.org will present petitions to council about the site selection process for the IFC’s new shelter. ABetterSite.org members also will address the Planning Board meeting to be held Election Day at 7 p.m. when the shelter subcommittee will present a brief report on shelter standards. Mark Peters, a […]

Just as pulling a wisdom tooth makes room for the remaining teeth to realign, the many vacant seats on the dais at last Monday’s Town Council meeting allowed similar shifting. First up on the agenda that night was a proposed change in the wording of the Land Use Management Ordinance pertaining to the amount of […]

Franklin West LLC threw down the gauntlet. We won’t know until Nov. 22 whether the town will pick it up. At the public hearing this past Monday, a representative of Franklin West, the group of investors who bought The Courtyard after it was foreclosed on, went over the scaled-back plans for a special use permit […]

Communication can be key to an organization’s success – even Hezbollah has a PR department. I learned that from listening to globe-trotting journalist Thanassis Cambanis, who was at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill on Oct. 7 to promote his new book, “The Privilege to Die.” The book takes a close look at Hezbollah, the southern […]

After Time Warner Cable conked out during the broadcast of the Town Council meeting last night, some viewers might have been lost to the baseball post-season game on another channel. Pity that town planner J.B. Culpeper didn’t tune in as well. She might have learned something about being a team player. During the public hearing […]

We live in a town that spent more on fixing up a skate park than on repairing our history museum to keep it open. Remember that, the next time a council member cites the image of Chapel Hill as a reason for voting one way or another on a matter. I’m harping on the museum […]