Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. public television will air the season opener of The Town Council Show. As season premieres go, this one may lack a little of the dramatic tension that keeps an audience riveted. But perhaps, given that the election season has also begun, a low-key start may be welcome. Here’s a […]
All posts tagged development
Season opener
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 14, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/09/14/season-opener/
Not just a numbers game
For all the talk about the rigorous approval process in Chapel Hill quashing development, the town sure has grown prodigiously in the past 20 years. Drawing on U.S. Census Bureau figures from 1990 and 2010, public policy strategist John Quinterno pointed out that the town’s population has increased by almost 50% and the number of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 27, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/07/27/not-just-a-numbers-game/
New faces in town races
Last week I put my money where my mouth is — $5, to be exact. I filed to run for a seat on Town Council. For the six years I’ve been writing Chapel Hill Watch, I’ve tuned in every Monday night during Town Council season and sat on my couch cheering on various council and […]
Posted by NancyDon on July 13, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/07/13/new-faces-in-town-races/
Getting to No*
Town Council doesn’t have the option of remaining silent in uncomfortable situations. Sometimes saying “no” can be extraordinarily difficult, far harder than not saying “yes.” Saying “no” can be more difficult still when you have a relationship or connection with the other party. What are the expectations? The personal responsibility? The implied agreement? What are […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 29, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/06/29/getting-to-no/
We haven’t made it yet
As I waited for the traffic light to change at the corner of Columbia and Franklin streets on Friday afternoon, a school bus pulled up beside me. A little kid stuck his head out the window and yelled, “Yay! We made it to summer!” Council members undoubtedly are looking ahead a couple weeks to the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 15, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/06/15/we-havent-made-it-yet/
Just because they can
Last week a man carried a loaded assault rifle into the Atlanta airport while he dropped off his daughter for her flight. Georgia passed a law last year that allows permitted gun owners to carry loaded weapons in an airport, as long as they don’t go through the TSA security checkpoint. The man said he […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 8, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/06/08/just-because-they-can/
Aspiring to be what we’re not?
Krispy Kreme closed its Franklin Street shop earlier this month after less than 5 years. A few doors away, Cold Stone shut down two months earlier. Farther west along Franklin, GiGi’s Cupcakes left town at the end of last year. But locally owned Sugarland still plies its pastries and gelato after nigh on eight years. […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 25, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/05/25/aspiring-to-be-what-were-not/
The other 1 percent
“Lies and misinformation,” Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt responded to a Dogwood Acres resident who questioned whether and how much Obey Creek would cost taxpayers. I have heard what could be called lies and misinformation during the Obey Creek Development Agreement process, and it has come from the development team. A case in point: Affordable housing. Obey […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 18, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/05/18/the-other-1-percent/
Smart shoppers
As a value shopper, I perked up my ears at economist David Shreve’s message that we should choose new development projects because we want what they will bring to the town, not because we mistakenly think they will bring in additional revenue. Shreve, president of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population and a former professor […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 4, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/05/04/smart-shoppers/
Talk, hear, act
Growth has proved a hot topic in the discussions in the local blogsphere recently. Participants have divided into two camps. One side believes that all growth is good and that new development of any kind will make money for the town and thus lower residential property taxes. The other side believes only nonresidential property is […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 2, 2015
http://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/03/02/talk-hear-act/