All posts for the month January, 2011

Ombuddies

Just so we’re all on the same page here, as Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt likes to say, “ombuds” is not in the dictionary. Neither is “proclaimation,” but that hasn’t stopped the town from using both. On the whole, we’re a fairly well-educated citizenry, and town staff probably figure we know what they mean. Council member Donna […]

Moveable feast

Lex Alexander, current owner of 3Cups in Village Plaza and former owner of Wellspring, before he sold that small grocery chain to Whole Foods, petitioned Town Council last Monday to dispel the notion that Chapel Hill is “too prissy” for food trucks. Alexander asked that “mobile food units,” known to the rest of us as […]

Wild ride begins

Even discussing an update for the town’s Comprehensive Plan had plenty of points of contention. Should the town work on an update of the existing plan or create a whole new plan? How far into the future should the plan aim to govern? Should the committee to work on changes to the plan try for […]

Pressure

A cartoon in a recent issue of The New Yorker shows a mother pulling her little boy away from his toys as she says, “You’ll have plenty of time to play once you’ve been accepted into college.” Last night the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation hosted a showing of the documentary “Race to Nowhere” about […]

Better because of Obama?

Thursday marked the second anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration. Midway into his presidency, Obama can claim success with his initiatives that have become law. Three laws in particular have or will benefit Chapel Hill residents – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Health Care Reform Act and the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t […]

Arrived

If someone blindfolded you, spun you around and dropped you on a street corner somewhere, how would you be able to tell you were still in Chapel Hill once the blindfold had been removed? Council member Sally Greene hopes it would be the distinctive architecture of our quaint burg, or that’s the implication, anyway, from […]

Know the need

Smart as we all like to think we are, few of us could get into Harvard. So when someone with a degree from Harvard Business School says we need certain information in order to make an effective decision, we should listen. But council members Donna Bell and Penny Rich and IFC director Chris Moran think […]

Is everybody happy?

The process of creating a new worship facility could certainly be considered an act of faith by New Life Fellowship Church. According to information presented in the concept plan review at last night’s public hearing, the church began the planning and design process for a complex on a 3-acre parcel on Weaver Dairy Road, near […]

Shelter tonight

Mark Peters of abettersite.org writes: Tonight the Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss shelter guidelines. The staff recommends that they “receive the report.” The guidelines have not been to any of the other advisory boards for their input. One year ago, the Town Council removed a 25-bed limit in the ordinance on shelter size. Many […]

Library move

I half expect Town Council chambers to be packed tonight with Dillard’s employees wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “We’re Still Here.” Council members will receive reports from town staff exploring the feasibility of moving the library to the mall in the space now occupied by Dillard’s. The documents made public on the town’s website indicate that […]