I have never heard any black Southerners defend the Confederate flag as a symbol of their Southern heritage. The heritage defenders seem to be an exclusively white group, often with the “I used to be somebody” mindset of people hanging onto the glory days of their ancestors. On May 20, a Saturday morning with made-to-be-outside […]
The Confederate flag: Whose heritage?
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 29, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/29/the-confederate-flag-whose-heritage/
Use housing market forces to help
So much for the law of supply and demand. Council has approved a plethora of high-end market-rate apartments because a majority of council members believe that flooding the market with high-rent units will saturate housing demand and eventually inhibit rent hikes. These council members ignore the fact that in Chapel Hill, as in most cities, […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 22, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/22/use-housing-market-forces-to-help/
Classic decision-making
The world would be better off if we had more classics majors. This past weekend, with so many universities in the Triangle showcasing their accomplished faculty and alumni as part of commencement celebrations, I couldn’t help but notice that innovation and entrepreneurship took the spotlight. Applied sciences got the glory, along with the plethora of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 15, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/15/classic-decision-making/
Trumped in Orange County
The Trump Era has pierced Chapel Hill’s bubble. Last week five of the seven Orange County Commissioners voted for taxpayers to take responsibility for 18% of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit costs not covered by federal and state governments, plus 18.5% of the debt service, on top of 20% of the regular maintenance costs of […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 1, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/01/trumped-in-orange-county/
Historic professionalism
Days after the Historic District Commission meeting last week, the unsettling exchanges have stayed with me. Once again — and this happens routinely — an applicant requesting a Certificate of Approval treated the commissioners with disdain, as though they were something that must be scraped off the bottom of a shoe. I’ve been to meetings […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 24, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/24/historic-professionalism/
If we build it, they will park
We walked to our downtown E. Franklin Street church Easter morning to avoid a lengthy search for parking. The Morehead lot fills up quickly, as does Lot 2 on the corner of E. Rosemary and Columbia streets on a typical Sunday morning. Sometimes the Wallace Deck has no room, either. Bub O’Malley’s gravel lot used […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 17, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/17/if-we-build-it-they-will-park/
Chapel Hill’s Central Park?
Dream first; set your sights; then figure out what you have to do to get there. That philosophy has worked for me over the years, and town staff used it, too, last Saturday by hosting a charrette to find out what value taxpayers believe the 36-acre parcel we bought from the American Legion could add […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 10, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/10/chapel-hills-central-park/
Playing the game: basketball and politics
Town Council members caught some flack last year when we approved the 2016-17 meeting schedule and moved our first regular Monday night meeting in April to the first Wednesday. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Final would be held that Monday, and if UNC were to play in it, many of us would want to watch. “You […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 3, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/03/playing-the-game-basketball-and-politics/
News on the Move
When the Chapel Hill News began publishing recipes on its front page — sometimes recipes from restaurants in Raleigh — we knew its marriage to The News & Observer was on the skids. Today the breakup becomes official. As you read this, the sole reporter and her editor are cleaning out their desks and moving […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 27, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/03/27/news-on-the-move/
Funding Our Bubble
Chapel Hill’s bubble has been both boasted about and blasted, depending on the politics of the critic. We have a reputation of being a haven for bleeding-heart liberals, a sanctuary city in sentiment and practice, albeit not codified. But a sneak peek at the proposed Trump administration budget indicates that our bubble is about to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 20, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/03/20/funding-our-bubble/