I attended two events over the weekend that showed the complicated issue of boosting the amount of affordable housing, from the perspective of the investor and the end-user. Each left me somewhat disheartened. Community Empowerment Fund’s “Affordable Housing: The Musical” poked fun at council members, developers and others in the community while sharing the experiences […]
Two views of affordable housing
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 25, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/25/2852/
Community Home Trust’s next chapter
When Robert Dowling accepted the offer Joe Cook and two colleagues extended in 1997 to head what would become Community Home Trust, Cook had one and only one directive. He shook hands with Dowling and said, “Don’t screw up.” And 22 years later, we can testify that Dowling heeded that advice. Having launched the nonprofit […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 18, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/18/community-home-trusts-next-chapter/
Beyond Benetton
Funny, I would have expected UNC students to be more woke. Last week The Daily Tar Heel editors chose to write a story about a UNC graduate student who did not get appointed to a town advisory board. The town receives many applications for a limited number of vacant advisory board seats, so applicants are […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 11, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/11/beyond-benetton/
VOTE!
Over the past few weeks that I’ve walked through neighborhoods, canvassing voters, I’ve seen some truly lovely homes. Places that are sanctuaries from the problems and corrosive encounters with the world at large. Beautiful views; lush greenery; maybe a bubbling fountain to calm and rejuvenate one’s spirit. When the going gets tough, these folks have […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 4, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/11/04/vote/
Look before you vote
I flat out enjoy canvassing. When else can I knock on a stranger’s door and start a conversation? After weeks of traipsing through neighborhoods all over town, I feel confident about giving directions to any Amazon Prime driver. Regardless of what part of town I’m in, someone on whose door I’ve knocked will ask me, […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 28, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/10/28/look-before-you-vote/
How to be inclusive
We can’t legislate kindness. If we could, that would have been my answer to a question posed at the candidates forum hosted by WCHL last week. Chapelboro on-air personality Aaron Keck, who moderated the forum, asked candidates: What’s the most important thing Chapel Hill can do to make itself a more welcoming and inclusive community? […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 21, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/10/21/how-to-be-inclusive/
Endorsements
When I sat in the audience, mining Town Council meetings for material for my Chapel Hill Watch blog, solutions to the problems council members wrestled with seemed so obvious. Once I was elected and shifted my seat to the dais, the answers weren’t so black-and-white. The job requires more nuance, discernment, balance and patience than […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 14, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/10/14/endorsements/
Exclusive boards
Consider the irony: At the same time town staff are making considerable efforts to encourage more people to get involved in the town decision-making process by applying to advisory boards and commissions, the Council Committee on Boards and Commissions has proposed limiting the number of people who will actually be considered for appointment. And, after […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 30, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/09/30/exclusive-boards/
Too much information?
Candidates for Town Council need a common app. You know, like prospective students applying to colleges fill out. I haven’t counted up all the questionnaires I’ve completed — someone asserted 19, but I haven’t had time to go back and check. All sorts of special interest groups want to know what candidates think about issues […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 23, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/09/23/too-much-information/
Feel-good decisions
As I interact with people when I do errands, I often ask them whether they live in Chapel Hill and why. I ask those who live in town what they would like Town Council to know. Usually, I hear the Big Three Issues: affordability, flooding and traffic. Not long ago, I heard a new one: […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 16, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/09/16/feel-good-decisions/