I had a conversation not long ago with a musician, a mixed-race man in his mid-20s working a day job unrelated to music as he got his career started. At one point he asked where I was from, and I told him I lived in Chapel Hill. His eyes lit up. “I call it Chapel […]
Is the thrill gone?
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 23, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/06/23/is-the-thrill-gone/
Breaking inauspicious
You know how you approached the start of every episode of “Breaking Bad” with the feeling that something was going to happen that you didn’t want to know about, but you watched it anyway? I get that feeling lately when I turn on the TV to watch a Town Council meeting. “Breaking Bad,” said to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 16, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/06/16/breaking-inauspicious/
Downtown, no waiting
Chapel Hill didn’t make GQ’s list of Best College Towns (When Students Are Gone) as Durham did, but we’ve got plenty going on all summer long – including at least one spot that wasn’t here before students took off for their summer adventures. Opening a new business just as a third of your customer base […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 9, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/06/09/downtown-no-waiting/
Chapel Hill politics, Chicago style
My sister in Chicago periodically sends me articles about the shenanigans of Chicago politicians: ex-convicts who have served time for bribery, tax fraud and corruption running against one another; and a “visionary leader/advocate” filing to run again now that he’s out of prison for getting $40,000 of home renovations done in exchange for zoning changes […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 2, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/06/02/chapel-hill-politics-chicago-style/
Housing hypocrisy
I couldn’t help but wince when council members began their remarks at the May 19 Town Council meeting after nearly a dozen community members made impassioned pleas for money to support affordable housing. One organization played a 9-minute video of interviews with people who had benefited from affordable housing programs in Chapel Hill, perhaps assuming […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 26, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/26/housing-hypocrisy/
Keeping pace with community
Ed Harrison understands that you can’t be a leader without followers. And if you get too far ahead of your followers, your nothing more than a guy on a road by himself shouting, “This way, really, I know what I’m doing.” At Town Council’s May 12 meeting, Harrison was one of three council members to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 19, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/19/keeping-pace-with-followers/
Get it right first
UNC researcher and Chapel Hill native David Schwartz turns his analytical eye toward some of the factors that may be fueling our mayor’s apparent urgency to approve Form-Based Code initially in the Ephesus-Fordham area. Schwartz realizes there is more going on with the Ephesus-Fordham issue than simply the mayor wanting to impress his colleagues in […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 12, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/12/get-it-right-first/
Vote Tuesday, May 6
What are the chances that a lottery ticket you buy might change your life? Not good odds. But here’s something you can do that likely could change your life and everyone’s around you. Go to the polls and vote. Tuesday, May 6, is primary day in Orange County. The candidates we elect will make decisions […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 5, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/05/vote-tuesday-may-6/
Hauser’s plan for schools
Bonnie Hauser, my choice for county commissioner-at-large, brings a fresh perspective to many important issues we face. In her words and from her experience working on numerous issues in Orange County for more than a decade, here’s her proposal for the county to reprioritize spending to address school funding needs: In my “previous life,” I […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 30, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/30/hausers-plan-for-schools/
Vote for sheriff
We haven’t had to think about what we want in a county sheriff for a long time – 32 years, to be exact, because that’s how long Lindy Pendergrass has held that vaunted role. After eight terms in office, the 80-year-old is ready to retire. Six men are campaigning for the position: Charles Blackwood, David […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 28, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/28/vote-for-sheriff/