Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt set a packed agenda for tonight’s meeting. Not that he has grown accustomed to meetings that last until midnight or beyond. But there are decisions to be made and work to be done. The taxi ordinance is the only item on the agenda that invites public comment. The proposed changes seem pragmatic […]
Monday medley
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 24, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/09/24/monday-medley/
Gloves off
It didn’t take long for the magic to wear off. Last week, Town Council clicked through its agenda effortlessly, ending the meeting a minute shy of 8:30 p.m. Last night, council began at a similarly brisk pace. No one from the public signed up to speak at the first four public hearings on the agenda […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 20, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/09/20/gloves-off/
Storm of public comment
If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought town planners had arranged the past couple of days of torrential downpours just to set the stage for Town Council’s discussion of stormwater management rules tonight. Last fall the town had new wording ready to go in the Land Use Management Ordinance that would comply with new […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 19, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/09/19/storm-of-public-comment/
Charterwood threepeat
The Charterwood project has all the buildup and letdown of a Barry White song. If you’re old enough, you remember the cadence – first the muttered low growl, then the music swells, and you’re sure he’s going to burst into song. But then, the music fades, and the growling and mumbling resume. Last night, Charterwood […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 13, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/09/13/charterwood-threepeat/
No vacancy?
Town Council holds its season opener this Wednesday, Sept. 12, and I can’t seem to rally the excitement I usually have for local politics. It’s not that the decisions council makes aren’t important – in fact, council members are set to vote once again on Charterwood, and the outcome could tip council’s hand for what […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 10, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/09/10/no-vacancy/
Talk and ride
If Church of Reconciliation didn’t know it before, it knows it now: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Last month, the Presbyterian church that formed in support of the civil rights movement and since has taken controversial stands on a number of issues in the name of peace and unity put up […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 4, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/09/04/talk-and-ride/
“Towing” the line
Maybe because I’m a rule follower I don’t get the appeal of appealing the permanent injunction issued Aug. 2 against Chapel Hill’s towing and cell phone ordinances. But last Wednesday, in a special Town Council meeting called before the Sept. 4 deadline to appeal, six of nine council members voted to file an appeal for […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 27, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/08/27/towing-the-line-2/
Compliance
Town Council meets Wednesday night in closed session to discuss what, if any, further action to take after the court issued a permanent injunction against the town’s towing and cell phone ordinances. As an olive branch after he won his lawsuit, the owner of George’s Towing put up new signs in the lots he monitors […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 20, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/08/20/parking-meters/
See the world
Come see the world with me, and all it will cost is a couple of gallons of gas. Granted, with the supply chain disruptions in the Midwest – a ruptured pipeline in Wisconsin and equipment problems that shut down refineries in Indiana and Illinois – that’s nearly the cost of a couple of lattes a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 13, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/08/13/see-the-world/
Missed the podium
We can’t blame town attorney Ralph Karpinos’ go-for-the-gold spirit on the Olympics. The issues he pressed forward on that landed the town on the wrong side of lawsuits began long before the qualifying rounds began. And as gymnast and Olympic silver medalist McKayla Maroney found out yesterday, sometimes despite all your preparations and efforts, you […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 6, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/08/06/missed-the-podium/