In a New Yorker cartoon, a teenage boy is lifting weights in his room. His mother walks in and says, “Here, let me do that for you.” That cartoon came to mind as I looked over Town Council candidate Lee Storrow’s 35-day finance report that showed his mother making a $381 in-kind contribution (the legal […]
Candidate buy in
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 24, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/24/candidate-buy-in/
Trick or tweet
At Monday night’s Town Council meeting, when once again I heard the tremor in a grown man’s voice as he spoke at the podium in front of a ring of council members, a phalanx of staff, a smattering of people in the audience and a couple of TV cameras, it brought home to me how […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 20, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/20/trick-or-tweet/
Speed meeting
Last night’s Town Council meeting was one for the record books – three public hearings, completed in 1 hour and 18 minutes. But the agenda items – food trucks, expansion of a building and parking lots at Carol Woods, and a proposed amendment of stormwater management rules for new development – posed little controversy. All […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 18, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/18/speed-meeting/
$5 friends
You might measure your Facebook friends by the dozens and Twitter followers in the hundreds. But you won’t know who really has your back until you have to find 83 people registered to vote in Chapel Hill willing to pay you between $5 and $20 to see you qualify for free money from the Voter […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 13, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/13/5-friends/
Trust
It boiled down to trust, the discussion of whether to close Dawson Place, the alley that connects West Rosemary Street to the back of a row of businesses facing West Franklin Street. The developers of Shortbread Lofts, a mixed-use building that came before Town Council as a concept plan in early 2006, need the Dawson […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 11, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/11/trust/
Occupy Chapel Hill
Occupy Wall Street has come to Chapel Hill. On Sunday, a diverse crowd of about 100 people sat in the sun in front of the Post Office on East Franklin Street, making plans for how best to support the Occupy Wall Street movement. Operating under the same restrictions as the New York gathering, Occupy Chapel […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 10, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/10/occupy-chapel-hill/
Death file
My mom died last week. She did not take her last flight, meet her final deadline, leave her mortal coils behind; she was not promoted to Heaven or beamed to a new galaxy; nor did the Angel of Silence claim victory over her. She wanted her obituary to say simply that she died. I know […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 7, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/10/07/death-file/
Sell-out crowd for Chapel Hill 2020
George Cianciolo reports on the Chapel Hill 2020 kickoff: The first meeting of Chapel Hill 2020, the process designed to develop a new Comprehensive Plan for Chapel Hill, kicked off this evening at East Chapel Hill High School. It started with an open house from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by introductory remarks by Mayor […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 28, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/09/28/sell-out-crowd-for-chapel-hill-2020/
A step toward peace
Congress could learn from this: At last night’s Town Council meeting, council members engaged in a gusty and at times contentious discussion, ultimately brokering a compromise between two opposing factions – Chris Moran, representing IFC, and Mark Peters, spokesman for ABetterSite.org. Three meetings into crafting an effective Good Neighbor Policy for the shelter on Homestead […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 27, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/09/27/a-step-toward-peace/
Bad start to be good neighbor
The plan to move the IFC homeless shelter from West Rosemary Street to Homestead Road got off on the wrong foot. With its process of crafting a Good Neighbor Policy, it continues to try to dance with two left feet. At tonight’s Town Council meeting, IFC will give a report on progress of the GNP […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 26, 2011
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2011/09/26/bad-start-to-be-good-neighbor/