A couple of years ago, after Donald Trump had taken office and begun threatening punishments to sanctuary cities, a member of the Justice in Action Committee proposed that Chapel Hill take a stand and declare itself a sanctuary city. After all, the committee member pointed out, we behave like one. My response at the time […]
All posts in category Schools
Sanctuary city
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 15, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/04/15/sanctuary-city/
Parents aim to teach board a lesson
To celebrate National Professional Social Work Month this month, a large metropolitan hospital showed its appreciation for its overworked social workers by inviting them to participate in a blood drive organized in their honor. Rather than treating them to lunch or even a cake, one social worker noted, the hospital “asked us to give our […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 11, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/03/11/parents-aim-to-teach-school-board-a-lesson/
Ask the neighbors
The road to redevelopment is paved with community meetings, as residents in the Rogers Road area found out, and residents on the southern edge of the Greene Tract wished they’d found out. At last week’s Town Council meeting, we received an update on staff’s plans to create a zoning overlay for several parcels of land […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 25, 2019
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2019/02/25/ask-the-neighbors/
Reverse Town Hall
North Carolina has 77 pages of gun laws on its books. But can they be enforced? A panel of 16 high school and college students discussed gun violence at a reverse town hall organized by the UNC Institute for Politics. The IOP invited four legislators from the N.C. General Assembly to pose questions to the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 23, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/04/23/reverse-town-hall/
Conflicting Priorities
Bonnie Hauser, founder of Orange County Voice, shares her insight into factors that affect housing affordability: Last month the N.C. General Assembly (NCGA) took away Orange County’s authority to collect impact fees on new home construction. It was a low blow by Raleigh politicians but brings new insights into the important topic of affordability. Thirty […]
Posted by NancyDon on August 7, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/08/07/conflicting-priorities/
The Confederate flag: Whose heritage?
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 […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 29, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/29/the-confederate-flag-whose-heritage/
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/
The Gift of Rezoning
Town Council gave the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools a gift last week. But school board members, perhaps dismayed that they didn’t get what they came for, may not have noticed what they got instead. The school board has proposed expanding the existing building at Lincoln Center to centralize preschool classes now spread out across the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 6, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/03/06/the-gift-of-rezoning/
Raising children or the flag?
Whether the Confederate flag symbolizes racial oppression or Southern pride may hinge on the difference between desegregation and integration. A group of parents has asked the Orange County Board of Education to ban images of the Confederate flag, calling it a racially inflammatory symbol that disrupts learning. So far, the board has remained as silent […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 27, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/02/27/raising-children-or-the-flag/
Talk, listen, change
Former UNC Police Officer Keith Edwards, the first black woman on the force, objected to a less-experienced white male officer getting a promotion and raise ahead of her. One day when she walked into the campus police office, she overheard two white male officers complaining about the ensuing court case. “I wish Keith had never […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 31, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/10/31/talk-listen-change/