We started a new tradition this New Year’s Eve – we wrote all the bad things that happened in 2017 on little slips of paper, then tossed them into the fireplace. It was not as big of a bonfire as I expected, given the national politics and ripples into global and state affairs. And it […]
All posts in category Community life
Happier New Year
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 1, 2018
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2018/01/01/happier-new-year/
Hot Spots
Things change. I count on that every year when we go out looking for holiday lights. This year we stumbled on a treasure trove of lights to complement our old favorites. We hope you and those you celebrate with will enjoy them: Because Southern Village goes all out for Halloween, we ventured in to see […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 25, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/12/25/hot-spots/
Park, Housing: Not an Either-Or
In 2003, as a taxpayer I voted against spending more than $16 million to expand and renovate the Chapel Hill Public Library. The town had a small but functional library, surrounded by the woods and trails of Pritchard Park, and while the demand would only grow as the town grew, it seemed to me we […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 4, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/12/04/park-housing-not-an-either-or/
Will we always have Paris?
Maybe Town Council’s next intercity visit should be to Paris, a city that Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane cited as her favorite because of its low buildings. At council’s Nov. 15 meeting, we reviewed a concept plan for a 5-story building of apartments, offices and retail, with 68 parking spaces on less than 4 acres at […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 27, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/11/27/will-we-always-have-paris/
The flip side of success
Town Council approved plans for a Wegmans to be built on the site now home to Performance Automall. While most residents of Chapel Hill and beyond welcomed the news, dozens of households had mixed reactions. If Wegmans is successful, it will bring in $336,000 in gross property tax receipts and as much as $1.5 million […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 30, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/10/30/the-flip-side-of-success/
Sitting on the Historic District Commission
In an interview aired on National Public Radio recently, Magazine Editor Hall-of-Famer Tina Brown described her desk-on-a-treadmill, noting, “Sitting is the new smoking.” That shot a little dart of fear in my heart, because my role as a Town Council member requires me to sit a lot. Council meetings, work sessions, committees, task forces and […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 23, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/10/23/sitting-on-the-historic-district-commission/
Town — and County — Treasures
The alliteration of “Town Treasures” makes for a snappy title for a well-earned honorific. But the roster of seven recipients shows that the Chapel Hill Historical Society wisely seeks excellence beyond town borders to include members of our community county-wide. The historical society has been celebrating Town Treasures for a decade now. The program has […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 16, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/10/16/town-and-county-treasures/
Economics of affordability
A council member told of going to dinner at a new restaurant in town and having to wait a half-hour for a table. Initially, he took that as a good sign of how well the new business was faring. But once he was seated, he noticed that several tables had been removed since the last […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 9, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/10/09/economics-of-affordability/
Opportunity cloaked in petulance
For 15 years, UNC has lobbied to close Horace Williams Airport, but the tiny landing strip at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive Extension has amazing staying power. Now, with the help of a petulant board of governors, UNC may get its wish. Built in 1928 in what was then […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 25, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/09/25/opportunity-cloaked-in-petulance/
Fighting back for DACA
Donald Trump seems to delight in causing chaos, regardless of the consequences. Like a toddler in the throes of a temper-tantrum, breaking everything he can get his little hands on, Trump gets attention through the disruption he creates. And Congress, the only authority figure that can put him in time out, instead stands to the […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 18, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/09/18/fighting-back-for-daca/