Art Pope tried to buy his way into the university and failed. So Pope, the Dick Cheney of the McCrory administration, took another tack: He pressed the N.C. General Assembly, which has appointed several Republican cronies to the UNC System Board of Governors, to push out the system president, a man revered for his integrity, […]
All posts in category Ethics
The price of doing right
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 19, 2015
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/01/19/the-price-of-doing-right/
Insurers hold cards
Don and I received an extortion letter last month. It came from our insurance company. If we did not sign a letter authorizing the company to increase our homeowners’ insurance premium by as much as 250 percent, the company would not renew our coverage. And if our insurance lapsed, our lender could call in our […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on November 10, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/11/10/insurers-hold-cards/
Bully pulpit
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt is scheduled to moderate a panel discussion on bullying, following the screening of the documentary “Bully” at East Chapel Hill High School on Oct. 13. As Town Council doesn’t meet that Monday night, I hope many council members will attend. After watching recent Town Council public hearings, particularly on the controversial Ephesus-Fordham […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 6, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/10/06/bully-pulpit/
Who wins?
You can’t make this stuff up. The Urban Land Institute of the Triangle lists Timber Hollow Apartments as a nominee to win an award for affordable housing. Ron Strom of Blue Heron Asset Management self-nominated his project, which Blue Heron sold to Eller Capital (after pocketing nearly $6 million profit from his $12.6 million investment […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on September 8, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/09/08/who-wins/
Money talks
Council sank to a new low Wednesday night in its decision to sell 523 E. Franklin St. to the UNC College of Arts & Sciences Foundation, not because of who council sold it to but why. The foundation’s bid was the lowest and the only one of the three bids that would keep the property […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 7, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/07/07/money-talks/
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/
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/
Plans vs. promises
At its March 10 meeting, Town Council passed an Affordable Rental Housing Strategy that was such a foregone conclusion it should have been on the Consent Agenda. But without the fanfare of a staff-narrated PowerPoint and a time for public comment, council members and town staff would have been deprived of a feel-good moment. And […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 24, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/03/24/plans-vs-promises/
To our health
At the Feb. 24 Town Council meeting, a community member asked council members to pass a resolution urging Gov. Pat McCrory and the General Assembly to accept the opportunity to expand Medicaid, an option made available by the Affordable Care Act. The cost would be paid for by federal taxpayers, 100% for the first three […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 3, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/03/03/to-our-health-2/
Snow day
“Work from home,” Gov. Pat McCrory told North Carolinians, in a well-meaning entreaty to keep people from traveling on icy roads last week. And the governor and I did work from home, and maybe you did, too. But what about the people who work at grocery stores or fast-food places or who rely on tips […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on February 17, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/02/17/snow-day/