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 […]
All posts in category Taxes
Money talks
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/
Keeping pace with community
Ed Harrison understands that you can’t be a leader without followers. And if you get too far ahead of your followers, your nothing more than a guy on a road by himself shouting, “This way, really, I know what I’m doing.” At Town Council’s May 12 meeting, Harrison was one of three council members to […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 19, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/19/keeping-pace-with-followers/
Get it right first
UNC researcher and Chapel Hill native David Schwartz turns his analytical eye toward some of the factors that may be fueling our mayor’s apparent urgency to approve Form-Based Code initially in the Ephesus-Fordham area. Schwartz realizes there is more going on with the Ephesus-Fordham issue than simply the mayor wanting to impress his colleagues in […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 12, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/12/get-it-right-first/
Vote Tuesday, May 6
What are the chances that a lottery ticket you buy might change your life? Not good odds. But here’s something you can do that likely could change your life and everyone’s around you. Go to the polls and vote. Tuesday, May 6, is primary day in Orange County. The candidates we elect will make decisions […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 5, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/05/05/vote-tuesday-may-6/
See schools run
Recently, I listened to a couple of longtime friends reminisce about their early days as first-graders at Glenwood Elementary School. Both of them entered first grade already knowing how to read. They were put into the Dick and Jane reading group. Average readers were sent to the Spot and Puff group. Those not yet able […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 21, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/21/see-schools-run/
Office-retail only
Ellie Kinnaird’s voice was drowned out during her final years in the N.C. Senate by affluent colleagues who, having reached a high level of creature comfort, put in place policies that closed off that path to others. After several years of advocating for laws that made life better for residents in all socio-economic classes, Kinnaird […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 14, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/14/office-retail-only/
Hometown brand
Driving home from Raleigh one spring night with my car windows rolled down, I stopped at a traffic light. A car pulled up beside me, and the driver hollered out, “You must be going to Chapel Hill. I can tell by your bumper stickers.” Chapel Hill used to be known as an enclave for liberals: […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 7, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/07/hometown-brand/
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/
Brass tacks, not bronze plaques
Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed by deadlines, I’ll make a list of all I have to do, then slip in something that’s so easy to do it’s almost a given. “Wash hair,” I might write, or “check email.” I do that first, then I can feel like I’ve accomplished something, and I’ve managed to procrastinate […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 10, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/03/10/brass-tacks-not-bronze-plaques/