When it comes to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Chapel Hill, town councils over the years mean well, but little comes out of the ground. Read more in my editorial for The Local Reporter.
All posts in category Uncategorized
You can’t live in good intentions
Posted by NancyDon on June 29, 2020
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2020/06/29/you-cant-live-in-good-intentions/
2020 Census
Learn more about the 2020 Census from my article in The Local Reporter. — Nancy Oates
Posted by NancyDon on February 4, 2020
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2020/02/04/2020-census/
Editorial in The Local Reporter
What can we do to chip away at the intractable situation of homelessness? Begin with the facts. Our solutions will be more effective if we start with the facts. See my editorial in The Local Reporter, https://thelocalreporter.press/the-facts-on-homelessness/. — Nancy Oates
Posted by NancyDon on January 13, 2020
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2020/01/13/editorial-in-the-local-reporter/
How we got DOLRT debt
I pay off my credit card debt in full every month. Those in the credit card industry refer to my ilk as “deadbeats” because the credit card company reaps no interest from me, only the 3% fee from merchants. I’m fiscally conservative, and it will take more than name-calling to convince me to pay usury-level […]
Posted by NancyDon on May 8, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/08/how-we-got-dolrt-debt/
Playing the game: basketball and politics
Town Council members caught some flack last year when we approved the 2016-17 meeting schedule and moved our first regular Monday night meeting in April to the first Wednesday. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Final would be held that Monday, and if UNC were to play in it, many of us would want to watch. “You […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 3, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/04/03/playing-the-game-basketball-and-politics/
Parking — It’s not just for cars anymore
Chapel Hill’s parking problem extends beyond where to put your car when you go downtown. A truly vibrant downtown needs spots for pedestrians to park their bodies when they are fatigued or simply want to people watch or absorb the ambience. Last Tuesday, University of Kentucky Professor Ned Crankshaw came to town and shared some […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on December 5, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/12/05/parking-its-not-just-for-cars-anymore/
Putting out
At last week’s Town Council meeting, a council member likened Chapel Hill giving Wegmans an incentive to locate here as “being the first girl to put out.” Many in the community seem to agree. I see it as a risk-free way to show companies that Chapel Hill is serious about being open for business. One […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on October 24, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/10/24/putting-out/
A sense of place
Talk about your humble pie. I’ve long joined the throngs dissing Cary for its Stepford wives design standard ordinances and over-regulation of how development should look. Then I made a field trip to Waverly Place, a shopping center at the intersection of Kildaire Farm and Tryon roads. I realized that at least in this redevelopment […]
Posted by NancyDon on August 24, 2015
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/08/24/a-sense-of-place-2/
Walk to ride
Let’s say you live in Phoenix Place, near the intersection of Rogers Road and Purefoy, and you wanted to ride Chapel Hill’s prepaid buses into town. Maybe you don’t have a car or you embrace the walkable community ideal we hear Town Council members and developers talk about. Because bus service along Rogers Road is […]
Posted by NancyDon on August 17, 2015
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/08/17/walk-to-ride/
Golf lessons
While on vacation last week, I spent quite a bit of time on mini-golf courses, where I had ample opportunity to observe how parents and grandparents dealt with children who could not putt a ball into a hole if their life depended on it. Time after time, adults would use their own club or their […]
Posted by NancyDon on August 10, 2015
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2015/08/10/golf-lessons/