The Trump Era has pierced Chapel Hill’s bubble. Last week five of the seven Orange County Commissioners voted for taxpayers to take responsibility for 18% of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit costs not covered by federal and state governments, plus 18.5% of the debt service, on top of 20% of the regular maintenance costs of […]
All posts tagged county government
Trumped in Orange County
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 1, 2017
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2017/05/01/trumped-in-orange-county/
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/
Hauser’s plan for schools
Bonnie Hauser, my choice for county commissioner-at-large, brings a fresh perspective to many important issues we face. In her words and from her experience working on numerous issues in Orange County for more than a decade, here’s her proposal for the county to reprioritize spending to address school funding needs: In my “previous life,” I […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 30, 2014
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2014/04/30/hausers-plan-for-schools/
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/
Penny-wise or Penny foolish?
I had mentally packed Penny Rich away in mothballs after she took the county commissioner job, figuring I’d have to find new material for drama. But she hasn’t been gone even a month when here she is turning up like a bad – No, she’s heard all those jokes since grade school. Let me take […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on January 7, 2013
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2013/01/07/penny-wise-of-penny-foolish/
Friday the 13th, county style
You know that point in a horror flick when the heroine lets down her guard just a little bit, and you know something bad is going to happen, you just don’t know what? You find yourself mumbling, “Stay out of the boat, Alice, it’s not what it seems,” or “Don’t pick up the phone, Drew […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 16, 2012
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2012/07/16/friday-the-13th-county-style/