OrangePolitics - Progressive perspectives on Orange County, NC.

New leadership for County Commissioners

Ruby Sinreich — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:44:19 -0600

With the newly-elected (and newly-districted) members of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) sworn in, they have followed their annual tradition of selecting a new chair and vice-chair of the group. This is a leadership structure that is quite different from other elected bodies in the county in that the chair has similar responsibilities as a Mayor would have in a municipality, but the seat rotates among the members in a very egalitarian fashion so that every commissioner in recent memory has served at least one year at the helm.

What I found especially interesting is that this year's chair will be Valerie Foushee (an African-American woman) and the vice-chair will be Mike Nelson (a gay man).

What to do with all the deer?

Rickie White — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:41:23 -0600

A blog post over at the News and Observer site highlights the requests made by citizens in Carrboro and Pittsboro to allow bow hunting in the city limits to help control the deer population. Having lived for a bit in the Chicago area where deer started depleting the forest preserves of all sensitive plant species in the 1980's, I'm particularly sensitive to the effects of deer on sensitive ecosystems. I also know that the deer population, without natural predators, continues to put more and more pressure on plants as time goes by in our area. Bolin Creek spring wildflowers are particularly sensitive to deer overpopulation since they green up before other plants leaf on and they provide sustenance for the herds at their hungriest time.

Thanksgiving open thread

Ruby Sinreich — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:20:04 -0600

Are you going away for the holiday? What's your favorite thing to do here at home when everyone else leaves?

How many local ingredients will be in your Thanksgiving dinner? What are you thankful for?

Maps & notices of Chapel Hill development proposals now online

George C — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:36:39 -0600

This notice just issued from the Chapel Hill Planning Department:

Information about major development applications and concept plan submittals is now available online at the Town of Chapel Hill website at www.townofchapelhill.org/planning.
The Planning Department has posted informational notices for major development applications and concept plan submittals. The notices announce opportunities for public review and comment, and provide maps showing proposed development locations. A citizen petition recently requested an update on the status of this work. The information will be updated regularly. Development application forms and materials continue to be available online at this same location. Please contact the Planning Department if you have questions at 919-968-2728.

Does Orange County need our own airport?

Ruby Sinreich — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:09:27 -0600

* Yes * No * I'm not sure

Capturing the New Spirit of the Campaign for Change in Orange County

MagicT — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:51:33 -0600

Having been very active during the Primary and my wife very active during the General Election, we went to lots of victory parties!

The omnipresent question was "What now?"

I met Stan at such a party and, being of like mind and sense of making something happen, he and I decided to answer that question. So, we met a couple of times and exchanged some email and phone calls and Stan wrote up a document explaining our ideas.

Then we invited a group of people to my house to discuss the document. This blog contains my thoughts from that meeting....

We had several of the "Crew Chiefs" from the Obama 'Campaign for Change' who were the folks that managed several precincts during the campaign. We also had some folks who may not have had titles but worked their tails off most of the year toward the same goal. (I don't want to post names here as I did not get permission for that).

ETA on the Innovation Center?

Ruby Sinreich — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:27:20 -0600

* in 1 year, as planned * in 2-3 years * in 4-5 years * not until Carolina North is built (whenever the heck that is)

County Goverment the Way It's Supposed to Be

mbo123go — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:58:30 -0600

I am new to this Internet community and surprised that there appears to be no conversation about human service needs or human service programs in Orange County. We certainly seem to have many examples of both.

Last month Orange County government sponsored a day long retreat for the directors of all non-profit human service agencies that receive partial funding from the County. The purpose of the event was to facilitate discussion among non-profit leaders regarding the impact of the economic downturn on the non-profit sector and on the people it serves. The organizers hoped that non-profit leaders would discover new ways to anticipate future challenges and to collaborate on common goals. The meeting was facilitated by experts from the UNC School of Government.

Who should be appointed to Town Council?

Ruby Sinreich — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:23:00 -0600

* J.M. Green * Loren Hintz * James Merritt * Gene Pease * Will Raymond * Donald Shaw

Local results

Ruby Sinreich — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:34:10 -0600

It seems quite likely that North Carolina could face a recount, so these numbers may change. (And they are never considered truly "final" until certified by the Board of Elections anyway.) But here's how Orange County voted, according to the NC Board of Elections, so far. I don't think any adjustments will change the outcome of these very decisive local races.

Congress:

David Price (i) (DEM)	63.44%	263,151
William (B.J.) Lawson (REP)	36.56%	151,672
		414,823