OrangePolitics - Progressive perspectives on Orange County, NC.

Election Day Open Thread

Travis Crayton — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 14:30:19 +0000

Today is runoff day across Orange County!

Democrats in all precincts have the chance to choose between Charles Blackwood and David Caldwell in the Democratic primary for Sheriff while Republicans in the northern part of the county can vote to choose the Republican nominee for Congress in North Carolina's 6th district. Unaffiliated voters who voted in the May 6th primary may only vote the same party in today's runoff. Unaffiliated voters who did not vote on May 6th can vote today and, if applicable, choose which party ballot they wish to cast. A total of 1519 voters cast their ballots early at the Board of Elections office in Hillsborough.

What are you seeing at the polls today? I was voter #1 at Smith Middle School just after 6:30am this morning with no other voters in sight.

This Week in Orange Politics: July 14-20

OP Editors — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 18:42:08 +0000

Though many of Orange County’s public bodies are off this week, don’t forget to vote in the runoff/second primary for sheriff. The polls will be open 6:30am to 7:30pm. Both school boards will also be meeting. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board will consider a technology contract, while its Orange County counterpart will get an update on the budget for the upcoming year. The Hillsborough Town Board will have two meetings, one for general matters and other for changes to the Unified Development Ordinance.

Here’s the full summary:

CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERPERSONS

The Carrboro Board of Alderfolks is in summer recess.

CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

As The Runoff Election Approaches, A Look Back At Our Sheriff's Forum

OP Editors — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:48:00 +0000

Early voting for the Orange County Sheriff’s Run-off between David Caldwell and Charles Blackwood kicks off this Thursday. Below are excerpted answers from Blackwood and Caldwell from the OrangePolitics’ Sheriff’s Forum.

Welcome to all of the candidates! A first question to get us started: what is your vision for how the sheriff's department will interact with the Orange County residents it protects and serves?

Blackwood: I want the Sheriff's Office to be responsive and accountable, I want to use best practices with respect to customer service. I feel we are an integral part of the community that requires and should solicit input from the citizens. The police are the people and the people are the police. We must be diverse and we must be fair. I don't like the term "transparent" because it suggests you can see through us, I want to be "open".

School Board Cutting Custodian Salaries to Reduce Budget?

Molly De Marco — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 02:25:10 +0000

During budget discussions last night, some members of the Chapel Hill Carrboro School Board indicated that they would support a strategy to cut their budget that would affect some of our lowest income workers. A proposal was made to move 15 custodians from being school district employees making $11/hour to contractors making only $9.60/hour. This would save $30,000, but is it really the way we want to save money? Not me.

The School Board may vote on this budget cut on July 17th, depending on when the North Carolina General Assembly passes the state budget and what it includes.

This Week in Orange Politics: June 30-July 6

OP Editors — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:14:37 +0000

Though most of Orange County's public bodies have no meetings this week, the Chapel Hill Town Council will meet to decide who should purchase the Old Library property and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board will hold a work session on its 204-2015 budget.

Here’s the full summary:

CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERPERSONS

The Carrboro Board is in summer recess.

CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

Special Meeting: Wednesday, July 2nd, 5:30pm, Chapel Hill Public Library (Meeting Room C)

This Week in Orange Politics: June 23-29

OP Editors — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 14:21:55 +0000

The county commissioners and both boards of education are off this week, all three municipal boards will be meeting. The Carrboro alderfolks will discuss changes to the Land Use Ordinance related to drive-thurs and affordable housing, while the Chapel Hill Town Council will take on the Glen Lennox redevelopment plan and appointments to the town boards and the Hillsborough Town Board will consider issues related to a few specific properities.

Here’s the full summary:

CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERPERSONS

Regular Meeting: Tuesday, June 24th, 7:30pm, Carrboro Town Hall Board Room

This Week in Orange Politics: June 16-22

OP Editors — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:47:14 +0000

Transit will be a focus this week as Triangle Transit presents bus expansion concepts to the county commissioners Tuesday and hosts a transit update Thursday in Chapel Hill. Both the county commissioners and the Carrboro alderfolks will vote to approve their budgets for next, while the Chapel Hill Town Council will consider several small area plans and the sale of the old library property.

Here’s the full summary:

CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERPERSONS

Regular Meeting: Tuesday, June 17th, 7:30pm, Carrboro Town Hall Board Room

Recapping the County Commissioners' Budget Debate

James Barrett — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 16:43:22 +0000

Here's the Storify from the Orange County Board of Commissioners' budget debate.

UNC to Start (Inequitably) Charging for Evening Parking

Erin Crouse — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 14:09:23 +0000

According to the Daily Tar Heel, UNC is going to start charging for evening parking this fall. All students will shoulder this cost as an annual $10.40 charge to their student fees. Non-affliated visitors to UNC will pay $2/evening. Nighttime employees will pay an annual fee between $227 (for those with an income of less than $25K/year) to $390 (for those making over $100K/year), which is the same price as daytime permits.

In the article, UNC DPS spokesman Randy Young says:

What Are We Doing About Affordable Housing?

Molly De Marco — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 02:51:48 +0000

Addressing affordable housing so that all people can afford to live in our community is an extremely important issue to many in our community. It has been given as a reason to develop and redevelop our towns and as a reason not to. Many organizations including the Community Home Trust, EmPOWERment Inc., Habitat for Humanity, the InterFaith Council, CASA, Orange County Justice United, and The Marion Cheek Jackson Center have been working with the towns and county to provide and/or advocate for housing at prices attainable across all spectrums of income.

In this season of municipal budget discussions, a rundown of what our towns and elected boards are working on around affordable housing seems appropriate. I asked members of each elected board what their board is focused on this year. Here is a summary.