Technical difficulties
We’re not sure why there has been so much trouble with the broadcasts on Channel 18 of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and the Chapel Hill Town Council meetings. The worrisome thing is that neither Time Warner nor the towns seem to know either.
What we do know is that a once-dependable service has become spotty. Last Monday, some subscribers were not able to tune into the Chapel Hill Town Council meeting. And if you have tried to watch the Carrboro board but are a subscriber to Chapel Hill cable, you were only able to see about one hour of the 10 hours of meetings and hearings the board held from August to the second week of October. That included hearings on Smith Level Road, several new subdivisions, discussions of greenways and other things of broad, local interest.
This really is unacceptable. Aside from the fact that both towns discuss things of interest to all citizens of southern Orange County, the lines of the two cable systems do not follow exactly the jurisdiction of each town.
Both the towns and the cable company like to consider themselves technically savvy, but right now things are worse than they were 10 years ago.
As lovely as the meeting rooms of Town Hall are, there are many citizens who cannot easily access them who depend on the formerly reliable Channel 18 to help them better understand the doings of local government.
Time Warner and town officials should give this issue the attention it deserves and fix it for good.
#SignFail
A hat tip to the folks at OrangePolitics for pouncing on the problems with the new wayfaring signs Chapel Hill has installed at the northern gateway to town.
The Carolina Blue signs with white letters might seem fine when you pass them in daylight, but try reading them at night and you’ll find the task nearly impossible. As one OP commenter pointed out, the colors are right for basketball jerseys but not road signs.
Thankfully, the town is taking the feedback to heart and we can look forward to more legible versions soon.
Bravo. Just don’t make the next batch Duke blue.