By Susan Dickson Staff Writer With another budget season in full swing, the Board of County Commissioners, school officials and parents alike are calling for a better way to negotiate the annual school budgets. At two recent public hearings, more than 100 county residents spoke in support of raising taxes to fully fund the school…
Aldermen settle on budget plan
By Kirk Ross Staff Writer The Carrboro Board of Aldermen sent its final set of budget recommendations to Town Manager Steve Stewart, adding a health care stipend for part-time workers and rejecting a compromise over fees for the Town Commons. fter lengthy discussions at Town Hall Tuesday night, the board agreed to add a $1,500…
Letter to the Editor
Thanks to OWASA The Orange County Board of Health would like to express its appreciation to OWASA for its commitment to ensuring that their customers have safe drinking water. Following a recent lead investigation involving a few buildings at UNC, OWASA offered to test all customers’ tap water for lead at no charge. Exposure to…
Letter to the Editor
Grannies out of line The Ragin’ Grannies are way out of line here. How dare they use Memorial Day as a day when they try and get their political points across? It’s a slap in the face to the men and women who serve this country and to the families of the men and women…
For the record
Illiberally sprinkled Last week marked the official beginning of hurricane season, and as if on cue, within the day, two tropical storms had made landfall — one on the Pacific coast of Mexico, while the other, Barry, landed at Tampa Bay, crossed the Florida peninsula and headed back out into the Atlantic for a weekend…
‘No’ is not a solution
By Chris Fitzsimon Columnist Final approval of the Senate budget came Thursday morning with no discussion. That was guaranteed yesterday when Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand moved to cut off debate for both days. The next round of the budget battle comes as House and Senate leaders try to work out the differences between their…
Exile on Jones Street
By Kirk Ross Columnist Way sneaky This has been a hard stretch to follow, but as near as I can tell, state Senate leaders have cleverly cornered GOP legislators by putting together a budget that offers up a nice range of tax breaks for high earners and businesses while underfunding soft-hearted issues like health care…
Music calendar
Thursday June 7 Cat’s Cradle: EL-P featuring DJ Mr. Dibbs and The Mighty Quin with Hangar 18, Yak Ballz, Slow Suicide Stimulus 9:30pm. $14 advance The Cave: Early: David Era. Late: The Honored Guests, The Empties Weaver Street Market: Carolina Chocolate Drops Friday June 8 Bynum Front Porch Series: The Bluegrass Experience Cat’s Cradle: Bombadil,…
Potluck in Chatham
The second “Potluck in a Pasture†summer supper will be held Sunday, June 17, from 6-8 p.m. at Holly Hill Daylily Farm in Moncure. ChathamArts sponsors the series of suppers, which take place every third Sunday of each month this summer. Participants can tour the hosting farm and meet local artists. Visitors are asked to…
Steel goes up
 The finishing touches on Mike Bensen’s new Southern Rail are not that far away, now that the steel frame connecting the two railroad cars is in place. If you’ve traveled through downtown Carrboro recently, you might have seen the frame lowering trusses into place. The structure will bridge the two railroad cars. Bensen, a…
Wow, it’s a drought and we have water to throw away!
By Ken Moore Columnist Walking and driving through the downtown and old neighborhoods of Carrboro is a real treat. There are so many wonderful and colorful gardens that reflect an unbelievable diversity of imagination, horticultural expertise and a dedication to gardening in an environmentally friendly manner. One of my favorite such gardens is Pete Lucey’s…
Dear Butch, Please bring back Tailback U
By Frank Heath Columnist Once upon a time, the North Carolina football team was known around the world for its running game. Year in and out, if the Tar Heels could depend upon doing one thing very well, it was rushing the football. During the 1970s and 1980s, and for parts of the ’90s, no…
Review: Without a Map
By Erica Eisdorfer Columnist A happy childhood does not a good memoir make. This isn’t an original thought, and it’s probably true. It may also be a fact that the worse your childhood, the better the book. Someone else’s trauma often makes for zesty reading. Meredith Hall’s Without a Map is, as writer Ivan Doig…
Teacher of the Year
Scroggs Elementary School teacher Shirley Pyon was named Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Teacher of the Year for 2007-08 at the district’s annual recognition banquet on May 31. Pyon teaches third grade at Scroggs Elementary, where she’s been for seven years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and psychology from UNC and is pursuing…
Bunnyville
Bustling Bunny Ville McDougle Elementary School kindergarten classes held their annual “Bunny Ville†event on Friday. For the event, students created businesses and became community helpers to learn about economics, community and social skills. Businesses included a pizza shop, ice cream shop, museum, hospital, flower garden and art jewelry shop. Bunny Ville visitors received $10…