Next Monday, the board of county commissioners are due to make a decision on the location of a solid-waste transfer station, a place where the bulk of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County’s garbage will be collected and reloaded onto semi-trucks for shipment to parts as yet unknown. To those on the inside of…
Category: Opinion
Public anxiety and frustration
By Chris Fitzsimon At first glance, headlines about voters believing politicians are corrupt are not surprising considering the recent coverage of the state and federal investigations of former Gov. Mike Easley and the daily venom about government from Rush Limbaugh and his fellow political shock jocks on the right. New surveys from Public Policy Polling…
Troubling moves by Blue Cross Blue Shield
[Editor’s note: Following is a letter sent last week signed by 20 state legislators to Attorney General Roy Cooper and Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin calling into question recent mailings and robo-calls by Chapel Hill-based Blue Cross Blue Shield against including a public option in federal health care reform legislation.] Dear Attorney General Cooper and Commissioner…
On the closing of El Centro Latino
[Editor’s note: The following is an open letter from the board of El Centro Latino on the recent decision to shut down its facility in Carrboro.] We regret to inform you that El Centro Latino has closed. For the past few years, El Centro Latino has been dealing with many challenges including reduced grant funds…
An open letter to the Orange County Commissioners
We the members of a shared ministry of two churches in Chapel Hill write to express our mutual deep concern about the reported plan to place a new waste transfer station at a ten-acre county owned site on Millhouse Road, very close to the current landfill. We are concerned that the proposed site will continue…
Never in my lifetime
By Perry Deane Young It was one of those extraordinary moments when a historic event touched me personally. And I could not hold back the tears. Never in my lifetime did I ever expect to hear a president deliver the kind of courageous and compassionate speech President Obama gave recently to the Human Rights Campaign….
A double struggle for the poor
By Chris Fitzsimon Thanksgiving is upon us, a time when most media outlets tend to focus on the poor who can’t afford a feast to celebrate the holiday. There are more families than ever in that boat, living in poverty or teetering on its edge, just one illness or missed mortgage payment away. And that’s…
Reward the good, punish the bad
By Bob Hall When a politician cheats or steals, the press loves to play “gotcha†and the public is outraged. But what if the rules of the campaign system invite a candidate to cheat and lie in order to win election? Will the media and public demand that the system change? Will they praise the…
An open letter to the school board
By Steve Peha Dear Board Members, On Election Day, I made an effort to speak with at least one supporter of each candidate running for the school board. Each time I met a supporter, I asked, “What will your candidate do to make our schools better?†Every person I spoke to assured me that his…
No more benefit concerts: It’s time to change the tune on health insurance
By Nan Warshaw and Alex Maiolo In January 2008, Drew Glackin, multi-instrumentalist and bassist for the Bloodshot Records’ band The Silos, died at 44 of an extremely treatable disease because, like so many working musicians, he couldn’t afford (or thought he couldn’t afford) health insurance. To ease the financial burden on his family, Drew’s band…
Endorsement Letter: Bell should be on council
I believe Donna Bell is the best choice for Chapel Hill Town Council. Why should she be there? I’ve had the pleasure of getting to appreciate Donna, as we are both on the town council-appointed Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force. Since May, we have been seeking to develop an effective vision of what we believe…
Letter: Reject Millhouse site
I am writing to make known the objections to the 10-acre Paydarfar site off of Millhouse Road for the location of Orange County’s waste transfer site. (1) It was “introduced†into the selection process very late and without any of the evaluation or public discussion/input that all other sites correctly received. In fact, this land…
Letter: A Tar Heel lament
Someone I know works for the University of North Carolina. How can I ever convince myself to forgive him for permitting a designer to put red on a UNC basketball uniform? Am I wrong to feel that doing so is being disrespectful to all students and all Tar Heel athletes who came prior to 2009?…
Call a special election to fill council vacancy
By Artie Franklin Congratulations to Chapel Hill Mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt and town council Member Matt Czajkowski for a competitive mayor’s election and to town council members-elect Gene Pease and Penny Rich. Chapel Hill has elected its first new mayor in several years by what may be our town’s closest margin, as well as two new…
Admitting the problem
By Chris Fitzsimon If it is true that the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one, then maybe things are finally beginning to turn around for the state’s troubled mental health system. State Sen. Martin Nesbitt, the chair of the legislative commission that oversees the system, told lawmakers Tuesday morning that…