The most important issue facing local government administrations in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County during the past year and in the months ahead is certainly the Covid-19 pandemic…
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Chapel Hill became the third North Carolina municipality — and third in Orange County — to enact an LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance Wednesday night.
Orange County governing boards will consider adopting new safeguards against LGBTQ discrimination this month, following the expiration of a three-year state ban blocking those protections.
The new headquarters for the Chapel Hill Police Department may still turn out to be the present headquarters. While reviewing a concept plan this week for a proposed municipal services center on Weaver Dairy Road Extension that would include the headquarters, the Chapel Hill Town Council decided to explore what it would cost to redevelop the current, centrally located site and remediate safety concerns there.
The Chapel Hill Town Council will review the latest concept plan for a municipal services center and new police headquarters Wednesday and once again will be faced with competing interests to balance.
Is the Carrboro Town Council fiddling while the town burns from global warming? This month, council members approved by a 6-1 vote the schematic design of a nearly $26 million library, civic and performance space and parking deck to be built on the town parking lot at 203 South Greensboro Street between Roberson and Carr streets.
Significant reform of Orange County bail practices this year has led to a major reduction in how many people have been detained pretrial, according to a local group monitoring the changes.
“This can’t just be a talking group,” said Delores Bailey, a member of the town of Chapel Hill’s new Re-Imagining Community Safety Task Force. “I feel like my participation [in the task force] will help my community if this group can honestly name three of the policing problems and then solve them … we’ve got to name it and fix it.”
Carrboro moved closer toward reparations for Black residents last week when its town council approved a resolution that lays out next steps along the path to making amends for hundreds of years of injustice.
Over the past 10 months, the Chapel Hill Town Council has been discussing proposed redevelopment along East Rosemary Street that would include construction of a parking deck by the town and development of a new 200,000+ square foot office/research building by Grubb Properties.
The resolution before the Orange County Board of Commissioners at its Sept. 15 meeting called for the support of legalizing marijuana. But that wasn’t clear from the title: “A Resolution Supporting the Decriminalization of Marijuana.”
The agenda item on Carrboro Town Council’s Sept. 2 meeting called for a discussion on tree distribution disparity in historically Black neighborhoods, perhaps as a way to tiptoe in to the topic of reparations. But the council never got to the trees.
Twenty-five years ago, market researcher Diane Bloom conducted focus groups on the then-emerging technology of telemedicine. As a community advocate and Chapel Hill resident, she also spent many evenings at Town Hall, waiting for her turn to speak to the town council.
As the November elections approach against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Orange County officials are preparing for an election like no other.
Juneteenth is now an official holiday in Carrboro. The Town Council has unanimously approved a resolution making June 19 — colloquially known as Juneteenth — a paid town holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
At the Chapel Hill Town Council’s final meeting of the fiscal year, council members approved a heartfelt resolution to improve racial equity and public safety. Most community members who spoke, however, were underwhelmed.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen our nation torn apart, and we have also seen it come together. We have seen the institutional racism—the racism that People of Color face every day—erupt into the wider consciousness of our nation.
The Chapel Hill Public Library dodged a bullet when a budget amendment proposed by Orange County Commissioner Chair Penny Rich to cut $568,139 in county funding to the library failed by a 2-5 vote.
The town of Chapel Hill is urging everyone over 12 years of age to wear masks or face coverings when indoors in a public place and outdoors when at least six feet of physical distancing is difficult to maintain.
The night light might be bright. Duke Energy is expected to complete a month-long project of replacing 2,000 street lights on major streets in Chapel Hill with more environmentally friendly LED lights by the end of May.
#allinthistogether. Kinda. The hashtag trending on Twitter and Instagram evokes solidarity among the healthy and the sick, the employed and the paycheck-less, in the chaos wrought by COVID-19.
COVID-19 has touched us all, in ways big and small. I think first about those who are sick, and those who live in fear of becoming infected. I worry about those who are laid off, furloughed or working fewer hours, and struggling to provide for themselves and their families.
Chapel Hill residents in urgent need of rent relief during the coronavirus pandemic may be eligible for a one-time payment of up to $2,000.
Most of us know that the 2020 Census count began in January, since we’re getting reminders what feels like every other day. I will confess: I used to roll my eyes every time I got another flyer in the mail, or saw a commercial on television or online.
Should the Town of Chapel Hill offer an incentive for property owners to upgrade their own buildings and make them more energy efficient?
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the census count in Orange County? It could be helping.
The Orange County Emergency Operations Center is requesting donations of non-perishable food to support the COVID-19 response.
Chapel Hill’s Solid Waste Services is making adjustments to its operations because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is the final list of Orange County candidate winners.
Orange County issued a stay-at-home directive to all residents Thursday morning in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The order will take effect Friday at 6 p.m. and will remain in effect until April 30 at 5 p.m.
The Town of Chapel Hill has closed town facilities to the public effective to further promote the idea of social distancing in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
To minimize the risk of unnecessarily infecting a person in need of services with COVID-19, local law enforcement personnel will be practicing social distancing.