Showing posts in the “Carrboro” category
Samiha Khanna ·
15 Mar 2010, 10:49 AM ·
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In a follow-up to our cover March 10 cover story, “Gaga for Google’s fiber,” we’d like to update metrics of the involvement of the Triangle’s top three participants.
Durham’s still ahead in Facebook presence, with 2,180 fans on its “Bring Google Fiber to Durham N.C.,” page, while 935 people have signed up for “Bring Google Fiber to Raleigh!”. The western part of the Triangle is not far behind: the Facebook group “Bring Google Fiber to Chapel Hill & Carrboro N.C.” boasts 906 members.
The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and UNC-Chapel Hill, will hold a public forum at 7 p.m. today at Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., to receive public comment regarding community interest in the fiber optic trial and how residents would use an ultra-high speed Internet network.
On Thursday, Durhamites hope to make a splash by corralling thousands of locals into the Durham Bulls Athletic Park at 11 a.m. Thursday to spell out “We want Google” on the field, to pose for an aerial photograph. More here >>
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, Raleigh, Wake County, business, media, national, news Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Google, Google Fiber, Internet, Raleigh, Triangle
Joe Schwartz ·
3 Mar 2010, 4:21 PM ·
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Topeka municipal leaders renamed the town Google, Kansas. Others across the country are forming Facebook groups and bringing tech gurus together hoping to be selected for Google’s high-speed Internet project.
Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC are forming a joint task force, holding a forum and inviting residents to complete a survey.
The group is geared toward becoming a pilot community for Google Fiber, a program announced last month that seeks to build and test Internet service that’s one gigabit per second — 100 times faster than what’s available today.
To qualify, towns of 50,000 to 500,000 people must apply by March 26 and demonstrate that they have adequate resources and infrastructure to make the partnership successful.
The forum is set for 7 p.m. March 15 at Chapel Hill Town Hall.
Read next week’s Independent for a story on what else local municipalities are doing to try to woo Google.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County Add new tag, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, fiber, Google, UNC
Joe Schwartz ·
25 Feb 2010, 4:25 PM ·
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Members of the NAACP stood on the front lawn of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools administration building Thursday morning, calling a plan to add new honors courses a harbinger of resegregation.
“We will not stand for the resegregation of our schools,” Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Chapter President Michelle Cotton Laws said, standing behind a banner reading “the struggle continues” and flanked by parents and activists both black and white. “Separate is not equal.”
Earlier this month the school board voted to add six honors courses in science and social studies, following four meetings and a public hearing.
The vote split 4-3, with the three black members opposed. The NAACP says adding honors courses without first addressing the achievement gap that cuts along race and class lines only heightens the disparity in local classrooms.
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Carrboro, Chapel Hill, education achievement gap, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, honors classes, Michelle Cotton Laws, Mike Kelley, NAACP
Joe Schwartz ·
17 Feb 2010, 12:14 PM ·
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Durham’s El Centro Hispano plans to open its Orange County branch on April 1 in Carrboro Plaza, though they are yet to secure a lease, leaders said in both Spanish and English at the Seymour Center on Tuesday.
The group hopes to bring financial stability, consistent leadership and a successful service and funding model to Carrboro after El Centro Latino closed in November, leaving a hole in translation, job finding, after school and legal services for Spanish speakers.
“There are no guarantees. We are out on a limb,” El Centro Hispano Board Chairwoman Susan Denman said. “It’s because we support what Carrboro and Chapel Hill have been doing, and we have faith in the foundation the board has laid.”
More than 100 community members, some former volunteers or members of churches that supported El Centro Latino, attended the meeting during which El Centro Hispano outlined its plans for Orange County and pinned for support.
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Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Durham County, Orange County, education Carrboro Plaza, El Centro Hispano, El Centro Latino, Latino Community Credit Union, Seymour Center, Susan Denman
Joe Schwartz ·
3 Feb 2010, 6:26 PM ·
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Durham’s El Centro Hispano announced plans today to open an Orange County branch, which would fill the gap left when El Centro Latino shut its doors in November.
Leadership from both nonprofits will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Seymour Center auditorium in Chapel Hill to garner input on the collaborative effort.
Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, executive director of El Centro Hispano, said her organization is ready and willing to provide much-needed translating, English lessons and job finding services for Orange County’s Spanish-speaking community.
“We are confident that the structure we have here will allow us to give good service to the community,” she said.
El Centro Latino closed after a 10-year run as a nonprofit due to a lack of funding and constant turnover of its leadership.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Orange County El Centro Hispano, El Centro Latino, Orange County, Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, Seymour Center
Joe Schwartz ·
4 Nov 2009, 3:31 AM ·
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*Reporter’s note: Scroll to the bottom if you want the quickie results from Election Day (no suprises in Carrboro or Hillsborough. CHCCS followed the Indy endorsement. Chapel Hill Town Council went to Penny Rich, Ed Harrison, Laurin Easthom and Gene Pease). If you’d like to read a scene-setting piece from Chapel Hill Mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt’s victory party, then read on.
Councilman Mark Kleinschmidt celebrates his mayoral victory as his twin sister clutches his shoulder and his mom bursts into tears.
Supporters erupted. His mother burst into tears. His sister shouted. Mark Kleinschmidt just smiled contently, arms crossed but giving the kind of ear-to-ear grin you could feel across the room, satisfaction and disbelief merging together on his face. The campaign had just received word that rival Matt Czajkowski had made his concession speech at the Franklin Hotel.
The progressive bloc had won. They’d just escaped a new, moderate business-centered group gaining traction and council seats. Not so fast.
Word came back that one precint, Patterson, was yet to report. Kleinschmidt was up a scant 168 votes. The jubiliation turned to shocked concern. It was too close to call.
“I don’t want a Dewey defeats Truman headline,” Kleinschmidt warned reporters at his R&R Grill party. The pack of local politicos returned to the laptop, clicking refresh again and again.
Moments later, the candidate’s ever-buzzing cell phone went off once more. It was Mayor Kevin Foy calling to congratulate him.
Kleinschmidt cautioned him, but thanked him for his support. Then the results flashed on the TV screens. It was final — Kleinschmidt had won.
Continue reading »
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Amanda Ashley, Augustus Cho, Brian Voyce, Bryant Warren, Christine Lee, Ed Harrison, Frances Dancy, Gene Pease, Greg McElveen, Jacquelyn Gist, Jim Merritt, Joe Green, Jon Dehart, Kevin Foy, Kevin Wolff, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, MaryAnne Gucciardi, Matt Czajkowski, Matt Pohlman, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Sharon Cook, Shell Brownstein, Susana Dancy, Tim Peck, Tom Stevens, Will Raymond
Lisa Sorg ·
3 Nov 2009, 12:42 PM ·
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After two years, Carrboro Free Press, also known as the Freep, has ceased publication, at least temporarily, according to business manager Erin Redfern. It will not be printed this week.
This was posted on CFP’s Web site today:
Dear Readers:
In the past month, the CFP has had serious business decisions arise in regards to our financial stability. We are taking a hiatus while we formulate a smarter business plan moving forward.
This is not goodbye by any means, but a much needed pause to consider our next best step.
Thank you for reading, and supporting the Freep.
We’ll keep in touch and let you know when we go back to press.
The CFP debuted in October 2007 and was run as a co-op. According to its Web site, the CFP “has gone from an eight-page, 1,000 copy s produced “underground” at a dining room table to a 16-20 page, 2,500 copy community fixture produced by a dozen or so regular contributors.”
Earlier this summer, CFP reported its circulation had increased by 150 percent, and original content had increased by more than 100 percent. Last March, CFP introduced The Distillery, a monthly arts and literature supplement.
However, the CFP couldn’t compete with the higher-profile free weekly, the Carrboro Citizen. It also has operated in the red, but received a $50,000 loan from the Town of Carrboro’s Revolving Business Loan earlier this year.
Disclosure: Indy freelancer Rebekah L. Cowell worked at CFP. Former Indy Managing Editor Kirk Ross is the editor of the Carrboro Citizen.
Carrboro, media Carrboro Citizen, Carrboro Free Press, Erin Redfern
Joe Schwartz ·
27 Oct 2009, 4:40 PM ·
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When I called Orange County Board of Elections Chairwoman Tracy Reams today I thanked her for her time. “You must be very busy these days, so I appreciate it,” I told her.
“Well, not as busy as we’d like to be,” she replied.
That might seem odd for a woman whose overseeing three early-voting sites, one per Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, but Reams says the sites haven’t been used nearly as much as she expected.
At the close of Monday it was 11 days since early voting began in Hillsborough and a full week since Chapel Hill and Carrboro joined in. So, how many have turned out to the polls? In Chapel Hill, 454 came to the Morehead Planetarium. The Carrboro Town Hall has seen 310 voters. Hillsborough has had a scant 48 residents vote thus far at the Board of Elections office on King Street.
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Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County 2009 municipal election, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, Tracy Reams
Joe Schwartz ·
17 Oct 2009, 10:12 PM ·
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The Thorpe-Anderson Breakfast Club, a group of progressive NAACP supporters and members, is backing incumbents in races for Chapel Hill Town Council, Carrboro mayor and Board of Aldermen and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board. The group’s endorsements, always sought after by the candidates, were released today. They are as follows:
Chapel Hill Mayor - Mark Kleinschmidt
Chapel Hill Town Council - Lauren Easthom, Ed Harrison, Jim Merritt and Will Raymond
Carrboro Mayor - Mark Chilton
Carrboro Board of Aldermen - Randee Haven-O’Donnell, Jacquelyn Gist and Sammy Slade
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board - Greg McElveen, Michelle Brownstein and Joe Green
The breakfast club was formed in the 1970s by Hank Anderson, the South’s first black parks and recreation director. The late Bill Thorpe, a former councilmen who passed away while in office in 2008, served as the group’s leader after Anderson died. The group fights for racial justice and lobbied to town to rename Airport Road as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
This is the first endorsement this season for Raymond. All the other Chapel Hill and Carrboro municipal candidates earned support from the Sierra Club and the Indy. The three school board hopefuls also earned the Indy’s support.
Early voting began Thursday. Election day is Nov. 3. Visit our elections page to read candidate questionnaires, get links to campaign pages and learn more about the candidates.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Carrboro, Chapel Hill, CHCCS, Ed Harrison, endorsements, Greg McElveen, Jacquelyn Gist, Jim Merritt, Joe Green, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, Michelle Brownstein, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Thorpe-Anderson Breakfast Club, Will Raymond
Joe Schwartz ·
8 Oct 2009, 11:29 AM ·
1 Comment
The Sierra Club announced its endorsements today in municipal races in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. The following candidates gained their support:
- In Chapel Hill: Mark Kleinschmidt for mayor and Laurin Easthom, Ed Harrision, Jim Merritt and Penny Rich for town council.
- In Carrboro: Mark Chilton for mayor and Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O’Donnell and Sammy Slade for board of aldermen.
- In Hillsborough: Tom Stevens for mayor and Mike Gering and Frances Dancy for town board.
Thus the group is backing all incumbents with Penny Rich gaining support for the open seat that Kleinschmidt will leave and Sammy Slade for John Herrera’s old post.
You can read the group’s rationale for each race by clicking on the above links. The Indy’s endorsements hit stands this Wednesday.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, politics Ed Harrison, endorsements, Frances Dancy, Jacquelyn Gist, Laurin Easthom, Mark Chilton, Mark Kleinschmidt, Mike Gering, Penny Rich, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Sammy Slade, Sierra Club, Tom Stevens
