Showing posts tagged “Orange County”
Joe Schwartz ·
1 Mar 2010, 5:57 PM ·
1 Comment
Twenty-eight candidates are vying for 16 seats tied to Orange County this election season. This cycle, which centers on a May 4 primary and climaxes during the Nov. 2 election, features a crowded race for a spot on the Orange County Board of Education and experienced contenders competing both in the sheriff and county commissioner at-large races.
Lindy Pendergrass, who won his first term as Orange County sheriff back when Michael Jordan hit the shot to down Georgetown, is seeking his eight term and will square off against Hillsborough Police Chief Clarence Birkhead in the democratic primary. Republican Buddy Parker, who lost to Pendergrass in 2006 and earned just 19 percent of the vote, awaits the winner in the general election.
Meanwhile, the Board of County Commissioners race will see three-term incumbent Barry Jacobs face a challenge from former Hillsborough Mayor Joe Phelps and current Carrboro Alderman Joal Hall Broun in contest for the at-large seat. Long-time incumbent Alice Gordon doesn’t face competition for the District 1 seat and three newcomers, Earl McKee and Renee Price on the Democratic side and Greg Andrews on the Republican end, are seeking the District 2 slot.
District 1 consists of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and two-thirds of the Chapel Hill Township, while District 2 makes up the northern parts of the county.
Candidates have a one-in-two shot to gain a seat on the Orange County Board of Education with eight hopefuls eyeing one of four seats. Two incumbents, Chairwoman Anne Medenblik and second-term hopeful Debbie Piscitelli, face Will Atherton, Brenda Stephens, Laura Nicholson, Donna Coffey, Keith Cook and Charles Williams.
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Orange County, politics 2010 election, Anne Medenblik, Barry Jacobs, Bill Faison, Board of County Commissioners, Brenda Stephens, Buddy Parker, Cathy Wright, Charles Williams, Clarence Birkhead, clerk of court, Debbie Piscitelli, Deborah Brooks, Donna Coffey, Earl McKee, Ellie Kinnaird, Greg Andrews, James Stanford, Joal Hall Broun, Joe Hackney, Joe Phelps, Jon Bass, Keith Cook, Laura Nicholson, Lindy Pendergrass, NC General Assembly, Orange County, Orange County Board of Education, Orange County sheriff, register of deeds, Renee Price, Rick Smith, Ryan Hilliard, Soil Conservation District Supervisor, Verla Insko, Will Atherton
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 ·
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 ·
13 Oct 2009, 2:46 PM ·
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Orange County Commissioner Mike Nelson will not run for re-election next spring. The former Carrboro mayor is completing his first term on the county board, having been elected in 2006.
In a post on his blog, he says he’s making his intentions known now to give others a chance to ready their campaigns.
Candidates can organize a special interest group to start a campaign at any time, but the filing period for this office begins Feb. 8 and runs through Feb. 26.
Nelson previously had filed to run for N.C. General Assembly in 2007 and withdrew with Ellie Kinnaird decided to run to keep her seat, but he says he doesn’t have his eyes on any office now.
“There’s nothing on the horizon that I know of as of today,” he said. “My plans are just to play more bridge, read more books and spend more time with family and friends.”
In addition to Nelson’s seat, the terms of longtime commissioners Alice Gordon and Barry Jacobs expire next year. Neither has said if they plan to run again.
Prior to serving as a commissioner, Nelson was the first openly gay mayor of a North Carolina municipality and served five terms in Carrboro.
He says he wants to address the need for a county library in Carrboro before he leaves office.
“That’s been on the agenda for really 15 years, and it’s time to bring that issue home,” he said.
He hopes people remember his work on social justice and making county government more transparent.
Orange County, politics Alice Gordon, Barry Jacobs, commissioners, Mike Nelson, Orange County
Joe Schwartz ·
7 Oct 2009, 12:13 PM ·
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Frank Clifton Jr. had his interim tag removed last night and now serves as the Orange County manager. Clifton, who gained unanimous approval from the Orange County Board of Commissioners replaced Laura Blackmon who left in June and will earn $161,200 annually.
Clifton is charged with overseeing daily county operations and carrying out policy decisions made by the board. Prior to this post, Clifton had served as county manager for Onslow and Cabbarus counties and city manager of Casselberry, Fla. and Bristol, Tenn.
Orange County, politics Frank Clifton, Laura Blackmon, Orange County
Joe Schwartz ·
11 Aug 2009, 3:59 PM ·
2 Comments
Update: 4:14 p.m. - All systems are go. 911 is back up and operating. Call that number for all of your emergency needs.
Someone call 911. Oh, wait. You can’t. It’s down in Orange County. If you have an emergency, hang up and dial 919-732-5658.
County information officer Doug David Hunt said specialists are trying to determine the cause of the outage and are working to correct it. He wasn’t sure when 911 would be back up.
He did say that the problem appears to be limited to Embarq customers and that a CodeRED alert was sent to all affected parties.
Check back for more details as they develop.
Orange County 911, Orange County
Vernal Coleman ·
22 Oct 2008, 11:45 AM ·
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The Orange County Board of Commissioners narrowed the list of potential sites for the new county waste transfer station to three Tuesday night, reports the News and Observer.
Notably absent from the list of remaining sites is the location in the Rogers-Eubanks community, the current home of the now 36-year-old county landfill.
The Board of commissioners is set to make their final decision on a site for the new facility Nov. 18.
A map of the three sites can be found below:
View Larger Map
North Carolina, Orange County, media, news, politics Orange County, Orange County Board of Commissioners, waste transfer station
Vernal Coleman ·
14 Oct 2008, 1:50 PM ·
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Glenn Gerding ended his bid for district court judge this week, conceding to opponent Page Vernon who will now run unopposed for the open seat on the District 15b Court.
“Page essentially won the seat in the primary,” says Gerding in his endorsement of Vernon. “I’m confident that Page will do a great job as District Court judge.”
Vernon garnered 65 percent of the vote in the May 6 primary. Gerding received 21 percent, while Lamar F. Proctor won 14 percent. Having survived the primary, Gerding’s name will remain on the ballot for November’s general election despite his concession.
North Carolina, Orange County Chatham County, elections, judges, Orange County
Vernal Coleman ·
13 Oct 2008, 2:39 PM ·
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The Herald Sun today has a somewhat bloodless Q and A with recently installed UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp, which includes revelations such as the type of car he drives (Mazda Miata, black) and what songs he’s most adept at playing (”Chain of Fools,” “Margaritaville”).
Thorp isn’t pushed on any substantive university related issues until late in the interview, when he’s asked about the proposed UNC airport in Orange County. According to Thorp, there is much to be decided before the university actually moves to build the facility:
We’ve got quite a bit of work ahead of us … The airport authority as we’ve said will collect lots of public input, do their own study about where the airport might or might not go, and you know it’s probably going to be a year before we’ve got the authority named and they’ve done all their studies and where to point as a community we’re going to have to decide whether and where to build an airport.
Chapel Hill, Orange County Orange County, UNC Chancellor
Vernal Coleman ·
13 Oct 2008, 12:38 PM ·
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Members of the Rogers Road community aren’t the only Orange County residents up in arms over the list of sites for the proposed county waste transfer station. The Herald-Sun reports that the Hillsborough Waste Transfer Station Advisory Committee will tonight present to the Town Board a list of recommendations to take to the County Board of Commissioners upcoming work session, recommendations that include asking the commissioners to slow down the selection process and consider additional sites.
Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Gering tells the paper that most residents did not learn that two of the proposed sites were near Hillsborough until just before a public hearing last month, adding:
This [transfer station] process has gone way too fast. We’d like to see a thorough analysis done of these sites, and we just don’t see any way that this can be done.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners will revisit the waste transfer station Oct. 21. A map of the proposed sites can be found here.
Orange County Hillsborough, Orange County, waste transfer station
