Last year a Virginia investment firm bought seventeen apartment complexes in Durham and Chapel Hill. The units were old, and the company is renovating them and raising the rent significantly as a result. The higher rents already have affected many middle class folks who are having a hard time paying the increased rent.

This is Laurin Easthom. While some members of the NC General Assembly have passed around lumps of coal, surreptitiously placed Christmas wreaths in their legislative chamber, and walked out of negotiations holding their breath, a multitude of teacher’s assistants wonder if they have jobs in one month. Medicaid services, adequate access to health care for […]

Tomorrow the Orange County Board of Elections will adopt a plan for early voting for the fall election. The Board will consider both the locations and hours for early voting. When it comes to locations, the board should keep the same voting locations used during the spring primary to maintain consistency. After considering a number of options, the plan adopted for the primary included five early voting sites, including a location in rural Orange County at Master’s Garden Preschool, and a location adjacent to UNC’s campus at North Carolina Hillel. I’ve been a strong advocate for securing a site that is accessible to the faculty, staff, and students who attend UNC, and while NC Hillel might not be the perfect site, it is accessible to pedestrians from UNC and we should maintain stability from the primary.

This is Alyssa Davis. I am a student. I am an organizer. And I am concerned. After the initial Board of Elections meeting to discuss early voting plans for Orange County, I am concerned about the Board’s process for making decisions that impact all of the citizens of Orange County. Namely Sunday voting. Currently this […]

This is Walt Mack. Lawmakers are growing restless in Raleigh. I’m speaking about the State Legislators who are wrangling over proposed teacher salary hikes and how to pay for them. Oddly, the dispute rages between the House and Senate chambers—both sides dominated by Republicans. In a joint session, tensions became so heated that the House […]

This is Raleigh Mann. Lots of people have already expressed their opinions on the proposed redevelopment of what we have come to call the Ephesus-Fordham area. It’s an ambitious plan for 123 in-town acres, encompassing 60 local businesses, a plan that could bring big box stores within our town borders and the tax revenue that […]

This is Mayor Lydia Lavelle. America celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. We have parades, fireworks, and we wear our red, white, and blue. In the past, this day was also commemorated with speeches. One of these was given by the great orator, Frederick Douglass, in 1852 in Rochester, New […]

Parking, parking everywhere, and not a free space to be found anywhere.

That seems to be the situation on the UNC campus and elsewhere in Chapel Hill as parking continues to become more problematic.

This is Raleigh Mann. Last week, the Chapel Hill Planning Board unanimously approved the rezoning request of some folks who want to convert the house next door to us into a place where Muslims may gather for prayer. Betsy and I wanted to be at this meeting to support this project, which we see as […]

This is Ellie Kinnaird. We all know who the bad guys are in our towns are, don’t we?  Developers. The only things more evil are big box stores. By the way, where did you shop last week? Developers, those folks who cut down the trees next to our beautiful home. Who destroy open space and pave roads […]