The Commentators – Maria Palmer – October 7, 2014

Maria Palmer helped register people to vote in Orange County before the 2018 general election. But when she tried to convince people who hadn’t registered, she says she often got the same response. “People would tell me, ‘What’s the point? We know who’s going to be elected; there’s not any competition. It’s going to be […]

A new report on redevelopment options for property once owned by the American Legion in Chapel Hill is putting public opinion at the forefront of design discussions. Those options were synthesized from guidance given by residents during a community charrette facilitated by Dan Jewell and his team of landscape architects. “We had no idea how […]

The Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project is picking up steam as the Chapel Hill Town Council considers how to approach the construction of train stops in the area. Gateway Planning Group President Scott Polikov briefed council members earlier this week on design philosophies for six local light rail stations that stand to be built. A […]

The academic year is winding down at Chapel Hill High School, but town officials are gearing up to consider the demolition and expansion of buildings on its campus. According to Kay Pearlstein, a local senior planner, the proposed project would raze two antiquated structures and replace them with modern academic facilities. “The high school project […]

The gross cost of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project was revealed to the Orange County Board of Commissioners by financial advisors during a meeting held earlier in the week. According to Ted Cole, a senior vice president at Davenport & Company, the actual price of the proposed commuter rail system exceeds the sum of […]

Plans to redevelop the Lincoln Center have been under consideration by the Chapel Hill Town Council since 2015, but enough votes were garnered in a recent meeting to put those plans into action. Dr. Todd LoFrese, an assistant superintendent with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, appeared before council members on Monday to elaborate on projected enrollment […]

The American Legion sold its post in Chapel Hill to the municipal government last December, but town officials are still deliberating over how to put this new acquisition to use. Town Manager Roger Stancil appeared before the Chapel Hill Town Council earlier in the week to present options for combining residential input with municipal intentions […]

Local residents and school district employees appeared before the Chapel Hill Town Council earlier in the week to discuss the proposed redevelopment of the Lincoln Center. Kerry Moore, the director of preschool programs for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, steered the discussion toward plans to establish a centralized preschool on the campus. “If we were to […]

Alcohol and college towns are two things that often go hand-in-hand. But one local group is looking to make sure that high-risk drinking, or drinking that causes ill effects to someone’s health or safety, is a thing of the past. Elinor Landess is the director of the Chapel Hill Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce the […]

The Chapel Hill Town Council rejected a motion on Monday night to purchase software that would censor pornographic internet content on computers at the Chapel Hill Public Library. The rejection was unanimous by council members, who heard from Brian Sturm, the chair of the Chapel Hill Public Library Board of Trustees, on why the software […]