The Orange County Farmers’ Market opens for the first time on Saturday. The market is at The Public Market House at 120 East Margaret Lane, Hillsborough (behind the Sheriff’s department).
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The Community Action Network will host “Water: The Cycle of Life: A Water Resources and the Future of Orange County Symposium,” in which lecturers will present information on Orange County’s water supply and quality. More »

Live by the test scores . . .
There is palpable concern in the air about the reputation of Chapel Hill High School. It might be a good time in the midst of all the concern about tests and cheating to look for a moment at how we’ve judged that school, and all schools for that matter. More »

[Editor’s note: The following is an open letter to Hidden Voices and the participants of The ArtsCenter’s production “Because We’re Still Here (and Moving).”]

Francesca Hyatt

I was deeply moved by the performance this past Friday, and grateful that so many were willing to share their stories. Some of the stories were almost unbearably sad — stories of prejudice and fear, of meanness and ignorance. Some of the stories were beautiful — stories of family and tight-knit community, of providing for each other’s needs, of inter-generational relationships. Some things I learned were alarming; I never understood so clearly until watching the performance how damaging integration policies were to the Northside community. More »

By Chris Fitzsimon

The crisis in North Carolina’s mental health system is center stage this week in the state’s political debate, something long overdue considering the woeful performance of the system that is supposed to provide care for people with mental illness, a developmental disability or addiction.

The Raleigh News & Observer kicked off a five-part series Sunday about the ongoing problems with the 2001 mental health reform efforts under the bold banner headline “Reform wastes millions, enriches providers, fails to serve mentally ill.” More »

Though a Chapel Hill-ian, I have grown more and more fond of reading your weekly paper, The Carrboro Citizen. In recent weeks, I find myself eagerly awaiting the next installment of Ken Moore’s “Flora” column. His appreciation for the natural world and eloquent expression make his columns a pleasure to read.  More »

I was very dismayed to read about the bicycle accident suffered by musician Dave Laney. Particularly so, because I had just written to Mayor Chilton a few days ago about unregulated traffic in Carrboro. More »

The Orange County Partnership for Young Children is sponsoring the community gardens in Carrboro and seeking volunteers, preferably families with young children, to apply for gardening space. Support is provided and gardeners can take on space at the Martin Luther King Park garden and the Carrboro Elementary garden. Applications can be found at www.orangesmartstart.org. For more information, call 967-9091.

Culbreth Middle School student Calvin Wagner placed second in the nation at the American Bouldering Series Championship in the Male Youth C category for ages 12-13. More »

The Orange County Arts Commission seeks applicants for a public art project at the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center.

The project is open to all artists living in North Carolina, working in any media. Artist teams are eligible to apply, including teams of artists from multiple disciplines. Orange County artists are encouraged to apply. More »

Special Events

• North Carolina Environment Justice Network Quarterly Summit Meeting — will be held at the Faith Tabernacle Oasis of Love Church on Saturday, March 1 from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with speakers discussing landfill issues, water and sewage issues and the concerns of Smithfield Foods workers. More »