The first thing to keep in mind about the now very hot issue of a proposed greenway along northern stretches of Bolin Creek is that we are several years away from seeing funding and approval for anything.

The second thing is that good people on both sides have strongly held views and detailed reasons to support their positions on what should be done along various stretches of the waterway. More »

Chris Fitzsimon

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Vice President Genie Komives and lobbyist Mark Fleming both appeared recently before a legislative study committee to oppose legislation that would require insurance companies to cover more comprehensive treatments and therapies for children with autism.

Sixteen states have already approved a version of the proposal that includes coverage of evidence-based behavioral therapy that helps children adjust to mainstream environments, helping the children and their families and saving money in the long run by reducing the need for institutional care. More »

Paige Johnson

It seems like a conspiracy plot straight out of a Margaret Atwood novel. Within the course of two weeks, mostly behind closed doors, politicians, bureaucrats and trustees strip reproductive health coverage from insurance plans covering thousands of female employees. It sounds like fantasy fiction, but the assault on reproductive health care coverage in North Carolina is all too real.

In late January, the Apex Town Council voted unanimously to eliminate abortion coverage from their town employees’ health plan. In short order, Wake County moved to deny all county employees abortion coverage without holding a public debate or vote. More »

James Carnahan

A comment by Chris Bond on The Carrboro Citizen website about Dave Otto’s recent column regarding Bolin Creek Greenway (“The façade of saving Bolin Creek,” 2/25/10) sums up a larger issue that divides our community: “Instead of using ‘increasingly urban environment’ as justification for paving the forests, use it as justification to stop urbanization.”

Urbanization is not what is wrecking our local environment. It is important not to confuse “urban” with the suburban pattern that has dominated for the past six decades. More »

By Alexandra Brown

The latest library debate is becoming farcical. The Chapel Hill Public Library wants Orange County to contribute more to the town’s budget. The county says no. Chapel Hill says if there is no county increase, they’ll begin to charge library patrons who live outside the Chapel Hill town limits. Both sides refuse to budge. I am reminded of the Dr. Seuss story, The Zax, and, as the story goes, they will never compromise and will remain firm in their positions as the world goes on around them. Let’s find a way around this. More »

(And why Chapel Hill’s ban might be different)

By Kenneth C. Mills

In traffic safety, we‘ve seen study after study demonstrate that phoning while driving increases crash risk. The data come from a variety of studies over years: lab studies, simulator studies, on-the-road studies, driving-record analysis, phone-record analysis and collision data. Many authors conclude that phone use increases crash risk four-fold and that such behavior is equivalent to driving while legally intoxicated. (Text-ing is another matter altogether; new studies find a 20-fold increase in risk while text messaging.) More »

At the Chapel Hill Town Council meeting on Jan. 25, I petitioned the council to open discussions about prohibiting handheld cell phone usage while driving in Chapel Hill. I also proposed that the town hold a public forum on this topic, where concerned citizens could express their opinions. Since the election, I have heard from many citizens who feel that it is becoming increasingly dangerous to drive in Chapel Hill because people are not paying attention to the road. The problem is particularly bad on campus. More »

I have been following the discussion about the proposed Bolin Creek Greenway, and found myself agreeing with both sides: paved greenway to provide more accessibility vs. unpaved to preserve more of the natural setting. Recently, my opinion has tipped over to the paved option. Dave Otto provided more support for this option by pointing out that the paved greenway, when built, would represent a very small fraction of the entire wooded area. I agree. I personally prefer to walk on unpaved, natural paths through the woods. But I recognize this is not a viable option for those with handicaps, mothers with baby strollers and bicyclists. So, let’s have a paved greenway to provide more accessibility. I can still wander off into the woods if I want. A win-win for everyone.

Nils Brubaker
Chapel Hill

This newspaper has not shied away from admonishing those in the motoring public to hang up and drive.

In our first year, we suggested that signs saying as much be posted along the roadsides at the entrances to downtown Carrboro. Having now worked three-and a-half years on Weaver Street and conducted most of my travel during business hours on foot, I am unhappy to report that the habit of talking on the phone while driving, and the inattentiveness that accompanies it, remains rampant. More »

There are some people you think of when you think of Carrboro, and Tom Robinson was one of them. I’ve bought fish from him for the past 20 years or so. And working downtown over the past few years, I’ve found myself in the shop quite often and developed an even deeper appreciation of his knowledge and his love for the coast of our fair state. More »

Dave Otto

For the past decade, as a founding member of the Friends of Bolin Creek, I have fought tirelessly to preserve the Bolin Creek corridor. For much of that time, I served as chairman and leading advocate for the creation of a “park and preserve” along the creek between Estes Drive and Homestead Road. While the Carrboro Board of Aldermen lavishly praised our efforts, the Town of Carrboro never took any action to create a Bolin Creek park or preserve. The usual excuse was that the town had neither the funds nor the manpower to acquire and maintain such a park. In fact, the town is still struggling to pay down the debt incurred by the purchase of the Adams Tract. More »

Steve Peha

They say the third time’s the charm. For the last two months, I’ve been writing about a simple idea: Let’s send all Chapel Hill Carrboro City School kids to college. So far, this idea hasn’t found much traction (or opposition, for that matter). But I know this paper gets picked up by thousands of people each week, and I also know that education is a very important issue in our community. So a few of you out there must have read me. More »

Chris Fitzsimon

The anger and frustration in the country is a central part of the national debate, as both political parties vie desperately to manipulate the unrest to their advantage, testing polls and focus groups with messages that have only the faintest ties to reality.

Republicans profess to be the party of limited government as they privately write letters to federal officials begging for money for their states from the stimulus package they condemn as wasteful spending in their appearances on Fox News. More »

Dave Cook

I am not writing for the people who walk fast along Bolin Creek, missing the black snake coiled in the sun. I am writing for the woods themselves, the character of them. Encroachment has probably eradicated the four-toed salamander, but I write for other living treasures of this creek and forest residing in or along the creek: the colony of snowbells, moth mullein, wild comfrey, showy orchis, the madtom, the pike and the prothonotary warbler. More »

Chris Fitzsimon

Here is a sobering statistic about the daily economic struggles faced by thousands of families in North Carolina. More than 1.2 million people in the state now receive food stamps. That is up 24 percent over a year ago.

And the real numbers are worse. The last study of food stamp participation found that only 63 percent of people in North Carolina eligible for food stamps were receiving them, ranking North Carolina 33rd in the nation in food stamp participation. More »