Weekly Update, October 23

Hello, Carrboro! If you look up toward the Orion constellation tonight, you might just catch a shooting star. The annual Orionid meteor shower, which peaked on Wednesday but continues into early November, is actually a stream of debris from Halley's Comet that Earth slams into this time of year, creating ephemeral, glowing streaks and fireballs that hurtle across the sky. When so much else right now feels unpredictable and uncertain, there's something very comforting in the dependability of this annual astronomical phenomenon.

Traffic downtown tonight is expected to be heavy as the new Cat's Cradle on Brewer Lane hosts a get-out-the-vote concert in support of Senate candidate Roy Cooper. Meanwhile, early voting continues at the Drakeford Library. The polls are open tonight until 7:30; Saturday 8 am-3 pm; Sunday noon-5 pm; and Monday through Friday 8 am-7:30 pm.

The Orange County Housing Department has announced a supplies drive to equip their Cold Weather Shelter and Street Outreach programs. Residents are encouraged to read the list below and consider how they can help contribute to the comfort and safety of the unhoused in our community, who are particularly vulnerable in winter.

If your energy bills are too high, there's now a team of six local community leaders who are serving as Energy Connectors. They offer hands-on, neighbor-to-neighbor assistance to lower energy bills, thanks to an Orange County Climate Action Grant. Visit Carrboro's Energy Resource Hub to learn more.

A program funded by an Orange County grant will plant native tree species at no cost to 50 participating homeowners in Carrboro, Hillsborough, Mebane, and unincorporated areas of Orange County. Homeowners can choose to plant up to two trees in their front or backyards. This free program complements Carrboro's urban forestry strategies. To apply, go to this website and click "Grow a tree" to submit a request. To add your voice to the plans being drawn up to shape our community's tree canopy, take the five-minute "Let's Talk Trees" survey, open through October 31.

Online this week

Meet Reece Fourt, Carrboro-based luthier currently working at Twin House Music (116 W. Main St.) in this story by Jason Wares.

OWASA has been scheduling public meetings to talk transparently about PFAS in our water and what they're doing about it. Read guest contributor Rob Carty's story.

On The Carrborean Radio Hour

As part of our election-season coverage, John Rees sat down with Orange County Board of Commissioners District 2 candidate Beth Bronson. Hear the interview, or read a condensed version. She reminds listeners that if there are voting questions, they can call a non-partisan hotline that can assist voters who have encountered issues with their registration or voting location. Call 888-OUR-VOTE (888-687-8683) or visit nc.voter.org. In the second-half of the Radio Hour, John Rees spoke with Stephen Whitlow of Triangle Blog Blog and Nicole Quick of Carolina Forward about early voting turnout.

Our election coverage: Other local news outlets have provided information about candidates on the ballot this election season and we are not planning to repeat coverage. You can find non-partisan information here. When a candidate requests an interview, we invite all contenders for that seat to have an interview with us.

Next Monday, tune in from 4 to 5 pm when John Rees talks with Sharon Mosley, owner of The Fit Talk and a licensed clinical mental health counselor supervisor, about preparing for holiday stress and navigating holidays with blended families.

And afterwards, stop by our pop-up newsroom at Lanza's from 5 - 6, to talk about all things Carrboro.

News from OWASA, CHCCS, Town, and County

OWASA: At its meeting yesterday, The Board of Directors received a presentation from Stantec, the rate consultants, who presented the results of its review of OWASA's customer billing records and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data and discussed potential modifications to customer classifications based on the findings. At the Board Meeting on November 12, 2026, Stantec will lead a discussion on the next step in the rate study which is the analysis of cost-of-service results. Next meeting on Thursday, November 12, at 6:00 PM, in OWASA’s Community Room at 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro; information for meetings will be provided on OWASA’s Board calendar.

The CHCCS Board of Education met last night and we'll post a highlights reel soon.

Mark your calendars for Carrboro's annual Halloween carnival, which takes place Friday, October 30, from 5:30 to 8 pm at the Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main St.

The Town of Carrboro invites residents to share their housing experiences, concerns, and priorities through a community survey you can access here. The survey will help guide the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan and identify the housing strategies residents want the Town to prioritize over the next five years.

At Tuesday night's Town Council Meeting, Blackwood Drive resident Ross Ford made an impassioned plea that the Council enact special-use standards to limit the number of short-term rental properties within a mile of Carrboro Elementary School. As Ross reported, in the time he has lived in his home, numerous other houses on his street have been sold to developers who have converted former-residences into Airbnbs with lots of parking. Ross no longer has neighbors, and homes that could be housing families with children who could be walking to nearby Carrboro Elementary School have instead become party homes. Watch Ross makes his appeal, followed by a staff-led presentation about Habitat for Humanity's proposed rezoning in the Historic Rogers Road neighborhood, in the this curated meeting highlights video.

The Town of Carrboro welcomes applications from residents ready and willing to serve on an advisory board or commission. To learn more about this opportunity, go to the website, and to fill out an application, click here.

The Safe Routes to School Action Plan Update: Town wants to know what you think. Visit here to read the draft plan and learn about opportunities to share your thoughts. This is about how Carrboro will improve walking, biking, and rolling to school. There will be a public hearing at 6 pm Nov. 10 at Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St. 

Sign up here for Orange County's Climate Connections Newsletter. The latest issue introduces readers to the county's sustainability interns, shares energy-saving tips, explores repair and electrification programs, reflects on summer heat, and describes the Leave Your Leaves campaign.

Other Interesting Things

Final Notes

The Community Bulletin Board has announcements and opportunities for giving and civic engagement and is updated weekly.

There's so much going on in Carrboro! Check out The Events Calendar to see what's happening and help us keep it up-to-date.

Ways to support The Carrborean

1) Please consider a paid subscription to support community journalism (local news from the people living it). Subscribers at the "Angel" tier get the first-ever Carrborean T-shirt (courtesy of The Merch), along with other benefits and the knowledge that they're making it possible for us to keep bringing you grass-roots community news-telling. 2) Click here to purchase a gift subscription for your favorite people or here to throw some monetary love our way. 3) Ask your favorite businesses if they advertise in The Carrborean. 4) Support the businesses that advertise in The Carrborean and tell them you saw them there!

Poetry Moment

Whiteville, NC, native Archie Ammons studied at Wake Forest College and then left North Carolina for Ithaca, New York. He died in 2001, but his observations about late-October offer us a chance to honor his poetic voice:

*Corrected 10/23 to remove notice of King Lear at Muse Gallery this weekend. It was postponed to November 21.