Weekly Update, October 16

Hello, Carrboro. The leaf vacuum truck was out on Thursday, the coffee houses have been peddling pumpkin spice lattes, and the white oaks appear to be masting: all evidence of fall. However, being pelted by acorns in the crazy-pants, near-90-degree heat this past week certainly created some cognitive dissonance for those of us who love the rites of the season. We are promised that Saturday will usher in seasonal temperatures--at least into some of next week.

As the matrix message board by Town Hall reminds us, "Slow Down 4 Poetry." The West End Poetry Festival, which kicked off last night, continues tonight with events from 5 pm to 9:30 pm at the Drakeford Library Complex (203 S. Greensboro St.). Saturday the festival picks up again at 12:30 pm at the Carrboro Century Center. There will be food, readings, workshops, and more. Check out the festival schedule here and read our preview, curated by Carrboro Poet Laureate, Dr. Amanda Bennett, here.

Meanwhile, The Speakeasy (100 E. Main St.) has pulled out of the Carrboro Songwriters Festival, citing the organizers' lack of transparency. Speakeasy owner, Nona Poulton, told us, "I hate making any decisions that hurt anybody." She ensured the performers scheduled at The Speakeasy could fit into the festival lineup at other venues before pulling out, and has offered to book those bands at The Speakeasy at a later date. Speakeasy's social media posting stated, "We do not support pay-to-play models. Musicians deserve to be paid for their art, not charged for the opportunity to share it."

We contacted the festival organizers for comment. Festival manager, Audrey West, said, "The Carrboro Songwriters Festival charged a $20 application fee, the same for everyone, which went toward the website and festival costs. It was never a fee for a slot. No artist paid for a set, a better time, or a bigger stage. The fees don't come close to covering costs; we've put our own resources into this, and no one is getting rich." She maintains the venue change was the Festival's decision and said, "The festival goes ahead this weekend, Oct 16-18, at Steel String Brewery and Lanza's, with every set at its original time." Here's the interview we published last week with founder Eric Sommer.

Early voting in Orange County began on Thursday, and there were about 60 ballots counted in the first hour of voting at the Drakeford Library Complex. Find more stats about early voting here. A non-partisan get-out-the-early-vote effort will take place Saturday from 8am to 3pm at the Drakeford, billed as "No Kings: Vote Early."

To educate voters about the three proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot, the group NC Local has produced an 11-minute YouTube video that breaks them down. Additionally, Orange County has produced a website that weighs in on the proposed amendment that would limit the levying of property taxes and what impacts would be felt if that amendment were to pass. And the Orange County Board of Commissioners has sounded the alarm about what that amendment would mean.

A note on The Carrborean's election coverage: Other local news outlets have provided information about candidates on the ballot this election season and we are not planning to repeat that coverage. You can find non-partisan information about candidates from NC Voter here.

We will interview candidates who contact us and we will offer the same opportunity to their competitors. Beth Bronson, candidate for OC Board of County Commissioners representing District 2, requested an interview with The Carrborean and that will be posted next week. We offered an interview to the other candidate running for that seat, Lou Capitanio. We have not heard back from him.

Guy Meilleur, candidate for NC's Congressional seat representing District 4, also requested an interview. We have followed up with him and offered the same opportunity to the other candidates for that seat, incumbent Valerie Foushee and Mahesh "Max" Ganorkar.

Cat's Cradle has announced two preview events ahead of the official opening of its new location at 107 Brewer Lane. The first will be a Get Out the Vote concert next Friday, October 23, featuring NC artists playing in support of Roy Cooper's Senate run. The approximately 14,000-square-foot, two-story club, which has been under construction for the past two years, will hold 1,100-people, has a mezzanine, and has a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. The second preview event, a formal ticketed concert with Built to Spill, will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Owner Frank Heath said, "We will soon have three active venues in Carrboro, giving us the flexibility to promote a variety of shows across all genres, featuring developing and established acts."

Online this week

Guest contributors Mark Turner and Peter Yang write about the history and services of the all-volunteer South Orange Rescue Squad. This nonprofit is such a boon to our community and depends on donations. Click here to make a donation or to sign up for a class. And then tune in to hear their interview on WCOM on Monday--more info, below.

On The Carrborean Radio Hour

On Monday, Whitney Fry of Flame Tree Story interviewed Chapel Hill's first-ever Poet Laureate, CJ Suitt, about the power and art of storytelling.

Next Monday (10/19) at 4pm, South Orange Rescue Squad joins us at WCOM-LP FM 103.5 (streaming at wcomfm.org) to talk about their life saving work, interesting calls, and what it takes to provide emergency medical services in our region.

Our pop-up newsroom will be at Lanza's in October. Come by to say hello and talk about life in Carrboro from 5 to 6pm on Mondays.

News from CHCCS, Town, and County

The CHCCS Board of Education met last evening. We'll post our summary this weekend. Find the highlights of previous meetings here.

This morning the Town of Carrboro opened the newly renovated educational farmers' market-themed playground located right next to the Carrboro Farmers' Market (301 W. Main St.).

The Town of Carrboro will select a design firm to plan the replacement of the Carrboro Century Center with a new town hall. The current Town Hall (300 W. Main St.) served as a school from 1922 to 1959, in the era before air conditioning, and Town staff have found that it lacks energy efficiency, fire safety components, an elevator, and other ADA accommodations, as Town Manager Patrice Toney told The Daily Tar Heel. Furthermore, staff say it isn't conducive to the collaborative work of a modern-day municipal office. It will take years to go through the process of identifying a design team, drawing up plans, and building the new structure, and in the meantime the Town has been hosting more events in the new Drakeford Library Complex.

On Wednesday the Town of Carrboro announced that it is exploring the possibility of consolidating the Carrboro and Chapel Hill police departments. Read the Town's press release here. Reiterating Town's commitment to community input, Council Member Danny Nowell said that public feedback sessions will be scheduled.

In the Town newsletter this week, Town Manager, Patrice Y. Toney, said, "This proposal is about exploring how we can build upon the strengths of both departments, expand our capacity, create efficiencies, and deliver a higher standard of service to the people we serve. It is also about being thoughtful stewards of public resources and recognizing that regional collaboration can create opportunities that may be difficult for smaller departments to achieve independently."

The Town of Carrboro has emphasized that "no final decision has been made" and the proposal is in exploratory and planning stages while officials of both towns continue to evaluate operational, financial, personnel, and legal considerations.

It's early days but so far, The Carrborean has read negative reactions to this proposal across social media and email, while hearing measured conversations in our wanderings around town. Stay tuned.

Orange County announced that a groundbreaking ceremony for the Jamezetta Bedford Crisis Care Center will take place at 10am on Thursday on Waterstone Drive in Hillsborough, next to the UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus.

Other Interesting Things

A New York Times Magazine investigation into aquaculture reports that this method, intended to ease overfishing, has instead been found to worsen it. The industry has been linked to forced labor, pollution, and worker injuries and deaths–on top of the harmful chemicals it adds to seafood. Farmed fish, particularly salmon and shrimp, are fed on fishmeal manufactured from pulverized wild-caught fish. A more ethical diet would favor mussels, oysters, and clams, which filter nutrients from the water and require little or no manufactured feed. Read the article here.

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.

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Poetry Moment

For this week's poetry moment, we turn to Lucille Clifton:

"The Lesson of the Falling Leaves"

the leaves believe 
such letting go is love 
such love is faith 
such faith is grace 
such grace is god 
i agree with the leaves

From An Ordinary Woman (Random House, 1974)