Category: Carrboro

BarCampRDU 2007 is on the way

Last year Ruby and I missed BarCamp RDU. Man were we bummed. But we got married on the same day so we made due. 🙂 But this year it looks like we can make it. To top it off my business venture Carrboro Coworking is a sponsor. My goal is to tell more people about the Coworking concept and see what people think of it. Keep up with our progress by joining the Carrboro Coworking Google group.

So check out the BarCampRDU 2007 wiki and see if there is space left to attend. Suggest a session to discuss at the event. That’s what this style unconference is all about! Fred Stuzman is doing a great job organizing this. I can’t wait!

Business Partner Needed

I’m trying to start a new business providing professional shared working space with a cafe-like atmosphere. (aka a Coworking space) It is designed to be a welcoming environment for freelance professionals, home-office workers, entrepreneurs, start-up business owners, tech workers, graduate students, writers, architects, civil engineers, designers and others.

So far I’ve found space, written part of a business plan, done financial projections, done a TON of research, and found excited potential investors. Presently I’m doing market research.

I need a full working partner to help finish the business plan, sweat, and take personal risk. This business concept is *not* a one person job.

The location for this physical business will be Carrboro, North Carolina. Every community member I’ve told is excited and so are other local business people. Lots of creative telecommuters and home workers have expressed interest. People are tired of working in coffee shops and at home. They need professional level support from cool people. Help me help them.

PLEASE only respond if you have the time, energy, and passion to make this business happen. (My contact form is here.) I’m NOT looking for someone to-do a bunch of work for free. I’m looking for a full partner to share all fun, work, AND profit. Like any new start up business this may take years to pay off.

You also need to live near Carrboro. This partnership will require meeting often. Keep in mind once this gets going it could be a full time job.

I got to mention too that our personalities will have to mesh. We can only find this out by meeting and working together. So contact me and we’ll meet at Weaver Street or something.

I don’t mean to make the requirements impossibly hard. I just want to put it all out there. Honesty is very important to me. Thanks!

Want to learn more about Coworking around the world? Check this page out. http://coworking.pbwiki.com/

If you’re interested in using the Coworking space please contact me too.

Town of Carrboro Opposes HB1587

Last night the Town of Carrboro passed a resolution opposing HB1587. They join the Cities of Wilson and Fayetteville plus the Town of Chapel Hill opposing hb1587 – The Local Government Fair Competition Act. Thank you Mayor and Alderman!

Town of Carrboro Resolution Opposing HB1587 PDF

Know any other counties or municipalities that have officially opposed hb1587? Please contact me. (ex. An Assistant Attorney in Greensboro spoke against it. But I don’t know if they passed a resolution.)

Why you should care about the Carrboro Citizen

Jock Lauterer has a straight to the point bit of witting in this weeks Carrboro Citizen called Why we should support our hometown newspaper. My fav part:

So why is this new paper special? How is it different from the others? And why should you care about whether The Citizen fails or flourishes?

To answer those questions, let’s go to little Yerington, Nev., where that town’s 3,700-circulation weekly paper, the Mason Valley News, bears the following unequivocal motto beneath it’s nameplate:

“THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES A DAMN ABOUT YERINGTON.”

There you go. The Citizen is the only newspaper in the world that really cares about Carrboro. And here’s my proof: Why has there never before been a full-fledged, standalone, all-local newspaper in Carrboro?

Because historically publishers have looked at Carrboro not as a community but as a market.

Market obsession is the problem with media in general. Too much concern about profit and not enough about good journalism. Profit and good journalism aren’t mutally exlusive. But service is more important than gigantic paydays.

I’m going to snag that nameplate for a bit after I modify it to suit my needs. 🙂

Creativity from Distruction – Public Art

We just learned that a popular and beloved peice of public art in Carrboro, North Carolina is gone. It was painted over suddenly. Read all about this on Orange Politics, The News and Observer, and The Carrboro Citizen. Here is my idea of what to do next. (cross posted from the comments on OP)

In light of the fact that the old mural is gone this is an excellent opportunity for the Town to make lemon aid outa’ lemons. (sorry for the tired analogy) 🙂

I suggest that ya’ll create a official town graffiti contest. (YES embrace the word graffiti. Contradict the negative connotation that graffiti is only for gang bangers) Identify some talented local spray can artists who will have a “battle”. They can compete on creating two separate pieces of street art at the same time. They would have a time limit. Say 48 hours.

In conjunction with this contest you could set aside a piece of the wall just for random graffiti and stencil art (etc) by anyone. It would be painted over every two weeks or a month. That way you get lots of interesting art over time, cover over offensive gang stuff, and teach people about the beauty of change.

This is a constructive way to get creative kids involved in their community instead of “defacing” property. I think we may even be able to get the police involved in working with the kids on making some spray art. That is the kind of out reach that could work and the Town of Carrboro could pull off.

I realize this would require property owner permission. If not at the mural across from the century center then else where.

Lets embrace the art of youth!

Town of Carrboro Charter Printed in The Citizen

In this weeks Carrboro Citizen you’ll find the Charter of the Town of Carrboro. You may wonder who besides a politician or bureaucrat would enjoy reading this document? Well me for one.

Why? Because within this ancient legalese lies answers to why things happen in Carrboro. Time and time again here on OP people ask why a Town does this or that. Most, but not all, answers to these questions can be found in this document. Barring interpretation and enforcement of-course.

Now I may not sit down and read the whole thing at once. But I will digest this document in small chunks. Plus I’ll use it as a reference. Its so much easier to read a big paper folded long ways like a city bus rider than a 8 1/2 x 11 PDF IMHO.

I am particularly impressed by The Carrboro Citizen’s willingness to use so much valuable space in their paper. In my mind its a important duty of media to educate the public. Now that The Citizen has set the stage I hope they refer to this document often as they explain and editorialize. May they find many creative ways to help people learn about local government.

So I’ll end this post with a question. What would our local democracy be like if everyone in Carrboro knew this document inside and out?

Cross posted from OrangePolitics

Coworkers/Home Workers Town Meeting in Carrboro

Do you work at home? Are you a telecommuter? Run a business from your home office? The Town of Carrboro wants to know how it can help you. On May 8 at 10 am in room 100 of the Carrboro Town Hall the Economic Development Department of the Town of Carrboro will be conducting a public forum to discuss this topic. Please share your needs and wants in the comments. If you know other people that work at home who might be interested in participating in the conversation, please invite them.

If you can’t make it let me know and we’ll work on a second event.

Carrboro Citizen Arrives

We got a Carrboro Citizen newspaper on our doorstep yesterday evening. Its really nice to have it delivered for free. ESPECIALLY when it doesn’t sit rotting in our parking space like the Chapel Hill News.

This Citizen’s paper design reminds me of my Grandparent’s home town paper The Hickory Daily Record. I think its because its small, full of local ads, and beautifully less sophisticated. I remember the Hickory paper having some sans serif fonts in the 80’s. More sans serif fonts Carrboro Citizen. PLEASE. Très Modern!

I would read the Hickory paper on my Gradparent’s old couch and feel like I was in a foreign country. I didn’t know the issues, the businesses, or the people. But in Carrboro in the complete opposite. I know the writers, the topics, the events, and the issues. I feel part of this bit of newsprint. Not sure how exactly considering I’m a digital dude to the core. Its probably Kirk and Jocks fault. 🙂

The Citizen’s website is based on the wonderful blog platform WordPress. This is an excellent demonstration of how WP can become just about anything. Not just a blog.

The site looks really wonderful. Clean, readable, and elegant. Just what a good website should be. A real contrast to most of the horrible website designs newspapers have out there. I remember talking with Kirk Ross about the idea of digital first and print second. The concept, to me, was about using browser based applications to enter and edit text. That text would then end up in a database. In return a print designer could grab that text content and lay it out for the press. I wonder how the Citizen is handling it workflow. I imagine its a work in progress like any other startup. To me using modern work flow at a newspaper could be a HUGE competitive advantage. Not just because its easier than old ways but because it could save money.

Its all thanks to Ruby and all the wonderful people she’s introduced me to. Its thanks to them I know all of this. I’m involved. Committed even. Its a new thing for me. I’ve never lived in a small town like Carrboro. Even though I technically live in Chapel Hill I feel incredibly close to Carrboro. Carrboro is where my heart is.

Guess this is part of settling down. Finding your happy niche and growing roots. Nice to have the Carrboro Citizen follow me along for the ride. May it be a long one we share together.

What is the Carr Mill Mall management thinking?

Two Signs on Weaver Street Lawn

From the Orange Politics post Carr Mill gives the finger to Weaver Street patrons Ruby writes:

My peaceful mid-morning trip to the grocery store today was interrupted by the erection of two huge signs in the middle of the Weaver Street Market lawn. If these were at the entrance to Weaver Street from the sidewalk or the parking lot, it would just be sort of hostile, but the placement is clearly a big middle finger from Carr Mill Mall manager Nathan Millian to the many people who enjoy the Weaver Street Lawn.

Last year the managers of Weaver Street Market and Carr Mill came to came to agreement on rules for use of the lawn through negotiations led by Carrboro Alderman Dan Coleman. The rules posted here are SIMILAR to the ones agreed to, but not the same. In addition there was never an agreement to place a 6-foot tall sign in the middle of the area enjoyed my thousands of paying customers every week.

Here is what the sign says: ( I just jotted this down by reading the sign in the photograph)

Carr Mill Mall
Good Neighbor Rules

1. Carr Mill Mall buildings, lawn, and parking lots are only for the use of customers while shopping and dining, and for tenants and their invited guests.

2. Solicitation and distribution of literature or handbills is prohibited.

3. Loitering or sleeping on benches is prohibited.

4. Unauthorized performances and large or publicly advertised gatherings are prohibited.

5. Dogs must be well behaved, leashed, attended, promptly cleaned up after, and watered with disposable bowls.

6. Stay out of all trees, garden areas, and the podn. The edge of the pond can be used for seating, but not for walking or running. Do not throw anything in the pond.

7. Alcoholic beverages can be consumed only in eating areas, and not near the entrance to the offices or the edge of the lawn.

Thank you.