A new charter school may open in Chapel Hill next year. If approved by the State Board of Education, The Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Academy would open
Charter School Likely Coming To Chapel Hill
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Chapel Hill Public Meeting on "Fracking"
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources got an earful last night in Chapel Hill as the debate over natural gas exploration heats up. Scientists and everyday citizens packed East Chapel Hill High School to have their say on DENR’s draft report on hydraulic fracturing, sometimes known as “fracking.” That’s the controversial process used to extract natural gas from shale rock underground. An overwhelming number of voices at the hearing were against fracking and the negative impact they worry it could have on the environment here.
Leoneda Inge: You couldn’t miss the turn into East Chapel Hill High School. Part of the sidewalk was lined with black and yellow signs reading “Caution, Frack Free Zone.” On one side of the sidewalk, there were banners and a bullhorn. Renee’ Maas of Food and Water Watch.
Renee' Maas: The big oil and gas industry is trying to dupe you and they are trying to dupe our elected officials in this state by thinking we are going to stand for fracking. Are we going to stand for fracking? No!
On the other side of the sidewalk, dressed in matching red t-shirts and signs that read “Shale Yes”, were folks like Dan McGee.
Dan McGee: Jobs are very important. Safety is very important. Drilling is very important. And we can drill without ruining the water system.
The Raging Grannies decked out in decorated granny straw hats took sides in song.
Raging Grannies: We’re a gaggle of grannies, urging you off of your fannies. We’re angry and how, we’re telling you now, don’t frack here!
That was only a warm up. The real show was inside the high school auditorium – 600 people filled the seats.
Marguerite Coyle: So take your freaking fracturing drills and keep them from our town. We don’t want your fracking turning all our water brown. Take your freaking fracking drills or we will shut you down. Hydro-fracturing just sucks!
There is so much interest in this topic, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, DENR, has been live streaming the public meetings on the internet. Robin Smith is Assistant Secretary for Environment at DENR. Smith reminded the crowd just like she did at last week’s public meeting in Chatham County they are working under tight constraints.
Robin Smith: We have very limited information about the shale gas resource in North Carolina. We know that there is a geologic formation that runs roughly on a diagonal the center of the state, it reaches into about 13 counties, or pieces of 13 counties. We do not know, however, exactly what the quality amount of that resource is.
Still, DENR’s Draft Report concluded that “fracking” could be done safely in North Carolina if the right protections are in place. Jim Erb agrees. He worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for more than 25 years is is now a consultant.
Jim Erb: I watched a webinar of your public hearing in Sanford last week. The general scene seems to be, do it right. I think you are doing it right. With market conditions as they are, you have time to put a proper regulatory program in place. Keep up the good work.
When Cullen Zimmer signed-in to speak, under affiliation, he wrote “Tree-hugger.” He wants lawmakers to withdraw the hydraulic fracturing bill altogether.
Cullen Zimmer: Keep North Carolina variety vacation land. Keep North Carolina Yankee retirement land. Keep North Carolina the southern part of heaven. Leave the pie in the sky and the gas in the ground.
The last day for the public to make comments on the Draft Report is next Monday. The final version of the report is due in legislators’ hands May 1st.
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Debating Dual Language Immersion Programs
Given the popularity of dual language immersion programs in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District, the school board is considering establishing a dual language elementary magnet school. But where? Chapel Hill-Carrboro has never had a magnet school, but rapid growth is occasioning a new elementary school in the district. Whenever a new school is built, the board examines its programs and its service and considers how to do a better job. But the magnet school proposal could involve moving hundreds of kids around and upsetting parents in the process. Who, exactly, would be displaced under this plan? Host Frank Stasio is joined by a panel of interested parties to discuss the history and efficacy of dual language programs and the future of those programs in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. He’s joined by Dave DeWitt, WUNC’s Education Reporter; Claudia Cervantes-Soon, an associate professor in the School of Education at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Makeba Wilbourn, an assistant professor at Duke University in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; Omar Zinn, a parent of a child at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School in Chapel Hill; and David Saussy, a parent of a child at Glenwood Elementary School in Chapel Hill. Listener Call-in.
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Chapel Hill during the Civil Rights Movement
What did Chapel Hill look like during the Civil Rights Movement? Photographer Jim Wallace captured images for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s student newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel. But Wallace didn’t see fire hoses or police dogs turned on protesters. Instead, the struggle was a student-led fight against segregation in a town with a police chief who was an avid reader of Ghandi. Jim Wallace joins host Frank Stasio to talk about publishing some of his images in a new book of photography called “Courage in the Moment: The Civil Rights Struggle 1961-1964” (Dover Publications/2012).
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UNC Professor Educates Maya Descendants
Patricia McAnany had a moment of clarity when a young girl of Maya descent asked her why all the Maya people had to die. McAnany knew that the ancient Maya
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Local Histories
An eclectic mix of art pieces come together in Chapel Hill in the exhibition"Local Histories: The Ground We Walk On." Building on the idea that "place can
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Carrboro Poet Laureate Bridges Past And Present
The small town of Carrboro was once a prominent mill town in the early to mid-1900s. But after all of the mills closed down and the University of North
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Triangle Tenants Brace Themselves For Section 8 Cuts
Section 8 is a federal subsidy program that bridges the gap between people with low-income and market rentals. But this summer, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and
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Superchunk: One Band, Two Decades, Ten Albums
After 24 years together, the Chapel Hill indie-rock group Superchunk is releasing their 10th studio album, I Hate Music. Host Frank Stasio talks with band
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Chapel Hill's First Openly-Gay Mayor Reflects On His Home
When Mark Kleinschmidt was a teenager growing up in Goldsboro, NC, he remembers watching the news as activist Joe Herzenberg was elected to the Chapel...
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'Perfect Storm' Could Put Damper On Valentine's Day Sales
Florists across the state are working overtime to make sure the snow storm doesn’t wipe out Valentine’s Day sales. A steady stream of customers in...
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Music Under The Stars
An alternative rock band from Chapel Hill, Clockwork Kids' music combines psychedelic sounds with soft folk and hard rock. The Morehead Planetarium in...
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[Listen] Newly Discovered Images Document KKK Rally In Chapel Hill, 1987
The pictures capture a day that many in Chapel Hill, NC would like to forget. White-hooded figures marching carefree down Franklin Street. It was the...
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A Mystery Tree Grows In Chapel Hill
For most people, taking care of the front yard means cutting the grass every few weeks. But for Bill Massengale, lawn care involves looking after the...
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NC Archaeologist Has Find-Of-A-Lifetime, 3 Years In A Row
Many archaeologists wait their entire career for one big find. UNC-Chapel Hill's Jodi Magness? Well, let's just say that she's having a spectacular time...
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Be Loud! Chapel Hill's Pressure Boys Reunite For Special Reason
When Sophie Steiner was 13, she wrote a poem. The title was “Be Loud.” Here's an excerpt:… Be loudAnd move with graceExplode with lightHave no fear…...
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Comedy Gets A Fresh Beat
Stand-up comedy acts can be a routine collection of one-liner and insults.
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Meet the 'Encyclopedia to the Legislature' Gerry Cohen
Gerry Cohen is probably the most important North Carolina politician you don't know.
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Durham Filmmakers Debut Sci-Fi Film At Gay And Lesbian Film Festival
People rarely associate gay and lesbian films with the science fiction genre. But a Durham-based production company, KVWorks, created a sci-fi lesbian...
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Coming To Memorial Hall: The 1910s In Song
The world renowned performance artist Taylor Mac is in North Carolina this week with the show 1910s - A 24 Decade History of Popular Music. The...
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