The OC Report

Serving the students and the University community since 1893.

Romantic Studies Professor, Lorna Avilés works in her office in Dey Hall during her office hours on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. North Carolina Republicans have offered to raise teacher pay as a compromise in effort to finally pass the state budget.

'I can’t afford to be a teacher': The battle for teacher raises continues

By Victoria Johnson

After years of what they deem as unreasonable salaries, teachers are starting to speak out, especially after Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill to raise average salaries for educators in North Carolina.

Celie Richardson, lawyer for local condominium owner Eric Plow, stands in front of Plow's property on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. "We are very perplexed as to why the town is trying to place regulations that would shut this complex down; we hope they don't," Richardson said.

Extra income or a neighborhood nuisance? How Chapel Hill grapples with Airbnbs

Wake Forest University hosts a reception and banquet to honor recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award, including winner Sen. Richard Burr ('78) at Winmock on Friday, April 19, 2013.

Burr responds to NCAA vote with plans to tax student-athlete scholarships

James Barrett, a member of the school board of Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools, sits in the school district meeting on Friday, Feb. 7, 2019 at the Lincoln Center, 750 S. Merritt Mill Rd.

State Superintendent Mark Johnson announces run for lieutenant governor

Welcome to the OC Report from The Daily Tar Heel. The OC Report (for Orange County and Our Communities) is aimed at full-time residents of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. We invite you to be part of this news coverage, by sending in community columns, texting us the questions you want answered (Text OCREPORT to 919-237-2123), coming to live gatherings and signing up for the OC Report newsletter.

You can also help us expand. We've got big plans, but we need the help of our readers to pay for their news. Here's what could be possible.

At $1,000 per month from the community, we'll provide editor and reporter resources for a weekly email newsletter and expanded web presence for news and community op-eds/letters to the editor. This would include monthly gatherings.
At $3,000 per month, the weekly newsletter PLUS two-page section added to the printed paper and delivered to 197 boxes across the county. Donors benefits would include the page PDFs emailed to them in a special email.
For $5,000, we could hire of a team of two students to work full-time on local coverage throughout the summer break. That's $250/week for 10 weeks.
An additional $2,000/month would allow us to hire a part-time adviser to improve the student training and institutional memory.

Go to startthepresses.org today to help us build the OC Report into what Our Communities deserve.

The Daily Tar Heel tags stories to make it easier for you to find our more about topics you care about. Consider it a Wikipedia for all things UNC.

U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C. speaks during the Orange County Veterans Day event at the Orange County Veterans Memorial on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Orange County celebrates Veterans Day at new town memorial

By Sonia Rao

“In the midst of what our country’s going through right now, we need to be reminded of what unites us, and Veterans Day is a perfect reminder of that, what our country stands for, the values and commitments that our veterans have fought to protect,” Price said.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger declared that the town of Chapel Hill will celebrate Arbor Day with a "Tree of the Year" contest.

I am the mayor who speaks for the trees: Chapel Hill holds Tree of the Year contest

By Audrey Selley

Celebrate Arbor Day by entering the Town of Chapel Hill's "Tree of the Year" contest.

The Cochrane Property became a nature preserve on Nov. 9, 2019.

Town celebrates opening of new nature preserve in Chapel Hill

By Elizabeth Egan

The North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation recently acquired 12.8 acres of biologically diverse land in Chapel Hill.

(From left) Warner Lamar and Samveg Desai are both students at UNC-Chapel Hill who volunteer at the Inter-Faith Food Pantry in Carrboro. The IFC pantry also provides families with basic hygiene needs such as soap, shampoo, and toothpaste. These items are not often given out or even offered in other food pantries but IFC has thought beyond food and offered those in need with everyday essentials that everyone should have access to. Shot on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018.

'A real anchor in the community': IFC's new community kitchen to open in Carrboro

By Crystal Yu

“The Carrboro way ... is for us to serve the less fortunate than we are: the homeless, the men with illness and the food insufficiency.”

The Orange County Board of Commissioners met Nov. 9.

Local officials express concerns over widening of N.C. 54

By Suzannah Claire Perry

Local leaders are debating whether the negative environmental and traffic consequences that will arise from the N.C. 54 expansion project are worth the benefits. The widening project intends on reducing traffic in Orange County.

Carrboro Coffee Roaster's employee, David Ruiz, works on roasting coffee for Open Eye Cafe on the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. Carrboro Coffee Roasters is one of the many companies in Orange County that are an Orange County Certified Living Wage Employer.

Open Eye Café celebrates 20 years of business with unique coffee blend

By Julianna Robbins

Open Eye Café is offering a unique coffee blend in celebration of their 20th anniversary. The blend highlights flavors such as cassis, plum and fresh fig jam.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019,  Gov. Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 199 into law. Photo courtesy of Leah McGuirk.

North Carolina becomes last state in the U.S. to allow withdrawal of consent

By Sonia Rao

Newly ratified Bill 199 adds measures to protect sexual assault victims.

Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews held a soft opening at it's location on Franklin Street on Nov. 1, 2019.

Books, chocolate and beer: Inside Epilogue's opening on Franklin Street

By Taylor Heeden

Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews had its soft opening last Friday, marking the opening of the newest coffee shop on Franklin Street.

The Orange County Courthouse renovation project is taking longer than originally expected. DTH/Mary Lide Parker

Lawsuit calls the legitimacy of the N.C. General Assembly into question

By Guillermo Molero

A lawsuit from the NAACP and Clean Air Carolina continues to challenge the authority North Carolina lawmakers had in creating ballot amendments in 2018.

The North Carolina Botanical Garden is a conservation garden dedicated to the conservation of native plants. Photo courtesy of Emily Oglesby.

Majority of endangered species in the U.S. are plants. Here's what that means for N.C.

By David Saff

“We're putting ourselves out of business in a big way. A lot of people say, 'Oh, I'm worried about the Earth,'" he said. "I'm not worried about the Earth. The Earth is going to stay here. I am worried about the humans — well, I'm more worried about all the critters because we humans have messed things up."

Michael Taffe is the Assistant City and State Desk Editor at the Daily Tar Heel.

Column: Elections don’t just happen every four years

By Michael Taffe

The OC Voice is a portion of the OC Report newsletter where local residents may have a platform to talk about local issues they care about. Michael Taffe is the assistant City & State editor.

Ashton Powell was elected to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education on Nov. 5, 2019, according to unofficial returns. Photo courtesy of Ashton Powell.

Ashton Powell is focused on students and mental health as he joins the CHCCS Board

By Mark Morrison

Powell will focus on putting students first by mending the gap between students and the Board.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation made budget cuts to the State's Maintenance Assistance Program (SMAP), which the Chapel Hill Transit relies on, reducing more than 23% of payment to CHT in 2019. Resolution of the budget cuts is geared towards demonstrating the dependency of the community on the free transportation system.

UNC graduate student denied from Town of Chapel Hill transportation advisory board

By Elizabeth Egan

People are frustrated over the lack of diversity in Chapel Hill councils, and Mayo's loss against Jack Whaley exemplifies an debate over the nomination.

Dorothy Faulkner, 55, of Chapel Hill, addresses a crowd gathered during a CEF-organized rally to call for affordable housing in front of the Community Empowerment Fund office on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. "It's in my heart to serve the Lord," Faulkner sung after her speech.

Here's how Chapel Hill is working to preserve affordable housing

By Diane Adame

The Town's affordable housing preservation strategy is organized around three key objectives: preserve affordable housing, improve or maintain quality of affordable housing and support tenant protections for households at risk of displacement.

UNC student and Chapel Hill Town Council candidate Tai Huynh celebrates at a local election watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019.

Here's why voter turnout for this year's local election fell since 2018

By Anna Pogarcic

Voting turnout is always high during state and national elections, but the elections where voter turnout arguably matters most — local elections — often suffer. This was the case during the Orange County elections, where turnout dropped dramatically this year. Considering the predicted upset for Chapel Hill Town Council, the election could have very easily gone another way if more people had voted. What is the reason for the low turnout?

A Confederate monument stands Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2019, in front of Chatham County Courthouse in Pittsboro. On Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, a superior court judge halted the plans for its removal.

Debate over Confederate monument in Pittsboro continues as judge delays removal

By Amena Saad

A judge recently granted a temporary restraining order that will ultimately delay the removal of a controversial Confederate monument in downtown Pittsboro. The United Daughters of the Confederacy gifted the statue to Chatham county in 1907, and it has stood directly in front of the Pittsboro courthouse steps since.