Defne Önal

Gillian Faski

City & State

Chapel Hill Town Council approves southward extension of water and sewer boundary

By Defne Önal | November 16

The council approved a water and sewer service extension for southern Chapel Hill, 8-1, with council member and defeated mayoral candidate Adam Searing voting against. Alongside the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, the council also commemorated Saturday, Nov. 25, as Small Business Saturday.

Kennedy Cox

City & State

S.B. 20's paid parental leave statute goes into effect for state employees

By Defne Önal | November 14

The statute entitles employees to up to eight weeks of paid leave following the birth of a child and up to four weeks after adopting or becoming a foster parent.

Ira Wilder

City & State

Equity and Empathy Ambassadors program amplifies student voices in CHCCS

By Defne Önal | November 2

High school students apart of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' Equity and Ambassadors program work together across four schools to learn about and implement changes to policy, protocol and other programs.

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Derek Peng

City & State

Word on the street: Students and community members celebrate Halloween

By Defne Önal | November 2

Halloween on Franklin Street has been a Chapel Hill tradition for years, and community members showed up in costume on downtown sidewalks. Staff writer Defne Önal asked people about their Halloween experiences.

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Emma Plumly

City & State

Chapel Hill Town Council discusses new developments, approves St. Paul's Village

By Defne Önal | October 13

The council discussed housing developments on East Lakeview Drive and Stancell Drive, and approved a conditional zoning application for the St. Paul Village development.

Quincy Marks

City & State

Air pollution in North Carolina sees historic lows, according to new report

By Defne Önal | October 6

Jim Warren, the executive director of NC WARN, a clean energy nonprofit, said some communities benefit from the reduction in air pollution less than others, such as people who live close to electric power plants and places where there is transportation pollution.

Lara Crochik

City & State

BOCC discusses capital needs assessment, budgets in meeting with school boards

By Defne Önal | September 27

Jessica Goodell and David Sturtz, representatives from Woolpert Consulting, presented their assessment on the public schools and gave recommendations to the school boards. They said the biggest deficiency for CHCCS is its roofing, and biggest deficiency for OCS is its interior finishes such as flooring and ceiling tiles.

Samantha Lewis

City & State

Chapel Hill adopts first comprehensive affordable housing plan, aims to build 900 homes

By Defne Önal | September 27

The Chapel Hill Town Council approved its first comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan and Investment Strategy to achieve a goal of building 900 new homes and preserving 400 existing affordable homes.

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City & State

NCDPI data shows test performance improved, but still not to pre-pandemic levels

By Defne Önal | September 17

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction published its 2022-23 school year reports for grades third through 12th. Test scores have improved across nearly every subject, but decreased for eighth grade science and English II.

City & State

Hillsborough Elementary music teacher develops app to assess progress and teach music theory

By Defne Önal | September 5

Songcraft, developed by Hillsborough Elementary School's Adam Canosa, aims to give students another tool for practicing their musical instruments, as well as more individual feedback. “You really do kind of need the instructor to listen to it," Canosa said. "That is an issue because instructors like me have very little instructional time, so giving kids adequate one-on-one time is not going to happen."