orange politics

Glenn Gerding announced today he is running for District Court Judge for District 15B, which includes Orange and Chatham Counties. Gerding is in private practice in Chapel Hill and represents clients in both counties.

Gerding said he intends to enforce the law fairly, help improve the efficiency of District Court, and work hard to help people with difficult problems. He plans to ensure victims' rights are protected and their voices heard.

At Yearly Kos I kept hearing that local blogging is where it's at. There were two panels and a caucus on "state-local blogging." The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Local blogs are key to future of politics." People are learning that the smaller the area represented, the more impact each constituent has

And yet, there was hardly a mention of county or municipal politics at Yearly Kos, other than how to work with local Democratic Parties. I'm certainly not opposed to advocacy targeting state and federal reps - in fact BlueNC.com does a great job of this and more power to you - but I think that truly local politics transcends party and hinges much more on individual relationships and reputations in a way that even state house races really don't.

I am on the Orange Politics "Junkie" list, so I receive an email when a new post goes up on OrangePolitics.org. In this case it was an announcement of a film being shown in Orange County, however, Ruby's lead-in was provocative.

I actually think often of what our lives will be like after the assumption of plentiful and cheap petroleum is gone. For example in Chapel Hill, homes in walking distance of the campus will be even more valuable than they are now. How about homes near Carolina North? If we have managed to get some transit infrastructure into place, that will also drive the value of locations if the only appealing way to get to RTP is by transit. Or will RTP go away, a relic of the dinosaur age of cars? Will we see 10-story buildings in downtown Carrboro?

Anyway, like I said, I think about this, so I am very intrigued abut this film that is "a provocative look at the world of oil scarcity set in Orange County in the near future."

Being on the Orange County Transportation Board, this post by Ruby S. really peeked my interest. How can we put together 35 year plans without dealing with peak oil? Specifics on the showing after the break.

Tom Jensen posts a story he wrote for the Orange Herald over at Orange Politics. I would give a link to the newspaper story, but I can't find it. Call it an update on the goings-on of Bill Faison, or the lack thereof. I think it is an interesting read, so I'll give you a few tidbits after the break, then you can go read OP for the full story.

News yesterday from Vermont suggests the possibility of driving impeachment forward from the county and local level. Here's the Daily Kos diary covering the issue. The resolution below has the key paragraph bolded. Perhaps our local elected officials would like to take a similar action and push it to our dear representatives in Raleigh.