Black Lives Matter Mural Installation Begins in Carrboro
Artist Tyrone Small and a student artist team has begun work this week on a Black Lives Matter mural on the side of the CommunityWorx building facing West Main at the intersection of Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro.
The Carrboro Town Council selected the muralist and a young artist team, as well as the mural rendering, at its Nov. 17 meeting. The Council supported recommendations from the Arts Committee for Tyrone Small as the muralist and the rendering of Ash Granda-Bondurant, Carina Rockart-Grade and Theo Preston to merge with the rendering of Cyani Jacobs.
The team expects to complete the mural by Dec. 20. Work on the project will take place in the afternoons and weekends, and will be done with mask-wearing and social distancing protocols.
“We are extremely excited for this new public art project,” said Anita Jones-McNair, the Town of Carrboro Race and Equity Officer and Director of the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources Department. “The Black Lives Matter mural highlights and advocates for values that are important to Carrboro. It expresses our community’s acknowledgment of and opposition to systemic and institutional racism.”
Read more at http://townofcarrboro.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1528 If you're on Instagram, view the updates on the mural progress on Tycre-Ations (Ty the Artist), Town of Carrboro and CommunityWorx!
Introducing: Carrboro Cheer
The Carrboro Business Alliance (CBA) has launched the new Carrboro Cheer Gift Guide (www.CarrboroCheer.com), which showcases more than 60 curated, uniquely Carrboro gift ideas for the holiday shopping season. The Gift Guide is part of Carrboro Cheer, an annual initiative coordinated by the CBA to spread cheer and support local Carrboro businesses all season long. https://www.carolinachamber.org/carrboro-cheer
“The Carrboro Cheer Gift Guide makes it fun, safe, and easy for shoppers to buy local and knock out their entire holiday shopping list in one swoop with uniquely Carrboro purchases,” said Bridget Pemberton-Smith, Chair of the Carrboro Business Alliance Marketing Committee and Executive Director of the Art Therapy Institute.
More at http://townofcarrboro.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1531
Carrboro receives successful review of efforts to promote LGBTQ inclusion
The Town of Carrboro is happy to announce another successful review of the Town’s efforts in promoting LGBTQ inclusion.
Since 2014, the Town has been rated by the Human Rights Commission in their annual report of the Municipal Equality Index (MEI). The index measures the Town’s efforts in LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policies and services. The Town has received its highest ranking to date with a 76.
“We are pleased that we continue to improve our MEI score, despite being located in a state that does not have statewide protections for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Mayor Lydia Lavelle. “Carrboro has historically led the way at the local level in North Carolina in advancing LGBTQ+ equality. We will continue to work every way possible under the law for our LGBTQ+ residents to have the same rights and privileges as everyone else in the town.”
To see the Town’s score, and how we compared to other cities across the nation, please visit: www.hrc.org/mei
Traffic Shift to Occur Monday at Greensboro-Estes Intersection
Construction on the N. Greensboro Street-Estes Drive roundabout will move to the east side of the roadway on Monday, Dec. 7.
Traffic will experience a lane shift when the westside lane reopens, and the eastside lane closes. Flaggers will continue to be present to assist traffic move safely through the intersection. During these intermittent lane closures, traffic delays have been minimal with traffic moving fairly well through the area.
Following the traffic shift, crews will proceed to complete the second half of the roundabout circle. They will install storm drainage pipes, extend the culvert, and complete grading and paving. In the project’s first phase, crews completed this same work on the opposite side of the road. Additionally, this initial phase of the project involved installation of new sewer lines and a drainage culvert.
Read more at http://townofcarrboro.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1527
Town Council Update
Meeting agendas and updates are issued from the Town Clerk’s Office. To receive these by email or text, sign up for Carrboro Town News at www.townofcarrboro.org/signup
Civic involvement is a valued tradition in our community. Reach the Town Council with your ideas, views and questions at council@townofcarrboro.org
Access this update and summary of Council actions from its Dec. 1 meeting at http://townofcarrboro.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1530
Help Select Top Strategies for COVID-19 Recovery
The Orange County Long-Term Recovery Group has identified potential strategies for recovering from COVID-19 and needs your input on which strategies best meet the community’s needs.
Community members are asked to take a 10-minute online survey available until Dec. 11.
The survey contains a draft list of recovery strategies and asks the public to evaluate the importance of each. Survey results will be used to determine the priority order of strategies in a long-term recovery and transformation plan being developed by the Long-Term Recovery Group. The group is a partnership of nearly 150 community stakeholders, Orange County and the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough.
The strategies for recovering from the pandemic will be further refined by representatives of historically underserved communities in coordination with the group’s smaller working groups.
Members of the community are asked to share this survey with their networks ― particularly within communities of color or historically underserved groups ― to help obtain input from all community members.
An assessment of COVID-19’s impacts thus far in Orange County shows the pandemic appears to be exacerbating pre-pandemic issues in health, the economy, housing, and social services. The work of the Long-Term Recovery Group can be seen on the group’s website, orangencforward.org
For questions or additional information, contact ocncrecovery@hagertyconsulting.com Hagerty Consulting is providing long-term disaster recovery planning services for the county.
Video Series to Address Health Disparities in the Hispanic/Latinx Community During COVID-19
The Orange County Human Rights and Relations (OCHRR) and the Orange County Health Department (OCHD) have launched a video series called “Cafecitos con el Condado de Orange” (Coffee with Orange County) to help address the concerns and questions about COVID-19 posed by the Hispanic Community in Orange County, NC.
Early in the pandemic it quickly became clear that marginalized communities were being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 virus, in particular the Hispanic/Latinx community. In response to this urgent need a Latinx Equity group began meeting weekly, hosted by Susan Clifford of OCHRR. The group includes attendees from various organizations from within the county and the state that identify as Hispanic/Latinx and are deeply involved with the Hispanic community. Topics have included health, housing, food scarcity, school closing, the challenges of virtual learning, and much more.
In addition to sharing resources, the Latinx Equity group also collaborates on messaging that is tailored to the Hispanic community. The “Cafecitos con el Condado de Orange” video series aims to address the questions and concerns of the Hispanic community in each episode. The first episode https://youtu.be/VY17vFmvGR4 addresses fears expressed by the Hispanic community about a lack of trust in government entities, workplaces and other institutions. Pilar Rocha-Goldberg from El Centro Hispano led a conversation with Deacon Luis Royo of St. Thomas More Catholic Church; Antonia Cortes Sanchez with OCHD’s Family Success Alliance and Marlyn Valeiko from OCHRR.
The second episode https://youtu.be/5doiYQwYEnE addresses the realities of COVID-19 and the disparities seen in the Hispanic community. During the discussion, myths are dispelled, and best practices are shared as they relate to the virus, the health care system, and what practical steps folks can take during the holiday season to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy. Ana Salas from the Orange County Health Department led the conversation with Dr. Marco Alemán from UNC; Norma Martí from NCDHHS; and Olivia Moreno from El Centro Hispano.
“We have seen a disproportionally high number of positive COVID-19 cases within the Hispanic community.” Health Director Quintana Stewart shares. “At one point in July, the Hispanic community comprised 33% of COVID positive cases in Orange County, while they only represent 9% of the general population. Fortunately, over the last few months we have seen that percentage decrease to 21%. Although still disproportionally high, we are pleased with this downward trend and commend the community for following the 3 W’s, or “3 M’s” as we call them in Spanish.”
Please visit the Cafecitos webpage at https://www.orangecountync.gov/2582/Cafecitos
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