From correspondent Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 6-1 Tuesday night to rezone a 2.69-acre parcel at 210 Hillsborough Road for the county’s new southwest branch library.

Alderman Jacqueline Gist said she could not support the rezoning, because she thinks the site is in a residential and not a transitional commercial district. No one is opposed to a library, she said, but the process feels rushed, with little transparency or cooperation between the county and town.

“The citizens of Carrboro for generations have been paying the same taxes as everybody in Orange County,” Gist said. “It is very disconcerting that all of a sudden, after 24 years, it’s hurry up and pass this, and it’s all this or nothing.”

Mayor Mark Chilton disagreed, saying that while he’s not convinced the site is the best, the move would be “a show of good faith from town government” that Carrboro and the county could work together to resolve the concerns and talk about other viable sites.

“There’s plenty of reason for suspicion, but I hope this project is going to be an opportunity to change what our relationship with the county has been in the past,” Chilton said.

From correspondent Tammy Grubb:

The Board of Aldermen could vote tonight on whether to rezone a 2.69-acre parcel on Hillsborough Road for the county’s new southwest branch library.

Although the vote originally was scheduled for April 19, it was moved up a week to accommodate the county’s need to have a decision before its contract to buy the property expires. If the county misses the deadline, it has to pay $10,000 to retain its interest in the 210 Hillsborough Road site for another 90 days.

County officials notified the aldermen about the misunderstanding a few days after a March 22 public hearing on the 20,000-square-foot, one-story project. Previously, the county told Carrboro officials they needed a decision before April 21. The aldermen voted last Tuesday night to confirm the date change.

The Board of Aldermen meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrboro Town Hall boardroom.
 

Carrboro High School holds a top spot in the Wachovia Conference Cup standings after the NCHSAA’s winter season. After a championship in men’s swimming and a runner-up finish in women’s swimming, Carrboro has 84.5 points in the standings for the Carolina 2-A Conference, followed closely behind by Cedar Ridge.
The Wachovia Cup award recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall interscholastic athletic performance within each of the state’s four competitive classifications. Wachovia has sponsored the conference awards program since 1980.
The Wachovia Conference Cup is a companion to the Wachovia Cup. The Conference Cup is awarded to schools with the best overall interscholastic athletic performance in each individual conference. Points are awarded based upon final standings for each sport in each conference.
In the Carolina 2-A, Cedar Ridge finished second in men’s basketball and third in wrestling, and now has 81.5 points. Men’s basketball conference champion Northwood is in third with 77 points. Other schools are N.C. School of Science and Math (73.5), Durham School of the Arts (63), Raleigh Charter (56), South Granville (44), Granville Central (41.5), River Mill (27), Roxboro Community (10).
In the Carolina 3-A, Cardinal Gibbons (55 points) leads the way after a commanding winter performance, taking a title in women’s basketball, finishing second in men’s and women’s swimming and third in wrestling.
Chapel Hill (52) is close behind in second, with a conference crown in men’s basketball and a runner-up finish in wrestling. The wrestling champion, Orange (38.5), is third, also finishing second in women’s basketball.  Southern Vance (25), Oxford Webb (24.5) and Northern Vance (22) round out the conference.
Jordan has taken over the lead in the Piedmont Athletic 4-A Conference, passing fall leader East Chapel Hill. Jordan won the PAC-6 championship in men’s basketball and delivered second-place performances in men’s and women’s swimming to earn 60 points. Second-place East Chapel Hill (55.5) swept the PAC-6 swimming championships.

Millbrook, Green Hope, Durham Jordan and Clayton lead their conferences in the NCHSAA's Wachovia Conference Cup standings after the winter sports season.

Note: We have a short story in today's N&O about this and will include more information in the version running Sunday in the Chapel Hill News. Here is an excerpt.

Alicia Stemper’s 75-year-old father took pictures Thursday as she and Carrboro Alderwoman  Lydia Lavelle became the 39th couple to sign the town’s domestic partnership registry.

The women have been together since 2003, and they held a commitment ceremony in front of their families  and friends several years ago. They took the largely symbolic step of registering their union with the town, in part, to protest a push for  legislation that would ban recognition of such unions in North Carolina.

“Those introducing the bill call it ‘defense of marriage,’ but that is a misnomer,” a teary-eyed Stemper said, reading a statement in Town Hall. “They are not looking to defend marriage, which would imply marriage is being threatened. Instead they are looking to exclude gay and lesbian citizens from having the same protections, the same responsibilities, the same recognition, and the same benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy.”

The bill before the General Assembly, Senate Bill 106, would amend the state constitution to state that marriage between a man and a woman is the “only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized by the state.” Voters would be asked to approve the measure in an election-day referendum in 2012.

“It’s not just against same-sex marriage,” said Lavelle, an assistant professor at the N.C. Central University School of Law. “It’s against any legal recognition of unions of persons of the same gender.”

Stemper’s father, Jack, of Clemmons, said a neighbor who did not know his daughter is a lesbian remarked recently that gay people should not be teachers or  coaches. He told the neighbor he should be so lucky to have his children taught by women like his daughter and her partner.

“I don’t know why people have to get involved in it, frankly,” Jack Stemper said of the legislation. “It seems to me people should be able to do what they want in this area of their lives.”
 

Would you like to find ways to reduce your utility bills?  Chapel Hill and Carrboro will be hosting an Energy Efficiency Education Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26.

East Chapel Hill defeated Riverside 58-38 Thursday night to advance to tonight’s championship final of the Piedmont Athletic Conference basketball tournament. The second-seeded Wildcats will host No. 1-seeded Jordan at 8 p.m. at East.
East also hosts the girls’ final, which features No. 1 Northern Durham against No. 2 Hillside at 6 p.m.

Those are just two of the six championship finals tonight in Orange County.
In the Carolina-10, Northwood's boys and girls teams both reached tonight’s finals at Cedar Ridge High School. The Northwood girls play River Mill Academy at 6 p.m. and the Charger boys take on Carrboro at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Carrboro’s boys defeated tournament host Cedar Ridge 68-43 Thursday to advance. Northwood topped Granville Central 69-50 Wednesday in the tournament’s first semifinal.

The CHHS girls’ and boys’ teams won their semifinal games this week in the Carolina-Six Conference basketball tournament and will play tonight at Carrboro High for their respective championship finals. (The CHHS gyms were booked in advance for the NCHSAA 3-A Mid-East wrestling regionals.)

The CHHS girls play top-seeded Cardinal Gibbons at 6 p.m. Friday, and the boys follow 20 minutes after that first game ends, at approximately 7:45 p.m.

For all the scores tonight, see www.newsobserver.com/sports or check out the up-to-the-minute Preps Now blog.
 

The Chapel Hill High School basketball teams both won their semifinal games this week to earn spots in the Carolina-Six Conference tournament finals on Friday.
Because the NCHSAA 3-A wrestling regionals were scheduled in advance for the CHHS gyms, the basketball tournament will conclude Friday at Carrboro High School.
The CHHS girls edged Orange, 45-42, Wednesday night in Hillsborough. They’ll play No. 1 seed Cardinal Gibbons at 6 p.m. in Carrboro.
The Chapel Hill boys blew by Northern Vance, 70-58, in Wednesday’s semifinals and will play Southern Vance on Friday. The boys’ final will tip-off at 7:30 p.m., or approximately 20 minutes after the girls’ final finishes.

A reader's letter criticizing the Carrboro mayor's writing "F--- you" on his Facebook page about Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner touched off a debate in our newsroom. Was the mayor's Facebook page a public forum, was his comment public? Is anything a mayor says ever private?

The Pittsboro Town Board has condemned Saturday's assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the Arizona shootings that killed six people. An alderman in Carrboro, which may consider a similar resolution, says Pittsboro's resolution does not go far enough.

The resolution from the Chatham County seat supports the safety of public officials in open forums that are safe for civil debate.

"Now therefore be it resolved," the Monday resolution states, "the town of Pittsboro offers support for Congresswoman Giffords and its deepest sympathy for the victims of this attack. And further resolves to condemn the violence that was expressed in this attack ... as such actions have no place in a civil society."

In Carrboro, Mayor Mark Chilton asked his board members by e-mail if they would like to consider a similar statement at a future meeting.  

"Absolutely," Alderman Randee Haven-O'Donnell wrote back, "civil discourse is to be respected and upheld, all violence condemned."

Alderman Dan Coleman suggested Carrboro consider a more strongly worded resolution.  
 
"I would not vote against this, but I do not particularly support it. It strikes me as a fairly bland response," he wrote. "If we are to have a resolution, I prefer one that does not just single out he who pulled the trigger but also those who put the gun in his hand and aimed it."

The weekend shootings have got people asking whether political rhetoric has contributed to a breakdown in civil discourse. Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin posted a video on her Facebook page today, accusing journalists and political analysts of inciting hatred in the wake of the  Arizona shootings.  Last spring, Palin targeted Giffords' district as one of 20 that the GOP should take back, each marked with the cross hairs of a gun sight, according to the Associated Press.

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