theonollert.substack.com/p/the-spirit... Merry Christmas!

New Substack about how housing costs have outpaced incomes this century - and what we can do to fight poverty, increase incomes, and make housing more affordable theonollert.substack.com/p/housing-co...

Chapel Hill needs more housing options for undergrads and grad students! It's hard to find good, affordable options. Our land use rules make it even harder than it has to be!

theonollert.substack.com/p/the-town-c... The Council stalled Wednesday night on positive land use reforms to legalize more homes on smaller lots. When we come back in January, we'll try again--and I'll ask to include triplexes and quadplexes in the legislation.

What is affordable housing? Who is it for, and how do we get more of it? (Hint: legalize more kinds of housing, get rid of poison pill regulations, and get creative with public housing loan funds!)

The President is taking over DC to distract from the Epstein files. Real community safety programs are about harm reduction - and the biggest threat to public safety today is financial desperation driven by high costs and low incomes.

Legalizing single-stair buildings would reduce housing costs across North Carolina. It's not yet a partisan issue, so your legislator should be able to listen when you ask for it!

You can now catch a GoTriangle bus every 15 minutes between downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Durham on the 400 and 405 lines! Free for youths, seniors, and low-income riders, and lots of discounts for local employees.

Parents are struggling to find affordable childcare in North Carolina. Actually, they're struggling to find childcare at all: five families compete for every spot in a licensed facility. We need universal pre-K!

We need politicians across North Carolina to step up and support more affordable housing!

The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro are coordinating with Orange County to support disaster relief: crisiscleanup.org/survivor +19102181569

Flood recovery center opening at the Drakeford Library in Carrboro!

Links to volunteer needs across the Triangle: theonollert.substack.com/p/how-to-hel...

🚨🚨Orange County, NC🚨🚨 Ways to help (and get help) here: linktr.ee/ChantalMutua...

My housing philosophy, summed up. Thanks to Brighton and @wchlchapelboro.bsky.social for the chance to say it!

This slaps

The Chapel Hill Town Council upholding the values of our community. A special thank you to @theonollert.bsky.social for leading this effort. #communityvalues #publicsafety

Senseless acts of violence like the Minnesota shootings are designed to terrify and intimidate us into silence, and I don't think anyone who holds office should be silent in the face of violence that threatens the foundations of our democracy.

Here's a story you might have missed: one Republican in Raleigh forced city councils across North Carolina to raise property taxes.

Enjoyed biking up Manning Drive to the UNC Men's Baseball team win over Holy Cross! One of the attendants insisted that we could not possibly have biked there when we ducked under a rope to retrieve our bikes. Here's the proof! 😂

🗣️Calling all @orangedemsnc.bsky.social! Join Councilor @theonollert.bsky.social, NCDP Judicial Caucus Director Becca Zerkin, OCDP 1st VC Linda Cohen, friendly neighbors, and me this Sunday, 6/1 to build power door-to-door in Orange Co. It’s time to hold Sen. Tillis accountable! #ncpol

Lots of chatter today about old leaders. I'm very pleased to have administered the oath of office today to a young leader - Adolfo Alvarez, UNC's new student body president!

I was happy to vote yes on more affordable workforce housing close to downtown! chapelboro.com/news/housing...

As Chapel Hill continues to implement their “Everywhere to Everywhere” greenways project, one of the challenges is getting people to utilize bike and pedestrian transportation. That led to the establishment of the Chapel Hill E-Bike Lending Library.

Here's why houses are so hard to find - and so expensive - in Chapel Hill. Fortunately, we could make changes that would help! theonollert.substack.com/p/why-for-sa...

Kudos to @prohousingpgh.org and their successful advocacy that’s led to Pittsburgh’s eliminating minimum lot sizes per units and eliminating and/or reducing minimum lot sizes citywide! youtu.be/a80zoANs6JY?...

Chapel Hill will soon adopt a new budget and a new tax rate. Since 2022, costs have risen 5-6X faster than new revenues. My latest substack post breaks down why this happens and what we need to do about it. theonollert.substack.com/p/chapel-hil...

Chapel Hill and Orange County have clear evidence that housing scarcity drives up property taxes. Read here! theonollert.substack.com/p/housing-sc...

The saga so far as NC Republicans try to steal a supreme court seat from Allison Riggs and the people of North Carolina!

I wish our Republican majority in Raleigh was more focused on helping people than on hurting them!

I am pleased that Town staff have heard our (and your) concerns and are returning this content to the webpage.

I share Mark's disappointment about the signal this sends to anyone who feels threatened by the current administration. Rule number one of protecting our values in this time is "do not obey in advance." I've asked Town staff to restore the missing materials to the Town's webpage.

All of us can play a part in spreading the perception that the Trump administration won't get away with detaining and disappearing people - and that we will protect each other when they try. theonollert.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...

The fight going on in the Democratic Party right now is not between hard left, left and moderate. It’s between those who want to fight and those who want to cave. And Team Fight stretches across all ideological aspects of the Party. Misread this at your own peril.

Republicans in Raleigh have handed Duke Energy unlimited power and ratepayers a raw deal!

NC Republicans are about to drive us off a budget cliff -while cutting corporate taxes!

Trump world wants to defund an agency that returned $20 billion to defrauded Americans!

People are paying more attention to all levels of government than ever right now. Here's a quick primer about what city councils do!

To win back power, Democrats need a more compelling vision of what to do with it. We all work hard enough to deserve good lives. Democrats should make sure that we get them. theonollert.substack.com/p/what-democ...

Proud of these friends and neighbors from Orange Dems in Chapel Hill who stepped up to help relocate Holmes Daycare today!

Here's some of what federal funding cuts would threaten in Chapel Hill: - town staff who helped secure 1,200 low-income housing units - ~$150 million for the North-South Bus Rapid Transit project - 750,000 trips annually on Chapel Hill transit - $600 million in NIH money for UNC

Toppling autocracy requires understanding: Public opinion matters far less than public action. And public action is the swiftest way to shift public opinion.

The hand-wringing about media and messaging among Democrats is short-sighted. Elevate leaders who show a knack for picking winnable fights and growing coalitions. Partisan cheerleading and mud-slinging have a low ceiling for conversion in this era of political skepticism.

In a digital age I honestly love that the town still gives us printed budgets. Much preferable way to go searching for answers to line item questions than on a screen!

1300 people are reading our liveblog right now. Are you? triangleblogblog.com/2025/01/16/w...

Chapel Hill public hearing on the UNC cogeneration plant plan to test an alternative fuel source, which includes plastic, to replace coal. Quote of the night so far: "it only takes a little bit of shit to make a shit sandwich" 😂@ludkmr.bsky.social

Very funny to see a report on a work session I supposedly attended that didn't actually take place!

Important framing: Republican strategists are driving this attack on NC voters. Griffin is a willing pawn in an lab experiment run by the NCGOP and the RNC to find out how to steal elections!

It's great to see the community talking about the future of UNC's cogeneration plant, as in this op-ed by Hope Gehle. The Town and the University share an interest in moving away from coal. The question is - what next? (1)

The 2024 presidential election was a vote of no confidence in business as usual. Democrats should be more ambitious about helping ordinary people, fighting corruption and injustice, and celebrating the results - not less!