small town drama

i'd say 'never a dull moment in pittsboro' but that would just be really untrue. at least at this time of year (election just about a month away), though, there consistently seems to be a bit of small town drama.

starts with this guy named ricky spoon, and my lovely neighbor janice. janice won't be our neighbor for too much longer, as she's procured a lot at the very top of the hill in chatham forest, where she and her family are planning a very cool house.

up there at the top of the hill, chatham forest abuts property owned by this spoon fella (whom i've never met, only heard about since we moved this way). evidently plans are in the works (and laid before the town board) for a commercial and high-density residential development right there on that property. very close to home.

so clearly, janice is concerned. so are we - and our other neighbors, who signed a petition opposing spoon's proposal. would be simple enough - property owners opposing a development that threatens to change the character of their property - but turns out our mayor and the developer of chatham forest, randy, and the spoon fella don't really get along. news & observer does a thoroughly small-town job of covering the "news" (also here). so tempers are high all around and we're all holding our breath to find out what the board does with spoon's proposal.

really, i'm not a fan of subdivisions like the one we live in. this one is tolerable because randy left in most of the trees, and most of the houses don't look the same. but whether we like it or not, in any development like this you should be able to take for granted that things won't change all that much around you. the streets are already laid out, the lots are subdivided, the buffer land is commonly owned, etc. so no wonder janice is fired up and all the rest of us with her. rar.

no election news yet, except that we missed this weekend's canvassing due to a bad reaction to some bad tuna (bleh). but next saturday...we'll hit the streets to fight for tom!