Condemns override

Editor’s note: Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt released the following statement Thursday.

I condemn today’s N.C. House override of the Governor’s Veto of Senate Bill 2. Now the law in North Carolina, Senate Bill 2 carves out a constitutional exception to a public servant’s duty to provide equal access and justice under the law. All North Carolinians now have the possibility of being denied the services of a magistrate or register of deeds.

Couples that include a divorced person, interracial couples, couples from different faiths, as well as same-sex couples have historically faced condemnation based on the religious beliefs of others. The governor was right in vetoing this legislation, and his veto should have been sustained.

Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County all passed resolutions committing to exploring legal action against this legislation in the event of its passage. Those conversations with our partners begin now.

Mayor, Chapel Hill

Drone in Carrboro?

As I was taking a seat at the bus stop in front of Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, I noticed a black object “floating” over the parking lot of the Bank of America. It slowly moved over to the lot between Jade Palace and the Century Center. It had on it what appeared to be fans and a camera that seemed to be looking around.

Turning around to the young lady behind me I said, “Check it out!”

She replied, “What’s that?!”

I said, “I think it’s a drone. Smile, you’re on camera!” and waved to it. It then went towards the Station and out of sight. The time was around 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 10. Very curious as to whose it was. Let me know if you hear anything. (Guess we’ll be seeing more)

Carrboro

Feral cats matter

I was glad to read of the adoption efforts by Orange County. However, I was dismayed to learn that the shelter has determined that feral cats’ lives are so worthless that they don’t even merit counting in the kill numbers. Just because someone in animal control determines them to be “unadoptable,” the county views their lives as completely expendable. To some of us in the community, the lives of feral cats do matter, and counting how many of them are killed would be a good start to acknowledging that.

Chapel Hill

Editor’s note: Orange County Animal Services excludes these animals from its euthanasia rate: euthanasia requests, bite quarantines, confiscated animals, animals that die after intake on their own and ferals. “Feral cats are pretty easy to recognize, but I’m not sure if there’s a black and white definition other than the fact that they are wild,” department spokeswoman Andi Morgan says. “Scared animals that are just defensively scared aren’t the same. A feral animal is not just scared, it is not tamed and has not been raised around humans.”