Cary, NC – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday. It’s safe to say there are a lot of opportunities to shop this weekend. Is it all too much?

A friend recently told me that he was participating in Anti-Black Friday – giving away, throwing away and recycling as much stuff as possible on the day after Thanksgiving. Maybe he’s on to something.

Here are two interesting Cyber Monday facts:

1. Why is it on a Monday and not over the weekend? Because most people like to shop online at work.
2. Cyber Monday is set to rake in $1.6 billion this year compared to just $875 million for Black Friday.

Meanwhile, the world economy is in turmoil for the third straight year, mostly due to over-spending, over-borrowing and over-lending. But the barrage of media urging us to spend more has reached a new crescendo this year.

Tell us what you think. What are you feelings about the shopping extravaganza after Thanksgiving? All responses kept confidential. If you can’t see the survey here, you can answer it on our Holiday Shopping survey page.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Yutako Tsutano.

Cary, NC – I’m probably a propeller head. I read Mashable and use Seesmic and have a Google Plus profile. I have apps on my iPhone and Klout from my Twitter stream. But sometimes it’s just a wee bit over-the-top.

Time for a Digital Reality Check. Help us understand the State of the Digisphere by answering this short survey on Your Digital Lifestyle. All answers kept confidential. We’ll publish the results next week.

Your Digital Lifestyle Survey

If you can’t see the survey here (darn interwebs), you can answer it online at CaryCitizen Digital Lifestyle Survey.

Photo by Chris Adamczyk for CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC – Calling all sports fans! We want your opinion on how you watch sports.

Results from Last Week’s Survey: Railroad

A surprisingly large majority (85%) thought that Cary would benefit from being part of a regional rail network.

Even more surprising: 55% said they would vote Yes on a 1/2 cent sales tax hike to fund rail development. 17% answered Maybe. Only 28% answered No.

Survey: Spectator Sports in the Triangle

There are 8 questions in this survey on spectator sports in the Triangle. Make sure you scroll down to see everything or vote at SurveyMonkey.

The survey is anonymous, but you can only vote once.

 
Make sure you’ve scrolled down to answer all eight questions and clicked ‘Done’. Thanks for participating in this week’s CaryCitizen Survey.

Survey by CaryCitizen.com. Photo by Ben Loudtiger.

Cary, North Carolina – Since last week’s survey on a proposed $10,000 Tax Credit for New Home Construction proved so popular, we’ve decided to try it out as a regular feature. This week, we want to know what you think about proposed rail development in Cary.

Results of Last Week’s Survey

Our survey last week asked readers what they thought about The New Home Purchase Act, a $10,000 tax credit for buyers of new home construction.

New Home Purchase Act
Survey Says: 77% Against

Results are from April 17, 2011. We’ll leave this survey open for a couple of more weeks. Go to last week’s survey.

This Week’s Survey: Railroad Development in Cary

Proposals for railroad development throughout the Triangle are gaining steam. What do you think?

Supporters cite the economic and quality of life benefits with having a 21st century mass transportation grid. They point to advanced rail developments in Europe and Asia, and to cities with dysfunctional transportation like Atlanta and Los Angeles, as alternate visions for our future.

Opponents object to the costs of building a rail grid in the Triangle and are skeptical about the necessary population density in our area to ever support such an expensive system.

Tell us what you think about proposed rail development in Cary. You can also read more in our earlier story Transportation: Triangle Moves Forward.

Take the Survey

There are nine questions in the survey. Make sure you scroll down to see everything or vote at SurveyMonkey.

The survey is anonymous, but you can only vote once.

Make sure you’ve scrolled down to answer all nine questions and clicked ‘Done’. Thanks for participating in this week’s CaryCitizen Survey.

Story and picture by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – The New Home Purchase Stimulus Act (H-485) was introduced to the NC General Assembly on March 30. It would grant a $10,000 tax rebate to purchasers of new home construction (homes construction that is permitted after July 1, 2011).

Good or bad? Answer our survey and tell us what you think.

The Legislation

The House bill would grant a $10,000 credit against the purchase of a newly built home, payable up to $2,000 per year for five years. A similar measure is working its way through the NC Senate (S-476).

The House bill would be in effect from July 1 2011 to July 1, 2012. If enacted, it could cost NC tax payers up to $100 million dollars over five years.

Supporters and Foes

Many of our friends and readers in the real estate community are enthusiastic about this bill. Their consensus is that the legislation provides a much needed “shot in the arm” for anemic new home construction.

But lots of homeowners are equally opposed to the bill, saying it makes it more difficult to sell existing houses.

Take the Survey

The survey is anonymous, but you can only vote once.

If you are reading this via email and don’t see the embedded survey above, visit our website to take the survey online.

Photo for CaryCitizen by Hal Goodtree

Cary, NC – From now until February 28, Cary residents, business owners and visitors have the opportunity to review and give feedback on the draft Historic Preservation Plan and its approach to historic preservation.

The Plan in its entirety and a feedback survey are available for review at the Historic Preservation Master Plan section of the Town of Cary Web site.  A hard copy of the proposed plan and the survey are also available in the reception area of the Town of Cary Planning Department, 316 N. Academy Street, 3rd Floor.

“We are excited to work with citizens to develop a plan that reflects our community’s values,” said Anna Readling, Senior Planner for the Town of Cary. “Capturing the historic integrity of Cary for future citizens is pivotal as we continue to move into the future.”

In 2007, the Cary Town Council directed staff to develop a comprehensive plan for historic preservation.  The draft Historic Preservation Master Plan is the result of a year’s worth of public input from community meetings, workshops and citizens’ advisory committee meetings.

The 10-year draft plan features a series of goals, objectives and recommended implementation actions for historic preservation in Cary, including the Downtown District, Carpenter District and Green Level District.  The Town has selected Historic Preservation Planning Consultant Thomason and Associates, Inc., based in Nashville, Tennessee, to help prepare a town-wide Historic Preservation Master Plan for Cary.

Citizen feedback is scheduled to be presented to the Town Council at a public hearing on March 23.  A second public hearing will be held at the following Planning and Zoning Board meeting, scheduled for April 19.  Once the Planning and Zoning Board forwards the plan to Town Council, Council will vote on whether to adopt it at the next available Town Council meeting.

Be heard: Take the survey now.

Cary, NC – With all the complaints about people not getting to play in what happens around them, government-wise,  I love the idea that our Town Government is asking our opinion.  It was really one of the main planks of Mayor Harold Weinbrecht’s winning platform in 2007.  And it is refreshing to see our town officials come through with actions that reflect promises.

The Mayor’s own homepage of his blog states that it is his desire to “open the governmental process to our citizens.”

The Biennial 2010 Survey

So, beginning Saturday, January 23, consultants working for the Town of Cary will start randomly contacting more than 400 Cary residents asking them to state their opinions on how well their government works for them.

Topics will include solid waste, taxes, safety, quality of life, customer service, communications, street repair, and recreation programs. The scientific poll will be conducted via telephone through February 28, with citizens being asked to spend about 25 minutes answering about 60 questions.

Take the Time to Respond

“We hope that those who are called will take the time to give us the feedback we need by participating fully in the survey,” said Town of Cary Public Information Officer Susan Moran.  “We continue to learn a great deal about how we’re doing and what’s important to our citizens with our surveys, and we’re looking forward to hearing from citizens again this year.”

Moran added that few other governments—local, state or federal–have a regular program of gathering citizen opinion in a scientifically valid manner. The Town of Cary has been conducting its citizen satisfaction survey every other year since 1998.

This is the seventh Town-sponsored citizen satisfaction survey focusing on the operations and services handled each day by the Town government.  As with previous surveys, Biennial 2010 has three parts:

1. Questions that are asked from survey to survey to give the Town an opportunity to see trends in its performance
2. Questions that change from survey to survey to give the Town information on current or emerging issues
3. Demographic questions such as age, sex, race, and education that help ensure that the sample of respondents are a scientifically representative group of the total population of Cary.

How It Works

Following a national request for proposals, Cary has contracted with BKL Research of Salem, VA to conduct the study and related focus groups at a cost of $28,665.  The survey report is expected in late March followed by a focus group report in late April.

All responses to the survey will be anonymous, and demographic information will only be used in the aggregate.  However, respondents will be given the opportunity to give their identifying information if they are interested in participating in one of several focus groups that the Town’s consultants will conduct in March as part of the study based on the survey findings.

Results from Cary’s previous biennial surveys are available online in the Research section of the Town website.

My Vox

I, for one, welcome this.  And I trust the feedback will be acted upon.

Vox Populi, Latin for “Voice of the People.” If you have something to say (about Cary, that is), contact Matt with your story idea.