wmm
3A
NEWS/Ulie C^tlDttc
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Ex-judge honored at courthouse
Continued from page 1A
portrait in Nashville and
Charlotte.
“He came up the day I had a
retirement party,” said
Fulton, who previously served
as a district court judge. “He
took hundreds of pictures and
talked to people - even my
mother,”
Pulton, a graduate of histor-
ically-black N.C. A&T State
University in Greensboro,
was the first woman of color
to lead a district of the N.C.
judiciary when she was
named senior resident judge
for the 26th District by Gov.
Mike Easley
From initial meeting to
completion, Neal’s worit took
a couple of years to finish.
Pulton, who is also a booster
of Charlotte’s inner city neigh
borhoods and owner of the
Wadsworth House on
Summit Avenue, was
impressed by the likeness
“I didn’t know it was going
to take that long,” she said. “I
saw the almost complete por
trait in Nashville. It’s unset
tling to see yourself on can
vas. You can’t deny that it’s
you, and it’s so big.”
Alito advised against Black Panthers
Continued from page 1A
or opposing the federal appel
late judge’s nomination to the
Supreme Court. President
Bush picked him as the
replacement for retiring
Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor in late October.
Liberals have questioned
whether Alito has the proper
judicial temperament and
ideology to replace O’Connor.
Some have said Alito’s views
on issues such as voting
rights and abortion could pro
voke a filibuster unless he
allays their concerns about
his commitment to civil
rights at his confirmation
hearings, beginning Jan. 9.
The Black Panthers’ law
suit accused govemm^t offi
cials of conspiring against the
militant group and its mem
bers for years. A federal judge
had thrown out the lawsuit
because the Black Panther
officials refused to reveal the
names of party members
whose names wer^i’t already
public as part of the case, but
the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia
reversed that decision. The
appeals court ordered the
judge to reconsider the case.
Ahto noted that nothing in
the trial court was “decided
against the government with
finality”
And “even if the Supreme
Court w«^ to agree with our
arguments, it would not fol
low that dismissal of the com
plaint would be the appropri
ate sanction,” he wrote.
The Supreme Court
thought otherwise. The
Justice Department went on
to appeal the case to the high
court, which ordered the
Black Panther lawsuit
thrown out.
Alito did note that he could
see a reason to take the case
to the Supreme Court, con
sidering its high-profile
nature.
“This is not an ordinary
lawsuit, and the issues may
consequaitly take on added
significance,” Alito said.
“While I am convinced that
the individual legal issues do
not warrant the filing of a
petition action, I reccgnize
that a decision to the contrary
has something to recommend
it.”
The Black Panther Party
had sued several federal offi
cials, saying that since 1968
the directors of file CIA and
the FBI, attorneys general,
IVeasury secretaries, post
masters general, IRS com
missioners and oth^ govern
ment officials had conspired
Durham neighborhood tries
hand at redevelopment again
By Sommer Brokaw
WE mANGLE TRIBUNE
DURHAM — Over the past two decades,
developers have tried to restore the once thriv
ing Rolling Hills community but with little suc
cess.
Now, the city is looking for a new developer to
revitalize the area.
Just southeast of downtown Durham,
Rolling HiUs used to be a vital part of the Hayti
community with businesses booming during
Jim Crow segregation.
But, after desegregation, the federal govern
ment condemned the property, forcibly remov
ing the owners and giving the state a portion of
the land to build the Durham fi^way
‘Ifs a historic area, and it’s what I would con
sider a prime property right next to downtown
Durheun,” resident Betty Woods said.
“Anything they can do for the upgrade and
preservation of it would certainly be a good
thing.”
A subsidiary of N.C. Mutual life Insurance
Company bought the site in 1984 and planned
more than 250 homes, but, citing low sales, the
company stopped construction after building
only 42 homes.
Anoth^ attempt was made to restore the site
about 10 years later. The Durham Committee
on the Affairs of Black People and the Durham
Business and Professional Chain set up a non
profit venture. Southeast Durham
Development Corporation, but only a dozen
homes were completed out of the 56 proposed.
‘We had two false starts,” said Larry Jarvis,
associate director of Housing and Community
Development. We’re interested in having
someone who has a significant track record so
that hopefully this third time is the charm.”
The area is bound by Lakewood Avenue to
the north, Roxboro Street to. the west and
Piedmont Avenue to the south. It also crosses
the Phoenix Shopping Center on the east.
Recently, a 34-page request for qualification
was released to find new development propos
als for the site. The document calls for a devel
oper wifii a proven track record
Jarvis said that this is the primary way the
dty can restore public confidence in the project.
“I think we are going to see significant inter
est fiom some very large and successful devel-
opCTS, so Tm optimistic that we are ultimately
going to wind up with a success this time,” he
said
Mayor Bill Bdl said the project has been one
of his priorities since taking office and seeking
int^'est fiom the development community is
just the first step.
The dty plans to use the 19.32 acre site to
develop a mass of mixed income housing with
up to 20 residential units per acre for a possi
ble 386 units.
“I hope it will serve as a catalyst for contin
ued improvement in that area,” Bell said “The
first catalyst we had downtown was the ball
park. Now that American Ibbacco is in its first
phase, other areas are coming alive, and I
think the same thing can happen with Rolling
Hills.”
The community currently has 54 residential
units, of which 15 are owner occupied. The
units include 11 single-family homes, 12 patio
homes and 30 townhouses. While the dty has
not announced whether or not it will bulldoze
the houses and start over, the request cleariy
states “The patio hemes and town homes
appear to be in the poorest condition based pri
marily on exterior inspection and are not
believed to be economically feasible for sal
vage.”
But, it also says that the single-family homes
are in “standard” condition.
‘Tf you look at the town homes and patio
homes that are over there, it would be better
for those properties to be tom down, because
they date back to the original construction
back in the 1980s that has not been main
tained very well,” Jarvis said. “The single-fam
ily homes are in pretty good shape, and they
could be potentially moved to another property
off site.”
Jarvis added that the preference right now is
that the acquisition be totally voluntary
The deadline for the statements of qualifica
tion is Feb. 3, and the city plans to begin nego
tiations with the selected devdoper March 16.
Durham, which poured $1.3 million into
Rolling Hills back in the 90s, is not expected to
play a major role in the project.
“Our preference is that there will be a limit
ed city role, that essentially this would be a pri
vate project with private development, but that
doesn’t rule out the possibility of additional
assistance being required to make that hap
pen,” Jarvis said
The Charlotte
Post is always
open
(at least online)
www.thecharlottepostcom
to destroy the Black
Panthers.
One of those sued was then-
CIA director and soon-to-be-
president George H.W. Bush,
father of the current presi
dent.
Alito worked for the solici
tor general’s office in 1981-85,
and also as deputy assistant
U.S. attorney gmeral fix)m
1985-87 before becoming a
federal prosecutor and judge.
Many of the documents
released by the National
Archives simply indicate that
Alito was copied in on inter
nal Justice Department
memos, or are photocopies of
decisions that were made by
federal judges while Alito was
working for the department
during the Reagan adminis
tration.
Hie Archives said it foimd
the documents in the files of
former Justice Department
officials while processing
Freedom of Information Act
requests.
Republican leaders are
pushing for a Jan. 20 confir
mation vote in the full
Senate.
The Only
Black Culture Tour
In Costa Rica
Aug. 27 - Sept. 2, 2006
Annual Black Culture Day Celebration on
Caribbean coast, ocean resort £f nature tours
$1,395 pp/do all inclusive^ air
($100 discount before 2/28/06)
Costa Rica Tours, Ltd.
www.costaricatoursltd.com/BlackCulture.htm
info@costaricatoursl1d.com
(70V 541-8680
The
original
laptop
reading
experience
(Cl^arlotte
News that’s worth reading
Cljarlotte
McCrorey Family
YMCA
presents
Luther KiiA^Jr.
PRAyei^ ■B.R-SAKFASr
Monday, January 16, 2006
Hilton Hotel
222 E. 3rd Street
(Between College and Brevard Streets)
Doors Open at 6:30 a.m.
Program Begins at 6:45 a.m.
Keynote
HCeiA/StoiA/j.
President, Dream Builders Communications
Kenston Griffin is a dynamic motivational speaker and trainer who has
addressed an array of audiences nationwide. Mr. Griffin’s primary goal is
to teach individuals and organizations how to become visionaries. He is
an inspirational, thought provoking speaker whose message has con
tributed to the growth of individuals and expansion of diverse organiza
tions. He empowers people to achieve greatness and beyond.
Additionally, Mr. Griffin’s aim is to educate across the globe by raising
one’s awareness and belief system both personally and professionally in
every field of human endeavor, and upon doing so, we all will realize and
know that...if better Ls -possible, 0ooc( Is \Mv^tY cua. optloiA.
Ticket Price $20.00 • Open Seating
For tickets call: 704-/16-6500
McCrorey YMCA
3801 Beatties Ford Road
(A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible)