VOLUME 115, ISSUE 46
BOUND FOR OMAHA
Tar Heels come back to
beat USC, claim series
BY DAVID ELY SPORTS EDITOR
'orth Carolina closer Andrew
Carignan stood alone on the
mound looking down at
South Carolina pinch hitter
N
Drew Martin, just one strike away from
a return trip to Omaha,
Neb., and the College
World Series.
He might have already
thrown 68 pitches eas
ily his longest outing of the
year —but with the stakes
this high, there was no one
any Ihr Heel would rather
BASEBALL
USC 4
UNC 9
INSIDE
Check out the
three teams
UNC will face
in its CWS pod.
PAGE 11
have out there.
And he didn’t disappoint.
Carignan fanned Martin on his 69th pitch of
the game to seal a 9-4 win against the Gamecocks
and turned Boshamer Stadium into the biggest
party Sunday night in Chapel Hill.
“It’s kind of profound and prophetic that we
play our last game at the old stadium and get
one of the biggest wins in the program’s history,”
North Carolina head coach Mike Fox said. “To see
the look on their face when they win, for a coach,
is priceless. You can’t put it into words.”
But it didn’t always look like UNC (53-13) was
going to send Boshamer Stadium out in style.
For the third game of the series, the Tar Heels fell
behind early to the Gamecocks (46-20), whose
potent offense flexed its muscles with the game tied
at one in the bottom of the fourth.
North Carolina starter Luke Putkonen gave up
back-to-back singles before USC second baseman
Havis Jones belted a one-out double to the left
center field gap to give the Qamecocks a 3-1 lead
and bring right-hander Rob Wooten in to relieve
SEE OMAHA, PAGE 4
Taheri-Azar
apologizes in
leaked letter
Pit driver asks for
release to parent
BY TRACEY THERET
CITY EDITOR
A letter in which the UNC
alumnus charged with striking
nine people in the Pit with a Jeep
apologized to the University was
supposed to remain sealed, District
Attorney Jim Woodall said.
In the letter dated May 20,
Iranian-born Mohammed Taheri-
Azar wrote, “I am very sorry for
the crimes which I committed in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on
March 3,2006.”
“I sincerely regret what I did on
that day. Please release me from
state custody so that I may pursue
my goal of living a productive life
in California.”
Taheri-Azar, 23, wrote that he
hopes to work with his father at
his general contracting company
in Anaheim, Calif., and “re-estab
lish myself as a good, caring, and
productive member of society.”
The letter, which was sent
to the Orange County Superior
Courthouse, is under a court order
and was placed in a file inaccu
rately, said the county’s Clerk of
Superior Court James Stanford,
but the Associated Press reported
on the letter Monday.
Taheri-Azar, 23, pleaded not
CORRECTION
Last week’s story, “Freshmen
get feel for campus, fellow stu
dents,” incorrectly states the
number of orientation sessions
for 2007.
There will be 15 new-stu
dent orientation sessions. The
Daily Tar Heel apologizes for
this error.
WEEKLY SUMMER ISSUE
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
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North Carolina left fielder Reid Fronk leaps on top of his teammates as the Tar Heels celebrate their super regional clinching win against South Carolina on Sunday
night at Boshamer Stadium. With the victory, UNC advanced to its second consecutive Cdlfege World SerWSWfOmaha, Neb./startirig fritiay against Mississippi State.
Mohammed
Taheri-Azar, a
UNC alumnus,
is charged with
nine felony
and murder
charges.
guilty in January to nine felony
charges of assault with a deadly
weapon inflicting serious injury
with an intent to kill and nine
first-degree murder charges in
connection with the day that left
five victims seriously injured.
In letters to The Daily Tar Heel
since the incident, he wrote that
his actions were an effort to avenge
the deaths of Muslims around the
world.
In March, public defender James
Williams requested a motion to
require Taheri-Azar to undergo
psychiatric evaluation at Dorothea
Dix Hospital to determine his abil
ity to participate in his defense.
Before the hearing was con
cluded, however, Taheri-Azar
was thrown out of the court room
after several outbursts, in which
he repeatedly said he hated all
Americans and Jews and that his
attorney was a moron.
Taheri-Azar also apologized
for the court incident in his letter,
which was addressed, “Dear Sir or
SEE TAHERI LETTER, PAGE 4
Online I dailytarheel.com
Come to Omaha with us! Join the
Tar Heels as they travel to Omaha, Neb.,
in search of their first national champion
ship. Follow the action on our Web site,
where we will be posting regular blog
updates.
www.dailytarheel.com
Festival hails American opera
BY ALEXANDRIA SHEALY
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Think the absence of many UNC students dur
ing the summertime empties Chapel Hill of notable
arts events?
The organizers of the Long Leaf Opera Festival,
the first of its kind in the nation dedicated to opera
written and performed in English, would beg to
differ.
The festival will be held at UNC’s Memorial Hall
and other area locations from June 15 to July 1.
“During the summer, people think of Chapel Hill
as a sleepy little town,” said Randolph Umberger,
artistic director for Long Leaf Opera.
“But there’s great potential for an arts festival
because the arts are so abundant here.”
The Chapel Hill-based group will offer master
classes, chamber music concerts and several world
premiere performances. Many of these events fea
ture nationally recognized names in opera today.
“This festival has been our goal for eight years,”
Umberger said.
“We wanted for American opera composers to
be recognized and for everyone to see the beauty
of these pieces.”
“Strange Fruit,” a world-premiere opera led by
SEE LONG LEAF, PAGE 4
ASG president’s trial set for August
Judge declares conflict
of interest, delays trial
BY ERIC JOHNSON
SENIOR WRITER
NEW BERN Cole Jones, president-elect
of the UNC-system Association of Student
Governments, will have to wait until at least
August to find out whether pending criminal
charges will affect his nascent administra
tion.
Jones and his ASG colleagues had hoped the
charges, which stem from a domestic dispute
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The Long Leaf Opera Festival, the first of its kind, features only operas written and per
formed in English. "Strange Fruit" debuts tonight in Memorial Hall.
in February, would be disposed of before Jones
assumes office July 1.
But at a hearing June 11 in Craven County,
Judge Walter Mills announced he had an
unspecified conflict of interest relating to
the case. The next proceeding will take place
August Ist in front of a different judge.
“I was ready for this to be over,” Jones said as
he left the courthouse, flanked by his mother
and girlfriend.
The legal wrangling between Jones and the
maternal aunt of his two-year-old son is being
closely monitored not only by ASG officials,
but also by UNC-system President Erskine
Bowles and his staff.
arts I page 10
Ocean's Thirteen
Director Steven Soderbergh's
latest 'Oceans' movie isn't quite
on par with previous install
ments find out why in our
review.
THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2007
Once he assumes office, Jones will serve as
the student member of the UNC-system Board
of Governors, and university officials are con
cerned about the possibility of a sitting board
SEE ASG PRESIDENT, PAGE 4
State i page 6
New tax on money wires
Anew 5 percent tax on wire
transfers would target illegal
immigrants in N.C. The proposal is
pending approval in the General
Assembly.
Cole Jones, president
elect of the ASG, is now in
a legal dispute that may
affect his position.
Jones is charged with
assault related to a
Valentine's Day incident.
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