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latlg ®ar itol INSIDE THURSDAY AUGUST 29,1996 Investigation delay frustrates BPWA BY AMY CAPPIELLO ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR Lawyers for the Black Public Works Association said Wednesday that frus tration has set in after delays in a racial discrimination investigation that was set to begin less than a month ago. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation of the Chapel Hill Public Works Department was set to begin late this summer. But neither the town of Chapel Hill, which is being in vestigated, nor the BPWA, which filed Convention ‘circus’ overwhelms locals BY ERICA BESHEARS STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR The Democratic National Convention is bigger than anything Laura Edwards has ever experienced even under the big top. “It’s like the biggest circus you’ve ever seen it’s better than the circus,” the Chapel Hill resident and North Carolina delegate to the convention said by phone from her room in Chicago’s Days Inn on Lakeshore Drive. “I’m spellbound. It’s sensory overload for me." Tuesday night she was one of the esti mated 4,000 convention delegates who approved this year’s party platform by a voice vote, she said. “The ‘yeas’ had it— screaming and yelling.” Edwards is ready to vote with the convention again tonight when it nomi Coalition for Economic Justice protests lack of housekeepers on steering team BY SHARIF DURHAMS ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR The University must include UNC Housekeepers Association members on its Outsourcing Steering Team to repre sent workers fairly, a Coalition for Eco nomic Justice member said Tuesday. At anoonpressconference, Kim Diehl cited a 1991 chancellor’s committee re port calling for administrators toallow staff to help make decisions. “Holding public meetings where people can only spectate does not qualify Isn m. — —_v in .■ DTH/KRISTIN ROHAN Students in the UNC club NORML, the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws, recruited students and distributed information in the Pit on Wednesday. Outbreak! A health scare at N.C. Science and Math led to the hatting of construction on anew building. Page 2 the charge, has been contacted by the EEOC. “The last we had heard, the town leadership said the investigation would be coming to town sometime this month,” said Mark Dorosin, one of the lawyers representing the BPWA. “As far as we know, though, the EEOC investigation hasn’t come to town yet.” Chapel Hill Town Manager Cal Horton confirmed the EEOC investiga tion had not yet begun. “(The EEOC) said the investigation would start in late July or early August, nates President Bill Clinton for his sec ond term. “I am with some bit of a let down,” she said, explaining that she would be sad when the convention is over. Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson and Carrboro resident Errol McCauley also spoke to The Daily Tar Heel on Wednes day from Chicago. Nelson said he had met new friends and caught up with some old ones this week. He attended the 1992 Democratic National Convention. “It’s different (this year),” he said. “In ’92 there was the excitement of starting something fresh. This time it’s an incumbent.” The delegates spend their evenings in the convention hall, and their days are filled with meetings, conferences and See DEMOCRATS, Page 4 as active participation,” she said. “The outsourcing committee needs to have representation from all areas of our Uni versity.” Two members of the employee forum are on the team, but coalition members said the forum does not represent their views. No housekeepers hold seats on the committee. “Some of the people on the forum could care less about housekeepers,” Housekeepers Association President Bar bara Prear said. Three weeks ago, Prear was prohib WHY BE NORML? A genius is one who can do anything except make a living. Joey Adams UjPNi No Val is an‘lsland’ A I Diversions delves into the yjftgM feast of movies on the local ' menu. Page 5 but we haven’t heard anything yet,” Hortonsaid. “If we don’t hear from them by the end of the month, I will contact them again.” Dorosin said some members of the BPWA’s leadership were contemplating other measures if the investigation does not begin soon. “I was talking with Steve England (chairman of the BPWA Steering Com mittee) and he said if the EEOC didn’t start the investigation soon, (the BPWA) would begin to consider asking for their right-to-sue letter,” Dorosin said. DTH FILE PHOTO Carrboro Mayor Mike Nelson said he was having a great time at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. ited from attending the committee’s first meeting, as members said it was not required to open its meetings to the pub lic. UNC-systemPresidentC.D. Spangler recently declared committees, such as the Outsourcing Steering Team, to be openunderthe stare Open Meetings Law. Today’s 10 a.m. meeting in Union 209, therefore, will be open to the public. Coalition for Economic Justice mem bers will attend the meeting to support the Housekeepers’ views, Diehl said. See COALITION, Page 4 The hunt begins n||B The fight for the playoffs begins as the NFL season opens Sunday. Page 1 7 A right-to-sue letter enables grievants to the EEOC to move ahead with litiga tion if the investigation is not carried out within a certain time period, he said. “After someone files a charge, the state requires (the EEOC) be given 180 days because (they have) such a huge backlog of cases,” Dorosin said. “After six months goes by, the person who files can ask for a right-to-sue letter where the EEOC says they can pursue a lawsuit.” England said a lawsuit would be filed See EEOC, Page 2 Committee examining privatization BY RICK CONNER STAFF WRITER Like many public institutions across the state and the nation, UNC is consid ering privatization of some University services to deal creatively with growing budget constraints. The University’s Outsourcing Steer ing Team, established under the direc tion of the UNC-system General Admin istration and the General Assembly, will meet today to develop a three-year plan for evaluating 51 University services and to examine the feasibility of using out side contractors. The team consists of representatives from a range of University groups, in State will file suit to halt tobacco regulations ■ Gov. Jim Hunt said the state has not decided whether to join Kentucky in its lawsuit. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GREENVILLE North Carolina will file its own lawsuit or join others to oppose new federal regulations on ciga rettes, Gov. Jim Hunt said Wednesday in a muddy tobacco field. “We’re going to go to court to keep the FDA out of tobacco fields,” said Hunt, who was surrounded by area legislators, tobacco farmers and agribusiness repre sentatives. “This amounts to big govern ment trying to regulate tobacco out of business,” he said at a news conference. New rules approved by President Clinton last week would allow the fed eral Food and Drug Administration to regulate nicotine as a drug. Hunt said that could eventually lead to prohibition, affecting26o,oootobacco related jobs in North Carolina. “It’s wrong for the federal govern ment to suggest our farmers are growing a drug,” Hunt said from a podium that had been placed in the field as as report ers and local farmers crowded between the rows oflemon-yellow tobacco. “These good tobacco farmers, growing a drug? “But it is also wrong to assume our tobacco farmers want children to smoke. ” Clinton said the new regulations on Today's Weather Partly sunny, mid 80s. Friday. Partly sunny, mid 80s. Police crack down on forgetful drivers ■ Leaving home without a driver's license could lead to an unexpected arrest. BY ANGELA MOORE ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR Before hopping in your car for a quick trip to the store, the Chapel Hill Police Department wants to make sure you grab your license. In response to the growing number of drivers caught licenseless who fraudu lently claim they are someone else, the police will start charging offenders with the misdemeanor of driving without a license more often. “If you operate a motor vehicle, you should have a license on your person,” said Lt. Tim Pressley, who supervises traffic enforcement. Traffic police will still have discretion in dealing with drivers who are stopped without their license, Pressley said, but arresting these drivers might become more of an option. In the past, Chapel Hill traffic officers have often simply asked drivers without licenses who cannot remember their li cense number to supply their full name, address and birth date, he said. Many drivers, however, flawlessly re cite the information of someone else to the traffic officer, he said. “Approximately four months later, the case goes into the courtroom,” Pressley said. “Of course, the person doesn’t show up for court. They weren’t the person the officer cited. Eventually a letter is sent to the person whose information we have saying, ‘You failed to appear. We’re go ing to take your driver’s license.’” represent a variety ] ofinterestsandout- fcSai m.\ T.l looks,” he said. University Outsourcing The team is only beginning to exam- RUNBERG said the ine services for the team was b , e 9'" ni "9 ,o possibility of examine what services outsourcingandno could be outsourced, decisions are imminent, he said. “The tobacco are aimed at stopping teenage smoking. Hunt said he had suggested an education program against teenage smok ing to the White House two years ago. “If the president and others in Wash ington are serious about doing some thing about teenage smoking, we can do that,” Hunt said. “We could have been two years into a program to cut teenage smoking.” State Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham said he agreed. “North Caro lina has already taken aggressive steps to cut underage tobacco use and will con tinue to do so,” he said. “We don’t need more big government. It’s the wrong ap proach. More aggressive enforcement of state law is what’s needed." S/he who hesitates ■■■ Time is ticking. Applications are due Friday for all positions at The Daily Tar Heel. Act now, before we fill all these exciting slots. The DTH is also accepting applications for the Joanna Howell Fund Awards, sponsored by the paper in the name of one of its writers who died in the May 12 Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house fire. The Joanna Howell Fund will award bian nual prizes of up to $250 to help an under graduate journalist produce an in-depth story or photo essay on an issue of compelling 103 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 News/Feamres/Aits/Spoar 9610245 Business/ Advarinng: 962-1163 Volume MM, Issue 58 Chapel Hill, North Carolina 01996 DTHPubhshmg Carp. AS rights reserved. Pressley said this situation happens quite often, and when it does, it creates a hassle for both the innocent person want ing to clear their record and the police. “It’s a paper trail nightmare,” he said. Cases of fraud such as this are on the rise in Chapel Hill, Pressley said, and because of the hassle involved, police are left with little option other than to take a no-nonsense approach to dealing with drivers who forget their licenses. Police have two options when drivers forget their licenses. The first option trust that the driver is who they say they are is not viable anymore because of the increase in fraud, Pressley said. Officer Charles Quinlan said he usu ally gives drivers ample opportunity to prove who they are. “If they have an other picture ID —a college ID, or if they’re coming home from work and have a badge with their picture on it—l usuallybelievethem,”hesaid. “Icanstill cite them with failure to cany, but that’s up to the officer’s discretion.” But if the driver has no identification, officers may resort to the second option. This option, which Pressley said might have to become more widely used, is placing the driver under arrest, booking them at the police station and waiting for someone to come to the police station with the person’s driver’s license. “The drawback to this is the upstand ing, law-abiding citizen can’tunderstand why police are arresting them for forget ting to bring their license, ” Pressley said. Pressley emphasized the hassles can be avoided if people carry their license. “It takes up a large amount of our time, too, when people don’t have their license on their person,” Pressley said. “It’s the difference between 15 to 20 minutes and hours.” last thing we want to do is create unnec essary concern, especially when we are just at the start of the process.” The team must submit a report to the General Administration by Sept. 13 con cerning seven University services. These include heating, ventilation and air con ditioning, housekeeping, steam plant operations, grounds keeping, refuge dis posal, administrative data processing and hazardous waste disposal. The plan for evaluating the rest of the services will be submitted to the General Assembly by mid-October, Runberg said. The team’s first task is to determine whether or not there is a basis for See OUTSOURCING, Page 4 Hunt said lawyers for the state are researching whether the state should file a lawsuit of its own or join suits filed by Kentucky, tobacco companies or others. Hunt said the state could file as a tobacco grower, since North Carolina holds allotments for tobacco it grows for research. The state sold $195,000 worth of tobacco last year, agriculture officials said. But some experts said North Caro lina might not have the legal standing to enter the dispute in court. “I think it’s grandstanding,” William Van Alstyne, a Duke University law pro fessor, told the Winston-Salem Journal. “It’s possible they could make an argu ment ... but it’s hard. It’s hard forthem to find standing.” contemporary interest. The DTH will devote an entire page to publish the work. Applicants must be able to complete the story by the end of the semester. Proposals can be submitted by more than one person. All applicants must be under graduate students. They do not need to be journalism majors or have any affiliation with the DTH. Applications for the Howell Fund can be picked up at the DTH office in Suite 104 of the Student Union and are due Sept 6. -The Editors
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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