VOLUME 112, ISSUE 106
Black
might
be sole
leader
Dems could end
co-speakership
BY JAMES EDWARD DILLARD
AND HILARY HELLENS
STAFF WRITERS
The N.C. House might be consol
idating in the upcoming session.
Having gained a 63-57 advan
tage after last week’s election,
House Democrats likely will do
away with the co-speakership.
Many suspect that Co-speaker
Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, will
become the sole speaker.
“He did what
was necessary
to maintain
his partisan
advantage, but
when it came to
respecting us as
individuals and
representatives,
he did a good
job,” said Rep.
Frank Mitchell,
R-Iredell, of
Black’s tenure
as co-speaker.
Democrat
Jim Black
has potential to
be the House's
single speaker.
Black was speaker for two terms
before the chamber was faced with
an evenly divided body after the
2002 election.
Legislators spent a week try
ing to select a single speaker but
finally arranged for Black and
Rep. Richard Morgan, D-Moore,
to share the seat.
Julie Robinson, Black’s spokes
woman, cautioned that the time
for choosing anew speaker is still
a ways off.
But the prospect of Black becom
ing the only leader in the House wor
ries Rep. Sam Ellis, R-Wake, because
the majority of North Carolinians
are registered Republicans.
“It is much better to have a
token Republican than it is to fur
ther inspire the wrath of the over
whelming majority of the voters of
this state,” F.llis said.
But Morgan has been accused by
many House Republicans of frac
turing the party.
Mitchell said Morgan did not
give Republicans ample opportu
nity to have their bills heard.
Ellis said Morgan also betrayed
his party by deliberately drawing
a redistricting map that favored
state Democrats.
Rep. Gordon Allen, D-Person,
said that if Black is selected speak
er in January, it would substantial
ly increase his power.
The speaker, when not on
the House floor, is in charge of
appointing chairs to committees.
Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange,
said during the co-speakership,
the bipartisan effect often trick
led down to the committees,
which were run by co-chairs. This
became bulky during the past two
years, she said.
Although Black is the favor
ite among many Democrats and
Republicans, it isn’t certain that
SEE BLACK, PAGE 5
Hit-and-run trial postponed to today
BYERENTATARAGASI
STAFF WRITER
A family emergency has postponed
the presentation of evidence and open
ing statements in the case of North
Carolina v. Samara.
Tuesday was the first day Rabah
Samara appeared in Orange County
Superior Court to face one felony charge
of hit-and-run and a misdemeanor
charge for hit-and-run in relation to the
death of Stephen Gates.
Though Samara appeared, the trial
was cut short when District Attorney
Carl Fox had to leave to tend to family
matters.
UNC alumnus
Stephen Gates
was killed in a
hit-and-run Oct
4,2003. His
accused killer's
trial starts today.
ONLINE
Tar Heel men and women beat Duke in swimming
Elections are over, but Vote Carolina still has plans
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Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy (left) and developer Tom Tucker break the first ground during a ceremony
Tuesday morningjt the. site of the Rosemary Village Luxury Condominiums on West Rosemary Street.
Groundbreaking
heralds progress
Construction kicks off on Rosemary Village project
BY JON WEINER
STAFF WRITER
The skyline of downtown Chapel Hill took a step
toward major change Tuesday, as years of planning
and waiting culminated in the groundbreaking of
Rosemary Village.
“I think that this is going to be something great
for this town,” Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said at
the groundbreaking.
The large mixed-use development, which will
be located at the comer of West Rosemary Street
and Mitchell Lane down the road from Mama Dip’s
Kitchen, is the first project of its type to be built
downtown.
About 60 people were on hand for the devel
opment’s groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday
morning.
“This development is going to revitalize all the
shops and restaurants in the area,” said Brian
Ehrenfeld.
Ehrenfeld and his brother, Chris, are partners in
and co-own Build Ex Inc., the company in charge
of construction.
Once complete, Rosemary Village will be a
four-story complex, comprised of four individual
buildings that will house 38 luxury condomini
ums and 5,000 square feet of space for seven
retail shops.
Tom Ticker, the project’s lead developer since its
inception about five years ago and a member of the
Samara was appearing in court in
relation to the hit-and-run incident that
resulted in Gates’ death on Oct 4,2003.
Gates was an alumnus of the
University and a reporter for the Tar
Heel Sports Network.
“I’m just a nervous wreck,” said Gates’
mother, Pat Gates, who was at the court
house Tiesday. “The postponement is
perfectly understanding under the cir
cumstances.”
According to initial reports from the
N.C. Highway Patrol, Gates had been
near the split in interstates 40 and 85
when his tire raptured. He was hit by a
Cadillac Escalade while he was chang
INSIDE
TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL
Local Bth graders build hovercrafts
and chum butter in class PAGE 8
www.dthonline.com
DIGGING IN
Downtown Economic Development Corporation,
said construction should be complete within a
year.
The concept design drawings for the develop
ment were created by world-renowned California
architect Donald MacDonald.
Claudia Grober, sales executive for real estate
group Coldwell Banker/Howard Perry and Walston,
said all the development’s retail spaces and 22 of its
living units have been sold.
“We’ve done very well on a pre-sale basis,” she
said.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Chris
Ehrenfeld said one of the project’s goals is to
have all units sold by the time construction is
complete.
He added that construction will be done in one
phase and that the buildings all will be completed
within weeks of one another.
“Most units are usually sold during the building
process.... Right now we’re ahead of schedule,” he
said.
The addition of permanent residences, com
bined with more retail locations downtown, has the
potential to bring increased economic prosperity
to the area.
“What this project has the opportunity to do for
Chapel Hill and Carrboro cannot be overstated,”
SEE VILLAGE, PAGE 5
ing his tire on the side of the road about
2:25 a.m.
The couple in the car behind the
Escalade witnessed the accident and
watched a man get out of the Escalade
and switch places with the driver,
reports state. The couple wrote down
the Escalade’s license plate number and
called the police.
Samara and Emily Caveness, a senior
at N.C. State University, were arrested in
connection with the incident.
Reports state that Samara had a blood
alcohol level of .10. The legal limit in
SEE SAMARA, PAGE 5
Ashcroft
leaves post
in Cabinet
ATTORNEY GENERAL RESIGNS,
SAYS AMERICANS ARE SECURE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney
General John Ashcroft, a favorite
of conservatives, and Commerce
Secretary Don Evans, one of the
president’s close friends, resigned
Tuesday, the first members of the
Cabinet to leave as Bush heads from
re-election into his second term.
Both Ashcroft
and Evans have
served in Bush’s
Cabinet from
the start of the
administration.
Ashcroft, in a
five-page, hand
written letter
to Bush, said,
“The objec
tive of securing
the safety of
Americans from
crime and terror
has been achieved.
“Yetlbelieve that the Department
of Justice would be well served by
new leadership and fresh inspira
tion,” said Ashcroft, whose health
problems earlier this year resulted
in removal of his gall bladder.
“I believe that my energies and
talents should be directed toward
other challenging horizons,” he said.
Ashcroft’s letter was dated Nov. 2.
Evans, a longtime friend from
Texas, wrote Bush, “While the
promise of your second term
shines bright, I have concluded
with deep regret that it is time for
me to return home.”
“Nobody really remembers all the work
... but we know that were helpingfuture
gCTICTCItiOTIS. DERWIN DUBOSE, co-president, campus y
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DTH/CARTER MURPHY
UNC football player Jason Brown reads to Ephesus Elementary School
students as part of Children's Rights Week, co-sponsored by the Campus Y.
Campus Y sees
internal change
BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Although the first nail has yet to
be hammered in the renovation of
the 97-year-old Campus Y facility,
the group’s leaders already have
started constructing a brand new
foundation.
The UNC Board of Trustees
approved the final $1.3 million
needed for the project in July
a key development that Campus
Y Co-President Derwin Dubose
said would not have happened
without prior restructuring of the
organization.
“Our system got us the building,
and that’s going to be kind of like
INSIDE
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Precious Stone, the daughter of Sonja Haynes
Stone, delivers center's annual talk PAGE 3
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10,200*
Bush issued statements of praise
for both men and for the policies
they advanced.
“John Ashcroft has worked tire
lessly to help make our country
safer,” the president said. “John
has served our nation with honor,
distinction, and integrity.”
Bush’s farewell to Evans was
more effusive and personal, fitting
to their more than three decades
of friendship dating to the oil busi
ness in Midland, Texas, where they
attended church together and met
every day for a three-mile jog.
“Don Evans is one of my most
trusted friends and advisers,” Bush
said. “Don has worked to advance
economic security and prosperity
for all Americans. He has worked
steadfastly to make sure America
continues to be the best place in
the world to do business.”
Ashcroft, 62, has been well liked
by many conservatives. At the same
time, he has been a lightning rod
for criticism of his handling of the
U.S. end of the war against terror,
especially the detention of terror
suspects.
Evans, 58, was instrumental in
Bush’s 2000 campaign and came
with him to Washington. Evans
has told aides he was ready for
a change. He was mentioned as
a possible White House chief of
staff in Bush’s second term, but
the president decided to keep Andy
Card in that job.
SEE ASHCROFT, PAGE 5
El
Attorney
general
John Ashcroft
resigned from
Cabinet Tuesday.
our legacy,” he said. “Before, there
wasn’t a mechanism for us to work
with the Board ofThistees. ...There
wasn’t external slant and focus.”
Officials say the metamorphosis
marks the organization’s most sig
nificant transition since the imple
mentation of an umbrella commit
tee setup during the early 19905.
The Campus Y co-presidents,
Dubose and Elizabeth Sonntag
now oversee separate realms’
Dubose manages external affairs
and finance, while Sonntag keys in
on internal affairs.
As the largest student organi-
SEE CAMPUS Y, PAGE 5
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FRIDAY Rain, H 59, L 32
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