VOLUME 113, ISSUE 12
DTH/PERRY MYRICK
A worker repairs the Wicked Burrito building, located at 214 W. Franklin St.
A downtown group wants anew tenant for the space, vacant since 2000.
Board wants
tenant for site
BY JAKE POTTER
STAFF WRITER
Members of a downtown board
said Wednesday that they are satis
fied with recent efforts to fix up the
long-vacant Wicked Burrito prop
erty but reiterated their wish to have
an active tenant occupy the spot.
The Downtown Economic
Development Corporation
expressed malcontent at its Feb. 9
meeting with the property that has
sat empty at 214 W. Franklin St.,
since 2000.
Spearheading a letter-writing
campaign, the corporation seems
to have had an effect: Since the
letters were first written, work
ers have been seen repairing torn
awnings, pressure washing and
painting the building.
The town’s Inspections
Department also has contacted
the building’s owners Lone Star
Steakhouse & Saloon Inc. ofWichita,
Kan. about fixing its public face.
The department asked the com
pany if town officials could inspect
the building’s interior, said Interim
Executive Director Nick Didow.
While Lone Star has not con
tacted the corporation, Lone Star
Executive Vice President John
White said he has called and e
mailed the town a few times since
the corporation notified them of
the building’s condition.
“It sounds like the town has got
ten their attention,” said corpora
tion member Roger Perry.
*Democrats
have to
realize that
there will
cornea
time when
they’ll he
the
minority
party.”
DAVID MILLS, csf
Bill would alter redistricting
BY INDIA AUTRY
STAFF WRITER
A bipartisan bill filed Hiesday
in the state Senate aims to take
the political tool of redistricting
out of legislators’ hands.
Sens. Ellie Kinnaird, D-
Orange, and Hamilton Horton
Jr., R-Forsyth, are calling for an
independent committee to redraw
district lines every 10 years.
After every census, states are
required to ensure that each dis
trict has a comparable number of
constituents. The majority party
McCants to make tentative return
Junior guard might see
action in ACC Tourney
BY DANIEL MALLOY
SPORTS EDITOR
Apparently, all it took was a little home
cooking.
North Carolina’s star shooting guard,
Rashad McCants, returned to full practice
Wednesday after a 21/2-week absence caused
by an intestinal disorder.
McCants’ father, James, attributed the
comeback to a better diet.
McCants’ mother, Brenda Muckelvene,
traveled to Chapel Hill last week from the
family’s home in Asheville to cook for her son
and to aid his recovery.
“It wasn’t the illness keeping him back as
much as it was the lack of nutrition,” James
McCants said. “Any time you’re going to have a
home-cooked meal as opposed to McDonald’s
and Burger King and all that other stuff, it is
ONLINE
Chick-rock does little more than disappoint
Wisps of Irish culture lace young artist's effort
Find these and more stories at www.dthonline.com.
dive
ONLINE
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
obc Satin ®ar Heel
“Our intent is to
develop it.... It’s a
valuable property
and a good location
for a restaurant.”
JOHN WHITE, LONE STAR EXECUTIVE
But Chairwoman Andrea
Rohrbacher said the company’s
efforts to clean up the property
might not be sufficient.
“We want an operating business
on that site,” she said.
One nonprofit organization
the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
Children’s Museum already has
contacted Lone Star in hopes that
it might put the building to use.
Christopher Rice, the museum’s
site committee chairman, told the
corporation that the museum needs
to occupy a small site like Wicked
Burrito for two to three years.
Rice and museum President
Jonathan Mills sent a letter to White
March 2 in hopes of fixing an agree
ment that would allow the museum
to use the site temporarily.
White said that he wouldn’t com
pletely rule out selling the property
to a local organization, but that the
company has plans of its own.
“Well, you never say never, but our
intent is to develop it,” he said. “We
SEE WICKED, PAGE 4
in the legislature typically uses
this process to its advantage.
The committee would examine
districts both for U.S. congress
men and state legislators.
North Carolina think tanks
from opposite ends of the politi
cal spectrum stand behind the
bill: the conservative John Locke
Foundation and the liberal
Common Sense Foundation.
“It’s funny,” said David Mills,
executive director for the Common
Sense Foundation. “There are few
issues we come to a similar con
going to help.”
McCants has not played or practiced since
UNC’s Feb. 19 game against Clemson, when
he left the contest in the second half due to
an upset stomach.
He did not see the floor in the Tar Heels’
games against N.C. State, Maryland, Florida
State and Duke all UNC wins. The games
were the first four McCants missed in his col
lege career.
But according to James McCants, the
junior is ready to get back on the floor.
“This was just a minor setback,” James
McCants said. “He is a nice, strong, healthy
young man.”
At his best, Rashad McCants has been the
most explosive scorer for UNC —and perhaps
in the nation. The guard was named to the
All-ACC third team Monday, and likely would
have been higher if he had been healthy. Last
season, McCants earned status and
third-team All-America honors.
SEE MCCANTS, PAGE 4
www.dthonline.com
Ticket battle to hit court
CAA FACES COMPLAINT OVER NUMBER OF RESERVED SEATS
BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
The Student Supreme Court will open
its chamber today for the first time in
almost she years to begin wading through
a dispute between an outspoken member
of Student Congress and top officials of
the Carolina Athletic Association.
Domenick Grasso —a member of
Congress’ athletics committee, which
has heavily scrutinized CAA throughout
the year has filed formal complaints
against the association.
He claims that CAA leaders have
egregiously violated the Student Code
!t| || -jNBK' IHBb ,
\ 4 raßfi Bi M
\ %MiSAiL,mLs£m Nt
John Watson, a Chase Hall employee, gets down in
the dining hall Wednesday night during the farewell
dinner for the infamous South Campus landmark.
The event included karaoke, dancing and even a food
fight. Chase, which opened its doors in 1965, will serve
its final meal tonight. Chase is set to be demolished,
and the dining facility in the new Rams Head Center,
elusion on. It’s fairly rare.”
Both organizations said redis
tricting now benefits the party in
power, reducing political competi
tion.
Don Carrington, vice president
of the John Locke Foundation,
said members of the majority party
draw districts that will get their
incumbents re-elected by ensur
ing that each district holds enough
voters affiliated with their party.
“The current practice is basically,
legislators pick their own voters.”
Parties also avoid putting two
mk jS
DTH FILE PHOTO/LAURA MORTON
North Carolina shooting guard Rashad McCants returned to practice
Wednesday after missing four games because of an intestinal disorder.
i r ¥4-C
by keeping too many men’s basketball
tickets for themselves.
CAA officials counter that Grasso
has unfairly targeted the organization
all year and that the Code is out of date.
The defense plans to file a motion today
to dismiss all charges.
Grasso filed his original complaint
with the court Feb. 17 and followed
it with an amended version Monday
adding the claim that CAA has not
provided adequate documentation of
where its tickets are going.
Student Solicitor General Matt Liles’
efforts to arbitrate the case failed, so a
BRING IN DA FUNK
of their incumbents in the same
district, even if they live near each
other, because one of them would
have to be voted out, he said.
Legislators can use precise com
puter programming to draw lines
that are street-specific and some
times produce strange shapes that
don’t run along county borders.
But under the reform, the com
mittee wouldn’t be allowed to con
sider where incumbents live when
redistricting, Mills said.
SEE REDISTRICTING, PAGE 4
PLAY A PART
WE'VE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE ...
to apply to choose the next DTH editor. Stop by Suite
2409 of the Student Union or visit www.dthonline.com.
pretrial hearing will take place at 9 p.m.
today in the Kenan Courtroom of the
UNC School of Law.
Four justices will determine if,
and how, the case will proceed. Drew
Erteschik, presiding chief justice, said it’s
impossible to forecast a trial timeline.
Grasso contends that CAA has contin
ually failed to adhere to a section of the
Code that requires CAA to hold no more
than 40 men’s basketball tickets for any
single game. The complaint references an
article published in The Daily Tar Heel
SEE COURT, PAGE 4
opening later this month, will serve as its replacement.
A long line of students wishing to say goodbye and share
their favorite memories snaked out the door, and a banner
hanging on one wall allowed the Chase faithful to leave
messages in honor of the hall. Most students who turned
out for the event reminisced on the building’s defining
characteristic its smell. For the full story, see page 11.
History is
at heart of
renaming
discussion
BY KATIE CLINE
STAFF WRITER
Historical context is key to understanding
the lives of many people whose names adorn
University buildings, members of a campus
committee said Wednesday,
But members ultimately decided that they
need further discussion before
making a final decision to
submit recommendations to
Chancellor James Moeser.
The discussion was a key
part in the meeting of Moeser’s
advisory panel on nam
ing University facilities and
activities. The group is look
ing to revise its charter and
the guidelines it will follow in
making future decisions.
“How do you make judge
ments on people of the
past?” said committee mem
ber John Sanders, former
director of the Institute of
Government. “We shouldn’t
go back and apply our judgements.”
The revisions come after Moeser retired UNC’s
most prestigious award for women, the Cornelia
Phillips Spencer Bell Award, amid concerns that
Spencer held white supremacist beliefs.
Moeser requested in February that the commit
tee consider how UNC should treat historic names
on campus. That request included suggestions
SEE NAMING, PAGE 4
WEATHER
TODAY Mostly sunny, H 51, L 35
FRIDAY P.M. T-storms, H 58, L 32
SATURDAY Partly cloudy, H 47, L 29
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2005
i
Student Attorney
General Carolina
Chavez is
required by her
post to represent
the CAA officials.
DTH/SARA LEWKOWICZ
I
Chancellor
James Moeser
suggested that
the committee
eye historic
names at UNC.
o