Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / March 4, 2008, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Gtyr Hatty aor Hrri CAMPUS BRIEFS Former arts agency official to speak on campus today Edna Landau, former managing director of IMG Artists, the world's largest classical music arts agency, will speak at II a.m. today in Hill Hall Auditorium. In her time with IMG, Landau was responsible for managing the careers of hundreds of notable musicians, including violinists Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell. Call Carolina Performing Arts at 843-7776 for more information. TWo UNC professors honored for excellence in mentoring The Carolina Womens Leadership Council honored professors Jane Brown and Jo Anne Earp with the Faculty Mentoring Award. Brown, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was honored for her faculty-to-faculty mentoring. Earp, a professor of health behav ior and health education at the UNC School of Public Health, was given the award for work with students. The award includes a $5,000 sti pend for faculty who take steps to work with students or junior faculty as they make career decisions or taking on research opportunities. Committee discusses UNC's role in the rest of the state The chancellor's advisory com mittee met Monday and discussed UNC’s impact on the state of North Carolina and the UNC Tomorrow- Commission. The commission's purpose is to determine how the UNC system can better prepare for the future and address the needs of the people of North Carolina. Chancellor James Moeser said he is confident that UNC is well positioned to be the leader of the schools in the UNC system. “People have an enormous amount of trust in this university system,” he said, mentioning the recent accreditation of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and reform of the undergraduate curriculum as ways that UNC has prepared to handle this task. UNC is now examining the exist ing programs and processes that the University has for the state of North Carolina. The biggest problem for UNC is archiving all of the services and public engagement programs it supports so that the rest of the University is aware, said Mike Smith, vice chancellor for public service and engagement and dean of the School of Government. “We actually do touch all 100 counties of the state," Moeser said. “We’ve not been effective in telling this story." Study abroad photos can be entered in annual contest Students can submit their pho tos of study abroad experience in an annual photo contest, hosted by the study abroad office. To enter, bring print copies of your photos to the study abroad office by March 20. Each should be labeled with your name, place of travel and year and term that you studied abroad. The best three photos will win SSO gift certificates to Southpoint Mall. CITY BRIEFS German Shepherd K-9 K.C. served with police 5 years One of the Chapel Hill Police Department’s three active K-9 dogs, K.C., passed away after serv ing the department for five years. K.C., 7, began experiencing breathing difficulty Friday and was found to be in late stages of cancer. K.C. was a German Shepherd from Czechoslovakia who worked with Officer Gabe Shinn. For the police department, K.C. was trained in tracking and apprehension duties, in addition to narcotics detection. The police department’s K-9 team was formed in 1990. A total of eight dogs and five handlers have served, and the K-9 team is certified by the U.S. Police Canine Association. The police department bought K.C. with donations from the Kiwanis Club of Chapel Hill. Waste transfer station siting information available online Links to the Web site maintained by Olver Inc. about the Orange County transfer station siting pro cess now are available from the main Orange County Web site. Olver, an engineering firm that is assisting the Board of Commissioners with the search, is maintaining the site. Residents can find background information, an overview of the siting process and a schedule of meetings. The Web site is available at www.olver.com/orangecounty/ index.html. - From staff and win reports Town passes towing changes Limits towing charges downtown BY MAX ROSE ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR To tow a car in the Granville Towers parking lot, Gil Day has to drive 18 miles. Day, who operates Talbert's Tire and Automotive, used to charge S2O if he arrived at the scene and the owner returned before he attached the truck to the car. But Day and other tow truck operators can no longer charge in that scenario, after the Chapel Hill Town Council approved on Monday changes to the towing rules for pri vate lots downtown. Under the new rules, towing companies can charge no more “The electric motor is like a Lance Armstrong helping you out , unci you get around town a lot faster than you would on a regular bikeT tracy keith wall CYCLE 9 HEAD Of MARKETING SALES jMMn| BggH' sHHKP ft JLJP* ™ n mmmrn -ji.i n jßfrtr.: inn...: . . DTH/NICOLAS GULLETT Caroline Wood, a freshman Spanish major from Yadkinville, takes a ride on an electric bicycle at the Carrboro Farmers' Market on Friday. The electric bicycle can travel for 25 miles on a single charge, which takes about an hour to complete and costs about 5 cents. ALL CHARGED UP Local seller is hoping electric bikes catch on BY DAVID CROW STAFF WRITER Riding an electric bike is like riding a reg ular bicycle, except with bionic legs. At least that’s what Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton thinks. “It was a fun little thing to ride,’ Chilton said with a laugh. “It was interesting because it worked that the more you pedaled, the more that the electrical assist would come into play." Chilton, a cycling enthusiast, was given the opportunity to ride an e-bike by Cycle 9, the new Chapel Hill-based e-bike seller. “I thought this town, a college town, and the way it is centrally organized, is a perfect place to introduce this new technology," said Bilingual census to be tested BY EVAN ROSE STAFF WRITER Chatham Counts’ will be one of the first to receive the U.S. Census Bureau’s new bilingual question naire. The bureau is testing the ques tionnaire for the 2010 census in Chatham and eight other coun ties in the area surrounding Fayetteville. Rapid growth of the national Spanish-speaking population prompted the bureau to make the change. Bureau spokeswoman Stacy Gimbel said the counties in North Carolina were selected for a variety of reasons. “They’re a good cross section of diversity points," she said. “They also have a significant Spanish speaking population." According to the 2000 census, 12.5 percent of the national popu lation is Latino, compared to 9 percent in 1990. That proportion is expected to be significantly larger in the 2010 census. North Carolina's Latino popula tion is believed to have grown 54.9 percent between 2000 and 2006, according to the Census Bureau's population estimates. San Joaquin, Calif., the only other county selected for the cen sus rehearsal, was chosen for simi Top News than SIOO if they tow a car and S2O each day they store the vehi cle after the first 24 hours. No fee can be charged unless the vehicle is attached to the tow truck before the owner returns, and then only SSO is allowed. “It was then and is now our hope that it will increase public safety ... in what we will all agree is an inherently adversarial con frontation,* Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said. The changes come after the town received complaints of predatory towing downtown. Police have responded to verbal and violent disputes, according to a Tracy Keith Wall, head of marketing sales for Cycle 9- He said students will adapt to commuting with e-bikes easily. With gas and insurance prices rising. Wall said he thinks students and commuters will find that electrically powered bikes are cheap er than cars or scooters and that it's easier to travel longer distances than with a bicycle. “The electric motor is like a Lance Armstrong helping you out, and you get around town a lot faster than you would on a regular bike," he said. Wall has lived mostly in Chapel Hill since 1999- But in 2003 and 2004 he spent several months in Utrecht, Netherlands. . “I saw how they used the bike for trans formation," Wall said, recalling when he first realized the whole value of the electric bike. “They really consider the bicycle to be part of the commuter matrix that makes Holland g 0.... The whole thing is seamless." However, it was not until the last vear lar reasons, Gimbel said. “We're interested in the differ ent challenges that come from try ing to count people from all walks of life across the country," Gimbel said. Already in progress, the dress rehearsal is a chance to work out the kinks in the census proce dure. “It gives us an opportunity to see how well the pieces are fitting together," Gimbel said. “It's sort of us practicing." The bureau also will use hand held computers to collect data for the first time in 2010. Although participating coun ties receive some early information about their population, Gimbel said the temporary jobs the rehearsal provides are one of the major ben efits. Despite an early worker short age, Chatham County census offi cials said they will have no problem filling the more than 300 tempo rary positions needed for the prac tice run. Laura McClettie, partnership specialist for the Fayetteville office, said jobs are beginning to fill more quickly. “We’ve gotten quite a few calls, and we're prepared to bring work ers from other counties," she said. The 300 jobs provided in memo from the police department prepared for the meeting. In one incident, police respond ed to a woman who said a tow truck operator threatened to tow her car with her two children inside, according to the memo. But the incidents the town cites as predatory towing are not reflective of all truck operators. Day said. He said if any of his employees threatened to tow with a person or even an animal in the car, they would be out of a job. “That was an ignorant tow truck operator," Day said. The several tow truck operators in attendance worried that the changes could affect their livelihood. Day said he pays $3.72 per gal lon of diesel for his trucks and more that Wall started transferring his interest in the e-bike into a business. “I was looking at doing something to change the matrix of the transportation sys tem here." Wall said. He thinks this technol ogy is the best alternative. But some said they do not believe e-bikes are likely to catch on in the Triangle. Dale Steam, a salesman at the Bicycle Chain on West Franklin Street, said he would not use an e-bike unless he had a physical disability . "The electric bikes I’ve seen in the past work great for a little while, but they’re really hard to service and I think become unservice able down the road." he said, citing the short lived lead-acid batteries he has seen die. Steam said he does not think e-bikes are very reliable and are too heavy and too complicated to become a viable market in Chapel Hill's near future. SEE ELECTRIC BIKES, PAGE 5 Become a census taker ► 320 people are needed for part-time jobs in the next three weeks. ► Jobs pay a minimum of $13.75 per hour to $15.25 per hour. ► Workers must take a basic skills test and agree to work about 20 hours a week. ► People who are bilingual in English and Spanish are especially needed. ► For more information on census jobs, call toll-free: 1-866-673-2008. Chatham are a fraction of the more than 3,000 temporary paid census positions in North Carolina across participant counties of Cumberland. Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond and Scotland. If Chatham residents do not return their questionnaires after a second reminder in mid-May, workers will be knocking on doors to record the information. The bureau expects a 65 percent response rate by mail. Contact the City Editor at citydexk(a unc.edu. than $60,000 per truck. “It’s to a point now that a lot of people don’t understand how much it costs," he said. Council member Matt Czajkowski said that it is a chal lenge to try to balance the rights of the car owners and those of the tow truck operators to make a living. He unsuccessfully proposed that the council allow the truck opera tors to charge $lO if they arrive on the scene. “I think it is a little unfair to impose no cost at all from the vehicle owner w hen there is some cost, and perhaps not insignificant cost to the operator," Czajkowski said. “To me, it sort of encourages SEE COUNCIL. PAGE 5 Gift honoring Moeser will fund visiting artists BY DANIEL PATE STAfF WRITER During the past eight years. Chancellor James Moeser has shown a passion for and a dedica tion to improving the University’s arts programs. That dedication has earned him an endowed fund in his name that will go toward expanding the University's arts program by attracting visiting artists to UNC. Bill McCoy, who served as inter im chancellor before Moeser, and his wife. Sara, will donate about sl.l million to establish an endow ment in Moeser's name. The announcement came last week after one of the biggest shows of the year, the “Yo-Yo Ma & Friends" performance in Memorial Hail on Thursday. “This isn’t just about what’s on stage on Memorial Hall. It's about a whole change in the role of arts on campus," said Priscilla Bratcher, director of development in the Office of Executive Director for the Arts. The fund consists of an imme diate commitment of SIOO,OOO, while $1 million will come from the couple’s estate. Only 5 percent or about $50,000, TUESDAY. MARCH 4, 2008 Wright ethics hearing begins Panel may vote for expulsion BY DEVIN ROONEY ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR RALEIGH A legislative eth ics committee might recommend a Wilmington lawmaker's expulsion from the N.C. General Assembly today. If N.C. Rep. Thomas Wright, D-New Hanover, is expelled, he would be the first sitting legislator to be expelled from office in North Carolina since 1880. The N.C. House ofßepresentatrves ethics committee's investigation into allegations of unethical conduct by Wright has culminated in a two-dav evidentiary hearing, after which the committee will make a recommen dation to the full House regarding action against Wright The hearing is scheduled to end today, but the deliberations could spill over into the rest of the week, as multiple wit nesses remain to be heard. Wright’s law yers have consis tently challenged the investigation, arguing that because there is no explicit clause in the state con stitution grant ing the legisla- K K Rep. Thomas Wright, D-New Hanover, faces allegations of funding misuse. ture the right to discipline its own members, the committee is over stepping its bounds. They have also argued that the publicity the hearing is receiv ing will spoil the jury pool for the recently delayed criminal trial on similar charges. The special coun sel presenting evidence against Wright said the trial is tentatively scheduled for the end of March. One of Wright's attorneys, Doug Harris, burst out during Monday's hearing, firing oflf interrogations at the committee. “How far are we prepared to go in this sham to make this look like a fake hearing? How far are we pre pared to go?" The committee heard testimony Monday from four of the special counsel's seven witnesses. Wright has consistently denied wrongdoing and accordingly refuses to resign, despite bipartisan demand that he do so. The allegations Wright denies include misreporting $185,000 in campaign donations. He also allegedly deposited nearly $20,000 into his personal bank account, funds that were a mix of charitable donations and a business line of credit intended to go to a com munity organization. He w-as the organization’s chairman until it went defunct. Wright has admitted taking money from the SIO,OOO business line of credit. He allegedly depos ited $9,910 of that credit into his SEE WRIGHT PAGE 5 Ls now planned to be used, while the rest of the fund will be invested for future use, said Emil Kang, execu tive director of the arts. “It’s very important that we categorize it properly," Kang said. ‘Financial stability is the most important step to long-term suc cess and sustaining the legacy of Chancellor Moeser." Moeser, a concert organist by trade, has been responsible for many innovations in the arts pro gram. One of the biggest proj ects included the renovation of Memorial Hall, which reopened in summer 2005. ‘I am very appreciative. It w-as a wonderful surprise," Moeser said Friday. “The University Ls in a very good place right now, and I just want to keep it going." The costs of attracting artists to Chapel Hill vary greatly- and depend on the category of music that the University is targeting. Yo-Yo Ma’s performance had a price tag of SBO,OOO, while the St. Petersburg orchestra's visit to Memorial Hall in October cost the arts program $125,000. Bratcher said that the fund will SEE ENDOWMENT. PAGE 5 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 4, 2008, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75