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News
N.C. prisons overcrowded
BY JAKE RATLIFF
STAFF WRITER
N.C. prisons are expected to
run out of space this year, accord
ing to projections from the N.C.
Sentencing and Policy Advisory
Commission.
The growing prison population
is also proving to be a strain on
the states jails, which often serve
as a pressure release valve when
prisons don’t have enough room
for inmates. Prisons hold those
sentenced for felonies, while jails
hold those awaiting trial, those
sentenced for misdemeanors and
those confined for civil matters.
“If someone is going to the
Department of Correction but
there isn’t enough space, we’ll hold
him." Wake County Sheriff Donnie
Harrison said.
“It hurts us, but we understand
we have to work together."
According to the commission's
estimates, the N.C. prison popula
tion is expected to steadily increase
from 39,397 in June 2008 to 46,801
by June 2017, thereby exceeding
Expanded Operating Capacity by
885 to 6,137 prisoners, respectively.
The EOC is the number of inmates
a prison can legally hold and allows
Ram Village available for summer
BY ZACK LEVINE
STAFF WRITER
Ram Village Apartments will
host more than just summer school
students s<xin, as they now are open
for conference attendees to rent.
To reserve the apartments for
their guests, conferences must
have some sort of affiliation with
the University. Ram Village will be
rented out only to adult conferences,
said Rick Bradley, assistant director
in the Department of Housing and
Residential Education.
“While we do use many other
campus buildings for summer
athletic camps and academic pro
grams, Ram Village will be specifi
cally reserved for adult conferenc
es," Bradley said.
About five adult conferences
have already reserved rooms for
this summer.
Some of the already booked
programs include a gathering for
the Department of English and
Comparative Literature and anoth
er for graduate-level doctors.
Forum addresses land transfer tax
BY EVAN ROSE
STAFF WRITER
For Mark Zimmerman, vice
president of the Chapel Hill Board
of Realtors, and other realtors at a
Thursday forum on the land trans
fer tax referendum, the atmosphere
was particularly hostile.
"We’re facing a ruthless opposi
tion." Orange Counts - Commissioner
M ike Nelson said, referring to those
opposing the tax.
Zimmerman, dressed in his typi
cal how - tie and blazer, said in his
presentation that a land transfer tax
is also a sales tax, albeit on property,
that unfairly targets a specific pro
portion of the population.
The tax could place a 0.4 percent
tax on eligible property transactions
if it passes on die May 6 ballot.
National and World News
FROM THE
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Obama has tough
week, bright spots
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -
Barack Obama refers to the past
couple of weeks as a tough, tur
bulent stretch. And why not?
His foreign policy adviser quit
for calling Democratic presi
dential rival Hillary Rodham
Clinton a “monster." Then he
had to distance himself from
his longtime pastor's fiery state
ments, a controversy that threat
ened his image as a uniter. He
trails in polls in the upcoming
Pennsylvania primary Obama
also watched his lead wither in
national opinion surveys.
But as bad weeks go, things
certainly could have been
worse.
Obama received gener
ally favorable reviews for his
somber speech on the nation’s
racial divide, though it didn’t
completely silence the criticism
over his former pastor's rheto
ric. Then Florida and Michigan
indicated they would not hold
new primaries to replace the
contests that favored Clinton but
violated party rules. Campaign
finance reports showed him
far ahead in the money race.
And finally, he picked up the
much sought-after endorse
ment of New Mexico Gov. Bill
Richardson —one Clinton also
had coveted.
for 130 percent of a prison's Standard
Operating Capacity.
“I wouldn’t say we’re overcrowd
ed right now," said Keith Acree,
spokesman for the N.C. Department
of Correction, adding that there will
be overcrowding in the near future
if current trends persist
Although the number of inmates
is increasing. Acree said that prison
staff are not currently experiencing
additional stress.
“I wouldn’t say there is strain
right now because the courts do
not allow us to keep packing them
in past the EOC," Acree said.
The Department of Corrections
reimburses jails for temporarily
holding inmates, but that still cuts
into the Sheriff Department’s bud
get and sometimes leads to over
crowding. Harrison said.
“Jail is a short-term solution,"
said Susan Katzenelson. executive
director of the N.C. Sentencing and
Policy Advisory Commission. “As
a rule, jails are not a substitute for
prisons because they cannot provide
the same programs that prisons do."
While the Department of
Corrections is responsible for plan
ning new construction, it is the
General Assembly’s job to review
The Ram Village rental is part
of an attempt to expand the uses
of campus housing facilities while
most students are away.
The idea is to maximize the use
of our buildings in the summer as
opposed to leaving them empty,"
Bradley said.
The rooms can be rented at S6O
for a single or S3O for a double per
night. There are also weekly rates
to fit the needs of conferences last
ing more than a few days.
And renting Ram Village, as well
as other campus housing facilities,
allows the housing department to
give back to the students. The extra
money made by renting out these
apartments goes back into making
housing costs cheaper for students
at a time when the department is
facing budget challenges.
This new use of Ram Village
brings competition to other local
inns and hotels that have always
hosted conference attendees.
Mark Nelson, the director of
sales and marketing at the Carolina
Zimmerman said that accord
ing to his calculations, a sales tax
would cost $5 a year per resident.
One audience member pointed
out that a realtor’s 6 percent com
mission is much higher than the
0.4 percent land transfer tax.
Seven Orange County Democratic
precincts sponsored the event, which
brought together Kara Millonzi,
professor in the UNC School
of Government, N.C. Sen. Ellie
Kinnaird, D-Orange, Nelson and
Zimmerman.
Millonzi explained the technical
aspects of the tax.
She said that although the com
missioners passed a resolution of
intent to spend funds generated
bv the tax on schools and parks,
they have no power to bind future
Pakistan’s prime minister-in-waiting
faces tough course against Musharraf
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)
Pakistan’s prime minister-in
waiting has the experience and
track record to hold together an
unwieldy coalition as it moves
to neutralize President Pervez
Musharraf, lawmakers said.
But Yousaf Raza Gilani also
has a personal reason to ignore
Musharraf’s appeals for coopera
tion: he spent years in jail under
the U.S.-backed leader.
Lawmakers are expected to
confirm him in a parliamentary
vote Monday. He is a shoo-in after
opposition parties swept elec
tions last month and Musharraf
Cheney defends
Israel’s security
JERUSALEM (AP) - In
a bold defense of Israel, Vice
President Dick Cheney said
Saturday that the United States
wants anew beginning for the
Palestinian people but will never
pressure Israel to take steps that
would jeopardize its security.
Cheney, on an Easter week
end visit to Jerusalem and the
Palestinian territories, reaffirmed
Washington’s commitment to
establishing a Palestinian state
a feat he said would require pain
ful concessions on both sides. He
also said that the U.S. and Israel
must keep an eye on Iran and
other regional adversaries.
Chr Daily Car Rrrl
the department’s plans and appro
priate money, if any, to fund prison
expansion. Katzenelson said.
Some legislators support
decreasing the prison population
rather than expanding facilities.
N.C. Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird, D-
Orange. said the structured sen
tencing grid, which outlines mini
mum and maximum sentences for
criminals, is in need of reform.
“The grid has problems, but
every time legislators try to fix it
they're afraid to look soft on crime,"
she said. “It’s very short-sighted
public policy."
Kinnaird said that because many
inmates were abused as children,
the school system can help by con
necting social workers with children
from abusive homes.
“It's about trying to turn one into
a productive citizen, starting out as
children." she said.
North Carolina's growing prison
population reflects national trends
as one out of even - 100 adults in the
United States is currently behind
bars, according to a report from the
Pew Charitable Trusts.
Contact the State £? National
Editor at stntdesl:(a unc.edu.
Inn, said that 45 percent of the
Inn’s summer business is overnight
conferences but that it’s hard to say
what the effect of this new compe
tition will be.
“1 don't think it will take from
our business," Nelson said. “There
are differences ip what those peo
ple might need and the people that
stay here might need."
Nelson also said he has been
aware of Ram Village's new role
for some time and believes it is a
positive move.
“It’s a nice addition." he said. “It
gives folks a less expensive option
to do things on campus."
Housing department officials
said they believe renting out Ram
Village Apartments is an opportu
nity for growth. Bradley said.
“Making use of campus build
ings in the summer is something
all universities do," he said. “We
are looking to expand."
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@ unc.edu.
boards to do the same.
Kinnaird and Nelson encour
aged residents to consider the
county’s need to improve and
expand its educational system.
“We have great needs for schools,
and that's why people have been
urging us to try and find a solution
for this," Kinnaird said. “A sales tax
is a regressive tax. We need to be
fair and equitable."
Many audience members shared a
common concern. “I want my kids to
have great schools," Orange Count)
resident Desiree Goldman said.
If the referendum does not pass,
Nelson said the board might hare to
find funds by raising property taxes.
Contact the City Editor
at dtydesk@unc.edu.
is then expected to swear him in
Tuesday.
“Mr. Gilani is a man who suf
fered from Musharraf's martial
law," said Ahsan Iqbal, a law
maker for one of four parties
which have agreed to form a
new coalition government. “He
understands well that getting rid
of dictatorship is important."
Gilani, a loyalist of slain for
mer premier Benazir Bhutto, will
lead an administration facing
mounting economic problems,
including double-digit inflation,
power shortages and sagging for
eign investment.
Green Zone hit by
sustained assault
BAGHDAD (AP) Rockets
and mortars pounded Baghdad's
U.S.-protected Green Zone
Sunday and a suicide car bomber
struck an Iraqi army post in the
northern city of Mosul in a surge
of attacks that killed at least 57.
The latest violence underscored
the fragile security situation and
the resilience of both Sunni and
Shiite extremist groups as the war
enters its sixth rear.
Attacks in Baghdad probably
stemmed from rising tensions
between rival Shiite groups lt
was the most sustained assault
in months against the nerve cen
ter of the U.S. mission.