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UNIVERSITY BRIEFS
Trustee adds to $1 million
gift to creative writing grant
UNC Board ofTrustees member
Sallie Shuping-Russell presented
the creative writing department
a donation that, combined with a
grant from the N.C. Distinguished
Professors Endowment Thist, will
total $1 million.
Beginning in the fall semester of
2009, the gift will allow students
to work and study alongside active
writers in a program called “Living
Writers’
This is the first gift received
under new Chancellor Holden
Thorp. The ‘Living Writers’ course
will be the only semester-length
class offered on campus that is
solely based on visiting writers.
UNC School of Public Health
receives toxicology grant
The UNC School of Public
Health received a $3.4 million grant
from the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to help with the cre
ation of the Carolina Center for
Computational Toxicology.
The center will develop new
methods by which scientists can
predict the effect of drugs and
chemicals released into the envi
ronment on people who might be
susceptible to such climate dis
ruptions.
Play Makers to participate
in Shakespeare program
Play Makers Repertory Company,
the professional theater com
pany at UNC, has been chosen as
one of 40 theater companies to
participate in “Shakespeare for
a New Generation," the largest
Shakespearean tour in American
history.
Chosen by the National
Endowment for the Arts, their pro
duction will be directed by produc
ing artistic director Joseph Haj.
The companies will perform
ll've Shakespeare for middle and
high school students at the Paul
Green Theatre in UNC s Center for
Dramatic Art on Sept 24 to Oct. 12.
STATE BRIEFS
Durham Couple accused of
practicing violent satanism
A Durham couple active in the
county's Democratic Party has been
accused of involvement in satanic
practices, which included starv
ing people, tying them to beds and
trapping them in cages.
Joseph Scott Craig w as charged
with second-degree kidnapping,
rape and assault with a deadly
weapon. His wife, Joy Johnson,
former third vice chairwoman of
the Durham County Democratic
Party, was charged with aiding and
abetting.
The couple appeared in court
June 30 after spending the week
end in county jail. Johnson s bail is
currently held at $270,000, while
Craig's is held at $500,000.
Mary Easley & Cos. spend
$109,000 on trips to Europe
During the past 14 months, Mary
Easley, North Carolina's first lady,
visited France, Russia and Estonia
“to visit major museums for sis
ter city cultural arts exchanges,"
according to the expense report
filed with the state.
Easley, along with an entourage
which included her executive assis
tant and a state trooper for secu
rity, flew to Russia in business-class
seats that cost a total of $34,388.
In St. Petersburg, the group was
chauffeured in a Mercedes-Benz
that cost more than $27,000 and
stayed m an SBOO-a-night hotel.
In total, the trips cost tax payers
$109,000.
The trips were intended to build
relationships with museum offi
cials, which could lead to a loan of
their exhibits similar to the Monet
exhibit in late 2006 and early 2007
that came to the N.C. Museum of
Art. The trips have produced no
tangible results thus far.
SPORTS BRIEFS
UNC athletes nominated
for ESPN's national awards
Two athletes from North
Carolina have been nominated for
ESPY awards, the end-of-year hon
ors doled out by ESPN.
Tyler Hansbrough and Rachel
Dawson have been nominated for
best male and female college ath
lete, respectively. Hansbrough was
a consensus all-American and the
NCAA men’s basketball Player of
the Year.
Dawson led the UNC field hock
ey team to an undefeated season
and a national championship.
The award show will be televised
July 20 on ESPN. The winners will
be determined by online votes at
www.espys.tv between July 1 and
July 12.
-From staff and irirr reports
Amber Alley to get face-lift
Stairways and lighting to be improved
BY ANDREW CUMMINGS
STAFF WRITER
One of Chapel Hill’s most
famous alleyways will be renovat
ed soon with the hope of making it
safer and more prepared to handle
its large amounts of foot traffic.
Amber Alley, which ‘runs
between Bandido’s Mexican Cafe
and the building that used to hold
the famous Rathskeller restaurant,
is a popular cut-through for pedes
trians going to Franklin Street from
Wallace parking deck.
“The alley is considered a major
gateway to Franklin Street," said
George Draper, owner of the build
ing that houses Bandido’s and the
popular club Players.
Draper said talks to improve the
alley have been going on for years
but really took steam near the
beginning of 2008.
But one of the main problems
was finding the funding to support
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DTH/STEPHANIE NIEVES
Local youth rehearse a key scene in the play “The Music Man," which they will be performing later this summer. This is the second year in a
row that Play Makers joined the Arts Center of Carrboro in providing local youth with the five-week theater training program.
FROM RIVER CITY TO UNC
Play Makers sees kids shine in The Music Man’
BY BENNETT CAMPBELL
SENIOR WRITER
Tom Quamtancc is directing a play.
Never mind the fact that some members
of his cast are as young as 9 years old or that
they have about a month to prepare.
For Quaintance, one cf the directors
at Chapel Hill's esteemed Play Makers
Repertory Company, things aren’t much
different than usual.
“1 don't really deal with kids much dif
ferently than I deal with adults,” said
Quaintance. director of “The Music Man."
“We had a sing-through yesterday that
was amazingly successful considering we
just started rehearsing last week, and it was
a lot of fun. I think we re exactly where we
want to be right now."
“The Music Man" Is the production put on
as part of the Summer Youth Conservatory
—a dual effort, now in its second sum
mer, between Play Makers and Carrboro's
Arts Center that gives 40 area students a
chance to get involved in a production.
The actors, ranging in age from 9 to 18, have
taken notice of the air of professionalism.
Rail system talks renewed
Increased sales tax may be revenue
BY DEVIN ROONEY
STATE A NATIONAL EDITOR
The Special Transit Advisory
Commission's proposal for light
rail in the Triangle might be get
ting a boost if a bill in the N.C.
House of Representatives, spon
sored by N.C. Rep. Becky Carney,
D-Mecklenburg, gets passed.
The bill went to a vote before the
House in June but was passed back
into committee.
The bill would allow counties
to hold referendums to impose a
half-cent sales tax that would help
fund and earn matching funds for
new mass transportation systems.
It’s modeled after the same system
Charlotte used to get its light rail
and bus system, which began oper
ation in 2007.
The funding could be used to
support the $2 billion transpor
tation development plan, which
includes light rail, proposed earlier
this spring by the Special TYansit
Advisory Commission.
Top News
the renovation project, he said. The
alley is privately owned, with Draper
owning half and the owner of the
building that houses the Rathskeller
owning the other half.
“Most people don’t even think
of it as private property," he said.
“Police even use it. People mainly
use it as a cut-through.’
Draper said that the original plan
was to give the property to the town
but that the town’s attorney decided
the town didn't need the liability.
Instead. Draper proposed that the
town help pay for the renovations
but not take control of the property.
On June 25, the Chapel Hill Town
Council passed a resolution setting
aside $60,000 for the renovations
from the town's Streetscape Bond
Funds. Draper said alley owners also
will put up around $43,000.
Tow r n Council member Sally
Greene said that the project is an
important one. and that she hopes it
“Everyone here is very professional," said
Alex Daly, a recent graduate of Durham
Academy who plays the lead role of profes
sor Harold Hill.
“Tom's very intense, but he’s a really smart
guy. There are some cool staging things and
a lot of dancing. Everything is very intense.
My particular role is very intensive, but
there’s so much help available," he said.
Daly's character is a scam artist who enters
a town attempting to convince its residents
that he can lead a band, and he tries to sell
them uniforms and instruments.
It's a striking contrast to the role of this
summer s conservatory itself.
Jeffrey Meanza, PlayMakers' director of
education and outreach said the conserva
tory is a long-overdue collaboration with the
Arts Center that has resulted in a challeng
ing but enjoyable experience for the young
actors certainly no scam.
“There are very high expectations for the
students in what we re encouraging them to
develop as artists." Meanza said. “The experi
ence itself is a testament to how successful
it is we have a very high return rate from
It would increase bus sendees
and build light rail and diesel
motor lines to expand public
transportation options in Orange,
Durham, Wake, Franklin. Johnston
and Chatham counties.
But plans are still in the works,
said Kenneth Withrow, senior
transportation planner for Capital
Area Metropolitan Planning
Organization.
“There has not been any closure
on that at all," Withrow said.
CAMPO was part of the Special
Transit Advisory Commission,
although Withrow was not part of
the commission himself.
The Durham-Chapel Hill-
Carrboro Metropolitan Planning
Organization also was involved in
the process of designing the poten
ial light rail system fortheTHangle
aid deciding how to integrate the
system into the area.
The commission met from May
2007 to April 2008 and presented
its final report to the planning
will encourage cooperation between
the public and private sectors.
“1 think it’s an excellent use of the
Streetscape Bond Fund," she said.
"This is a good example of the kind
of public-private cooperation that
the town wants to continue to see."
Draper said the development
plans are in progress right now.
‘We are trying to get it all done
before fall session starts." he said.
"Now is the best time."
Though the walkway, which gets
slick when wet. sometimes can be
tricky, the back stairs closest to the
parking deck are an area of real
concern. Draper said.
“The back stairs are worn down
and can be dangerous," he said.
“There is about a 30 degree slope
after the last stair. So they’ll prob
ably excavate and add about three
steps to the bottom."
1 >raper said the owners of the alley
also will replace the awnings and
improve the lighting in the alley.
SEE AMBER ALLEY. PAGE 9
last summer."
Daly also said working in UNC’s Center for
Dramatic Art has l>een a positive experience.
“The space is fantastic. We re working in
a professional theater with a professional set
and costumes and lighting and everything,"
he said. “The resources for dramaturgy and
research are great, and y ou just have tons of
creative brains to pick."
Nora Burgard, a rising sophomore at
Chapel Hill High School who plays the
female lead, Marian Paroo, agreed.
“The bar is so high, and since the adults
are so demanding in a good way every
one is really focused," she said. “It’s really
nice to have a whole cast that can sort of just
dive in and be easy to work with."
Until the opening show July 24 at Paul
Green Theater, the students will continue to
block the scenes, memorize their lines and
develop their characters.
But the results of the conservatory. Meanza
said, will stretch much longer than that.
“Character development isn’t just in the
artistic sense," he said. “It's really about
developing your own character."
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DTH/MAGGIE HUTAFF
organizations at a joint meeting
May 21.
The central part of the plan
is to build 56 miles of light rail
by 2020, including a line from
Chapel Hill to Durham. A heavi
er rail system would connect
Durham, Cary, Raleigh and the
airport.
Weekday ridership on a iight-
SEE LIGHT RAIL PAGE 9
DTH/STEPHANIE NIEVES
Though Amber Alley is a convenient
cut-through between Rosemary and
Franklin streets, many users find its
dark atmosphere disconcerting.
Consultants say campus
will add jobs to town
BY BRIAN AUSTIN
UNIVERSITY EDITOR
Consultants hired by the
University have estimated that
research campus Carolina North
would result in the creation of more
than 8.600 jobs, hut town officials
remain wary of the project's poten
tial effects on local communities.
Consultants Howard Kohn of
The Chesapeake Group and Carson
Bise ofTischlerßise presented a fis
cal impact analysis of the first 15
years of development on Carolina
North to the Chapel Hill Town
Council, the Orange County Board
of Commissioners and the Carrboro
Board of Aldermen on June 26.
The analyses showed direct and
indirect consequences of the project,
further broken down between two
scenarios that would both develop
2.5 million square feet of the site.
Direct impacts come immediate
ly from the site itself, such as taxes
and increased services. Indirect
benefits create “economic spin-
THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2008
Student
officials
see job
benefits
Stipends, perks
differ by position
BY SARAH E.F. SMITH
STAFF WRITER
While some student leaders
receive monetary stipends or other
perks for their work, others who
put in the same long hours do not
receive any compensation.
Some executive branch offices of
student government such as student
body president, vice president, sec
retary and treasurer receive varying
annual stipends, which are financed
by student funds.
“Generally, stipends and other
forms of compensation help to
make student leadership oppor
tunities possible because of finan
cial needs," said Associate Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs
Christopher Payne.
Originally, the idea behind
stipends grew out of a desire to
include those student government
leaders who might have otherwise
had financial difficulty. Student
Body President J.J. Raynor said.
“On top of school work, there
are added responsibilities and a
lack of privacy," Ray nor said. “It's
a full-time job all hours of the
day —with meetings at night and
during class. It’s a lot of fun, but it's
something that would impair abil
ity to hold another job."
At $3,600 per year for the stu
dent body president and $2,400
per year for the vice president. UNC
gives some of the lowest stipends for
student government leaders in the
UNC system. N.C. State University.
Western Carolina University and
UNC-Greensboro offer higher sti
pends to executive branch leaders.
Even so, many student govern
ment leaders find the stipends help
ful in offsetting costs of gas and the
professional wardrobe required for
the job. Student Body Vice President
Todd Dalrymple said.
“This job prevents you from
working part time," Dalrymple
said. “And if you have to be around
in the summer like me. it prevents
you from taking that internship in
the city. So it really does help."
In addition to or in place of
stipends, some student leaders
receive non-monetary compensa
tion for their work. The student
body president receives a parking
pass for any spot on campus and
basketball season tickets from the
UNC Board ofTrustees.
Andrew Coonin, Carolina
Athletic Association president,
does not receive a monetary sti
pend. but receives basketball tick
ets to every game, he said.
Still, other student leaders, many
who also do not have time for a part
time job because of their on-campus
duties, do not receive compensation
of any kind for their work, such as
the president of the Campus Y or
the senior class officers.
In the past, proposals made with
in the executive branch to provide
stipends for a wider range of posi
tions were rejected. Raynor said.
“I personally think it would be
a good idea to have involvement
stipends for other student leaders,
especially those who have made a
significant commitment to student
life," Raynor said.
SEE STIPENDS. PAGE 9
*lfs one of the most
incredibly fruitful
economic development
projects I've ever seen.”
JESSE WHITE, DIRECTOR OF UNC OFFICE
OF ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
off* in local communities, includ
ing more jobs and higher incomes
that result from the project, but are
not directly related to it.
More than 5,000 new jobs are
expected to be indirect benefits.
Projecting deficits
Since most property at Carolina
North will be exempt from tax
rolls because it will be owned by
the University, there will be little
direct benefit to the towm. In fact,
SEE CNORTH, PAGE 9
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