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New N.C. law to give municipalities more say over land planning
A new state law poised to take effect in October would give local governments more say over how UNC-system campuses and other state agencies change how they use their land within a community.
Some
assumed innocent
James Martin, physics
Fast
Internet planned for Eastern N.C.
Center for Marine Science and Technology
Getting
Involved: 'Fifty 50'
College of Design
Biotech
center construction begins
Contractors have broken ground on Johnston County's new biotechnology skills
training center near Clayton.
Former
Teachers Vie For Democratic Nod For State's Top Education Job
Marshall Stewart, former state agricultural education coordinator for N.C.
State University
What
if they held an election and nobody came?
Marshall Stewart, former state agricultural education coordinator for N.C.
State University
Editorial:
For N.C. schools chief
Marshall Stewart, former state agricultural education coordinator for N.C.
State University
Letter
to the editor: Consult the experts
Peter Batchelor, architecture
University's
new chancellor hits the ground running
Stephen Jones, former
vice chancellor
New N.C. law to give municipalities more say over land planning
Aug. 16, 2004
Associated Press; Winston Salem Journal; News & Observer; Wilmington Morning Star; Charlotte Observer; WCNC; News 14 Charlotte; WUNC; WVEC, VA
By Associated Press
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - A new state law poised to take effect in October would give local governments more say over how UNC-system campuses and other state agencies change how they use their land within a community.
The bill would give municipalities zoning authority over state construction that could include a new parking lot, athletic field, airplane runway or utility corridor. Most municipalities already have some regulatory authority over projects that include buildings.
The legislation also eliminates language that previously required the Council of State or someone else it designates to review any city plans that include state land in an overlay district or a special-use district.
The changes were placed in a "technical corrections" approved in the final days before the General Assembly adjourned last month. The governor has until midnight Tuesday to block the measure or it will become law.
The new regulations could cost the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "six figures on an annual basis with all the zoning compliance permits, paperwork and additional time," said Bruce Runberg, an associate vice chancellor for planning and construction.
"We believe it will have a significant impact on us," Runberg said.
Diana Steele, a Chapel Hill resident with property next to a large UNC-CH campus housing construction project, is pleased if the new law means town officials and the community could have more input into campus projects.
"Somebody seems to be paying good attention to livability," Steele said. "So much damage can be done in disturbing land, clear-cutting, leveling. ... Some of the biggest eyesores are leveled and/or paved without any structure."
Runberg said university planners typically seek the informal review and advice of town planners before moving forward with most construction.
The bill language came from a separate measure introduced last year by Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, with the stated intent to "clarify, simplify and modernize city and county planning and land-use management authority."
In Raleigh, where the state owns a lot of property, city leaders "generally have a pretty good relationship" with state government and North Carolina State University, assistant city manager Dan Howe said.
"For the city, it's always good to at least have a dialogue with the state when a project is planned," Howe said. "That's probably a good thing."
Aug. 17, 2004
News & Observer
By BARRY SAUNDERS
© Copyright 2004
Oh happy day! Could it be that we're witnessing the dawn of a new era of circumspection, that much-hoped-for time when people really are presumed innocent until proven guilty?
It'd be easy to draw that conclusion based upon the reaction to Jarrett William Brown's recent arrest.
It'd also be wrong.
Brown is the 17-year-old high school kid from Fuquay-Varina who was arrested last week after fleeing the scene of an accident. Police subsequently discovered a half-dozen pipe bombs in his car and the makings of 18 more in his bedroom.
But, hey, they were really small bombs, we've been assured.
Cary Police Lt. Tony Godwin was quoted in a News & Observer story soon after Brown's arrest saying, "As far as we know, there was no intention to bomb a school or hurt a person. ... It's not a Columbine-type situation."
Physics professor James Martin of N.C. State University assured me Monday that the bombs individually were only strong enough to take off a finger -- of the bomber. "The only person who usually gets hurt from these things is the person making them." He also said Brown was probably just "a prankster kid."
Oy vey. How many of you -- be honest, now -- reckon the response would have been so magnanimous and understanding had young Jarrett been named, say, Tyquan? Or Jamal? Or Akhtar?
I said be honest.
True enough, Brown faces 24 counts of possessing weapons of mass destruction and could get up to 30 years in prison. He also had to appear in court and television wearing the Wake County jail's hideous orange and white uniform, which clashed with his orange hair.
Nobody, at least I'm not, is trying to make the kid a spiritual descendant of the alleged anarchist robbers Sacco and Vanzetti. But neither should we rush, with no substantiating evidence, to make it seem that he naively cooked up some benign bombs with his sister's E-Z-Bake oven.
If that turns out to be the case, fine, but the presumption of innocence automatically granted Brown is galling, especially to those of us who watched Kamran Akhtar thrust to the top of everybody's "most dangerous" list -- and he was armed only with a camera.
Cops should indeed find out why Akhtar, a Pakistani in the United States illegally, was filming buildings across the South, but they should also find out why the kid with the orange hair had 24 bombs the day before school started.
Martin, the N.C. State professor, said to me and in a previous interview, "I'm frankly amazed at the way everything was so overblown. Making the bombs was a stupid thing to do, but don't lock him away for life just because we're hyperscared. ... Kids have always played with things that go 'boom'... . Most great discoveries were made by people pushing the limits."
Yeah, and so, sadly, were many acts of terrorism.
Instead of objecting to the presumption of innocence being granted Brown, perhaps we should merely hope that Tyquan, Jamal and Akhtar receive the same treatment when they're caught with two dozen small bombs.
Editorial: For N.C. schools chief
Aug. 17, 2004
Charlotte Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
If you're looking for a good argument for switching to an appointed superintendent of public schools in North Carolina, look no further than today's runoff election for the Democratic nomination.
Two good candidates are running -- vocational education specialist June Atkinson and agricultural education specialist Marshall Stewart. But the fact that it takes a costly statewide runoff election to determine one party's nominee for superintendent of public instruction -- after a July 20 primary that was notable for its small turnout -- suggests there's a more efficient way to select the state schools chief. It should be appointive, either by the governor or the state board of education, and perhaps subject to confirmation by the legislature. After all, the governor has more to do with the education agenda than any other official.
The winner of today's runoff will face Republican Bill Fletcher this fall. Eligible to vote in the runoff are Democrats plus unaffiliated voters who either voted in the Democratic primary or didn't vote July 20. Also on the ballot elsewhere are heated runoffs for Republican nominations for Congress in the 5th and 10th districts, plus a handful of legislative and other races.
Marshall Stewart, who led the primary voting for superintendent by a few thousand votes, was a school bus driver in high school who earned a doctorate at N.C. State, taught in Sampson County schools and became an agricultural education leader for the National FFA. He has proposed a statewide bond issue for schools and wants to reduce the state's reliance on standardized tests to judge student and teacher performance.
June Atkinson also earned a doctorate at N.C. State, taught business in Virginia and in Charlotte and headed the N.C. education department's division of instructional services before retiring to run for office. She wants to improve working conditions for teachers and says her departmental experience would enable her to take command of the educational bureaucracy immediately.
Both candidates agree on important issues -- boosting teacher pay and helping public schools build on the progress N.C. students have made over the last decade. Because of her classroom experience and her work directing the state's instructional services, the Observer's editorial board recommends June Atkinson for the Democratic nomination for superintendent of public instruction in today's runoff.
What if they held an election and nobody came?
Aug. 17, 2004
Jacksonville Daily News
By MIKE SHERRILL
© Copyright 2004
A runoff election with a lone statewide Democratic primary is expected to attract few voters today.
Maybe even less than that.
While more than 10,000 participated in the oddly timed July primary, Onslow County election officials anticipate only 500 for the superintendent of public instruction battle. Many residents have said they didn't know about it, Onslow County Election Board Director Rose Whitehurst said Monday.
All 23 Onslow precincts will be running from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today, albeit with fewer volunteers and only two voting machines per site.
"If there were local races, by all means, full throttle. Everything would be the same," Whitehurst said.
Except for voters and volunteers, much else will be the same including the price tag. The runoff will cost Onslow $25,000 to $30,000, similar to the full-scale primary, Whitehurst said.
"They're not cheap, but we have to do it. That's the law," Whitehurst said.
North Carolina election officials said it will cost the state about $3 million, according to reports.
Today's race pits June Atkinson, 55, a longtime Department of Public Instruction administrator, against Marshall Stewart, 41, former state agricultural education coordinator for N.C. State University.
In July, Stewart won 35 percent of the statewide vote to Atkinson's 34.
Onslow held one-stop voting from Aug. 10 to 14, and officials had received a handful of the 50 absentee ballots, which were needed at the local election office by 5 p.m. Monday, Whitehurst said.
Onslow has about 67,000 registered voters, but few are expected to participate.
According to reports, runoff turnout since 1990 has ranged from 19 percent in a U.S. Senate race to 2.5 percent for a Labor Commissioner.
Fast Internet planned for Eastern N.C.
Aug. 17, 2004
News & Observer
By JONATHAN B. COX
© Copyright 2004
Sprint and a group of public and private partners today will announce a $14.6 million plan to build high-speed data links across Eastern North Carolina.
The initiative is designed to improve health care and learning in remote counties east of Interstate 95 and increase high-speed Internet connections to homes.
Rural areas have struggled to get the speedy connections necessary for advanced Internet applications. Because homes and businesses are so spread out, companies such as Sprint, the biggest provider of phone service in Eastern North Carolina, have said it is too expensive to install the gear.
The partners declined to say precisely when the project will be complete but said results should be evident by the end of the year.
"This is more like the interstate highways through the eastern part of the state," said Jane Patterson, executive director of the e-NC Authority, a group created by the General Assembly to help link all state residents to the Web. "To be a part of the world economy, you have to be able to connect to it."
Specifically, the broadband plan includes a gigabit Ethernet network to improve services of hospitals and schools in the east. The connection, with speeds 650 times those now used, will let medical centers such as Bertie Memorial Hospital in Bertie County instantly share X-rays and consult with doctors at bigger facilities.
Elizabeth City State University and N.C. State University's Center for Marine Science and Technology in Morehead City will also plug into the network.
"Now they have real big pipes," said Wolfgang Gentzsch, managing director of MCNC, a Research Triangle Park nonprofit that seeks to boost technology to help economic development. "Through real big pipes they now have access to data resources, to expensive experiments."
Sprint will add equipment in 20 offices where gear is housed to deploy digital subscriber lines, or DSL, a way for consumers to access the Web quickly. It will install gear in 45 remote switching offices so more people in the communities where it already offers the service can purchase the high-speed links. The company will charge monthly fees for the service that it has financial help setting up.
The phone company is contributing $6.37 million to the project. E-NC will chip in $2.93 million, and MCNC will pay $1.11 million. The Golden Leaf Foundation, which oversees state funds from the tobacco settlement, is adding $2 million; the Albemarle-Pamlico Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit, will pay $1.21 million; and the University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina will add $1 million.
As part of the agreement, Sprint also will purchase some fiber-optic conduits that the Albemarle-Pamlico group built. Phone companies complained a couple years ago when that group sought state money to build the fiber lines in conjunction with a natural-gas pipeline. They said it was unfair for government to compete with industry.
The revised broadband project could also draw critics. The e-NC, formerly the Rural Internet Access Authority, last year awarded a $200,000 grant to Sprint to put DSL in rural communities. Some rivals were unhappy, saying the government group should help small businesses, not large companies.
The public-private partnership could raise similar concerns. Patterson defended the project.
"This partnership is really an important forward step in bringing these kinds of infrastructure enhancements," she said. Eastern North Carolina needs high-speed access "now rather than five years from now."
Aug. 17, 2004
News & Observer
By Joyce Sykes
© Copyright 2004
'FIFTY 50': N.C. State University's College of Design and three of its alumni will host a photography exhibit featuring the work of noted Raleigh architect Brian Shawcroft from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sept. 3. Shawcroft is a former visiting associate professor of architecture at N.C. State, where he taught courses in architectural design and photography. The exhibit, "Fifty 50," featuring 50 of Shawcroft's photographs taken during the past 50 years, will be held at the Brooks Hall Gallery, on Pullen Drive on the N.C. State campus in Raleigh. An opening reception is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Monday. To make reservations for the reception, contact Emily Freeman at 515-8313 or emily_freeman@@ncsu.edu.
Biotech center construction begins
Aug. 17, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
CLAYTON -- Contractors have broken ground on Johnston County's new biotechnology skills training center near Clayton.
Centurion Construction of Raleigh is building the 30,000- square-foot building, which will cost $4 million to construct and equip. Johnston Community College will operate the center and offer some classes through N.C. State University.
Michael DeSherbinin, the county's economic development director, said Centurion hopes to begin work on the building this month. The training center is slated to open in August 2005.
The county is paying most of the tab, with nearby pharmaceutical companies chipping in the rest. The center sits on 8 acres donated by Novo Nordisk.
Letter to the editor: Consult the experts
Aug. 17, 2004
News & Observer
© Copyright 2004
Regarding the Aug. 11 news story "Center sketches received tepidly": The tepid reactions of Raleigh City Council members Janet Cowell and Neal Hunt to the architect's sketches of the proposed convention center are to be taken seriously. We will have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars if this is not a signature building. Raleigh stands to gain both increased tourism and local development opportunities from a building that inspires the world to visit us, a fact that is not lost on our city council representatives.
On the other hand, these same two council members voted against urban design suggestions made by the North Hills Neighborhood Association for improvements that would have made the new North Hills shopping center a better fit with the neighborhood.
This raises an important issue for the city: Should we depend upon the opinions of city council members in matters of good urban and architectural design, or should we seek broader input from both the design professions and the public in matters of such great significance?
Peter Batchelor
Professor of architecture
N.C. State University
Raleigh
Former Teachers Vie For Democratic Nod For State's Top Education Job
Aug. 16, 2004
WRAL-TV
By Laurie Clowers
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Tuesday's runoff election will only feature one statewide race on the ballot -- Democratic candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction. One percent of the vote separated Marshall Stewart and June Atkinson in the primary.
Both Stewart and Atkinson want to make sure every child in every county gets a quality education. For Stewart, it is personal. He grew up in rural Sampson County.
"I remember going to N.C. State and being in a biology lab, and I had never done a biology lab in high school. Now, that's nothing bad about my high school. They did everything they could," he said.
Stewart wants to bridge the gap between urban and rural school districts by developing a common education agenda with ideas from educators, administrators, and legislators.
Atkinson said she would reach out to businesses and higher education -- especially to help reduce the drop-out rate.
"These programs must help students see why it's important to stay in school, so we've got a lot of work to do to keep those students in school," she said.
Both Atkinson and Marshall want to reorganize the Department of Public Instruction to make it effective. Atkinson touts her experience as director of instruction at DPI as giving her an edge over her opponent.
"I have in-depth experience. I have breadth and depth of knowledge about how education works in North Carolina," she said.
Stewart's experience includes his last position as director of Agriculture Education at North Carolina State, but he has no qualms about being called a newcomer to DPI.
"I think the difference is fresh ideas, a new face, new leadership versus, perhaps, status quo. To me, that's the difference," he said.
The winner will face Republican Bill Fletcher in November.
Department of Energy Awards North Carolina State University $345,000 in Nuclear Energy Grants
Aug. 16, 2004
US Newswire via Yahoo
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C, Aug. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Department of Energy (DOE) today awarded North Carolina State University $345,000 in grants to support nuclear energy technology education and infrastructure.
"This year's grants continue an upward trend in support of education that has been a hallmark of this administration," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (news - web sites) said. "The investment we make today in the education of a new generation of nuclear engineers and scientists will pay tremendous dividends in the future of this country."
The breakdown of the grants follows:
-- Nuclear Engineering Education Research, Industry Matching grant, Reactor Sharing, Fellowship and Student Scholarships
The 47 Nuclear Engineering Education Research grants will be awarded to 28 U.S. universities which will allow professors and students to conduct innovative and state-of-the-art nuclear engineering research. Of the total $5 million to be awarded, approximately $2.7 million is for 26 new awards in FY 2004 and $2.3 million for 21 continuing awards from prior years.
The Department of Energy will award 26 matching grants to universities throughout the country, leveraging public-private contributions through a 50-50 cost-share arrangement that allows funds to be directed to the specific needs of an institution's school of nuclear engineering. Twenty reactor instrumentation upgrade grants and 21 reactor sharing grants will permit equipment improvements at the reactors and better use of the reactors as educational facilities, for purchase of new equipment, support for students, faculty and research.
The department's Office of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology will award over 100 new nuclear technology grants to 37 U.S. universities and 72 scholarships and fellowships to outstanding college students pursuing careers in nuclear science and engineering.
This award is one of $22 million in awards to 37 universities nationwide to support the development of a new generation of technical specialists that will serve the Nation's requirements in areas such as energy, medicine, scientific research, national defense, nonproliferation and environmental protection.
Additional information on this and other DOE nuclear science and engineering educational initiatives that are sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology is available at http://www.nuclear.gov.
University's new chancellor hits the ground running
Aug. 17, 2004
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK
By TOM MORAN
© Copyright 2004
Stephen Jones wasn't too far from the truth Monday when he joked that National Institutes of Health head Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who flew into town the night before, "has been in Alaska about as long as I have."
Jones, UAF's new chancellor, flew into Fairbanks on July 26 and started work on Aug. 1. Monday's press conference with Zerhouni to announce a pair of major NIH grants was one of Jones' first public appearances in his new position.
Jones said the grant ties nicely into what he hopes to accomplish as UAF's fifth chancellor.
"It's an important focus of this university, and of mine, to do all I can to ensure that we continue to grow and integrate research across the campus," he said.
Jones was chosen in May from a field of four candidates vying to replace retiring Marshall Lind as UAF chancellor. The chancellor works as UAF's chief executive officer, reporting to the university president, and is responsible for all aspects of UAF administration.
While he started drawing a paycheck this month, Jones already had Fairbanks on his mind while at his previous job as vice chancellor at North Carolina State University, where he oversaw the university's extension, outreach, and distance and continuing education efforts. After accepting the UAF job, Jones said he took some leave time and flew to Washington, D.C., to meet with all three members of Alaska's Congressional delegation as well as federal officials with agencies that deal with UAF.
"It was a good way for me to ... allow folks with whom we deal closely to connect the face with the name, and just talk about issues and opportunities."
Jones has moved into the chancellor's residence on campus--"It'll be my first time ever having a freshman dorm as a next-door neighbor," he noted--and said he's spent most of the time since Aug. 1 in a steady series of meetings with the important faces at UAF and in Fairbanks.
"It's orientation by total immersion," he said.
Jones has made only a few public appearances, including appearing at the UAF booth at the Tanana Valley State Fair, and said Monday's announcement by Zerhouni was the first "momentous" event he's attended. He said he's expecting his busy schedule to get busier when fall classes start Sept. 2.
Jones said he and his wife Judy have been impressed with the reception they've received.
"What continues to strike us is just the incredibly warm and friendly welcome by the people in the university and external to the university, the level of passionate enthusiasm and excellence I see across the university," he said.
On the other hand, Jones said the climate's been less accommodating than the locals, indicating the thick pall of smoke that obscured Fairbanks Monday from the UAF campus.
"And I thought by now I would have been able to say, 'and the magnificent scenery,'" he said.