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Easley positions himself on right
Andy Taylor, political scienceAnimal shelter looks for shelter
Kelli Ferris, clinical sciencesNCEITA nomination deadline is Friday
Larry Monteith, former chancellorEDC promotes economic development
The Workforce Development Center is a joint project between Johnston County Schools, Johnston Community College, North Carolina State University and local pharmaceutical companies to prepare students for careers in the growing biotechnology field.
Tailgating
preps for NC State-Ohio State game
If you plan on tailgating at this Saturday's NC State-Ohio State football
game there are a few things you will need to know.
Hockey
lockout is now a reality
RBC Center
Opinion:
Getting what you pay for?
UNC Board of Governors
Friends
die in double shooting
tailgating shooting
God
and Man at Duke University
The Pope Center for Higher Education is planning a gathering
for later this fall at North Carolina State University.
Obituary:
DOREEN UNDERWOOD
craft center
Easley positions himself on right
Sept. 16, 2004
Charlotte Observer
By ANNA GRIFFIN
© Copyright 2004
On the stump and over the airwaves, Democratic Gov. Mike Easley is going after challenger Patrick Ballantine on issues that are supposed to be Republican strong points: accusing him of lying to voters, planning a massive tax hike and spending wildly while a member of the General Assembly.
Take, for example, this snippet from a recent Easley radio spot. The ad features two fictional old-timers named Bill and Henry, sitting a spell -- those are Henry's words for it -- and talking about Ballantine's endorsement from the State Employees Association of North Carolina's political action committee.
The group says Ballantine promised them 5 percent raises over each of the next three years, a notion Henry finds startling:
"Whew!" he says in the ad. "I guess he'll have to raise taxes to do that. Sounds like Ballantine has got that disease they get in the legislature: Spendingitis."
They guffaw, and Bill quotes his morning paper as saying that Ballantine, who has not said exactly how he'll pay for the raises, voted to boost state spending by $800 million in the three years before Easley took office.
"I guess Ballantine thinks he's Santa Claus," Henry says.
Conventional political wisdom says that in a race involving an incumbent, voters will make their choice based on how they feel about the guy currently in office -- and that the incumbent shouldn't be giving his opponent any free press.
Easley, however, has never been a conventional politician. Instead of ignoring Ballantine, he has launched a clear and aggressive attempt to define Ballantine before the Republican nominee, still catching his breath from the July 20 Republican primary, has the money and the media buys to do it himself. It's a strategy that is becoming the norm for Democrats running statewide in North Carolina: Attacking Republicans on the issues that are historically their strengths.
"This is not surprising," said Bob Rosser, Ballantine's campaign director. "We believe the reason the governor's campaign has gone after Patrick Ballantine with personal, negative attacks is that we've touched a nerve by reaching out to people with Patrick's conservative message."
Four years ago, Easley accused Richard Vinroot of raising taxes and pushing for tougher gun control laws as mayor of Charlotte and a City Council member. Expect even more of those attacks against Ballantine, a man who spent 10 years in the General Assembly and cast thousands of votes. In the late 1990s, Ballantine helped lead Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly and was a frequent and vocal critic of Hunt's spending priorities. At the same time, he voted for several budgets that increased the amount the state spent each year by hundreds of millions of dollars.
"We are holding Patrick Ballantine accountable for things he has said and done," said Jay Reiff, Easley's campaign manager. "He is making promises he cannot keep and saying things that are not true."
Ballantine's decision to promise state workers a hefty pay hike, while also pledging lower taxes, opened the door for Bill and Henry.
"This is how Easley does it, by positioning himself to the right of you," said Jack Hawke, who advised Vinroot's 2000 campaign and worked for fellow Republican George Little in the 2004 GOP primary. "I don't know how you can possibly call Patrick a tax-and-spender, but I know why they're trying. Every attack against Richard picked off a few votes."
The votes added up, especially in Eastern North Carolina, the state's Democratic heartland -- and an area where Republicans must not get swamped if they have any hope of winning. Down East voters kept Jesse Helms in the Senate all those years and helped give George W. Bush a 13-point cushion over Al Gore here four years ago. They also helped Easley take the governor's mansion despite Bush's strong showing. Easley beat Vinroot in 46 of 49 counties east of U.S. 1 in 2000.
The governor's current ads aim to keep Helms-loving Democrats in the fold, and tamp down enthusiasm for Ballantine among fiscal conservatives across North Carolina. Bill and Henry, for instance, could be heard on talk radio stations last week during breaks from Dr. Laura and Rush Limbaugh.
Even Easley's newest positive TV ad, about school improvements during his first term, seemed designed to appeal to Republicans and independent voters. In the spot, Easley talks about his creation of a statewide character education program and tighter school uniform codes, not his efforts to reduce the teacher-to-student ratio or his call for a statewide lottery for public school funding. School children recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the words "one nation, under God," coming through clearly over the narration.
"This is all propelled by electoral necessity," said Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at N.C. State. "If everybody voted straight ticket based on who they choose in the presidential race, the Democrats would lose. They need to blur party lines to a certain extent."
Republicans and right-leaning pundits sputter with frustration when they talk about Easley's strategy, even as they acknowledge that the ads are clever.
"It's just bizarre," said John Hood, head of the John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh think tank. "I think it shows that they know where their vulnerabilities are: They are not arguing that Gov. Easley's fiscal stewardship has been a good thing for the state. ... Instead, they're trying to focus attention on the other guy."
Ballantine has been just as pointed in his criticisms of Easley, noting that the governor raised taxes and led North Carolina during a lousy economy. But his first major TV advertisement since winning the Republican primary sticks to the positive. His new ad features a series of stirring images, with a voiceover declaration that a sense of optimism is returning to North Carolina and that, "Our hope is Patrick Ballantine."
The narrator makes no mention of Mike Easley, whom Ballantine has accused of being an absentee governor, but he doesn't need to. The last image in the ad, after Ballantine's smiling face and a somewhat incongruous shot of a space shuttle taking off, is the words, "Leadership: Coming Soon."
The Governor Gets Aggressive
Gov. Mike Easley is going after his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine, questioning Ballantine's record and his veracity. Here are a few of the things Easley and his campaign have said about Ballantine, and the facts behind their claims:
STATE EMPLOYEES ENDORSEMENT
"(Ballantine) promised them a 15 percent pay raise. . . . I guess he'll have to raise taxes to do that." -- Easley radio ad.THE SKINNY: State employees say Ballantine has promised them 5 percent raises over each of the next three years, but he has not provided details about how he'll pay for the increase. He's promised not to raise taxes, and wants to restructure the state's tax system in a way that could raise some taxes while lowering others.
STATE SPENDING
"In the three years before Easley got in, Ballantine voted to increase spending $800 million a year." -- Easley radio ad.
THE SKINNY: Those were Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt's budgets, and the economy was in much better shape at the time.
TEST SCORES
"His hometown newspaper says Ballantine is not telling the truth about our students' test scores. In fact, test scores are way up." -- Easley TV ad.
THE SKINNY: Ballantine has said the state's schools need improvement. Test scores have risen under Govs. Hunt and Easley, although North Carolina still falls below the national average on the SATs.
TAXES
"In his ads, Patrick Ballantine isn't telling the truth about taxes." -- Easley radio ad.
THE SKINNY: Ballantine says Easley raised taxes three times. Easley says he only did it once. The difference boils down to what you consider a tax increase: Easley publicly called for a temporary tax hike in 2001, then allowed local governments to raise their sales tax rates in 2002. In 2003, he and the legislature opted to extend the temporary increases.
Sept. 15, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
If you plan on tailgating at this Saturday's NC State-Ohio State football game there are a few things you will need to know.
The most important of which is regarding access to the parking lots in Trinity Road.
NC State officials said State Fairgrounds police will begin securing those lots Friday morning at 8 a.m.
Fans will not be allowed into the lots until 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning instead of 12:30 p.m. as previously announced.
Fans traveling from Ohio State will allowed into one lot a bit earlier.
The changes were prompted following the shooting deaths of two fans on September 4th.
NCEITA nomination deadline is Friday
Sept. 15, 2004
Triad Business Journal
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
The N.C. Electronics and Information Technologies Association will close nominations Friday for the 10th annual NCEITA 21 Awards.
The awards honor individuals and companies in North Carolina that demonstrate excellence in technology.
Previous award recipients include LendingTree Inc. and Peak 10 Inc., both of Charlotte, and the Charlotte office of Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based law firm.
NCEITA also will present an Outstanding Achievement Award to an individual who has demonstrated a career-long commitment to the advancement of the information-technology industry. Past recipients include former N.C. State University Chancellor Larry Monteith and N.C. Community College System President Martin Lancaster.
This year's awards will be presented Nov. 18 in Cary.
NCEITA, based in Raleigh, is a nonprofit organization that promotes the information-technology industry in North Carolina.
Further information on the NCEITA awards is available at www.nceita.org.
Animal shelter looks for shelter
Sept. 15, 2004
WHNS, SC
By ESTES THOMPSON
© Copyright 2004
With more tropical weather approaching, a Western North Carolina animal shelter that was evacuated in flash flooding last week is seeking cover for dogs and cats being housed at a former state prison.
Last week, scores of dogs and cats from Hendersonville's All Creatures Great and Small shelter were evacuated as remnants of Hurricane Frances lashed the North Carolina mountains. Now, Hurricane Ivan threatens to bring more rain to the region while dozens of dogs are being kept under tarps in open cages outside the prison building.
"I just need them out of the weather for right now, and we're asking for anyone willing to take an animal or animals to please call us first to make arrangements," shelter president Kim Kappler said.
Even without the weather worries, the animals will have to be moved by the end of next week because the prison is being demolished so a state Department of Transportation facility can be built.
Kappler said she hopes to find a large tract where she can build a new shelter. She views a return to the old, low-lying building as only a temporary solution.
About 70 "good-sized dogs" need indoor shelter as Ivan threatens, Kappler said. Volunteer animal rescue groups will take some animals, but more help is needed. Kappler said she has about 450 animals in the shelter, which doesn't euthanize animals.
The old prison "is a good temporary facility," said Dr. Kelli Ferris of the N.C. State University veterinary school, who is assisting Kappler.
EDC promotes economic development
Sept. 15, 2004
Clayton News-Star
By JOAN PLOTNICK
© Copyright 2004
As Republicans and Democrats debate about the state of the national economy, a group of dedicated volunteers is working to ensure that Johnston County keeps its share of the economic pie.
The bi-partisan Economic Development Commission (EDC), formed by the Board of Commissioners in 1983, consists of 12 members – one for each of the incorporated towns and three at-large representatives.
It has been chaired since 1999 by Linwood Parker, owner of the White Swan restaurant chain and mayor of Four Oaks.
County Manager Rick Hester said, “It is a strong group. It has representation from all over the county who volunteer their time to be the eyes and ears for questions of economic development, to spot opportunities and to be communication tools with the various Johnston County communities.”
Economic Development Director Mike deSherbinin said the EDC has no specific mission statement, but commission members understand their goal is to enhance economic opportunity throughout Johnston County.
“We strive to create job opportunities for the citizens of Johnston County while increasing their standard of living through growth of per capita and disposable income,” he said. “We are helping to improve the standard of living so people can become productive members of society through gainful employment.”
DeSherbinin graduated from St. Andrews College in Laurinburg with a bachelor of arts in business administration in 1972. He worked in the specialty chemical carrier field for about four years, becoming company manager by the age of 23. He also worked in the insurance industry for about three years and worked for two years in a family-owned furniture and dry good business.
He became economic development manager in Brunswick County in 1979 and remained there until April 1, 1990, when he took his current position in Johnston County.
Though projects come to the office from many avenues, deSherbinin said in a typical scenario a company will contact the state Department of Commerce stating it has an interest in locating in a specific region – such as the Southeast or a specific group of states.
The DOC then collects information about the company’s main concerns – such as an ample water supply, access to highways,
vacant land or buildings.
DeSherbinin said the DOC has a great deal of information on each of the state’s 100 counties, and narrows the search down to those counties that meet the company’s criteria.
If Johnston County is selected, the DOC then contacts deSherbinin’s office for more detailed information, and the EDC is notified.
“What in essence starts at this point is a dialog between us, the state and the company. A lot of times, we don’t know who the company is until the very end of the process,” deSherbinin said.
If Johnston County makes it to the short list – which can take anywhere from six months to three years – elected officials are brought into the fold, and a more thorough discussion of any local and state incentives that can be offered are introduced into the conversation.
Hester said the only incentives the county can offer are cash grants, infrastructure expansions or improvements and help with state or federal grant applications.
“Counties in North Carolina can provide cash grants, but we can’t cut the tax rate,” Hester said.
DeSherbinin said that all during the process, the company is examining such issues as the area’s housing market, labor pool, client base, educational attainment level, cost of living and other quality of life issues.
“It’s amazing how thorough some of these can be,” deSherbinin said. “We just finished one this past week that asked for seismic data. Others are very casually done.”
He said that within three months of his becoming economic development director, three major companies left the county – Data General in Clayton, Squibb in Kenly and Fieldcrest-Cannon in Smithfield.
Since that time, the county has attracted such companies as Caterpillar, Novo Nordisk and the Winn-Dixie distribution center to Clayton, a $500 million expansion of Bayer Corp., Mid-State Mills coming to Wilson’s Mills and Hamlin Company to Benson.
It also extended water and sewer service to the Interstate-40/N.C. 42 West interchange before it was developed.
He is particularly proud of the Caterpillar project, which occurred when economic expansion in the state was at a standstill in 1992.
“Caterpillar was one of the first major success stories in this county when there was literally nothing happening statewide. Both the Winn-Dixie distribution center (1997) and Caterpillar (1993) were the largest projects in the state at their point in time,” deSherbinin said.
Parker said the quality of the EDC’s work can be seen from its many successes.
“The fact that we have a better economy in Johnston County than in the state, the nation and the world speaks to the quality of leadership being provided, not just by the EDC, but by the county commissioners and also the leaders of municipalities because all municipalities are represented on the EDC,” he said.
Two of the office’s most recent projects are the Workforce Development Center and the Research and Training Zone (RTZ)
The Workforce Development Center is a joint project between Johnston County Schools, Johnston Community College, North Carolina State University and local pharmaceutical companies to prepare students for careers in the growing biotechnology field.
The Board of Commissioners approved the Workforce Development Center in October 2002 and has since committed $285,000 a year over 40 years to pay debt service on the project. It is scheduled to open by Aug. 18, 2005.
“Twenty-five years ago, when I started in economic development, the last thing an economic development commission would do is build a technology training zone, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” deSherbinin said.
“It’s possible that one day a youth in Johnston County can get a degree from North Carolina State University and not go to Raleigh.”
The RTZ was passed as Senate Bill 168, proposed by Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton, in July 2003. It was a revised version of a House bill proposed by Rep. Billy Creech of Clayton in April 2003.
The bill sets up a zone, or district, in which all industries are permanently protected from annexation from nearby counties. Industries will continue to pay county taxes as well as self-tax for common needs, including supporting the operating needs of the training center.
The final legislation specifically includes properties owned by Bayer Corp., Novo Nordisk, Fresenius Kabi and the Johnston County Airport.
DeSherbinin said the economic development office is currently working on many projects, which he can’t discuss due to confidentiality laws. He also said there are no specific reporting requirements for the board or his office, but that he speaks with Hester several times a day. The commissioners are brought on board when decisions need to be made.
Commissioner Jeff Carver said, “There is always point when it is not time for us to be involved in it. Once it gets to a certain point, the lines of communications are opened.
“We have probably looked at at least four different opportunities recently. If we could land any of them, it would make the front page of every newspaper.”
Commissioner Allen Mims said, “On the whole, the communication is very good. It’s like fishing. We hear about fish (companies) getting close to the boat, but not about a school of fish that might be swimming a mile away. Whenever they get close, we’re on board. We’ve got fish around the boat right now, and if we can hook any of them, that’s pretty good.”
Recently, the economic development office expanded with the addition of contractor Ann Game, who joined deSherbinin and economic development technician Paula Woodard as a part-time economic development representative.
Not including Game, who is a contractor, the office has a budget of $225,000 including deSherbinin’s $83,460 salary and Woodard’s salary of $33,651.
Game, a native of Clayton, has spent 16 years as director of Corestaff, a job placement agency.
“It seems to be a good and natural fit for me given my background in the workforce and workforce needs in the county,” she said.
Her current job is a mix of community-wide public relations and liaison between the parties involved in the workforce training center.
She also serves in an interim capacity as Discovery Room Coordinator, an exhibit area within the Workforce Training Center for companies to showcase what they do and the educational background people need to obtain jobs within their companies.
“It is a way to introduce youth to employment opportunities within Johnston County,” she said.
Hockey lockout is now a reality
Sept. 16, 2004
News & Observer
By LUKE DECOCK
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH -- The National Hockey League's Board of Governors voted Wednesday in New York to move ahead with a lockout, closing down the league indefinitely.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league had no choice but to lock out players today when the league's collective bargaining agreement expired at midnight Wednesday. Bettman canceled preseason and regular-season games for 30 days, including the Carolina Hurricanes' opening night Oct. 14 at the RBC Center and said the league would not return until an agreement is signed.
"We are out of gas," Bettman said. "Given the choice between stopping things right now so we can get it right or continuing to play under a fatally flawed system that is killing the game and killing franchises, we have no choice."
Bettman said the league is committed to pursuing a system that links salaries to revenues and gives each team the same amount of money to spend on salaries, referred to as a "salary cap."
Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players' Association, said there is no chance of an agreement on those terms.
That leaves Triangle hockey fans and stakeholders in the Carolina Hurricanes' fortunes caught in a complicated morass of labor law, historical mistrust and greed.
"No matter what, I'll be back, and the core fan base will be as well, but they're going to lose people that are on the fence," said Russell Kandel, a Cary audio engineer who has had season tickets since the team played in Greensboro. "People are going to lose interest ... or find other things to do with their money."
The Hurricanes are a considerable economic engine for the Triangle. According to an Ernst & Young study, the team accounted for $11.4 million in visitor spending, $6.4 million in state and local taxes and $70 million in economic impact in 2003.
Their arrival was heralded as a triumph for the Triangle, and their run through the 2002 playoffs focused an international spotlight here. Now, the lockout is doing the opposite: The Hurricanes are often singled out as a team in a market that either does not or cannot support an NHL team.
The Hurricanes were one of many franchises in the 1990s that ended up in a market unaccustomed to hockey as the NHL tried to develop a national footprint that would lead to a massive television deal. But ratings have been low and rights fees insignificant.
The owners and players' association have not negotiated since last Thursday, and no bargaining sessions are scheduled.
"It's not our plan at all to be in this situation," Goodenow said. "We started well over a year ago offering very significant adjustments to the system, hard-dollar adjustments. What's resulted from that is now history."
Said Hurricanes player Rod Brind'Amour, "The game is going to suffer, and suffer in places like this."
Arena to suffer
The dispute has been brewing almost since a three-month lockout delayed the 1994-95 season. Owners want to create a salary-cap system similar to those in the National Football League and National Basketball Association.
The average NHL salary has increased from $558,000 to $1.8 million since 1994; the league wants to reduce that to $1.3 million. The NHL, which began collecting a $300 million lockout fund from its teams five years ago, says in the 2003-04 season its 30 teams lost a combined $224 million.
The players have proposed a tax on high-spending teams and a 5 percent pay cut while accusing Bettman of pursuing a lockout as an avenue to impose a cap.
The Triangle is caught in the middle.
Gale Force Holdings, the Hurricanes' parent company, manages the RBC Center and is responsible for any operating loss, a loss that threatens to be large without three preseason games and 41 regular-season games.
Dave Olsen, the arena's general manager, said the NHL's plan to cancel games month-by-month could make luring replacement events difficult because most shows want tickets on sale for at least six weeks.
If no NHL games are played this season, Gale Force's rent will be increased to $2.95 million from $2.7 million because of an allowance for game-night expenses. But the Centennial Authority, which oversees the arena, will lose out on the percentage of the arena's gross revenues it receives when revenue exceeds $50 million.
In the fiscal year ending June 2003, that provision brought the authority $320,000 from Gale Force. Revenue in the most recent fiscal year did not trigger that provision, and in the event of an extended lockout, it won't this year either.
"Of course, that's going to go away," said Centennial Authority chairman Steve Stroud. "There won't be enough income to hit the percentage break point, and in a lot of ways, the building will not be able to provide some of the shows and entertainment we normally do because of the uncertainty of the playing schedule."
There also could be a decrease of about $1 million in the naming-rights fee paid by RBC Centura Banks, which is split among the authority, Gale Force and N.C. State.
The agreement, which runs through 2019, can only be canceled by the bank if the Hurricanes vacate the arena or drop out of the NHL. But the bank's $4 million annual payment would be reduced by $25,000 per regular-season game canceled.
Hit to the economy
The lockout will have an impact in other ways.
The Hurricanes and Gale Force laid off 15 percent of their full-time staff in April, which numbered about 130. More layoffs are planned for January if the lockout continues. A typical hockey game also requires about 650 part-time workers.
Arena caterers purchase more than $55,000 in food and beverages for a game at the arena. And Frank Brown, general manager of Damon's Grill, across Trinity Road from the arena, said the restaurant's revenues are up 35 percent on game nights.
"There's no question that the team generates economic activity," said Harvey Schmitt, president of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. "Any time you have a lockout, everybody from the people who work doing the vending at the arena to the people providing the hot dogs are impacted."
With no negotiations scheduled, there isn't even ice at the RBC Center. No one expects there to be anytime soon.
"It's real quiet," former Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said from Toronto, where he worked as a TV analyst during the World Cup of Hockey. "The sense up here is that this could go on for a long time."
(Staff writer J.P. Giglio contributed to this report.)
Arena impact
N&O Research
As the NHL cancels games, the RBC Center will be available for other events on those dates. The Hurricanes, who manage the arena through their parent company, Gale Force Holdings, are responsible for scheduling additional events on those dates. Gale Force is responsible for losses incurred by the arena's operation.
On Wednesday, three preseason games and the Hurricanes' opener Oct. 14 were canceled.
PAYMENTS TO PARTNERS
The naming-rights agreement between the Centennial Authority, Gale Force Holdings and RBC Centura Banks provides for a reduction in the bank's annual $4 million payment as games are canceled. If the entire NHL season is canceled, RBC Centura Banks would have to pay $1,025,000 less, or a total of $2,975,000. The 20-year agreement was signed in September 2002.
HOW CANCELING GAMES AFFECTS PAYMENTS TO STAKEHOLDERS:
NHL games 41 20 0
RBC payment $4,000,000 $3,475,000 $2,975,000
N.C. State $1,318,400 $1,318,400 $1,318,400
Gale Force1 $2,015,042 $1,649,642 $1,301,642
Centennial Authority2 $666,558 $506,958 $354,958
1. Gale Force payment includes base payment and reimbursement for advertising inventory and N.C. State basketball practices.
2. Centennial Authority payments go toward a capital-improvement fund.
Numbers are for regular-season games only.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE NHL LOCKOUT
Q: When is the lockout likely to be resolved?
A: The two most likely possibilities are January and next summer. The league has been preparing for a lockout for more than five years -- assembling a reserve of $300 million in the process.
In the 1994-95 NHL lockout, a deal was reached Jan. 11, the last day possible to preserve even a shortened season. The league played 48 games that season. If no settlement is reached by January, the entire season will be wiped out.
Hockey's minor leagues will continue to play during the lockout, with the addition of a few players who would normally be playing in the NHL.
Q: What is the primary sticking point?
A: The owners want a system that limits salaries at a percentage of league revenue, a "salary cap." In October 2004, the league proposed a percentage that equated to a cap of $31 million per team, a 25 percent pay cut for players from last season.
The union refuses to accept a salary cap and has proposed an immediate 5 percent pay cut and penalties on high-spending teams.
Q: Where do the Hurricanes stand?
A: Carolina owner Peter Karmanos has said the Hurricanes "need a new system to be viable" and that "we couldn't keep operating a team under the current [collective bargaining agreement]." The Canes claimed to lose almost $20 million in 2002-03 with a $40 million payroll despite setting a franchise attendance record and, according to the team, ranking 14th in gate receipts among the 30 NHL teams.
According to the union's figures, the Canes appear to be a part of the NHL's problems. The union's analysis of the league's finances claimed "a handful of teams, with a handful of issues" accounted for 75 percent of the league's losses and specifically cited teams "in markets that have failed to support NHL hockey, including recent Stanley Cup finalists."
The Canes reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2002 but were 29th in attendance in the 30-team league last year.
(Compiled by Staff Writer Luke DeCock)
Opinion: Getting what you pay for?
Sept. 16, 2004
News & Observer
By JIM JENKINS
© Copyright 2004
This is very important for those of my acquaintance who may want to come by the house in the next little while. Be sure to carry your canoes, and to bring long poles for navigation. You'll note that these things will be required for a very short distance; others in the neighborhood don't have the problem.
You see, since reading about how the University of North Carolina system Board of Governors gave many of the chancellors of the system handsome raises which still, according to some board members, fell short of paying our esteemed leaders enough ... well, I'm not ashamed to say it. Yes, after reading about the appallingly low pay -- a paltry $274,000 for Chancellor James Moeser at UNC-CH, for example, and that's after the raise -- I have cried me a river. Uh, huh. And in addition to the new dock out front, you'll notice I've added a donation box for chancellors. I'm also accepting Rolex watches and other fine jewelry that might either be sold to provide a living wage for chancellors or be just a little bling-bling to keep them around here.
Because, if one follows the logic of some Board of Governors members -- many of them affluent bigwigs who believe chancellors ought to be paid like CEOs -- we'll be lucky if Harvard, Yale and Princeton don't come 'round and throw a gunny sack over our chancellors and haul them away in a laundry truck. To hear some board members tell it, or at least imply it, Mrs. Moeser needs to keep the windows bolted lest the chancellor be hog-tied and stolen away by Columbia in the dead of night to lead higher learning up yonder in New York.
It may be that when it comes to some things in life, you get what you pay for. A friend of mine swears by Starbucks; another likes that Kleenex with the lotion on it; a car guy tells me it's wise to buy high-end tires.
But does the rule apply when it comes to chancellors for the 16 institutions in the UNC system? There is no hard evidence to support that. Two of the best chancellors the system ever had -- Bill Aycock (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Jim Leutze (UNC-Wilmington) -- had spent most of their previous careers within the system, Aycock on the law school faculty, Leutze as a Chapel Hill history professor. They were not brought to prominence by expensive national searches or lured by big-dollar salaries, though Leutze had left the system to preside at a college out of state before going to Wilmington. (He took a sizable pay cut, by the way, to come back to North Carolina.)
I'm not sure we want a candidate for chancellor who even asks about a salary. If he or she has been around higher education, the individual presumably will know that the job will be worth taking, and will want it for reasons of mission and leadership rather than to get mucho moola. After all, the living expenses are moderate, given that the jobs come with houses and cars. It's hard for most working North Carolinians, in other words, to believe that the candidates to be the next chancellor at UNC-Charlotte (the superb James Woodward is retiring) will respond to the $230,391 salary with a sniff-sniff and a turn to the door.
The salary boosts appear to be the result of a mindset that is cocked toward believing that university leaders are just like corporate chief executives and must be paid and perked accordingly. That's wrong. Those who run universities aren't judged by the profit margin, and their "stockholders" are really the students and parents and, in public systems, taxpayers. There are, thankfully, dozens of people already in the UNC system who would serve well as chancellors.
The salary boom -- which is hardly resisted, of course, by university leaders themselves -- also is fed by this ridiculous idea that if North Carolina doesn't come across with more silver for the already handsomely paid leaders of its institutions, it will be difficult to find chancellors. The numbers of people who go after the jobs when they are open makes a finely chopped hash of that argument.
University leaders who pronounce the chancellors' salaries to be inappropriately low frankly risk showing just how distant they are from the realities of taxpayers in North Carolina they are supposed to serve. This university system does not exist as a private entity run by an elite board of directors. It reports to the people, and answers to the people. At least, it should.
Promoting from within, where faculty members or deans in the system would accept a chancellor's job as a challenge and high honor, without much concern over money, would take the UNC system out of this absurd "arms race" for outside leadership. And if experience is any teacher, that might produce some mighty fine chancellors, too.
Sept. 16, 2004
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK
By TOM MORAN
© Copyright 2004
University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Stephen Jones is getting an additional
second-in-command.
Jones announced Tuesday that he is appointing UAF Tanana Valley Campus director
Jake Poole to the new position of vice chancellor for university advancement
and community engagement. Jones said the new position is an attempt to put
all the public sides of the university--university relations, university development,
KUAC and athletics--under one person to help coordinate their efforts.
"We had different units of the university acting as silos, acting independently," he said.
Poole will be Jones' second vice chancellor; Mark Neumayr serves as vice chancellor for administrative services.
Jones said a major goal of the new position is to try to increase charitable giving to the university, with the office ultimately paying for itself. The position begins as a two-year assignment.
The new chancellor noted that the school he most recently served, North Carolina State University, is about three times the size of UAF but pulls in $200 million in donations a year compared to UAF's $7.5 million. He said there's a large gulf between what UAF is capable of pulling in and its actual donation level.
"This new office allows us to systematically and comprehensively try to close that gap," he said.
Poole will receive $128,000 a year for the job. Jones also appointed Ann Ringstad, UA's statewide director of community relations, as Poole's associate vice chancellor, a new $90,000-a-year position.
Jones said half of Ringstad's salary will be picked up by community relations, and the rest of the expenses, including Poole's salary, will come from his own discretionary funds and roughly $300,000 UA President Mark Hamilton has pledged to the office this year. Jones said the office is meant to ultimately pay for itself, and then some.
"You have to invest money in the advancement and development part of the university to raise money," Jones said.
Poole has run TVC since December 1999, during which time he oversaw the relocation of the school to its new location and the opening of the Hutchison Institute of Technology. He also briefly served as acting director of UAF athletics and has been special assistant to the chancellor for athletics since 2002.
Poole served 22 years in the U.S. Army and was post commander at Fort Wainwright from 1993-95, returning to Fairbanks to become the director of the UAF Alumni Association after retiring from the Army in 1997. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a master's in education from Pepperdine University. He also is a graduate of the U.S. Armed Forces Staff College.
Poole's duties aren't set yet, Jones said, but the first task will be to set targets for fund raising. He said the job will be fleshed out more over the next 90 days.
"What we've done is today announced the framework," he said.
Poole said he plans to start on the job by studying the departments under him to look for places where their services can be consolidated or spread out, and also by studying the public outreach efforts of other universities.
In addition to the official duties, Jones said Poole will work closely with the UAF Alumni Association, which is separate from the university but which Jones said he hopes to connect more closely to UAF.
Poole starts the job Sunday.
Rick Caulfield, associate dean for academic programs in UAF's College of Rural Alaska, has been appointed interim director of TVC effective Sunday. UAF will conduct a national search for a new TVC director, according to the press release.
Friends die in double shooting
Sept. 16, 2004
Pioneer Press Online, IL
By JENNIFER JOHNSON AND JIM EDISON
© Copyright 2004
Brett Harman and Kevin McCann grew up together, sharing a love of wrestling that spelled success at their respective high schools, Maine South in Park Ridge and Notre Dame in Niles .
On Sept. 4, the two friends died together.
The two 23-year-olds - McCann, of Chicago's Northwest Side, and Harman, of Park Ridge - were shot to death in the parking lot outside the North Carolina State University football stadium.
Two brothers, Timothy Wayne Johnson, 22, and Tony Harrell Johnson, 20, both of Raleigh, NC, have been charged with two counts of first degree murder. The Johnsons could face the death penalty if convicted.
Two other subjects, Ashley Renee Brown, 18, of Tarboro, NC, and Rachel Louise French, 20, of Apex, NC, were also charged with accessory after the fact of murder. Both are being held on $100,000 bond.
Timothy and Tony Johnson were apprehended within hours of the shooting which occurred around 6 p.m. local time. Brown was arrested on Sept. 5, and French on Sept. 7.
The Wake County, North Carolina, Sheriff's Office provided little information about the incident, and spokesperson Phyllis Stephens stated that what prompted the shooting was still under investigation.
Tailgate accident
In an email sent to Pioneer Press, Rob Harman, Brett's older brother, stated that investigators told him that a fight broke out when one of the Johnson brothers drove a car recklessly through a crowd of people attending the tailgate party. Rob Harman stated that his brother and McCann intervened in an effort to break up the fight, and later the Johnson brothers returned with a gun.
A gun matching the description of the weapon the Wake County Sheriff's Office had been searching for in connection with the Sept. 4 shooting was found Sept. 7 in a lake approximately 22 miles west of Raleigh, the Sheriff's Office reported. The gun was sent to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations for ballistic testing.
Harman, a U.S. Marine, was stationed in North Carolina and scheduled to be deployed to Iraq in January. McCann and other friends had traveled from Chicago to visit him over the Labor Day weekend.
Harman and McCann were long-time friends and top wrestlers for their high schools, from which they graduated in 1999.
Former coaches remembered the two young men fondly.
A hero to wrestlers
"Brett was a hero to so many wrestlers that followed him here at Maine South," Maine South wrestling coach Craig Fallico said. "And Kevin was a terrific young man.
"The bottom line is that it was just not their time," he continued. "This terrible tragedy ruined so many lives."
Fallico said Harman's parents separated when he was young, and Harman's mother moved Brett and his brother to Park Ridge.
"Brett was his own man, always. He was his own dad," Fallico recalled. "He did a great job emulating and taking the best things from the men around him."
Harman, who had also played football at Maine South, returned to the school in mid-July where he gave an inspirational talk to players attending football camp prior to leaving for Marine duty.
"I knew Brett was a fine young man as well as an excellent athlete," said varsity head football coach David Inserra. "I decided to ask him to come and talk to our football players.
"He gave a truly inspirational talk," Inserra said. "It wasn't so much about wins or losses, it was about being dedicated and working hard."
Feelings were much the same at Notre Dame in Niles, where longtime wrestling coach Augie Genovesi talked about McCann.
"Kevin was not only one of the best wrestlers I ever had," Genovesi said, "but he was one of the greatest kids we ever had here. I knew both boys very well and I don't think either one of them had a serious bone in their bodies. They were such happy-go-lucky kids. They didn't like to lose, but they never got angry or upset. They just got re-focused on their goals."
Kevin was 140-pound wrestler and made it downstate as a junior. His senior year he was 29-0 and injured his shoulder just before the start of the state tournament.
Harman placed fifth in the state as a senior at Maine South.
McCann also had ties to Maine South High School as his father, Dennis McCann, is a school counselor and assistant wrestling coach.
Staff writer Matt Dominis contributed to this story.
God and Man at Duke University
Sept. 16, 2004
ChronWatch, United States; Men's News Daily, CA
By John T. Plecnik
© Copyright 2004
The issue of liberal bias on campus may seem trivial during an election year dominated by concerns of homeland security. However, September 11 has taught us that in facing great challenges, nothing can substitute for strong, moral leadership. Perhaps former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York put it best during his speech at the Republican National Convention. ''On September 11, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history,'' recounted Giuliani. ''At the time, we believed we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said to Bernie, ‘Thank God George Bush is our President.’ ''
Thank God, indeed. But President Bush is only eligible to serve ''four more years.’' Though this generation has been blessed with Bush, will it produce such presidents? The future leaders of the free world are finding their causes on campus. They prepare for exams, not elections. While politicos debate on Fox News and CNN, they study and go to class. Ivory towers dictate their experience…if liberal bias prevails, who will take up the torch? The hearts and minds of our future hang in the balance.
U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) recognizes this fundamental truth. In an era of apathy, he has stepped outside his district—outside politics—to protect the next generation of conservative leadership.
The 4th congressional district of North Carolina is represented by Professor David Price of Duke University. The poster child of liberal academia, Price went from writing scholarly texts to writing the law. Needless to say, Price sees no imbalance at Duke or the University of North Carolina.
At UNC, a Christian student was lambasted by his professor in a classwide e-mail for expressing his personal view that homosexuality is immoral. Responding to the professor’s proposition that heterosexual men are intimidated by gays, the young UNC-goer was merely engaged in classroom discussion. For expressing his person beliefs, the hapless student was labeled as a sexist bigot. The famed professor-politician could care less, but Jones refused to let this abuse stand. He spoke with UNC’s chancellor and demanded a remedy. Shortly thereafter, the offending professor was assigned a supervisor for all her classes to ensure responsible dialogue.
Now, UNC has revoked recognition from a Christian student organization for limiting its membership to Christians. The university alleges that such limited membership is discriminatory. If the new policy stands, Alpha Iota Omega Christian Fraternity will be denied all university funding and the right to reserve space for meetings. This time, the chancellor refuses to back down.
The fraternity members, also unrelenting, have brought suit in federal court. They seek an injunction against the new, anti-Christian policy. Notably, Jones is back. While our students battle in the courtroom, the Catholic congressman represents them in the court of public opinion.
I met Walter Jones at the first ‘'College Abuse Conference for Free Speech’' in Durham, N.C. The event was hosted by then-congressional candidate ''Whit'' Whitfield, one of the few politicians that stood by Jones against liberal bias. Rachel Lea Hunter, conservative candidate for North Carolina Supreme Court, was also present and helped to coordinate the event. Jones and I were both invited to speak, and I came to appreciate the depth of his passion to protect the defenseless conservative student. Jones recounted the terrible abuses at UNC. He recalled how he had heard the story of the persecuted Christian over the radio, and became determined to right that wrong. His presence at the conference was further proof of his commitment.
The conference itself was heralded by local, state, and national publications. The Pope Center for Higher Education quickly began planning a similar gathering for later this fall at North Carolina State University.
Campus conservatives have chosen their leader in the fight against liberal bias on campus: his name is Walter Jones.
I spent the summer interning up in Washington with U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. Working under the supervision of Rep. Myrick has undoubtedly made me a better Republican. Should I ever to be called to public service, I would strive to emulate her sacrifice and determination.
In Washington, Jones and I bumped into one another in the halls of congress. We recognized each other and he invited me to join him for a meeting. In his office, we discussed the growing discrimination against Christians and conservatives in our society, and the problems created by activist judges and oppressive professors. Jones asked me what I had learned about the courts in Constitutional Law. I responded that I had received a 4.0 in ConLaw, but learned just one thing. Today, the law is what the judges say it is.
I thanked him for defending campus conservatives. I expressed my appreciation for the political risks he continued to endure on our behalf. Jones replied that he had to defend the future. He said that I was the future, joking that I might have to defend him before the Supreme Court someday. I replied, ''I might be the future, but you are the present. Without the present there is no future.''
Afterwards, Jones threw his arm over my shoulder and promised that he would visit Duke University before the fall elections. Jones has made good on his promise and will join us on Monday, October 24. I would invite all campus conservatives to attend.
About the Writer: John T. Plecnik is a law school student at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and exective editor of The Devil's Advocate. John T. receives e-mail at John.Plecnik@law.duke.edu.
Sept. 16, 2004
News & Observer
DOREEN UNDERWOOD PASSED AWAY MONDAY, September 13, 2004, in Wilmington, N.C. She was 84 years old.
Mrs. Underwood was born in Staines, near London, England, on September 8, 1920. She enlisted in the British Army after the declarations of war in 1939 and later served in the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF). She received a Certificate of Merit from General Eisenhower and The British Empire Medal from King George VI for her meritorious service in World War II. At SHAEF she met Von Harvey Underwood, whom she married in Raleigh, N.C. in 1947. She and Harvey moved to Cary in 1956. She raised her family in Cary and became active as a teacher and an artist, working in Arts and Crafts in Raleigh and Cary for many years. She joined the staff of The Craft Center at North Carolina State University, became Associate Director of The Craft Center, and retired with 30 years of service to the University. She was a dear friend to many, a valued colleague to others, a loving wife to her husband, and a perfect mother to her sons.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Von Harvey Underwood, and her mother and father, William Edward and Queenie Goodall.
Surviving are: her sons, William H. Underwood and Von Edward Underwood. William H. Underwood's family consists of his wife, Linda Simmonds Underwood, and children, Matthew, William, Jennifer and Julie Underwood. His daughter, Suzanne Underwood Price is married to James Price of Wilmington, and they are the parents of Doreen's great-granddaughter, Victoria. Von Underwood is married to Kirsten Fedje Underwood and his children are Amanda and Charles Underwood.
A memorial service will be held in celebration of Doreen's life and friendships at Cary First United Methodist Church on Academy Street in Cary on Saturday, September 18, 2004 at 2 p.m.
Memorial donations can be made to The Craft Center at North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7320, Raleigh, N.C., 27695.
Call 919-515-2457 for further information.