NCSU swine researchers get $465,000
Tomislav Vukina, Michael Wohlgenant and Nick Piggott, agricultural and resource economics

Jobless rate in N.C. holds steady at 5%
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics

People: Carla Mattos
Carla Mattos, molecular and structural biochemistry

Lots of questions, few answers for Triangle technology industry
patents

NCSU leads system in new PSM degrees
Professional Science Master's degree

Footnotes: Broad to address forum Friday
Molly Broad

People: Rebecca Cowles Sawnson
Rebecca Cowles Sawnson, distance education planning and development

Footnotes: NCSU getting new 'front door'
E. Carroll Joyner Visitor Center and Advancement Services Building

Stormwater regulations questioned
engineers from N.C. State University

Wolfpack Club Announces New Name for Towers
The NC State Student Aid Association, Inc. (Wolfpack Club) announces that one of its donors has provided a gift which will create a new name for Wolfpack Towers.

Tutors serve as a new recruit tool
Sports 'arms race' touts academics

Sunday reader: Hapless
Tom Lisk, English

Bett Padgett to perform at Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse dedication
Bett Padgett has taught folk and pop guitar

New tailgating rules met with mixed results
tailgating rules

New tailgating rules take effect
tailgating rules

Tepid tailgating a turnoff
tailgating rules

Deaths dampen tailgate party
tailgate homicides

Wake suspect loses bid for reduced bail
tailgate homicides

Accused Accomplice in NC State Tailgate Shooting Faces Judge
tailgate homicides

Judge Denies Request To Lower Bond For Meredith Student
tailgate homicides

Letter to the editor: NCAA should ban alcohol from events
tailgate homicides

Map: New parking rules at NCSU start today
map showing where to park for football games

Montessori School earns cultural grant
Hugh Shelton Leadership Challenge

Opinion: A season on ice
The National Hockey League's decision to lock players out and shut down the upcoming season for an indeterminate period of time is a matter of no small concern -- not just to hockey fans, but to all the citizens of Raleigh and Wake County, and North Carolina, for that matter.

Letter to the editor: Where it's warming
Al Riordan, meteorology

Point of view: Public forests, dying of overprotection
Larry W. Tombaugh, College of Natural Resources

Study: How Climate Affects Crop Growth
crop science research

Stack it deep in the dorm room
senior Katie Hendrix

Tips to help buyers judge quality
Judging the quality of upholstered furniture is hard, because most of the important elements are hidden from view.

Take a seat
John Summey, extension

Neutron physics instrument may unlock mysteries of universe
Christopher Gould, physics

New tailgating rules take effect

Sept. 17, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By Tracey Early
© Copyright 2004

Saturday's NC State football game against Ohio State kicks off the start of new tailgating rules at the State Fairgrounds parking lot.

The changes follow the shooting deaths of two men on September 4 at that same lot and the extra security is already in place.

By blocking in the 1,500 spaces at the State Fairgrounds parking lot, authorities are hoping to keep tailgaters out, at least until game day.

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NCSU swine researchers get $465,000

Sept. 17, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff report
© Copyright 2004

North Carolina State University agricultural economists have received $465,000 to study different types of marketing arrangements in the swine and pork industries.

NCSU is a part of the consortium of researchers headed by the Research Triangle Institute, which received a $4.3 million contract from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration to study livestock and meat marketing for hogs, cattle and sheep.

The researchers will take mounds of data collected by RTI - surveys of all those involved in livestock and meat production and marketing, from farmers and packers to food service firms, exporters and retailers, as well as their individual transaction data - and conduct various economic analyses, including:

• Identifying and determining the use of emerging types of marketing arrangements such as production and marketing contracts;
• Determining terms of the marketing arrangements and their availability to entities of different sizes and in different geographic locations;
• Determining the long-term implications of swine marketing arrangements on operating costs; animal and meat quality; marketing risks; prices of livestock and meat; and the structure of the livestock and meatpacking industries.

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New tailgating rules met with mixed results

Sept. 19, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By Ken Derksen
© Copyright 2004

Two weeks after two men were shot and killed outside Carter-Finley Stadium, new tail-gating rules went into effect.

Fans are now required to have parking permits and assigned spaces. Some say it’s a change that takes some getting used to.

“There's plenty of room, not a lot of people showed up. Because the fear they couldn't park. Because they're making us have parking permits for everything,” said N.C. State senior Ryan Miller.

Some say they were upset they couldn't park by friends.

“You come out here, you gotta hike a mile to see one of your friends tailgating somewhere else. But you try to work around it the best you can,” added senior Thomas Sykes.

Other changes include keeping lots closed until game day. Many worry tailgating traditions like a slow cooked pig roast, are now over.

“We can't get out here like we normally do. We normally set up a pig cooker the night before and set up tents,” complained Wolfpack alum, Matt Mintmier.

Although the new rules did cause some parking complaints, fans say not all the changes were bad. The university increased protection of lots. On game day, around three hundred law enforcement officers and event staff handled parking.

“I can see increasing the police officers in the parking lot. But the 10:30 rule needs to change,” added Mintmier.

“More officers would have been fine. I'm 21 years old. But all these extra restrictions, I don't think they're necessary,” said senior Jonas Brown.

Many fans say they're just glad they can still tailgate before the game.

“They can throw restrictions on us. But we are N.C. State students, we're smart, we'll conform to these restrictions and still have a great time,” stated senior David Troop.

University police say they plan to evaluate how the rules worked and see if they need to make more changes to improve on them for upcoming games.

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Stormwater regulations questioned

Sept. 20, 2004
Greenville Daily Reflector
By Ginger Livingston
© Copyright 2004

Several Pitt County commissioners are taking issue with a facet of state-mandated stormwater regulations, and county staff are exploring whether Pitt must abide by a requirement imposed by the rules.

The requirement at issue calls for the county to have an engineer review plans for managing stormwater runoff in new residential and commercial developments. Several commissioners said the reviews will put an unfair financial burden on the county. The cost associated with the reviews is not known.

The issue will be discussed on Sept. 27, when the commissioners hold a public hearing on the county nitrogen management ordinance for nutrient control. Pitt is one of five counties and six municipalities required to limit nitrogen and phosphorus flows into the Tar River.

Since most nutrients enter the river through stormwater runoff, the county has been working since 2003 to incorporate revisions to an ordinance that will limit runoff from developments, Pitt County planning director James Rhodes said.

The new requirements say any residential development that disturbs more than an acre of land, or any commercial development that disturbs more than a half-acre, must install stormwater controls such as retention ponds, wetlands or swales. Swales are broad, shallow channels with dense vegetation covering the side slopes and bottom.

During the development process, the state Division of Water Quality required affected local governments to have a "qualified professional," namely an engineer, review calculations and projects designed to limit runoff, Rhodes said.

Pitt County's planning department doesn't have an engineer on staff. Rhodes proposed contracting with an engineering firm to review the requirement documents. He asked county commissioners to approve the contracting process during their Sept. 13 board meeting.

Board Chairman Eugene James called the engineer review "unnecessary spending." Commissioner Glenn Bowen asked staff to determine what the penalties will be if the county ignores the requirement.

The county planning board is scheduled to review at least two preliminary subdivision plans in October. Both are required to follow the new stormwater management rules, Rhodes said.

If the engineering review question is not settled by then, project approval could be delayed, he said.

Since the Sept. 13 meeting, Rhodes said he has been trying to find out from the Division of Water Quality if the engineer review is required. County Attorney JoAnne Burgdorff also is researching what, if any, penalties could be imposed if the review is required but ignored, Rhodes said.

The planning director said he supports the engineer review requirement because he and his staff would be pressed to determine if certain information was correct.

"It would be beneficial in my opinion for the county to have someone to review the stormwater calculation worksheets and best management practice designs, since the county is responsible for ensuring the design is installed and maintained appropriately," James said.

Rhodes said he is talking with the City of Greenville, which has an engineer with stormwater control design experience, to see if an agreement could be reached so the county could use the engineer's services.

A potential drawback to that solution is the individual's first priority will be reviewing Greenville's projects.

It's unclear how much time would be needed to review proposed plans and their development, Rhodes said.

Because the time period for review is unknown, it's also not clear how much the county would have to pay a private engineer, he said.

The county's situation has caught the attention of state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who is also Senate president pro tem.

His office is exploring whether engineers from N.C. State University or the Division of Water Quality might be able to provide project reviews, said Amy Faulk, a Basnight spokeswoman.

Also during the Sept. 13 meeting:

-- Redden Grimes Lewis, a Farmville Central High School senior, received a resolution honoring his receipt of the 2004 Commissioner of Agriculture award for his work with 4-H and in the community.

-- Commissioners agreed, for a third time, to pursue a community development block grant to install sewer lines and rehabilitate 10 homes along Pug Moore Road.

-- The board agreed to purchase software that will help keep detailed records the state Department of Health and Human Services is requiring of Pitt County Mental Health. The software will cost $247,000, which will be taken from the county's software acquisition budget.

-- Commissioners approved changes in the county personnel law that will allow employees normally exempted from overtime rules to receive compensatory time off if they work more than 40 hours a week during a declared state of emergency.

Exempt employees are mainly department heads, some supervisors, nurses and other positions.

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Tepid tailgating a turnoff

Sept. 19, 2004
News & Observer
By MATTHEW EISLEY
© Copyright 2004

RALEIGH -- Rambunctious college men shouted and slurped beer. Young women tossed Frisbees and caught glances. Charcoal grills billowed smoke from sizzling hamburgers and chicken.

But something was missing from the State Fairgrounds parking lot tailgate bash Saturday before the N.C. State-Ohio State game: a boisterous throng. Revelry. Intensity. Excitement.

"It's terrible, man. There's no crowd," said Derrick Vick, 21, an NCSU junior from Rocky Mount, as he drank a Bud Light. "This is one of the biggest games of the season, and crowd participation is awful."

University and state authorities imposed new safety rules in the free fairgrounds parking lot after two men were shot and killed there Sept. 4 during State's season opener. The security clampdown sapped the spirit of fans who were used to partying there all morning -- and some all night -- before football games.

Authorities kept the lot closed until five hours before kickoff, and admitted only drivers with parking passes. By two hours before the game, students said, the lot finally was hopping like it used to the night before a ball game.

No time to cook a pig

Fewer families and friends than usual reunited over potato salad and brownies, and less music thumped from car speakers.

In what had been known as the wildest tailgate site this side of Greenville, many of the red-hued fans were sadly subdued under a cool, misty, gray sky.

"All my friends are saying this is so disappointing," said Laura McNeill, 21, a senior business management major at nearby Meredith College.

"It's usually jam-packed with people having fun," she said as she drank a Michelob Ultra in a pink-and-white polka-dot foam hugger. "They had to do something, but they shouldn't punish everyone. They should let everybody have a good time."

Vick said the most fun part of tailgating is barbecuing a pig, which takes more than five hours.

"We didn't have time to cook it," he lamented. "We just had to buy one and bring it up here."

By game time, about half of the fairgrounds lot contained cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Fans who got into the newly restricted space had more room to pitch tents, spread their food and drinks, and throw footballs. But few said they liked it.

"It's not as fun," said Carly Ragland, 19, an NCSU sophomore from Winston-Salem who is majoring in biology. "I like it better when there's a lot of people here. You get pumped up. It' s the N.C. State spirit."

As fans gathered, uniformed police and plainclothes agents patrolled the lot's muddy lanes.

Still, many students and alumni wandered freely around the lot with beer, wine, or mixed drinks -- which is legal there for people at least 21 years old.

Some fans hassled lot attendants who made drivers pull fully into parking spaces.

Most State fans interviewed at the lot said they think authorities overreacted to the shootings.

Greg Miller, general manager of Xpedx's Greensboro operation and the father of an NCSU student, said he saw no fights in that lot in seven years until witnessing the one that turned deadly there two weeks ago.

"It's a shame that something like that has destroyed a tradition for the kids," said Miller, 56. "It was just a freak situation. Too much alcohol and testosterone -- a dangerous combination."

But McNeill said minor confrontations were common there.

"Stupid little fights happen out here all the time," she said. "It's nothing serious. You don't think anything about it."

Private lots party hard

As a result of the stricter fairgrounds lot rules, surrounding paid-parking areas were wilder Saturday by comparison.

Wolfpack Club members said nothing seemed different in their lots next to the stadium, which haven't been trouble spots.

NCSU alumnus Mark Thompson of Alexandria, Va., said he saw more state Highway Patrol troopers in the fairgrounds lot.

"The fact that there is more security is good," he said. "They didn't go too far."

Rules go only so far

Thompson, a 1996 graduate, noted that even with the restrictions, violence could occur. "It could happen anywhere," he said.

Matt Owens, a 1996 NCSU graduate from Charlotte, said a Wolfpack Club letter reminded fans to be safe and courteous.

In 10 years of going to games, Owens said, he doesn't remember any violence before Sept. 4.

"I don't think any rules they could have installed would have prevented it," he said.

The new policy at the fairgrounds lot is said to be permanent. Wolfpack fans hope not.

"Tailgating brings people together," said Nick Thorpe, 20, an NCSU sophomore studying business management. "It's not the color of your skin, it's the color of your jersey. Now you're scared of having a good time."

Worse still for Wolfpack fans was the game's final score: Ohio State 22, N.C. State 14.

(Staff writer Jane Stancill contributed to this report.)

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Deaths dampen tailgate party

Sept. 19, 2004
Charlotte Observer
By SHARIF DURHAMS
© Copyright 2004

RALEIGH - Tailgaters knew life would change at N.C. State's first football game Saturday since a parking lot shooting claimed two lives two weeks ago. They're just hoping the changes haven't damaged a university tradition.

"This is sad. It's like quiet time at day care," said Robert Abernathy of Charlotte, whose friends managed to snare one of the now-rare parking passes for a parking space in sight of N.C. State's football stadium.

A rowdier crowd was shocked when Illinois residents Kevin McCann and Brett John Harman, a Marine based at Camp Lejeune, were shot to death before N.C. State's game against Richmond two weeks ago. Two brothers, N.C. State student Timothy Johnson and Tony Johnson, both of Tarboro, were charged with first-degree murder and could face execution if found guilty.

Witnesses said the brothers started a fight with McCann and Harman and were beaten. The two later returned with a gun, and McCann and Harman were shot, witnesses said.

Investigators haven't said which brother is accused of being the gunman.

Rachel Louise French, 20, of Apex and Ashley Brown, 18, of Tarboro were charged with helping the brothers after the homicide. A Wake County judge refused to reduce French's $100,000 bail Friday.

Parking at Carter-Finley Stadium has long had a police presence, but the lots across the street -- where the shooting occurred -- are part of the state fairgrounds, run by the N.C. Department of Agriculture. Partygoers would set up tents the night before a Saturday game. Students would roll in kegs.

That ended when the new rules were announced. Now, only game ticket-holders can park in the lot, and they can do so only five hours before the game. N.C. State officers now patrol the grounds. More undercover officers are looking for underage drinkers. Tailgaters can claim only one space for each car.

"The goal is to change the environment and the atmosphere of this particular lot," said Tom Stafford, the university's vice chancellor for student affairs. Stafford said there was some thought given to banning alcohol altogether and the idea might be revisited.

Stafford said the university will examine how the rules worked this week.

Jeremy Sweat, an N.C. State graduate from Raleigh, said he expected computer message boards to fill with complaints about the toned-down tailgating.

The crime and the clouds and drizzle might have contributed to the subdued atmosphere Saturday. Men were quietly rolling coolers down the parking lot. Shouts of "Go Wolfpack" were sparse.

"You wouldn't see grass out here," said Abernathy, gesturing to empty spaces behind him. "You'd see cars parked."

Mark Johnson, 26, of Kings Mountain, tried to bring some life to the party. Johnson, with a tattered hat on his head and wolf tattoo on his leg, cranked up the stereo when one of his favorite songs came on.

"It's sad those two people died," he said. "Something needed to be done, but they didn't need to go to this extreme."

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Montessori School earns cultural grant

Sept. 19, 2004
Charlotte Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

Park Road Montessori School has been awarded a $10,000 ArtsTeach grant to fund Cultural Collage, a year-long project.Students will study how the arts can communicate cultural traditions through stories and will develop music, visual art and dance skills.

The grant provides residencies for four artists. The artists are: Charles Thomas, education director of the Light Factory; Yvette Lewis, opera singer and founder of So This Is Opera; Martha Connerton, dance/choreographer and founder of Kinetic Works; and Daveed Korup, drummer and founder of DrumFest.

The school's PTO cultural arts budget also will fund supporting activities including Hobey Ford, world renowned puppeteer.

Other news, events

• A literary evening will be held at the Dilworth Visual and Performing Arts Elementary fall book fair from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Pizza, coffee and bottled water will be available from the Beatnik Cafe. The Literary Poetry and Art Gallery will display works from the students.

• Mint Hill Middle School will have an evening presentation Oct. 7, 6:30-8 p.m., to help students improve their grades. The presentation will be made by Mint Hill Middle School counselors along with guest speaker, Amy Kafitz, school psychologist. Topics to be covered include: how to study, how to take notes, how to read a textbook and strategies to improve test scores.

People

• Several Charlotte Latin seniors have been named National Merit semifinalists. The students are: William Barnhardt, Matt Delaney, Daniel Genkins and Maggie Savage. Other Charlotte Latin seniors, David Bowser and Kike Aluko, were named National Achievement semifinalists.• Nick Crews, a senior at Charlotte Christian School, participated in St. Louis University's Practical Anatomy Workshop, a summer program that allows high school students to participate in a hands-on anatomy course using human specimens. He is the son of Mike and Jean Crews.

• Zenus Wilson, a sophomore at Charlotte Christian School, was one of 55 students from North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey who participated in the second annual Hugh Shelton Leadership Challenge in conjunction with N.C. State University. He is the son of Calvin and Tammy Wilson.

Meetings and open houses scheduled

• Covenant Day School will have a kindergarten admissions open house for the 2005-2006 school year from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday.

• Myers Park High School will hold an open house at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Parents will follow their students' schedules in order to meet the teachers, following a brief business meeting in the auditorium.

• Randolph Middle School will host a Back to School Night at 7 p.m. Thursday. A brief PTSA program will dedicate the school's Wildlife Habitat Project and then parents will be able to follow their child's schedule and visit classrooms. Parents of gifted students will meet at 6:30 p.m. for a program overview.

• Resurrection Christian School will hold an open house from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday. Kindergarten to 12th-grade teachers will be available in classrooms to display the children's work and classrooms. Open to the public.

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Wake suspect loses bid for reduced bail

Sept. 18, 2004
News & Observer
By OREN DORELL
© Copyright 2004

RALEIGH -- Lawyers painted competing portraits Friday of a young woman charged with helping a suspect after a double homicide Sept. 4 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

In one version, told by Assistant Wake District Attorney Susan Spurlin, Rachel Louise French, 20, of Apex was a drug-using companion of drug dealers and armed robbers, who spent hours helping the killer hide a murder weapon and blood-spattered clothing, and passed up several chances to call police.

Spurlin was arguing in Wake Superior Court against a request to reduce French's bail.

In the second version, told by defense attorney Robert E. Nunley, French was a Meredith College student and Nunley's former intern who convinced Timothy Wayne Johnson, 22, to turn himself in, helped Wake Sheriff's investigators find evidence that was hidden, and volunteered information about previous crimes that her friends are alleged to have committed.

After hearing the conflicting portraits, Senior Resident Judge Donald W. Stephens refused to reduce French's $100,000 bail.

Johnson, an N.C. State University student, and his brother, Tony Harrell Johnson, 20, both have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kevin M. McCann of Chicago and 2nd Lt. Brett Johnson Harman, a Camp Lejeune Marine from Park Ridge, Ill. The men, both 23, were gunned down while tailgating at an NCSU football game.

French and Tony Johnson's girlfriend, Ashley Renee Brown, 18, have been charged as accessories after the fact to murder.

French, a slight woman with wire-rimmed glasses, sat with stooped shoulders, occasionally murmuring to her lawyer during Friday's hearing.

According to Spurlin's account, Tim Johnson called French shortly after the shooting and asked her to pick him up near Jones Franklin Road.

First, French dropped Tim Johnson off while he disposed of a .45-caliber handgun and a magazine. She returned to pick him up.

Next, Tim Johnson wanted to buy new clothes and hair dye, so French took him to a Wal-Mart, went inside with him and bought him new clothes, Spurlin said. She walked alone to her car with the items she bought, and drove around to pick up Tim Johnson. Then they stopped at a fast-food restaurant Dumpster so he could dump his old clothes.

French waited "long enough to watch several people go through the drive-through before he comes back," Spurlin said.

A home invasion

Spurlin said the Johnson brothers "were heavily involved in drug activity," and that French bought drugs from Tim Johnson. When someone stole several ounces of cocaine and $1,000 from Tim Johnson's apartment, French helped scope out the apartment of a person they suspected. She went inside "to see if she recognized anything inside the house that was stolen," Spurlin said.

What resulted was a home invasion robbery Aug. 23 at 2100 Mariner Circle, where two men and two women were herded and restrained with duct tape and handcuffs. The first arrest in that case occurred Thursday. Justin Barron McCarty, 23, of Fayetteville is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and first-degree burglary.

"They stole lots of weapons in the home invasion, divided them up, and used one in the homicide," Spurlin said.

"This shows further criminal involvement of this defendant," Spurlin told Stephens, summing up her account.

Nunley, French's lawyer and former employer, tried in vain to convince Stephens that his client proved she was no flight risk by cooperating with investigators.

He said she knew, on Sept. 4, that Tim Johnson was involved in a shooting and tried from the start to persuade him to turn himself in. She saw him handle a large-caliber handgun but only learned later that night that two people had died. Eventually, she persuaded Johnson to call Nunley and turn himself in, Nunley said. "She was scared of this individual to the point where she doesn't just stop the car and get out," he said.

The day after the shooting, French talked to investigators, drew a diagram of where they would find the gun, showed them where to find Tim Johnson's blood-spattered shoes, and took them to where he dumped his clothes, Nunley said.

She provided deputies with "evidence that they would not have had otherwise," Nunley said. "We drove around with an officer for four hours. I asked him, 'Are there any matters that she has told you that have been proven to be untrue?' He said, 'No.' "

Stephens' response was to recall the context of French's decisions.

"You talk about her staying up that morning and trying to come clean," Stephens said before announcing that French's bail would remain unchanged. "There were two kids who didn't go home that night. This is serious stuff."

French was led away in tears. A few hours later, a bondsman bailed her out.

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Jobless rate in N.C. holds steady at 5%

Sept. 18, 2004
Winston-Salem Journal
By Richard Craver
© Copyright 2004

The state's unemployment rate was unchanged in August at 5 percent, but economic officials expressed confidence yesterday that North Carolina's recovery is moving forward.

North Carolina's rate remained below the U.S. jobless rate for a sixth consecutive month, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported. The U.S. jobless rate was 5.4 percent in August.

Harry Payne Jr., the chairman of the commission, said that the state's rate has fallen dramatically from the 6.5 percent recorded in August last year.

"Not since January through June 2001 has the rate consecutively been at or below 5.5 percent for a six-month period," Payne said.

Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University, said that the state is making progress in its transition from a manufacturing base to an economy driven by education and technology.

"Historically, while North Carolina's recessions have been more severe, recoveries have been more robust, and it looks as if we're repeating this pattern," Walden said.

He said that since August 2003, the personal-income level for North Carolinians has risen 5.8 percent, compared with 5.2percent for the nation.

"A case can be made that the water in North Carolina's economic cup has drained down, but it is beginning to refill," Walden said. "Yet the state still has important challenges in areas such as retraining workers, the geographic location of jobs, infrastructure and adapting to 21st-century economic realities."

The commission reported that the state had a net gain of 2,900 jobs during August.

Educational and health services had a net gain of 6,800 jobs, reflecting seasonal hiring for secondary and post-secondary schools. The leisure and hospitality sector and construction each added 2,900 jobs, while professional and business services had a net gain of 2,200.

The state lost 4,100 more manufacturing jobs during the month, primarily in food processing, textiles, tobacco and wood products. The state also shed 1,000 government jobs.

Since January, the state has had a net gain of 64,100 jobs, the commission reported.

That doesn't mean, however, that everyone who has gained a job is gainfully employed, said Michael Wald, a regional economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment officials said that businesses continue to prefer adding temporary help.

"The state has created jobs in the past year, but not at the level where everyone who wants a job, particularly a full-time job, has one," Wald said.

A report from the N.C. Budget and Tax Center found that as many as 153,000 part-time workers wanted a full-time job last year, but could not find one.

"It also isn't creating enough jobs for many discouraged workers to become encouraged again and re-enter the work force," Wald said.

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Lots of questions, few answers for Triangle technology industry

Sept. 19, 2004
Triangle Business Journal; MSNBC
By Leo John
© Copyright 2004

RALEIGH - NCEITA could not have chosen a more ironic venue for its Triangle roundtable to discuss the future of the once too-hot-to-touch technology sector.

At a time when tech jobs are falling faster than Barry Bonds homers are clearing the fences, 90 or so business and government leaders gathered on Sept. 10 at the offices of one of the region's most notable success stories, Red Hat.

Maybe the Linux reseller's success swayed the thinking of some - prompting whispers of a recovery during an otherwise somber two-hour meeting. Despite the search for optimism, perhaps the only real cheering news is that North Carolina's technology woes are not isolated.

A University of Illinois at Chicago study released on Sept. 15 reported that the nation's job market for high-tech workers shrank by 18.8 percent, to 1.74 million, between March 2001 and April 2004.

Finding new avenues for products and services, along with cash to drive the effort, were among the main topics of discussion. Governments, said many, must do their part in making purchases and passing supportive laws.

"Our biggest challenge is in (state government technology) procurement," said Brent Carter of Raleigh-based tech consulting firm IP Technologies. On that count, he groused about small businesses being shut out of state government contracts.

"It's not a level playing field," Carter said.

Representatives of other small technology outfits chimed in. "There is a sense of frustration on constantly finishing second" on bids for state government technology consulting contracts, said Stuart MacDonald, chief marketing officer of Cary-based Vanguard Software, a five-person company.

With political heavyweights including U.S. Rep. David Price, state Sen. Vernon Malone, state Rep. Deborah Ross and state Commerce Secretary Jim Fain in the room, the subject of tax credits and state incentives for job creation found ready acceptance.

During this year's state legislative session, NCEITA lobbyists fought for and won a 5 percent tax credit on research and development work done by all companies. Previously, only profitable companies could avail themselves of the credit.

"Tax codes can be used in a more effective way, maybe operating at the margins," acknowledged Price.

On the federal level, some in attendance agreed that North Carolina is lagging in garnering federal homeland security dollars. "We should better leverage the large amount of federal funding available," said an attendee who identified himself as an executive with a large consulting firm based in Dallas, Texas.

"The state needs to work closely with the federal government to allow entrepreneurs and decision makers grant opportunities and access to federal contracts," said Betsy Justus, a vice president at technology consulting firm ACS.

In what Fain called "a fiercely competitive economy," some blame for the Triangle's technology woes was apportioned to federal policies. "Our success here depends on national policy," said Price.

Some business leaders complained of difficulties in finding skilled workers. Barbara O'Cain, vice president of human resources at Time Warner, said she is searching for skilled technicians to emerge from the community college system.

A lawyer opined that patent policies at some North Carolina universities, when compared to states such as California, remain backward - a challenge for emerging technology companies.

"Patent policies at N.C. State (University) are up to speed, but the University of North Carolina (at Chapel Hill) is way behind in its patent system," said Ted Corvette, a partner in the Raleigh office of the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.

Representatives of startups moaned about a lack of available capital. David Blivin, a co-founder of venture firm Lighthouse Ventures, said the state "requires capital that is close to companies," meaning local capital. Blivin is in the process of trying to put together a $30 million venture fund for Lighthouse.

Blivin also offered his opinion that state Treasurer Richard Moore needs to allocate larger outlays from the state employees pension fund for North Carolina-based investment firms.

When the meeting was over, tech executives remained uncertain about the chances of a revival in the state's tech sector.

"No one single meeting will make a huge change," said Brenda Levine, a vice president of human resources for EMC. "At least, there's a recognized need."

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Accused Accomplice in NC State Tailgate Shooting Faces Judge

Sept. 17, 2004
WTVD
By Vanessa Welch
© Copyright 2004

(09/17/04 - RALEIGH) — For the first time we're learning more about what happened after two men were shot to death while tailgating at an NC State football game two weeks ago.

Rachel French covers her face as she walks into a Wake County courtroom, but what was about to be uncovered were previously unknown details about the NC State tailgate shooting.

According to the prosecutor, French helped Tim Johnson, the man accused of committing the murders. French allegedly drove Johnson to a WalMart, bought him hair dye, new clothes and then helped him dispose of his blood stained clothes and the murder weapon. "She knew he committed a murder and she found her self caught up in certain acts for that person."

Susan Spurlin says French was very involved with the Johnson brothers and even helped them plan a home invasion at a house on Mariana Street where they stole guns and money. "At the home invasion, people had guns, they had handcuffs, they duct tapped them, put guns in people's mouth I understand demanding money someone has been charged with that home invasion."

Eyewitness News learned that suspect is Justin Barron. He is now charged with armed robbery. French's attorney doesn't deny his clients knowledge of the home invasion or Johnson's criminal past in fact he says that's why she helped him. "All of a sudden he's saying he shot somebody. And then all of a sudden she sees this .45 and he starts playing with the .45."

Despite her attorney's arguments, the judge did not reduce Rachel's bond which is still set at $100,000. Right not her family is trying to raise money to get her out.

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Wolfpack Club Announces New Name for Towers

Sept. 17, 2004
GoPack.com; Clemson Tigers Insider; CanesTime.com; CollegeSports.com, NY
By reporter name, staff writer
© Copyright 2004

The NC State Student Aid Association, Inc. (Wolfpack Club) announces that one of its donors has provided a gift which will create a new name for Wolfpack Towers. This week, University Trustees approved the renaming of Wolfpack Towers to its new name of C. Richard Vaughn Towers.

Construction on the facility began in 2003 and is scheduled for completion prior to the 2005 football season. This will complete the Wolfpack Club's second phase of Carter-Finley Stadium renovations, helping to accommodate the increasing ticket demand for NC State football games.

NC State Athletic Director Lee Fowler appreciates all Richard has done for the program: "Richard has meant so much to this university through his leadership, dedication, and desire to step up and serve the student-athletes at NC State through his involvement in many campaigns. Once again, the Vaughn Family has proven they are truly great friends of the NC State family."

The Wolfpack Towers project marked the beginning of Phase II of the campaign and is rapidly progressing towards its completion before next football season. Overall, Vaughn Towers will be the home of the new media center, a club level, and two floors of luxury suites. Vaughn Towers will offer state-of-the-art resources for media, game-day operations, and fans as they experience Wolfpack Football. This project will help to meet NC State's ongoing goal of developing one of the nation's premier football programs.

Wolfpack Club Executive Director Bobby Purcell recently commented on the contributions of the Vaughn Family: "Vaughn Towers is the next step in helping make our football program a national championship contender. Not only has the Richard Vaughn family helped make this project a reality with its donation, but Richard has been very instrumental in getting it built through his leadership as President of our Wolfpack Club board of directors, member of the Construction Oversight Committee, and member of the NCSU Board of Trustees. It is fitting that this world class facility is being named after a man who has given so much to NC State University in so many different ways."

Richard Vaughn graduated from NC State with a degree in Nuclear Engineering and currently resides in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Upon completion of college he entered the US Army and earned the rank of First Lieutenant. Following his four years of military service, Richard has been involved in a number of successful business ventures. In addition to becoming CEO of John S. Clark Company, Vaughn has served on the Board of Directors of The North Carolina Granite Corporation, Insteel Industries, Riverside Building Supply Inc., and United Plastics Corporation. Beyond his business affiliation, Richard has always taken time to give back to the community through interaction with NC State University along with local United Way and YMCA Chapters.

"Richard Vaughn is part of a long list of alumni who give back to NC State University," said Interim Chancellor Robert Barnhardt. "They give because they are proud of what the university is today and appreciate how an NC State education changed their lives."

Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, the Wolfpack Club is a non-profit organization that provides scholarship aid for NC State student-athletes. Nearly 8,000 male and female students have received scholarship assistance since the organization was founded in 1936. All gate receipts, television revenue and other income generated by athletics events are used to meet the operating expenses of the 23 varsity sports supported by the Club. Without the generous financial support provided by the more than 18,000 members of the Wolfpack Club, the successful athletics programs at NC State would not be possible.

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Tutors serve as a new recruit tool

Sept. 18, 2004
News & Observer
By CHIP ALEXANDER
© Copyright 2004

At Ohio State, football recruits are shown massive Ohio Stadium and the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during visits to campus. Another can't-miss stop: The Younkin Success Center.

"The Younkin Center is one of the reasons I came to Ohio State," said Buckeyes quarterback Justin Zwick, who will be in Raleigh today leading his team against the N.C. State Wolfpack.

At Louisiana State University, it's the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes. And soon, at NCSU, it will be a renovated Case Athletics Center.

"The athletics arms race now has moved to academic support," said Demetrius Marlowe, an assistant to the vice president for student affairs at Michigan State.

For years, coaches impressed recruits with the number of seats in the stadium or the square footage of the weight room. But there's a new element in that game of one-upmanship. More schools are beginning to tout the number of computer workstations, study rooms and tutorial assistants in their academic support units.

Growing trend

At a time when many major colleges face budget crunches in athletics, academic support budgets are growing. Ohio State will spend about $1.5 million this year. NCSU will spend about $1 million, with more than 90 percent financed by the athletics department.

NCSU's Case Center is undergoing a $3 million renovation, athletics director Lee Fowler said. Much of the facility, which will be a student welfare center, will be devoted to academic support services. It will be open to all Wolfpack athletes, as are nearly all academic support centers around the country.

"It's not just for the marginal student," said Phil Moses, director of NCSU's academic support program. "We also strive to help someone improve a B to an A."

Ohio State's center, referred to as a "one-stop learning mall" in a university brochure, is open to all students. It houses the Student-Athlete Support Services Office, which meets the demands of 900 athletes.

"It has helped me a lot, with its computer lab and the tutoring available," said Zwick, a sophomore. "It helps keep you on the right path. It definitely helps in recruiting. Parents like to see that side of things."

Steve McDonnell, president of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics, said an increasing number of large Division I-A college programs are part of the trend. That includes Texas A&M, where he heads academic support. About $8 million went into building the Center for Athletics Academic Services.

"It has 26,000 square feet, 50 stations in the computer lab, four classrooms that hold 30 athletes, five smaller tutoring labs, seven rooms for one-on-one tutoring ...," McDonnell said.

Meeting standards

McDonnell and others say such expenditures are needed as a result of the NCAA's imposition of stiffer academic standards. Athletes will be required to complete more work toward degrees to maintain eligibility, and schools with lagging graduation rates will face the loss of scholarships and possibly a postseason ban.

Marlowe, former director of Michigan State's academic support program, said MSU's Clara Bell Smith Student Athlete Academic Support Center, financed by former Spartans basketball star Steve Smith to honor his mother, was one of the nation's first such facilities, opening in 1998. "When [former MSU football coach] Nick Saban got to LSU, the first thing he asked for was an academic support center," Marlowe said. "And he got it."

About $15 million -- including a $5.5 million donation from Cox Communications -- was raised to renovate a 54,000-square-foot facility that opened in fall 2002. It has 75 computer stations and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

In the NCAA's most recent graduation rates report, for students entering in 1996-1997, LSU -- which shared the 2003 national football championship with Southern California -- graduated 29 percent of its football players and 55 percent of all athletes. At Ohio State, the rates were 50 percent (football) and 60 percent (all athletes); and at N.C. State, 44 percent (football) and 64 percent (all athletes).

NCSU's Moses, a past president of the national association, said he knew of no substantial studies on how money spent on academic support affects graduation rates. "There are no guarantees," he said. "It's more in how each institution uses its money."

Most ACC schools have invested in academic support. In 1991 Clemson opened Vickery Hall, a 27,000-square-foot building the school claims was the first facility built solely for academic support for athletes. At Florida State, the new Moore Athletic Center has a state-of-the-art academic support unit. FSU has more than 50 tutors and advisers available to athletes.

'Two-culture campus'

There are critics who take a jaded view of this trend. "These facilities are as much a part of the recruiting process in the arms race as air-conditioned weight rooms and bigger locker rooms," said Linda Bensel-Myers, a University of Denver professor and member of the Drake Group, a national faculty coalition that seeks academic reform. "What they do is produce a two-culture campus. It only [reinforces] that ... to people who could probably get a lot more benefit from tutoring and the rest of it, that they're not as important."

Murray Sperber, professor emeritus at Indiana University, author of "College Sports Inc." and a critic of the influence of athletics at universities and colleges, agreed. "It's absolutely part of the arms race and will only get bigger," he said.

"And the signal it sends to the other students: Athletic departments hire all the best tutors and pay top dollar. ... Regular students who desperately need good tutors often can't get them. Where are the best tutors? Helping athletes stay eligible."

At the University of Alabama, Paul W. Bryant Hall, named for legendary football coach "Bear" Bryant, is being renovated. For years, it was a dorm for athletes. But the NCAA has outlawed those so Bryant Hall will now house the academic center for athletes.

"Winning games was the most important thing for Bear Bryant," Sperber said. "Bear could be turning over in his grave."

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Judge Denies Request To Lower Bond For Meredith Student

Sept. 17, 2004
WRAL
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A Wake County judge refused a request to lower bond for one of the women charged in connection with a deadly tailgate shooting.

Rachel French, 20, of Apex, is charged with accessory after the fact to murder and is being held in the Wake County Jail on $100,000 bond.

French's lawyer argued to have her bond reduced in court Friday

The Meredith College sophomore is accused of assisting Timothy Johnson, 22, get rid of a gun and his clothes after a shooting near a North Carolina State University football game on Sept. 4.

Johnson and his brother, Tony, are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Ashley Brown, 18, of Tarboro, was charged as an accessory after the fact to murder. Investigators say Brown drove Tony Johnson to a hotel and helped him secure a room.

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Bett Padgett to perform at Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse dedication

Sept. 17, 2004
Outer Banks Sentinel
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

Bett Padgett, Raleigh storyteller and songwriter, will perform at the dedication of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and the rededication of the Creef Boathouse, Saturday, Sept. 25, following the noon ceremony.

She will share the stage with Dulcimer Dave, a four-time North Carolina State Fair Folk Music Champion. The event will be held on the Manteo waterfront and is sponsored by the Town of Manteo.

Padgett's storytelling and songs merge when she has conversations with subjects such as an Alzheimer's patient's daughter, with her mother, or with her son about love letters her father wrote her mother before their marriage ... and some as whimsical as why dogs sniff each others' tails! Style? It's hard to say - borderline folk, borderline jazz, borderline blues. Some are downright meditative.

Padgett has taught folk and pop guitar at North Carolina State University in Raleigh since 1979 and teaches guitar, mandolin and piano in her private studio. Her interest in the Hatteras Lighthouse introduced her to the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society, proponents of the relocation effort. As a strong environmentalist, this seemed to be the only solution to save this beautiful structure, and a strong part of our history and culture. She became active in the society, as the Vice President and Coordinator of Special Events. She now is President of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society, a national organization whose purpose is to preserve the lighthouses in North Carolina and bring an awareness and appreciation to the public about these magnificent lights. The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society will have a booth at the dedication where additional information will be available.

She received a grant from the United Arts Council of NC in 1996 to help fund her first CD, More Than Time. She did all the instrumentation, vocals, percussion and arranging, making her first CD quite a challenge! Her second CD, Trefalen, is different in many ways, drawing upon other musicians. It was released in April 1999.

While she was working on the release of Trefalen, she was busy writing and recording songs written about the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. This was done with the encouragement of the National Park Service, North Carolina Arts Council and Dare County Arts Council. Through music, Padgett captured the history of the lighthouse, events during its lifetime, the emotions of people concerning its relocation and the worldwide appreciation people have for the structure. The CD Hatteras: If a Lighthouse Could Speak is a tribute to the memories and love people have of the Cape Hatteras Light. It has been entered into the archives of several libraries in North Carolina and has won national attention. Music from the CD has been used in several documentaries (including ABC Niteline News broadcast) and a CD Rom, produced by WRAL-TV.

Chaos Realm quotes, "Some of the most poignant, powerful lyrics I've heard in awhile."

Padgett sang at the Hatteras Lighthouse re-lighting ceremony in November of 1999. She also performed at the rededication of the lighthouse May 5, 2001 and at the celebration of the 200 years of light in October 2003. Cape Hatteras National Seashore receives a portion of the sales of the CD. She is a member of the North Carolina Folklore Society.

Padgett released her fourth CD, Conversations (Surprises & Other Stories) in January 2002. These songs tell of the emotions of raising children, the raging Hurricane Floyd which struck North Carolina's coast in 1999, and a little sass with a story about waiting in "Lines". Some fun, some enlightening, and some things to think about! Two songs are about the Wright Brothers first flight, and one about the dedication of the keepers of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

She will begin working on her fifth and sixth CDs soon, all about North Carolina. The Magical History Tour will include many songs about our rich maritime history and lighthouses, and will take us to the western part of the state with a song about the Trail of Tears. While writing songs about the history of North Carolina is a passion, so is writing of events that happen in most ordinary people's lives, thus CD No. 5!

She began writing her own music in 1989, mostly of stories, places and personal experiences. Her love of traditional music of the United States and that of the United Kingdom prompts her to arrange songs in a way which may attract an ear which otherwise would not be likely to listen. John Bucher of Oberlin University said of her Celtic arrangement of Steven Foster's Oh Susanna! (from her first CD) "I can't remember the last time I sang 'O Susanna", and smiled as I sang along!"

Padgett explains, "Music is a way to express oneself and to reach folks through a medium that is universal. I write to share and if asked why I write, I'll tell you, I can't NOT write!"

The Outer Banks History Center will be offering photograph scanning for those who have old photographs of the original Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, river lights or other screw-pile lights that were located in the vicinity. They also would like to scan photographs of any lighthouse keepers and identify those individuals who recall those days of the lighthouses, for future oral history interviews. The Outer Banks History Center's scanning station will be located inside the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, following the dedication.

For additional information about the dedication call (252) 473-2133.

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Letter to the editor: NCAA should ban alcohol from events

Sept. 18, 2004
Greensboro News & Record
© Copyright 2004

Although a fourth suspect was arrested for being involved in the shooting at the home opener for the N.C. State football team, the NCAA should also be charged for allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed at tailgating parties and inside the sporting events. The altercation that led to the shooting broke out because of beer being thrown at the suspect's 1996 Chrysler Cirrus. The throwing of beer at a car should raise several flags in minds of the NCAA's board members.

Alcohol was involved in this shooting, which led to the deaths of two 23-year-old men. Alcohol and sporting events do not mix. All alcohol should be banned from the sporting events and pre-game tailgating parties. Although it will take more than two people's deaths to change the rule, it should be brought to the attention of the NCAA and their board members that alcohol was a main factor in this tragedy and many other altercations that never make headlines.

Wyatt Smith

Greensboro

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Opinion: A season on ice

Sept. 20, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

The National Hockey League's decision to lock players out and shut down the upcoming season for an indeterminate period of time is a matter of no small concern -- not just to hockey fans, but to all the citizens of Raleigh and Wake County, and North Carolina, for that matter. All those groups are heavily invested to the tune of over $100 million in the RBC Center in West Raleigh, where the Carolina Hurricanes reside.

The most acute impact of the lockout -- the result of a labor dispute in which team owners want to set a salary cap, and players, obviously, do not -- will be felt by some area business, such as restaurants that see big boosts in revenue on home game nights during the hockey season. Several hundred people who typically get part-time work at the arena during the season will be out of luck; it's likely some other employees of the Carolina Hurricanes will be laid off.

But there are other, broader financial concerns: reduced revenue to the Centennial Authority that oversees the public's interest in the arena, hard times for Gale Force Holdings, the Carolina Hurricanes' parent company, and a hit to N.C. State University, which plays basketball games at the RBC and shares in naming rights revenues.

And, though this is the worst case scenario, a lost season, should the impasse continue, might even place the Hurricanes in jeopardy, given that they already were losing money. If the club found itself in a position where it couldn't survive the financial pressures, it would be a daunting burden for the arena to get by on NCSU basketball and entertainment events.

It would also be a tremendous letdown for this area, which enthusiastically welcomed the Hurricanes as the first major-league professional sports team in these parts. For all of the gripes many have voiced about ticket and concession prices, etc., there's still a lot of support for the team, and many football- and basketball-loving Southerners who are wearing those Canes jerseys. But there's little any of them can do about it. We can simply hope that the players and owners recognize their best interests are in a season, not a sitdown.

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Letter to the editor: Where it's warming

Sept. 20, 2004
News & Observer
© Copyright 2004

The two Sept. 7 People's Forum letters on global warming, "Warming? Unproven" and "Don't bet on action" seemed to stand in direct conflict. The former stated that "Actual observations...do not show significant warming of the atmosphere." The other countered with, "...the mean global temperature soars..." Both stated that there is strong evidence for their case.

In fact, both statements are probably correct. The temperature of the planet is regulated solely by how much sunlight it absorbs. This absorption is governed by the brightness of the Earth as it appears from space, hence, it is regulated mostly by the amount of cloud cover. Unless that changes, the average planetary temperature cannot change.

The devil is in the details, however. As carbon dioxide levels increase, the lower atmosphere and Earth surface heat up as the upper atmosphere cools. Global warming down here where we live, where sea-level rises and ice melts, is proceeding even though the average temperature of the atmosphere is not changing.

Al Riordan

Associate Professor of Meteorology

N.C. State University

Raleigh

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NCSU leads system un new PMS degrees

Sept. 17, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

A growing number of schools within the University of North Carolina system are offering a Professional Science Master's degree. In 2003, North Carolina State University became the first university in the state to offer the degree - which is designed to combine the rigors of science with the practicality of business courses. The UNC system obtained a $45,000 grant from the Alfred Sloan Foundation and after rounding up some funds of its own, plans to establish PSM programs system-wide.

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People: Carla Mattos

Sept. 17, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

Carla Mattos, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University, received the 2003 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

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Map: New parking rules at NCSU start today

Sept. 18, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

The free parking lot at the State Fairgrounds off Trinity Road will open at 10:30 a.m. today for permit holders only to accommodate traffic for the 3:30 p.m. football game between N.C. State and Ohio State. The decision by university and fairgrounds officials to limit access was announced last week after the Sept. 4 shooting deaths of two people in the fairgrounds lot.

For a copy of this map, contact News Services at 5-3470.

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Footnotes: Broad to address forum Friday

Sept. 20, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

Those wanting a peek at the future of higher education with a business slant can gather in Room 216 of N.C. State University's Poe Hall from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday.

UNC System President Molly Broad will be the featured speaker at a forum titled "Building a Nation of Learners: The Need for Changes in Teaching and Learning to Meet Global Challenges."

The discussion, hosted by The William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, will focus on the recent recommendations from the Business-Higher Education Forum. Broad is a member of the business forum and co-chair of the group's Learning and Technology Initiative.

The report by the organization, made up of more than 70 business and university leaders from across the nation, recommends that colleges adopt new approaches in response to changes in demographic, economic and social forces.

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People: REBECCA COWLES SWANSON

Sept. 20, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

REBECCA COWLES SWANSON was recently named . Swanson, involved in distance education planning and administration since 1996, served as managing director of the Office of Instructional Telecommunications and more recently as director of distance education planning and development.

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Footnotes: NCSU getting new 'front door'

Sept. 20, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004

Welcome to the new "front door" of N.C. State University; you can see the rest of the house once construction crews are done in June 2005.

Placement of the last steel beam of the E. Carroll Joyner Visitor Center and Advancement Services Building was celebrated Friday with a topping-out ceremony by university officials. The visitor center is scheduled to become the new gateway to the university, where prospective students, visitors, children on field trips and most newcomers will be directed once the 27,000-square-foot building is ready.

The university will use the space to show off its colleges, curricula, research and extension programs to more than 25,000 people each year. It is on Western Boulevard between Gorman Street and Varsity Drive.

E. Carroll Joyner is a 1956 graduate of NCSU and former vice president for real estate development for the Golden Corral Restaurant chain. He is the founder of the N.C. Cattlemen's Foundation.

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Point of view: Public forests, dying of overprotection

Sept. 19, 2004
News & Observer
By LARRY W. TOMBAUGH
© Copyright 2004

RALEIGH -- I recently visited forests in eastern Oregon as part of a team of wildlife biologists, foresters and water-quality specialists. Our task was to audit forest practices on privately owned forests and to assess whether the practices were environmentally sustainable. Since many of these private lands were adjacent to national forests, the trip provided an opportunity to observe forest conditions on the two different types of ownership, and I have made similar observations in other parts of the country.

The federal forests that I saw are heading for serious ecological problems. The privately owned forests were in much better overall health. Decisions made by the courts or in the halls of Washington, D.C., in the name of environmental protection are, perversely, having negative environmental consequences on the ground. How did we get to this sorry situation?

• • •

Timber management has been an important activity on our national forests from the time they were created by President Theodore Roosevelt. Later, providing plentiful, low-cost housing for veterans and others became a major national priority after World War II. A strong consensus supported the need for affordable housing. Our national forests were seen as a critical element in meeting that need.

Regrettably, public policy swung too far. For several years timber harvests exceeded levels that would protect and maintain a wide variety of resource and environmental values.

Few would argue that we should return to those excessively high harvest levels. But the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and the public and the national forests are paying the price.

National consensus about the purposes of our federal forests has collapsed over the past three decades. Forest policy has become the source of endless controversy and litigation. The opposing values are usually framed as timber harvesting vs. environmental preservation. The amount of timber now harvested on public lands is only a fraction of what was cut in past years.

It is easy for the public to jump to the conclusion that a blanket prohibition of logging is always good for the environment. But consider the situation in eastern Oregon:

• Elk herds are an important component of ecosystems throughout the Intermountain west. But elk populations in eastern Oregon and Idaho are declining. Why? Most wildlife biologists believe one cause is the decline in summer habitat on the national forests.

Early succession-forest conditions, which consist of grasses, shrubs and young trees, occur after some form of disturbance. Disturbances may be inflicted naturally, through volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, insect or disease attacks, or fires; or they may be encouraged by man through timber harvesting. Modern forest harvesting on appropriate sites can enhance wildlife habitat, reduce hazardous buildups of fuels and provide useful products.

Elk represent a source of food for large predators like mountain lions. As elk herds have begun to decline, these predators are moving out of the public lands to seek other food sources, spelling trouble for ranchers and the public. Clashes between humans and large predators will increase as populations continue to grow.

• Millions of acres of federal forests are dying. Coupled with continuing drought conditions, the threat of catastrophic wildfire increases daily. Prior to the drastic reductions in timber harvesting, many of these trees would have been salvaged to arrest the spread of insects and disease, and to provide useful products. New trees would have been planted in their place and another cycle of successional vegetation would have begun.

In many parts of the West, dead and dying trees could not be salvaged now even if public policy is relaxed to permit harvesting. Restrictions on availability of timber purchased from the federal government have put many sawmills out of business. Consequently, there are few markets for the timber. Salvage costs can no longer be recovered from sale of the wood. Our options are increasingly limited to either letting them burn or incurring ever-mounting fire suppression costs.

• • •

Our nation is fortunate to be able to afford to preserve over 106 million acres in the National Wilderness Preservation System, an area the size of all the New England states plus New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. These lands are, by federal law, off limits to resource exploitation. We have millions more acres protected in fish and wildlife management areas, national parks and state forest preserves. These need to be protected for future generations.

But decisions about the management or preservation of the remainder of our national forests should not be made through blanket, often politically motivated national decrees, nor should they be relegated to the courts.

Federal law allows planning on a forest-by-forest basis by teams of qualified national resource professionals who must solicit public input. This planning process should be allowed to work, and timber harvesting should be permitted where it is deemed needed and appropriate through the forest planning process.

Americans need to realize that the pendulum has swung too far toward non-management of our national forests. Only when citizens begin to express concern through the political process will resource managers be able to provide future generations with healthy forests, plentiful wildlife populations and biologically diverse ecosystems. This is what modern sustainable forestry is all about.

Larry W. Tombaugh, Ph.D., is dean emeritus of the College of Natural Resources at N.C. State University.

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Sunday reader: Hapless

Sept. 19, 2004
News & Observer
By Thomas David Lisk
© Copyright 2004

The events 'Hapless' describes happened on the highway between Sumter and Columbia, S.C. Of course, how I tell the story has some bearing on how it might be interpreted, and it might not matter much that it happened to me. It was a challenge to try to present the facts of the situation accurately without creating more mystery than the facts delivered. But the coincidence the poem details excited me and I felt a compulsion to try to evoke some of that excitement in words.

Pale purple festooning a lacy dogwood drags

my eye as the engine draws me on.

Old R. P. Warren's voice on reeling tape

reads a poem about hawks and fate.

It's spring but he has jumped the years

to speak the "Heart of Autumn" when I please.

He croaks, "Some crumple in air, fall,"

and in a flash burst of flesh and flurry of feathers

two big birds nearly touch my windshield.

And one I think from beak and wing

is certainly a hawk dipping from its ragged way

fumbles its heavy, broken prey,

which, thumping asphalt, slides below

the chassis on the raveling road,

a flight path the living raptor cannot make

as the hurt loser flattens on macadam.

This wild coincidence or simple sign

shakes me out between belief and doubt,

and in the vastness of the path before me,

I wonder what exactly did I see.

Why, after two birds fight and fall,

do I feel some force has given me a call,

a sense I must assume responsibility for God?

Elsewhere fire blossoms under auto hoods

and hawks outnumber pigeons by the pack.

But even now it hurts me that I can't go back

and name the fated bird for good and all.

From the dropped hawk or barred owl

I could gather outlawed feathers as a talisman,

a bond between the doomed bird and the living,

and time and me, since I once won a paper

prize for "A Coat of Many Colored Feathers,"

and want that not to prove

the workings of another old man's purblind doom,

want it also not to be coincidence but fate.

But this whole struggle was in black and white,

or almost white, and quick, and clear.

No matter what the words, the car rolled on.

TOM LISK was born in Rockville, Conn., but has lived most of his adult life in North and South Carolina. A graduate of Trinity College, he received a master's from the University of Houston and a doctorate from Rice University. His second collection of poems, "Aroma Terrapin," was published recently by Edwin Mellen Press. For the last 10 years he has been a professor of English at N.C. State. He has two grown daughters and one granddaughter, and lives in Raleigh with his wife, Susan, and their cat, Max.

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Study: How Climate Affects Crop Growth

Sept. 19, 2004
agriculture.about.com
By Logan Hawkes
© Copyright 2004

Kansas State University is one of several universities that will share an estimated $5 million federal grant to study how plants respond to environmental changes and how the genetic pathways underlying their responses evolve in different climates.

"K-State is working with some of the premier labs in the world on this project, which is being funded by the National Science Foundation." said Steve Welch, professor in the university's agronomy department and the lead K-State researcher on the project. "We'll be studying ecology and genomics (genetic material) and how they interact -- it's a new area."

The research will examine how a plant's genome integrates environmental signals and evolves so that it blooms when it has the best chance to reproduce successfully, Welch said.

Plants' abilities in this regard illustrate an important capacity of many biological systems: the ability to assess multiple signals in responding to complex challenges.

The results of the project will be important for predicting how plants will respond to future climate change and will help to inform conservation management and crop improvement strategists, he said.

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Stack it deep in the dorm room

Sept. 18, 2004
Biloxi Sun Herald, MS; SunHerald.com, MS
By INDIA AUTRY
© Copyright 2004

College freshmen begin a great adventure this fall, tackling new academic, social and personal experiences. They'll also have to settle down, into a territory some are accustomed to occupying on their own, not splitting with someone else: the dorm room.

When they do, they'll have the luxury of starring in their own design show.

But college veterans say that before newcomers delve into decorating their rooms, they should be warned that the Home & Garden Television show they'll find most relevant is "This Small Space."

It's not easy to look at the typically bland rooms and see the potential. But it's there, the veterans say. And they have the advice to help with transition.

It's all about imagination.

"You have to be creative with your space," said Malik Walker of Raleigh, N.C., a fourth-year psychology major at Virginia's Hampton University.

Walker says freshmen should remember two words: storage and stacking.

Walker turns every hidden space into a storage area. He's managed to be compact and neat by putting his computer keyboard in a desk drawer, sliding emptied suitcases and roll-out storage bins under his bed and filling the floor of his closet.

North Carolina State University senior Katie Hendrix also didn't let cramped quarters cramp her style. "Anything that will go in a hole, stick it in there and push it to the back," says Hendrix, from Rose Hill, N.C.

In her dorm room, when horizontal wasn't enough, she looked up - stacking a microwave and television on colorful plastic milk crates and turning her bed into a loft so she could put a futon under it.

Hendrix, who now lives in an apartment, says small dorms have big decorating potential. For her two years on campus, she bought utilitarian items such as curtains, comforters and carpets with a Hawaiian beach theme.

Themed rooms are a popular approach to making tiny dorm rooms lively. If you're going that route, seniors say, it's a good idea to get your roommate involved.

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Tips to help buyers judge quality

Sept. 18, 2004
Akron Beacon Journal, OH
By staff report
© Copyright 2004

Judging the quality of upholstered furniture is hard, because most of the important elements are hidden from view. Here are some tips for choosing the best that fits your budget:

• Make sure the chair or sofa feels sturdy, sits squarely on the floor and doesn't creak or wobble.

• Don't assume that just because a piece of furniture is heavy, it's good quality. Inferior frame materials can weigh more than better ones, and frames using good materials can be constructed poorly.

• Look at the underside of the chair or sofa for interior corners that are braced with corner blocks. Those reinforcements should be glued and screwed in place. The addition of two dowels in the corners makes a frame even stronger.

If the support blocks are missing, or if the blocks are only stapled in place, the frame will be less durable.

• Find out what the frame is made of. Make sure the material is strong, holds fasteners securely and resists shrinking, expanding and warping.

Kiln-dried hardwood or engineered hardwood, also called hardwood plywood, are often used in better-quality furniture. However, good materials won't make a frame durable if the construction is poor.

• Ask how the foundation -- that is, the springs or other system of support -- is constructed. In general, steel springs are considered more durable than webbing, but some furniture styles use webbing because springs are too deep for the frame. Further complicating the matter, there are many configurations of springs and gradations of quality.

Since this is an issue that's particularly tough for consumers to judge, you need to question the salesperson and trust your gut about the answer you get. If he or she doesn't seem knowledgeable or gives you an explanation that isn't thorough, consider that a red flag. It probably means the foundation isn't good enough to be a selling point.

• Sit on the piece of furniture to make sure it's comfortable. That's an issue that's strictly subjective.

• Bounce on the center of the chair or sofa. The bottom rail -- the structural piece on the very bottom of the piece of furniture, between the legs -- should remain rigid. It's OK if there's some give above it, but the rail itself shouldn't sag.

• Check whether stripes or plaids match and seams are sewn tightly. Those are indications of a good-quality upholstering job.

• Ask how the cushions are made. They might contain springs, cotton or polyester fiber, foam or down.

Look for cushion foam with a density rating of at least 1.8, which refers to its weight in pounds per cubic foot. Ratings typically range up to about 2.5, although a higher density might be desired if you want a very firm feel.

Foam should be wrapped or covered to protect it from direct contact with the upholstery fabric.

• Buy from a reputable dealer that offers a good warranty.

• Make sure the furniture bears a gold tag marked "UFAC.'' That ensures it meets the Upholstered Furniture Action Council's fire safety standards.

• When you get home, check the Web sites of the manufacturers whose furniture you're considering. If furniture construction is addressed on the site, it's an indication the company is proud of its methods.

Sources: American Furniture Manufacturers Association; John Summey and Tom Culbreth, Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center, North Carolina State University; Mitchell Gold, president, Mitchell Gold Co.

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Neutron physics instrument may unlock mysteries of universe

Sept. 17, 2004
Science Daily; Innovations-Report, Germany
By staff report
© Copyright 2004

Fundamental questions that particle physicists have pondered for decades might be answered when a $9.2 million neutron physics beam line is built at the Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source on Chestnut Ridge.

At the core of physicists' excitement is the fact that the SNS will produce up to 100 times more neutrons than are produced by any comparable source in the world. Tapping in to those neutrons will be the Fundamental Neutron Physics beam line, which will help physicists exploit neutrons to learn more about the Big Bang, left-right symmetry of the universe and the amount of energy produced in the sun. Recently, the beam line project passed a milestone with the approval of the performance baseline -- known as Critical Decision 2.

"This is, in a sense, the formal definition of the scope of the project and represents a detailed agreement between DOE and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as to what will be built, when it will be built, how much it will cost and how the project will be managed," said Geoff Greene, a professor at the University of Tennessee and researcher in the Physics Division at ORNL.

Greene noted that much work lies ahead, but the benefits of having extremely intense beams of neutrons at their disposal should be phenomenal.

"To scientists studying materials -- the main focus of SNS research -- the neutron is merely a tool that helps them probe the structure of condensed matter," Greene said. "But to particle physicists, the neutron holds the key to understanding many of the mysteries of the universe."

The fact physicists will ha