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NCSU shares in $1.59M grant from USDA
Charles Opperman, plant pathologyNC State Researchers Part of $1.59 Million Grant from US Dept. of Agriculture
Charles Opperman, plant pathologyNCSU, Orion Genomics Win $1.59M To Sequence Parasitic Worm
Charles Opperman, plant pathologyHospital bonuses average $2,100
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economicsControversy over land's worth
There are new concerns about a $4 million gift to North Carolina State University.Oh, Christmas Tree
Jeff Owen, forestry extension
Teen
dies in fiery crash
Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory
Wolfe
likes it!
NC State activities/events
Orion
gets worm study grant
Charles Opperman, plant pathology
FGCU
hires first director for engineering school
Susan Blanchard, biomedical engineering
Carbon
Sink or Carbon Source? Aerosols Play Significant Role in Shifts
Dev Niyogi, Vinod Saxena and Teddy Holt, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences;
Randy Wells, Fitzgerald Booker, crop science
NC
State Veterinary Researchers Discover New Adverse Effects Associated
With Systemic Use of NSAIDS in Horses
Anthony Blikslager, Sam Jones, equine surgery and equine medicine
For
N.C. bridge, DOT looks at long and short of it
John Fisher, civil, construction and environmental engineering
Race
probed in UVa admissions
Center for Equal Opportunity complaint
Napster
Continues to Expand it's University Program
file sharing
NCSU shares in $1.59M grant from USDA
Dec. 9, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
Orion Genomics and North Carolina State University have received a two-year $1.59 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Researchers from St. Louis-based Orion and NCSU will use the funds to determine the gene sequence of parasitic nematode worms that cause human disease and destruction of crops. The researchers will look at the root knot nematode, the most common and destructive of plant parasitic nematodes, which account for about $100 billion in annual loss worldwide of rice, potato, cereal grains, soybeans and other crops.
It is NCSU's second collaboration with Orion Genomics.
Dec. 9, 2004
News & Observer
By JENNIFER BREVORKA
© Copyright 2004
A high-speed joy ride in a stolen car ended with a fiery crash that killed one teen and injured another Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Briana Nicole Rawls, 15, died inside the 2003 Honda Civic after it crashed into a tree on Mid-Pines Road south of the Raleigh Beltline shortly after 1:30 p.m., said Trooper R.E. Cannaday of the state Highway Patrol.
Briana, an Athens Drive High School freshman, was a passenger in the stolen Honda, Cannaday said. A fellow freshman was driving the car.
The driver, a 14-year-old boy, was charged in the theft of the car and fatal accident. The News & Observer is not releasing the name of the driver because of his age. The charges will be heard in juvenile court.
The two freshmen left school with two other students and dropped them off at a house on Mid-Pines Road in Wake County just south of Raleigh, between Cary and Garner, Cannaday said. It was not clear why the four teens left school. The Wake County Board of Education does not permit freshmen to leave campus for lunch.
As the car sped south on Mid-Pines Road, the driver lost control while rounding a curve, Cannaday said. The Civic smashed into a tree and erupted into flames. The accident occurred on land owned by N.C. State University for its Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, the driver was outside of the car and Briana was trapped inside the Civic, which was engulfed by flames, said Chief Scott McCollum with the Swift Creek Fire Department. Although firefighters extinguished the blaze within moments, the accident was so severe there was no chance of rescuing Briana.
The boy suffered lacerations and a broken right leg and was taken to an area hospital, Cannaday said.
Raleigh Police received a call about the stolen Civic about 2:15 p.m., shortly after school was dismissed for the day, Cannaday said.
Wake County school officials referred all questions to the Highway Patrol. Cannaday said the patrol is investigating the incident.
Hospital bonuses average $2,100
Dec. 9, 2004
News & Observer
By JEAN P. FISHER
© Copyright 2004
At WakeMed, hard work pays.
Today, more than 5,100 hospital employees will take home bonus checks worth 5 percent of their gross pay -- their reward for helping Raleigh's largest hospital beat budget targets, contain costs and win high patient satisfaction marks.
The nonprofit WakeMed system, one of the Triangle's largest employers, will hand out $11.5 million in bonuses. The average bonus check: $2,100.
It's the biggest payout in the history of WakeMed's "WakeShare" program, established in 1995. Wake-Med is the only one of the Triangle's three major hospital systems that offers performance bonuses to nonexecutive employees. The Duke University Health System implemented one this year that will pay bonuses in September 2005 if targets are met.
Performance bonuses are not unheard of in the health-care industry -- a smattering of hospitals nationally offer them. And the practice is well established among major employers in general.
Charles Peck, a compensation specialist with The Conference Board, a New York business research organization, said about 75 percent of large companies offer some type of incentive program. He said about half of those are performance-driven.
WakeMed's payouts, coming close to the holidays, are likely to give the local economy a small shot in the arm, as some workers spend the money on gifts.
"It's a wonderful motivator," said Dianna Knight, a registered nurse and supervisor in one of WakeMed's cardiac units. "We're all very excited -- you hear everyone's plans. One guy bought a new house, and this [bonus] is his living room furniture."
Knight, who lives in Clayton, said her check will be enough to buy some Christmas presents and help pay for a weeklong vacation next month at Walt Disney World in Orlando for herself, her husband and their 5-year-old daughter.
Employees receive a WakeShare bonus only if WakeMed ends its fiscal year with higher than expected net income. If WakeMed misses or merely meets targets, employees don't get anything.
Employees must have worked for WakeMed for at least 500 hours or about half the budget year to get a bonus and must not have had any disciplinary actions taken against them.
This year, WakeMed had expected to have net income of $41.2 million on operating revenue of $590 million. Instead, because of an across-the-board increase in patient volume, the hospital system wrapped up the budget year that ended Sept. 30 with net income of $64.3 million on revenue of $613 million. The hospital system also provided about $100 million in charity care to patients who cannot afford to pay.
"We are just extremely efficient at what we do," said Dr. William K. Atkinson, WakeMed's chief executive.
Half of the amount over the budget goal -- $23.1 million -- is earmarked for year-end bonuses. The maximum bonus a person can receive is 5 percent of gross annual pay, no matter how well WakeMed does.
To get the full bonus possible in a given year, WakeMed also must not exceed budget on controllable costs, such as supplies and administrative expenses.
Employees are encouraged to come forward with money-saving ideas. In the past, worker suggestions have saved money on telecommunications costs, linens and medical-waste disposal.
The hospital also must have patient satisfaction scores of at least 93 percent. The scores are largely a reflection of nursing care, although other factors are considered.
For the most recent budget year, patient satisfaction was 94.4 percent and expenses were slightly under budget.
"That's remarkable when you consider that we're operating at close to 100 percent capacity," Atkinson said. He said WakeShare is hospital trustees' way of recognizing that "employees make it work."
A large payout to so many people may also be good for the local economy, said Michael L. Walden, a consumer economist at N.C. State University.
"Most of that money they're going to spend," Walden said. "And that becomes income to merchants and shop owners and car dealers and shoe stores, which turn around and spend the money they get."
Deanna Joyner, a physician referral representative who helps area residents find WakeMed-affiliated doctors, said her bonus check will enable her to spend a little more on Christmas presents this year. Her 13-year-old daughter, Megan, who rides horses, will get a $600 black leather saddle with sterling silver hardware she has asked for.
"It makes me feel so good to be able to go into a store and have that much money in my pocket," said Joyner, who lives in Angier and expects to clear about $1,000 after taxes. "We did work for it during the year, but it's like free money now."
Dec. 9, 2004
WECT-TV
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
DECEMBER 9, 2004 -- There are new concerns about a $4 million gift to North Carolina State University. Developer Edward Gore, Sr. has donated two oceanfront lots on Sunset Beach to the university.
He says the lots are worth $4 million, but the property is on an inlet and is eroding. Some fear the property may not be worth nearly as much, but developers say while land on the center of the island is worth more, property on inlets can be valuable as well.
Real estate agent Alan Holden says that people have proven they'll pay high prices for the inlet areas.
NC State plans to eventually sell the lots and use the money for research and scholarships.
NC State Researchers Part of $1.59 Million Grant from US Dept. of Agriculture
Dec. 8, 2004
Lincoln Tribune; PR Newswire; mysan.de, Germany
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. & ST. LOUIS, M.O. -- Researchers from North Carolina State University along with Orion Genomics, a Second Code biotechnology company, have been awarded a two year, $1.59 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to determine the gene sequence of parasitic nematode worms that cause human disease and destruction of crops. Researchers believe that in determining the sequence of root knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.), the most common and destructive of plant parasitic nematodes, they can aid in the control of human and plant infestations. Root knot nematodes account for an estimated $100 billion annual loss worldwide of crops including rice, potato, cereal grains, soybeans and others. Although root knot nematode attacks only plants, more than one billion people worldwide suffer from nematode infestation from related species.
"We believe the core research services offered by Orion's Genomics Analysis Business Unit, and the outstanding nematode biology and genomics expertise at NCSU makes a great team," said Nathan Lakey, President and CEO of Orion Genomics. "We expect that sequence information from this project will enable public and private researchers to develop new drugs to treat parasitic infections as well as novel compounds that aid in reducing agricultural losses."
The United States Department of Agriculture grant will fund the sequencing and annotation of the Northern root knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla) genome. Sequence information that results from this project will immediately be made publicly available to scientists to enable continued research.
Nematodes are microscopic simple worms, 400 micrometers to 5 mm long. Their small size, resistant cuticle, and ability to adapt to severe and changing environments have made nematodes some of the most abundant animals on earth. Root knot nematodes were chosen for sequencing out of the estimated 100,000 to 100 million species of nematodes because they are the major pathogens of vegetables throughout the world, impacting both the quantity and quality of marketable yields.
"This marks our second collaboration with Orion Genomics, and we look forward to working with them again to elucidate the sequence of this critical genome," said Charles Opperman, Professor at NCSU and co-investigator on the grant. "Worldwide, Meloidogyne spp. are the most economically important of the plant-parasitic nematodes. In understanding its gene sequence, we can further our understanding of parasitic infestation and improve our ability to combat nematodes in plants and humans."
NCSU, Orion Genomics Win $1.59M To Sequence Parasitic Worm
Dec. 9, 2004
LocalTechWire
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH – Researchers at North Carolina State University and Orion Genomics have received a $1.59 million grant to determine the genetic sequence of a parasitic worm that ravages crops and plants around the world.
The two-year grant is from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture. Researchers will make results of the sequencing public in hopes that means can be found to combat the parasite.
The project is focused on the worm known as root knot nematode, or Meloidogyne spp. It is the most common and destructive of plant nematodes, or worms, the researchers say, causing some $100 billion a year in losses of crops ranging from rice to soybeans.
"Worldwide, Meloidogyne spp. are the most economically important of the plant-parasitic nematodes,” said Charles Opperman, a professor at NCSU and co-investigator on the grant. “In understanding its gene sequence, we can further our understanding of parasitic infestation and improve our ability to combat nematodes in plants and humans."
The researchers noted that more than 1 billion people are also invested with worms.
"We expect that sequence information from this project will enable public and private researchers to develop new drugs to treat parasitic infections as well as novel compounds that aid in reducing agricultural losses," said Nathan Lakey, president and CEO of Orion Genomics, in a statement.
Dec. 8, 2004
Waynesville Smoky Mountain News
By Sarah Kucharski
© Copyright 2004
For the past five years, Margaret and Phillip Moore have been making the three-hour drive up from Atlanta to choose and cut their own Christmas tree from D’s Trees, a farm located on Cane Creek in Cullowhee.
The trip is a specially scheduled event for the couple.
“We look forward to coming up here every year,” Margaret said.
Equipped with boots and gloves, they head into the fields, Margaret joking that her “perfect” tree is always the one that’s the furthest away, up the highest hill. This year it takes the couple half an hour to pick the tree, cut it down, wrangle it into the farm truck, and make the journey back down to the parking lot. While waiting to pay, Phillip helps other patrons carry out their trees and hoist them on to the roofs of waiting SUVs.
The cost for the Moore’s tree? About $40, cheaper than anything they would buy in Atlanta. Fresher too. Margaret says that the last tree they bought in Atlanta was so dried out it lost all its needles in two weeks. Fed up, Phillip got the name of a co-worker’s tree guy, Chuck Denkert, the owner of D’s Trees, and started making the trek to North Carolina for his annual Fraser fir.
Having grown up on a farm, where Christmas trees were anything from cedar to holly, Phillip can’t imagine having anything other than a real tree to mark the holiday. The smell, the “awe factor,” the beauty of a real tree make what some would describe as a hassle — and what the Moores use as a good excuse to get away from the big city — all worthwhile.
“To us it’s not worth having if it’s not real,” Margaret said.
Christmas tree marketing specialists with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the state Christmas Tree Association hope there are more folks out there who feel the same way about a real tree as the Moores.
So far numbers are looking good. Christmas tree production has risen from $78 million worth of trees in 1996 to $99 million in 2002. North Carolina is second in the country behind Oregon for the volume and dollar value of trees sold, with the state’s most popular tree, the Fraser fir, representing about 20 percent of the national market. Jackson County is the fifth highest producer in the state, raking in nearly $9.5 million in sales in 2003 alone. Macon County comes in tenth.
What tree growers fear are the country’s changing demographics — a growing elderly population that may choose artificial trees for their ease, an increasing number of young singles that don’t put up a tree, and socioeconomic stratification. That is, real trees becoming associated with middle- to upper-class families and artificial trees adopted as an affordable option for the working class.
Christmas trees, it seems, may be a barometer of changing times.
Tiny Tim vs. The Christmas Machine
The rise in artificial tree purchasing has been the most dramatic over the course of the past 10 years. Working-class families with children often find themselves struggling to put presents under the tree. Many simply can’t afford what has become the luxury of a real, live tree, said North Carolina State University Area Forestry Extension Specialist Jeff Owen.
Monday afternoon, Waynesville resident Judy Presnell was perusing Lowes’ display of artificial trees, looking for a nine-footer to replace the old tree she gave to her daughter.
“I’ve had an artificial tree for years,” Presnell said.
Though she grew up with live trees, Presnell said that she found them too hard to care for. She either over- or under-watered them, and the needles fell all over the place and were too messy to clean up. Artificial trees are easier to care for and set up by herself, something she particularly likes since her husband passed away last year.
Many consumers share Presnell’s mindset. In 2003 alone, the number of artificial Christmas trees purchased rose from 7.4 million to 9.6 million, according to National Christmas Tree Association statistics.
“I think those numbers bear close watching,” Owen said.
Consumers often cite financial savings as a reason for purchasing artificial trees. Artificial trees at Lowes, depending on height, fullness and whether they were pre-lit, ran between $200 and $300. Presnell said that while that may seem like a lot, it’s an investment, as even the cheapest real tree is about $30 and after Christmas that money’s gone.
The argument is that while an artificial tree may initially cost twice as much — in 2003, the average price of a artificial tree was $68.80, while real trees were just less than half that at $33.80 — it comes with a longer shelf life. Depending on the quality of the tree (and how much abuse it takes), artificial trees may last between five and 20 years.
“It’s beautiful and it lasts forever,” Presnell said.
Also, it appears that the average price of artificial trees is dropping, while the cost of real trees is on the up. A 2003 Washington Post article quoted Chinese and Hong Kong customs data as showing that three out of every four artificial trees sold in the United States came from one of the 3,000 factories in Shenzhen, China. A nearly equal percentage of wreaths, ornaments and lights made their way into American homes, as well as about $20 billion worth of Chinese made toys.
The same Post article stated that Shenzhen Cosmotree Industrial Ltd.’s most popular seller, the “Canadian pine,” is manufactured for $10.80, but retails for $120 stateside — nearly a month’s salary for each of the company’s 300 workers.
Real trees bear the constraints of the growing season like any other crop. It takes about seven or eight years for a newly planted Fraser fir to reach harvest, said Jackson County tree grower Tom Sawyer. Sawyer, a former public accountant who’s been in the tree business for 20 years, said he isn’t hurting for customers.
“We’re a small operation, and we sell all the trees we can grow,” he said.
But with the slow turnover and the costs associated with a running farm — pruning, pests, equipment — his 80 acres of trees do little more than sustain themselves. Money raised by sales goes right back into the farm.
“We’re not really netting that much of a profit,” Sawyer said.
However, North Carolina growers do not fear the rise in the artificial tree market as much as the total anti-tree movement.
“The area of greatest concern is the number of homes that are not putting up any trees at all,” Owen said.
National Christmas Tree Association statistics show that of the people who choose not to put up a tree, real or artificial, 39 percent said they were home alone or had no children to warrant a tree. People not being home for Christmas represented 29 percent of the treeless population, while 23 percent simply said it was too much trouble.
Marketing
At Tom Sawyer Tree Farm, located in Jackson County’s Glenville community, tree buyers get more than just pine sap to show for their efforts — they get an experience. The farm boasts hot drinks, public restrooms, and live reindeer.
Prancer and Snowflake, two does from Vermont, live on the tree farm year round, spending the holiday season posing for pictures and enjoying the attention.
“They enjoy Christmastime because we tell our customers to bring apples and we keep some apples for the kids (to feed the reindeer),” Sawyer said.
The reindeer are part of a concerted marketing plan that involves radio advertising, customer mailings, news articles and most importantly, word of mouth.
“If one happy person tells a couple more people ...” Sawyer alluded.
The tree farm’s popularity has made it a staple of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce’s “O! Christmas Tree” promotion, which invites visitors to come spend a weekend (or longer) at any of the participating hotels, bed and breakfasts or rental properties at a discounted rate, enjoy discounted dining and retail and, of course, choose and cut a Christmas tree.
“It was all about finding a shoulder season promotion,” said Chamber of Commerce Director Julie Spiro, referring to the mountain community’s quiet period between fall leaf season and spring and summer’s popularity for outdoor recreation.
Chamber members and farms listed with the Department of Agriculture are invited to participate in “O! Christmas Tree” through letters. Participants pay $50 each, which offsets the annual printing costs of the 3,000 brochures.
The promotion is now in its seventh year, but it’s hard to tell if it is having a concrete affect on either winter tourism or Christmas tree sales. The chamber doesn’t keep numbers on how many visitors book “O! Christmas Tree” trips and the farms don’t report how many buyers come to the farm as part of the promotion.
The only indicators chamber officials have of performance is comparing accommodation tax revenue brought in during the “O! Christmas Tree” promotion period. Since the promotion began in 1998, accommodation tax revenue for November and December has increased 13.5 percent. Tax revenue increased 7 percent from 2002 to 2003 alone.
At the same time, the dollar value of trees sold in and from Jackson County increased from $7.5 million in 2002 to nearly $9.5 million in 2003, according to the county’s agricultural extension office data.
But marketing, particularly of the North Carolina Fraser fir, is nothing new.
“It’s not a commodity, there’s no standardized price, there’s not a specific buying place,” Owen said. “While it’s a wonderful tree and there’s a sense of it almost selling itself, that’s a myth.”
Since the 1990s the state’s department of agriculture has been working in conjunction with the Christmas Tree Association to develop a brand identity and market the trees like any other crop. These days the effort is becoming more focused, Owen said. The National Christmas Tree Association has teamed up with the movie “The Polar Express” in promoting the Christmas spirit.
“The National Christmas Tree Association hopes that children and parents across the country will slow down and spend family time together by seeing ‘The Polar Express’ and selecting and decorating a fresh, real Christmas Tree this holiday season,” states the group’s Web site.
Consumers can receive a discount on real trees at select retailers and choose and cut fields by presenting a movie ticket stub, as well as win scholarships and trips through association contests.
“I think we’re making some headway this year,” said Patricia Gaskin, president of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association.
The N.C. Association also is working to bill real trees as renewable resources, saying that customers have two choices: “First, you can use a renewable, recyclable natural product grown on farms throughout North America; or, you can use a non-renewable, non-biodegradable, plastic and metal product made in a Chinese factory. You pick. It is much better environmentally to use a natural, organic crop and recycle it after the holidays,” states the group’s Web site.
Locally, the only Christmas tree recycling site is located at the Jackson County Transfer station in Sylva. Other recycling locations exist in South Carolina and Tennessee, within about an hour’s drive from Western North Carolina.
In addition to marketing real Christmas trees, agricultural officials are working to educate growers and sellers about the best ways to care for trees once they’ve been cut and pass this information on to consumers. Tips include storing trees upright in the shade, in water or on a sawdust bed that can be kept moist, and making a fresh cut before the tree goes home — all things that help keep pre-cut trees from drying out.
“We’re trying to make the real tree experience the best that it can possibly be,” said Bill Glenn, marketing specialist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Dec. 9, 2004
News and Observer
By staff reporter
© Copyright 2004
Tom Wolfe, who is famously enraptured with exclamation points as well as disdainful of so many aspects of cultural life -- modern art! modern architecture! modern literature! -- has something nice to say about, get this, the new parking deck at RDU International Airport.
(Ever notice that anyone who writes about Wolfe ends up writing like Wolfe?)
During his appearance at N.C. State University last week, an audience member asked Wolfe about the current state of architecture (a subject Wolfe tackled in a notorious essay titled "From Bauhaus to Our House"). Wolfe had the usual things to say -- bad! bad! -- but then praised the look of the RDU deck, particularly its nighttime lighting scheme.
In other words, it's got the right stuff. (See what I mean?).
The People's Forum: Building on sand
Dec. 9, 2004
News and Observer
By John Harris
© Copyright 2004
Regarding the Dec. 7 news story "NCSU's seaside gift eroding":
The property given to N.C. State University by Edward Gore Sr. (two lots on Sunset Beach Island) is part of Gore's new 10-lot subdivision on the east end at Tubbs Inlet. It is in the Inlet Hazard Zone and must meet state requirements for development in the zone. These regulations are intended to protect the environment, public beach, property and lives from inappropriate development in high-hazard, environmentally sensitive areas prone to rapid and extensive erosion (as well as protect nearby property that could be adversely affected by hardening, increased impervious surfaces, etc.).
As late as 1969 this property was a sandy key in the inlet not attached to the island proper. In 1970, Gore's father moved the inlet (a move not possible under today's regulations) eastward, connecting the key to the island. The plat for the new development calls for hardening the inlet with a bulkhead on the highly erodible sound-side.
The "no hardening" regulation of Division of Coastal Management has been the cornerstone of its state coastal protection rules. Last year the legislature added the teeth of state law to the DCM regulation by passing a "no hardening" law. It appears Gore is trying to enlist N.C. State in efforts to dismantle the law. To me, this puts one of our outstanding state universities in an untenable position. Maybe N.C. State needs to rethink Gore's gift.
Jan Harris
Sunset Beach
(The writer is president of the Brunswick County Environmental Action Team.)
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hatred of the West
Dec. 9, 2004
FrontPageMagazine
By Jon Sanders
© Copyright 2004
The study of Western civilization, once a rite of passage for the college-educated, has taken a back burner in modern curricula. These days, trendy universities focus almost entirely on multiculturalism. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the outcry over a proposal to revive "Western Civilization" shows just how deeply the academic Left hates it.
Some background: In North Carolina, of the eleven UNC schools surveyed, just a third still require a course in Western history or Western civilization. That's according to "How Solid is the Core? A Study of General Education Requirements at 11 North Carolina Institutions," a study conducted by the National Association of Scholars and released this fall by my organization, the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. But about two thirds "require a multicultural or cultural diversity course." The study declared this finding "at best a sign of interest in non-Western cultures, but all too often an exercise in politically correct 'education.'"
Furthermore, "[n]ot one institution requires all undergraduates to take a course in United States history."
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will have a new curriculum soon, but the Pope Center study found that whereas the previous curriculum required students to take "one course in a period of Western history before 1700," under the new curriculum students "will no longer be required to study any segment of Western history."
It's a deficit the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill seeks to address. This particular college proposed bringing a Western civilization program to its campus, and it approached the John William Pope Foundation for financial support.
The subsequent outcry was so vehement that one would think the college had proposed replacing the university's beloved Old Well with a statue of George W. Bush. To defeat the proposal, campus leftists attacked the donors on the basis of their records of funding conservative causes, most specifically, my organization, which has written critically of UNC-CH. (But they say it's not critically correct: "Criticism is one thing, hostility is another," UNC-CH English professor Reid Barbour complained recently.)
The Triangle's leftist tabloid The Independent fired the opening shots in October, warning that the Pope Foundation "has an agenda that's antithetical to the principles of academic freedom and cultural diversity" and insinuating that the university's proposal would be tainted by association. Writer Barbara Solow wrote that the "critical drumbeat" from the Pope Center -- a think tank founded with seed money and support from the Pope Foundation -- "is what led many who attended last week's faculty meeting to question the implications of taking money from the Pope Center's financial backers for academic programs at UNC." She quotes sociology professor Sherryl Kleinman, who asks, "What does it say about a university if its leaders accept 'gifts' from those who support organizations that systematically attack the university's faculty and programs?"
"While several faculty members said they had little problem with the program's academic specifics, many said they couldn't stomach its existence knowing where the money came from," reported the Herald-Sun of Durham. "Most pointed to the Higher Education Policy center [i.e., the Pope Center] and its Web site."
The campus leftist listserv called for a protest, demanding in bold-faced type "Should UNC-CH Accept $12 Million from Racist, Sexist, Classist, Homophobic Donors?" The posting announced, "The donors are John and Art Pope, whose family funds the John William Pope Foundation, the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, and the John Locke Foundation. These organizations have systematically attacked and discredited many programs and professors at UNC-Chapel Hill and other universities."
UNC-CH's Graduate and Professional Student Federation joined the fray, passing a resolution against the university taking a grant from the Pope Foundation. The resolution cited work by the Pope Center as "work[ing] to create a hostile climate to academic freedom for instructors."
At the time of this writing (Nov. 23), UNC-CH's Student Congress is preparing to vote on a resolution opposing the Western Civ. Proposal because of "the foundation's ties to the Pope Center, which has repeatedly criticized University academic programs and actions, and any power the foundation might gain at UNC by funding the program."
Beginning to detect a theme? Yes, the ostensible case being presented at UNC-CH against a program in Western Civilization is that the donors approached by the university also fund conservative critics of the university. Such an unthinkable act is supposedly against academic freedom -- even though the donation would expand course offerings on campus, and even though the Pope Center held a conference last month on bringing more freedom to universities (which included David Horowitz discussing the Academic Bill of Rights, a notion the academic Left here called an extreme view and using "seemingly benign suggestions" to "promote a political agenda")
Normally, leftists decry wealthy capitalists and tell them they ought to give back to the community. Here they're telling those that are doing so (not just at UNC, but elsewhere as well) that their money is tainted; that since "politics is not divorced from education," UNC-CH should not be "married to the politics of the Pope family" by accepting their grant. In effect: "Stop the hate; stop the fear; we don't want their money here."
But the Pope Foundation's money is already there. The foundation has made several donations to UNC-CH concerns, and as the Herald-Sun reported, "Matt Kupec, UNC's vice chancellor for university advancement, said he's never heard a word of complaint about the Pope family or demands they may have made in regards to their donations."
Furthermore, the foundation recently funded new courses in economics and political science at nearby North Carolina State University. "We gave them a proposal, and they accepted it," N.C. State political science Prof. Andrew Taylor told the Herald-Sun. "We have the funding for five years with no strings attached. There's no control."
Could it be, then, that the real problem isn't with the donor, but with the study of Western Civilization itself? A look at criticisms of the proposal suggests that this may be the case.
"Where are the students, where are the faculty, that are dying to have this?" asked political science Prof. Pamela Conover asked in a meeting over the proposal.
"Students don't want it," Student Body President Matt Calabria declared at the same meeting.
"UNC administrators are being seduced by the promise of a gift that will expand a program that faculty, after careful study, decided against expanding," wrote geology professor Altha Cravey. "It's clear that money, not faculty initiative or student need, is driving this process."
A posting on the UNC-CH leftist listserv dismissed the idea of a Western civilization program as "history dealing solely with the disenfranchised plight of rich, white, Protestant men."
Conservative culture warriors would be unwise to dismiss this controversy. UNC-CH is, after all, one of the most prestigious public universities in the nation. The outlook for bringing a Western Civilization program here grows dim, even as Western history is phased out of the required undergraduate curriculum. This is the same university that has just recently instituted programs in "Social and Economic Justice," "Sexuality Studies" (made possible by a grant, no less), and "Latina/o Studies." Faculty who favor the Western Civ. program are frightened to speak out for obvious reasons. The inmates are running the asylum.
FGCU hires first director for engineering school
Dec. 9, 2004
Bonita Daily News, FL
By CHRISTINA HOLDER
© Copyright 2004
Florida Gulf Coast University wants an engineering program that will tie the university to future industry and will put the young campus on the national radar.
Now the program, which officially will begin in fall 2005 with 30 freshmen, has a director who will try to make that happen.
On Feb. 1, Susan Blanchard, 58, director of Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Programs at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., will become the founding director of the FGCU School of Engineering. University officials chose the NCSU professor and scholar from 75 national applicants for her experience in building a biomedical engineering program at one of the country's top engineering schools.
"She was more than just a key," said N.C. State colleague Frank Abrams, who has known Blanchard since 1992. "She made it happen."
Blanchard was recruited to NCSU after working as a professor at Duke University in Durham, N.C., where she earned a Ph.D. and a master's degree in biomedical engineering.
At NCSU, the biomedical engineering program began as an informal concentration, said Abrams, a professor and director of Biomedical Engineering Graduate Programs.
But with Blanchard's leadership, the concentration grew into a separate program. Today, it is one of the most popular engineering programs at the college. It has attracted a more diverse student body to the engineering school and has created opportunities for partnerships in North Carolina's technology-rich Research Triangle Park, a booming park of more than 100 research and development offices.
The program also expanded into a joint partnership with nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Blanchard also is a professor in the biomedical engineering department.
Richard Pegnetter, dean of FGCU's College of Business, said the university was looking for a candidate who was not only a serious academic but who had the know-how to build relationships with companies and programs outside of the still-growing university.
In the next few years, the area could have at least two research parks, among them the proposed California-based Scripps Research Institute in Palm Beach County. FGCU wants to be included in the opportunities for developing new technology, FGCU President William Merwin said.
The Scripps Research Institute is not associated with the E.W. Scripps Co., which owns the Naples Daily News.
Many engineering students are going abroad for jobs, but Merwin has said he wants to keep students in Southwest Florida to meet a growing demand for engineers.
It will take time to expand the program to its full potential. In 2005, the school will be operated out of the College of Business and will offer only biomedical engineering, environmental engineering and engineering management. But university officials hope to give the engineering school its own footing and building eventually.
Pegnetter also said he thinks Blanchard will be able to attract more female students to a field often dominated by men. Biomedical engineering, which is used to make medical devices such as heart defibrillators and internal insulin pumps, is a popular field for women.
Blanchard said she wants to recruit not only women but a bright and diverse student body. It's working with students and getting them out into the community that she loves.
FGCU requires students to take an active part in the community, and that commitment helped Blanchard make the decision to move, she said.
"The clincher was that they expect everyone to do service-learning," she said. "We don't want students who are totally academically driven."
Dec. 9, 2004
Charlottesville Daily Progress, VA
By Kate Andrews
© Copyright 2004
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating the University of Virginia’s undergraduate admissions policies after a New York father alleged that his son’s 2003 application was rejected because he is white.
The father of the rejected student, whose names were not released according to education department policy, wrote in his complaint that he made numerous calls to the office of UVa’s dean of admissions, John A. Blackburn, but never received a call back.
“This man must wield an enormous amount of power for his office to be allowed to treat people differently based on the color of their skin and have no one to answer to,” the man wrote. “I can envision the sign over his desk, ‘White males need not apply.’”
His son, he said, would have been admitted if he had been a minority or a woman with the same grades, test scores and extracurricular activities.
Blackburn was out of town and unavailable for comment, but UVa spokeswoman Carol Wood said she found it “hard to believe” that the admissions office never returned the father’s calls.
“They talk to hundreds of parents, thousands of parents,” she said, adding that complaints of discrimination against whites at UVa are “very rare.”
UVa uses race as one of many factors in admissions decisions, Wood said, but she added, “We don’t do admissions by numbers. We look at the whole person.”
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights declined to give a timeline for its investigation into UVa. The university was notified of the probe in August 2003.
The Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative group that opposes affirmative action, has filed a similar complaint against UVa’s School of Law, along with others against N.C. State University, the University of Maryland’s medical school and the College of William & Mary’s law school.
The Office for Civil Rights is considering investigating these charges, according to an education department spokeswoman.
Roger B. Clegg, general counsel for the Center for Equal Opportunity, said UVa and William & Mary were targeted because of “very severe discrimination.”
A black student who has an LSAT score of 160 and an undergraduate grade point average of 3.5 has a 95 percent chance of getting into UVa’s law school, Clegg said. The odds drop to 3 percent for a white student, he said.
“Race is obviously an extremely important factor whether you get in or not,” he said, adding that his office has received about a dozen complaints about UVa in recent years.
But M. Rick Turner, dean of African-American Affairs and a former admissions counselor at Stanford University, said racism is “the common cry” when a parent believes his student was unfairly rejected.
“You’re always going to have disgruntled white parents and black parents,” he said. “It’s a sour-grape issue.”
Although complaints may arise from sour grapes, they can end in serious consequences. If a solution is not worked out between the university and the father who made the complaint, UVa could lose federal funding - or the case could end in a lawsuit.
The Center for Equal Opportunity plans to send a report on UVa and the other targeted schools to the Center for Individual Rights, which sued the University of Michigan’s law school over its admissions practices. The case ended in a Supreme Court decision earlier this year that allowed race to be considered in admissions but outlawed quotas or the assignment of points for race.
The Center for Individual Rights has “no immediate plans” to sue UVa, said President Terence J. Pell, while adding that if the law school admissions statistics cited by Clegg hold up to scrutiny, “UVa could have a problem.”
The numbers suggest the university is “not judging people individually,” Pell said.
But Paul Gaston, a former civil-rights professor at UVa, dismissed the charges: “These people are barking up the wrong tree.”
Referring to Clegg and Pell’s groups, he added, “They’ve been looking for a way to sue Virginia for a long time.”
Gaston recalled a 1999 speech at UVa by Linda Chavez, a former labor secretary nominee and now president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, who decried affirmative action in admissions as “smacking of racism.”
But UVa would almost certainly win any lawsuits on the issue, Gaston said. “I don’t think we ought to retreat.”
Despite the university’s publicly stated commitment to diversity in admissions, UVa law professor Kim Forde-Mazrui said he would be “surprised” if the law school or the university itself were violating the law.
He noted the irony of the charges against a university that did not admit blacks until the 1960s.
“Ultimately, I believe some continued use of affirmative action is justified,” Forde-Mazrui said, while acknowledging that he sees “legitimate concerns on both sides.”
Carbon Sink or Carbon Source? Aerosols Play Significant Role in Shifts
Dec. 8, 2004
Newswise; Innovations-Report, Germany
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
Newswise — Researchers at North Carolina State University have shown that the amount of aerosols – dust particles, soot from automobile emissions and factories, and other airborne particles – in the atmosphere has a significant impact on whether the surface area below either absorbs or emits more carbon dioxide (CO2).
The researchers discovered that changes in the levels of airborne aerosols resulted in changes to the terrestrial carbon cycle, or the cycle in which CO2 is absorbed by plant photosynthesis and then emitted by the soil.
Besides documenting the effects of aerosols on the carbon cycle, the research also showed that the type of landscape also influenced whether a surface area served as a carbon sink, an area that absorbs more CO2 than it emits, or as a carbon source, an area that emits more CO2 than it absorbs. In the research project, six locations across the United States – encompassing forests, croplands and grasslands – were studied. Increased amounts of aerosols over forests and croplands resulted in surface areas below becoming carbon sinks, but increased amounts of aerosols over grasslands resulted in surface areas becoming carbon sources.
Dr. Dev Niyogi, research assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at NC State and lead author of the study, hypothesizes that the differences among landscapes can be attributed to the amount of shade provided by tree and plant leaves in forests and croplands. The lack of shading in grasslands changes the ground surface temperature, which alters the rate of photosynthesis in plants and the CO2 emissions by soil. Since plants want to take in CO2 but also preserve water at the same time, Niyogi believes the lack of shade and increased temperatures may cause plants to slow the rate of photosynthesis, causing less CO2 to be absorbed and thus more CO2 to be effectively emitted. That would make the surface area a carbon source.
The research was published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. Niyogi’s co-authors on the research paper include NC State graduate student Hsin-I Chang; Dr. Vinod Saxena, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at NC State; Dr. Randy Wells, professor of crop science at NC State; Dr. Fitzgerald Booker, associate professor of crop science at NC State and USDA-ARS plant physiologist; Dr. Teddy Holt, adjunct professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at NC State and a scientist at Naval Research Laboratory-Monterey; and colleagues from across the country.
Aerosols have been known to affect the climate by changing the radiation that reaches the earth surface. Increase in aerosols is often considered one possible reason that the earth’s surface has not seen as much warming as previously projected by climate models.
Previous studies have shown that many factors affect the carbon cycle, including rainfall and changes in land cover. But this study is believed to be the first multisite, observational analysis demonstrating that aerosols affect the carbon cycle. The study shows aerosols affect the earth’s regional climate in an even more profound manner by affecting its biological and chemical exchanges of the greenhouse gases.
The study examined six sites across the United States in the summertime; these locations were chosen because data on aerosols and carbon fluxes, or the changes in the carbon absorption and emission rates, were readily available. Sites ranged from grassland in Alaska to mixed forestland in Wisconsin to cropland in Oklahoma.
Before showing the effects of aerosols on the carbon cycle, the paper first showed the effects of diffuse radiation – radiation that is not direct sunlight but radiation scattered by clouds, haze, or something else – on carbon fluxes. The research showed that higher levels of diffuse radiation resulted in higher rates of carbon sink.
Although common sense would suggest that areas with plants receiving more constant direct sunlight would result in a surface becoming a carbon sink, that is not necessarily the case, Niyogi says. In fact, more radiation means plants more quickly reach a level of photosaturation. As Niyogi explains it, “Plants absorb CO2 very efficiently. At very high levels of radiation, as is the case with direct radiation, additional increases do not necessarily cause increased photosynthesis. It doesn’t matter how much more radiation you add, the plant is not going to absorb more CO2. But at lower levels of radiation, as is the case with diffuse radiation, any increase in radiation translates to additional photosynthesis.”
The study then examined the effects of cloudiness on the carbon cycle. Cloudiness, which increased the amount of diffuse radiation, resulted in a greater amount of carbon sink in surface areas.
The study team then linked aerosols and diffuse radiation, and showed strong relationships between high amounts of aerosols and high amounts of diffuse radiation and between low amounts of aerosols and low amounts of diffuse radiation.
Finally, the study yielded its most important findings: Aerosols affect the carbon cycle in different types of landscapes, with forests and croplands serving as carbon sinks while grasslands served as carbon sources.
“When you have more carbon being absorbed, it means that plants and forests there are going to grow faster,” Niyogi said. “And so it has the potential to alter the landscape. And when you have a change in landscape, or a change in the biogeochemical properties – like the carbon cycle – you have a landscape that is actively vulnerable to climate change.
“Studies like these can really start putting forward the right processes in trying to quantify the carbon sink more accurately. Once we start introducing these reality-based processes into our models, we’ll get better estimates” of carbon budget, Niyogi said.
Niyogi now plans to add other variables to studying the carbon cycle, such as the effects of different types of aerosols, and factors like soil moisture. He is also planning regional and global analyses – using satellite remote sensing and models – to see if results square with the field studies.
The research was funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and an NC State Faculty Research and Professional Development Award.
Note to editors: An abstract of the paper follows.
“Direct Observations of the Effects of Aerosol Loading on Net Ecosystem CO2
Exchanges Over Different Landscapes”
Authors: Dev Niyogi, Hsin-I Chang, V. K. Saxena, and Randy Wells, North Carolina
State University; Teddy Holt, Naval Research Laboratory; Kiran Alapaty, University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Fitzgerald Booker, USDA-ARS Air Quality-Plant
Development Unit and NC State; Fei Chen, National Center for Atmospheric Research;
Kenneth J. Davis, Penn State University; Brent Holben, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center; Toshihisa Matsui and Roger A. Pielke Sr., Colorado State University;
Tilden Meyers and Kell Wilson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
Walter C. Oechel, San Diego State University; Yongkang Xue, University of California,
Los Angeles
Published: Nov. 2004, in Geophysical Research Letters
Abstract: We present the first direct, multisite observations in support of the hypothesis that atmospheric aerosols affect the regional terrestrial carbon cycle. The daytime growing season (summer) CO2 flux observations from six sites (forest, grasslands and croplands) with collected aerosol and surface radiation measurements were analyzed for high and low diffuse radiation; effect of cloud cover; and effect of high and low aerosol optical depths (AOD). Results indicate that aerosols exert a significant impact on net CO2 exchange, and that their effect may be even more significant than that due to clouds. The response appears to be a general feature irrespective of the landscape and photosynthetic pathway. The CO2 sink increased with aerosol loading for forest and crop lands, and decreased for grassland. The cause for the difference in response between vegetation types is hypothesized to be canopy architecture.
NC State Veterinary Researchers Discover New Adverse Effects Associated With Systemic Use of NSAIDS in Horses
Dec. 8, 2004
United States Equestrian Federation, Inc
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
Horse owners urged to use pain medications wisely
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the cornerstone of treatment for many painful conditions in horses, including arthritis, laminitis, and colic. Although these drugs are an important component of therapy for these disease syndromes, overuse and misuse of NSAIDs can result in gastrointestinal injury, kidney damage and even death in horses. Researchers at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine have investigated these drugs in horses with colic-related intestinal injury. This research has uncovered previously unknown adverse effects: NSAIDs actually retard healing of damaged gastrointestinal tissue.
NSAIDs are among the most frequently-used and relied-upon medications in equine medicine. Available in tablet, paste and injectable formulations, their use has been extremely important in the treatment of painful conditions in horses for much of the last 25 years. For example, Butazolidin (phenylbutazone), commonly known as ‘bute,’ and Banamine (flunixin meglumine) have dominated the treatment of colic and lameness respectively, although newer NSAIDs such as ketoprofen and naproxen have also been used extensively for these conditions. However, because these drugs are absorbed systemically and are transported throughout the body via the bloodstream, they reach unintended targets where they can have adverse effects. Specifically, there is increasing evidence that two organ systems are particularly susceptible to these drugs: the gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys.
Known Adverse Effects of Systemic NSAIDs
It is now widely recognized that NSAIDs can cause side effects in the gastrointestinal
tract, such as stomach ulcers, and, on rare occasion, potentially fatal conditions
such as colitis (severe inflammation and injury of the colon). The kidneys
may also suffer damage from these drugs, particularly when horses are dehydrated.
Although studies have shown that these complications may be caused by excessive
doses of NSAIDs, some horses develop adverse effects when given normal doses.
For example, in one study reported by Dr. Noah Cohen at Texas A&M University,
five horses evaluated for intermittent colic were found to have right dorsal
colitis when taken to surgery, and all had been on normal dosages of phenylbutazone
from 5-30 days. In other studies, excessive doses of phenylbutazone have
been shown to induce a range of adverse effects within a relatively short
period of time, including gastric ulcers, colitis and kidney damage. Therefore,
although a uniform recommendation can be made about careful dosing of horses
according to the labeled instructions, owners also need to be aware of the
possibility of complications even when they follow these directions. Other
factors, particularly dehydration, should alert owners to be especially cautious
about administration of even low doses of NSAIDs.
New Research Raises Additional Concerns
Recent research conducted by Dr. Anthony Blikslager, Associate Professor
of equine surgery, has yielded surprising results and highlights the complexity
of NSAID use. Eight horses with intestinal injury of the small intestine
were treated with Banamine, which is very beneficial for controlling pain
and reversing some of the systemic effects of absorption of bacterial toxins
from the damaged intestine. Surprisingly, the drug slowed down the intestinal
repair process as compared to horses which received no Banamine, although
Banamine did improve the comfort level of the horses. (None of the horses
showed colic signs as they all received the alternative narcotic pain medication
butorphanol, trade name Torbugesic.) Banamine stopped the intestinal lining
from re-sealing for at least 18 hours, which could result in increased endotoxin
absorption. According to Dr. Blikslager, “This effect was unexpected because
Banamine is used for its ability to reduce the clinical signs of endotoxin
absorption. Now, we need to assess the clinical importance of these findings,
and look at safer drugs in the NSAID class.”
New Diagnostic Methods
While ulcers can cause subtle changes in a horse’s performance, the adverse
effects caused by NSAIDs can be quite difficult to detect, so owners and
veterinarians need to monitor horses closely during administration. Fortunately,
new diagnostic tests are becoming available that can help veterinarians detect
problems early. Dr. Sam Jones, Associate Professor of equine medicine
at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has worked
with new diagnostic methods that are paving the way for early detection of
problems. “Our awareness of the presence of stomach ulcers has increased
dramatically with the availability of new endoscopes that are long enough
to reach into the stomach,” notes Dr. Jones. “Ultrasound technology similar
to that used to scan tendons has been effective in detecting early evidence
of colitis. This allows at-risk horses to be monitored closely before a major
problem occurs, and the technology can also be used to monitor the recovery
process in horses with on-going colitis.”
What Can Horse Owners Do?
When using systemic NSAIDs, horse owners should make sure that they use these
drugs in the safest manner possible. “The overall goal of pain management
therapy should be to use these drugs at the lowest possible dose for the
shortest time possible,” said Dr. Blikslager. “We find that sometimes owners
use these drugs in an effort to prevent a problem or to improve a horse’s
performance without realizing the potential adverse impact to the horse’s
health.”
Unfortunately, there are few outward signs of the initial adverse effects caused by systemic NSAIDs. However, if a horse is being treated with a systemic drug, like bute for lameness, and becomes uninterested in food and depressed, gastrointestinal damage could be the reason. The next level of severity would involve episodes of colic or diarrhea. Evidence of any of these findings requires immediate veterinary consultation. The veterinarian may be able to give advice over the phone, but more severe clinical signs warrant immediate attention. Treatment may be as simple as reducing the dose of the NSAID, or taking the horse off NSAIDs completely. More intensive testing at a referral center involving blood analyses, endoscopy and ultrasound may be required to determine the cause of the problem. Above all else, owners should closely follow the instructions provided by their veterinarian, and immediately alert their veterinarian if they think their horse has a problem associated with systemic NSAID administration.
Summary
It is important to note that systemic NSAIDs can be used very successfully,
to the point where some horses with chronic lameness receive bute for extended
periods of time, typically at a dose such as 1 gram once daily. However, even
in these horses, it is worth considering giving horses time off from treatment,
such as treating only before and after strenuous exercise on a limited number
of days per week, or taking the horse off bute periodically to allow organ
systems such as the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys to recover.
Drs. Anthony Blikslager and Sam Jones are associate professors of equine surgery and equine medicine, respectively, in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. Their research and outreach efforts are supported by the Colic and Digestive Disease Program at NC State (http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/ccddp.html). They can be reached by email (Anthony_Blikslager@ncsu.edu, Sam_Jones@ncsu.edu).
For N.C. bridge, DOT looks at long and short of it
Dec. 9, 2004
Virginian-Pilot, VA
By CATHERINE KOZAK
© Copyright 2004
A short-bridge alternative has been approved for study as a replacement for the decrepit Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, but it appears likely that the targeted 2010 completion date is going to be difficult to meet.
Although the controversial 17-mile alternative is still on the table, the state Department of Transportation decided earlier this year, at the urging of Dare County, to also pursue plans for a short bridge to the west and parallel to the existing bridge.
But more than a dozen federal and state agencies first had to sign off on the idea.
On Tuesday, John Conforti, project manager for the Department of Transportation, told members of the Outer Banks Task Force in Washington, N.C., that a merger team made up of representatives from the agencies had agreed to studying the short-bridge alternative.
Conforti said that both alternatives would have the same parameters, stretching from the north end of Oregon Inlet to Rodanthe. The long bridge would run the entire length, while the shorter option would include studying N.C. 12 to Rodanthe and three “hot spots” vulnerable to erosion and ocean overwash.
The interagency task force is charged with solving problems with N.C. 12, the only highway on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.
Conforti said that a draft environmental impact statement for the bridge replacement is scheduled to be approved by August and the final one is scheduled to be approved by August 2006. The decision on which version of the bridge will be built is expected in November 2006.
Since a longer bridge was first proposed in 2002, the DOT has stated that for the bridge to be done by 2010, the draft plan had to be done in 2004 and the final in 2005 and construction has to begin by fall 2006.
While the Transportation Department is still clinging to the 2010 completion date, Conforti said that the project conceivably could be expedited if it is a design-build, an option that has not yet been decided. Design-build projects essentially allow construction to begin while the planning continues.
“We’re not eliminating the possibility,” he said after the meeting.
But Transportation Department unit head Brian Yamamoto conceded that potentially the bridge may be finished up to a year or two later than originally hoped.
Nearly from the time that planning for the replacement for the 1963 Bonner Bridge began in the early 1990s, the project has been plagued by inertia, lack of funding and changing environmental conditions. When the first draft environmental report was signed in November 1993, the estimated cost was $54.8 million. That’s about when the project went into a prolonged stall until it was revived in 2002.
Just as the planning was picking up, North Carolina State University civil engineering professor John Fisher informed the Transportation Department that studies of the area where the new bridge was planned to anchor was at risk of washing away. Switching gears, the agency then started working on a replacement that would bypass the three hot spots.
The alternative favored by the stakeholder agencies was a 17-mile bridge that
crossed west of Oregon Inlet over Pamlico Sound and completely bypassed Pea
Island National Wildlife Refuge.
But Dare County, along with surfers, fishers and bird watchers, objected to the loss of access to the refuge’s recreational assets. State Sen. Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, has also voiced concern about storm-water pollution from the bridge into the sound waters.
Cost also has been a factor. In the original final environmental report for replacement of the 2.4-mile bridge, which was never signed, cost estimates were $122.8 million. The cost estimate for the proposed 17-mile bridge started at about $260 million and is now hovering around $300 million. Initial estimates for the latest proposed short alternative were about $130 million, not including costs for maintenance of N.C. 12.
In a report that Fisher had done on the beach nourishment needs to maintain the bridge and N.C. 12 for 100 years, the cost was estimated at $900 million. Conforti said that Fisher is now studying a 50-year project that includes additional options like relocation of the road, dune building and combinations of all alternatives. Whatever bridge is built will also be designed for a 50-year, rather than the previous 75-year, life span, he said.
Costs for the 17-mile proposal include nothing for crossing cables for electric power, Yamamoto said. He also said it has not been determined if the utility company, Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, or the state would bear the cost of running the new lines. The power supply cables are currently secured to the Bonner Bridge and run on overhead lines down Hatteras Island.
Cape Hatteras Electric General Manager Jim Kinghorn said that if the 17-mile bridge were built, the power company would prefer to run submarine cables rather than attach them to the bridge. But he said underwater repairs could be more difficult and expensive.
In the company’s August newsletter, “Cape Hatteras Highlights,” Kinghorn said that the cost of installing lines would range from $25.5 million to $44.5 million, depending on the method used.
With the preferred option of the submarine cables, it was estimated that rates would increase 28 percent, he said in the newsletter.
“Maintaining reliable and reasonably priced electric service is enough of a challenge on Hatteras Island without the necessity of undertaking a project of this magnitude,” Kinghorn wrote.
Napster Continues to Expand it's University Program
Dec. 8, 2004
New Age Media Concepts
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
LOS ANGELES, CA, Dec 8, 2004,—Napster, a division of Roxio (Nasdaq: ROXI), announced today that four more prestigious schools will enable their students to access Napster’s award-winning digital music subscription service at a significant discount. Beginning this January, students at Eastern Michigan University, the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will be able to enjoy the service that boasts the largest music catalog and more community features than any other, providing a compelling alternative to illegal peer to peer sites.
“It is extremely rewarding to have the academic community share our dedication to providing a safe and fun means of discovering music,” said Chris Gorog, Napster’s chairman and CEO. “We are thrilled to bring Napster to a growing number of passionate music fans at campuses across the country.”
Napster initiated its university program early last year with Penn State University and expanded this fall to an elite core of leading colleges including Cornell University, George Washington University, Middlebury College, University of Miami, University of Rochester, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and Wright State University. The students within the program have full access to Napster’s unlimited subscription features and online community of music lovers, including the opportunity to share play lists and view other members’ music collections in a safe and legal environment. Napster’s program allows schools to offer the service to their enrollment at a substantially discounted rate from its usual $9.95 per month.
In establishing this agreement, the schools have been working closely with the Campus Action Network (CAN), an initiative dedicated to facilitating the introduction of safe, legitimate digital music services to the campus environment. CAN, which is led by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and other record companies, works with a wide range of legitimate online music services, and helps institutions to create programs that uniquely fit their needs, as well as the needs of their student bodies.
About Napster
Napster®, the world’s biggest brand in digital music, is a subscription service that enables fans to access the world’s largest and most diverse online collection of music and experience the largest number of features. Napster subscribers have more ways to discover, share and acquire new music and old favorites with community features like the ability to email tracks to friends and browse other members’ collections. Subscribers to Napster can listen to full-length songs from every major record label and hundreds of independents on demand for a low monthly fee. Napster also offers Napster Light, a “lighter” version of the service for those who just want to purchase songs and albums a la carte. Napster is a division of Roxio, Inc., (Nasdaq: ROXI – News), the Digital Media Company, provider of the best-selling digital media software in the world. Napster is headquartered in Los Angeles.
About Campus Action Network
Campus Action Network (CAN) is a music industry-wide effort led by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and other record companies. CAN’s principal objective is to ensure that students have access to safe, legitimate digital music services, and it is working to support the launch of legitimate music services on campuses around the country. CAN provides universities with introductions, information and support on a broad array of online music services. CAN does not recommend or endorse any one service or technology to institutions.
Dec. 8, 2004
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO
By Rachel Melcer
© Copyright 2004
Orion Genomics LLC said Tuesday that it received a federal grant to unlock the genetic code of a tiny pest that each year destroys crops worth billions of dollars.
The company, based at the Center for Emerging Technologies incubator in midtown St. Louis, will share a $1.59 million grant with researchers at North Carolina State University. The Agriculture Department is providing the money.
Orion said it will use proprietary software to assist North Carolina State researchers in sequencing the genome of the root knot nematode, the most common and destructive of parasitic plant roundworms. Various species attack rice, potatoes, cereal grains, soybeans and other vegetables, causing an estimated $100 billion in annual crop loss.
Once the genome is mapped and understood, scientists may be able to find ways of warding off or destroying the pest that are more effective than the chemical pesticides used today, said Joseph Bedell, Orion's director of bioinformatics.