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Your wallet's view of 2004: Ouch!
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics
Dogs
at NCSU aid post-9/11 cancer study
Sherrie Hartke, College of Veterinary Medicine
BOND
BLASTS GOP IN SPEECH AT NCSU, WEEK OF DECEMBER 23-29, 2004
Brotherhood Celebration
2004:
BLACK YEAR IN REVIEW: THE YEAR THAT WAS
James Oblinger, chancellor-elect
Getting
involved: Canine blood donors
College of Veterinary Medicine
Your wallet's view of 2004: Ouch!
Dec. 31, 2004
Charlotte Observer
By ANDREW SHAIN
© Copyright 2004
Your wallet wasn't lying: 2004 was an expensive year.
Food prices rose higher than in any year since the first Gulf War in 1991. Gasoline prices broke records. Health insurance ballooned by 20 percent or more for the third consecutive year. Average credit-card interest rates increased for the first time since 2001.
Next year will bring more above-norm price hikes, but not like what consumers saw in 2004, Carolinas and national economists said. They cite an improving economy and falling oil prices, a linchpin for costs of most everything sold at supermarkets and department stores.
Still, shoppers should expect higher-than-average increases in mortgage rates and some food prices in 2005, and brace for another record year at gas pumps.
Mortgages/credit cards
Federal interest rate hikes this year trickled to credit cards and adjustable-rate mortgages.Average credit-card interest rates rose 1.5 percentage points to 12.1 percent during the second half of 2004, the first average increase in three years, according to financial advice Web site Bankrate.com.
Meanwhile, a homeowner with a $200,000 one-year ARM is paying an additional 17 percent, or $160, in monthly payments in December than a year ago, Bankrate figures show.
Rates for 30-year mortgages actually fell during the second half of 2004 to 5.75 percent from 6.3 percent, Bankrate said. Still they, along with interest on credit cards and short-term mortgages, are expected to climb closely in tandem with Federal Reserve rate hikes next year, several economists say. Forecasts call for the Fed to boost rates by 1 to 2 percentage points in 2005.
"The great borrowing bargains we've had the past two-three years will be gone," said Michael Walden, an N.C. State University economist.
Gasoline
Charlotte-area regular gas prices could pass $2 a gallon on average next year with any type of blip that may affect oil markets.
Concerns about Middle Eastern stability, greater consumption by China and delivery disruptions from the Gulf of Mexico after a series of hurricanes sent gas prices past records in 2004.
Prices in Charlotte last week were roughly 25 percent higher than a year earlier. At that rate, gas would approach $2 in mid-March, when prices have spiked each of the past two years. The current record is $1.96 a gallon, according to AAA (although when adjusted for inflation, gas prices are not as high as they were in the early 1980s).
Higher-than-average inventories helped by a mild winter could keep down price hikes, said Dave Costello, an economist with the Energy Department. Gas prices nationally are forecast to set a record in the spring, but should fall below 2004 levels by the end of next year, Costello said.
That's if the winter remains mild and there's no Middle Eastern mayhem, such as disruptions with next month's Iraqi election, to send crude oil prices soaring.
Food
Food prices are on track to climb 4 percent on average in 2004, the biggest one-year spike since 1990, said Ephraim Leibtag, a food price economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Dairy products were the story early this year. Gallons of milk passed $4. Butter and cheese also set records. Then came the produce shock from the series of Florida hurricanes. Tomatoes have risen almost 60 percent over a year ago, while grapefruit prices are a third higher. A soybean shortage has led to a 20 percent increase in costs for shortening and cooking oils, which trickles to prices of many processed foods that use them.
Food prices next year should rise at roughly 2004's pace. Some foods might see sharper spikes in 2005, Leibtag said. They include: produce, which might not bounce back until late next year; seafood, which could see higher production costs from new federal regulations requiring labeling the country of origin; and cereals and baked goods, which have been slower in passing on higher gas and commodity prices.
Clothing
Clothing prices have been falling steadily since 1998, down about 10 percent since that time, according to government figures. Another 1 or 2 percent drop is expected in 2005, said Carl Steidtmann, chief economist for Deloitte Research. That's before textile trade quotas are expected to end. More imports -- especially from China -- are expected, lowering wholesale costs more than 10 percent during 2005, economists estimate.
Merchants could pass on those savings to customers or could sell better goods for the same price, said George Mahoney, executive vice president of the Matthews-based Family Dollar chain. Mahoney was unsure which his company would do.
Medical
Prescription costs are expected to rise 5 percent in 2005, slightly less than this year's increase, Steidtmann said. But nonprescription prices could actually drop next year. They've risen just a fraction of 1 percent in 2004. "This is because Wal-Mart has become the largest pharmacy in the world," he said.Medical costs, including doctor visits and hospital bills, should continue rising at the same pace of the past four years -- roughly a 5 percent annual increase, economists said.
Employee contributions to company health plans are expected to rise about 15 percent in the Charlotte region next year versus three consecutive annual increases of 20 percent or more, according to Chicago-based human resources firm Hewitt Associates. Based on next year's forecast, Charlotte-area workers' annual insurance payments will have increased by almost 1 1/2 times since 2000.
2005 Price Forecasts
INTEREST RATES 1-2% points
FOOD 3-4%
CLOTHING 10%-plus
GAS 7%
PRESCRIPTIONS 5%
Dec. 31, 2004
News & Observer
By TIM SIMMONS
© Copyright 2004
Three years ago, an 8-year-old retriever named Tan pawed through the rubble of the World Trade Center looking for survivors in the days after 9/11.
On Thursday, the Labrador continued his work in the far more comfortable confines of N.C. State University's vet school.
Tan is one of 17 search-and-rescue dogs in a five-year study at NCSU designed to predict whether survivors and others at ground zero are more likely to develop cancer.
The news at the halfway point of the study is good, with no unusual health problems reported among the animals. Those findings echo a larger study by researchers at Penn State University involving 97 dogs and dozens of handlers.
NCSU became involved in the smaller study this month because it is one of only two places in the nation that has a magnetic resonance imagining machine for animals -- known as the Iams Pet Imaging Center.
The MRI machine allows veterinary students to view animal tissue and internal cavities without invasive surgery. Cats, horses and even the head of a dead rhinoceros have been scanned since the center opened in September.
The current study is designed to look at nasal passages and sinus cavities, since dogs searched the rubble without masks or other protection, said Sherrie Hartke, chief of anesthesia and medical director at the NCSU center.
Cancers caused by the chemicals and carcinogens at the site would probably develop faster in dogs than in humans, which is why so many people have been interested in the study's early results, Hartke said.
It's unclear how many of the 17 dogs involved in the scans will travel to Raleigh. For roughly half of the owners, NCSU is closer than Iams' only other site, near Washington, D.C.
Tan, a dog that is covered in black hair, traveled from Tennessee with his handler, Mike Pohl.
Pohl is a firefighter in Germantown, Tenn., whose disaster relief work is coordinated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trained to sniff out victims who are still living, Tan last worked after Hurricane Charley in Florida.
In December, Pat Gilliland became the first handler to bring his dog to NCSU. Pepe, a 12-year-old border collie that is now retired, searched for corpses at ground zero.
"It's very satisfying work, but it is extremely stressful," Gilliland said. "Often you have family members at the scenes, and of course they want to know."
Pepe -- who also worked the space shuttle Columbia crash, the aftermath of tornadoes and cases of lost Alzheimer's patients -- is Gilliland's first successful search dog.
Despite daily training that can last 18 months or more, many dogs are never certified for such work. But those that pass are unusually well suited for the job.
Pohl said he's seen a dog sniff out a human hiding in a closed barrel even as the dog was running full tilt.
"They'll find things that people would never find," Pohl said. "That's why you send them first."
BOND BLASTS GOP IN SPEECH AT NCSU, WEEK OF DECEMBER 23-29, 2004
Dec. 30, 2004
Wilmington Journal
By CASH MICHAELS
© Copyright 2004
NAACP National Board Chairman Julian Bond blasted the Republican Party Friday night in Raleigh, charging as he has before that the GOP was catering to the right-wing extremists in the party, and was turning the clock back on civil rights gains.
Chairman Bond spoke at N.C. State University last Friday prior to being honored with the Benjamin E. Mays Memorial Award during NCSU’s 22nd Annual Brotherhood Celebration.
In his remarks, Bond continued to blast the Bush Administration and the Republican Party, saying that affirmative action and other civil rights gains are under constant assault.
“[Republicans] have divided more voters than in any other time,” Bond said. “We have men versus women, Whites versus nonWhites, straights versus gays, conservatives versus liberals, Protestants versus Jews, rural versus urban.”
Bond saw no hope for improvement as the country prepares to inaugurate Pres. Bush for his second term.
In recent weeks, Bush has replaced U.S. Civil Rights Commission Chairman Mary Frances Berry with a Black conservative chair who opposes affirmative action.
Bush continues to shun traditional civil rights groups, even though the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus have requested a burying of the hatchet to work cooperatively.
The NAACP is now under Internal Revenue Service investigation because of fiery speeches against the Bush Administration made by Bond last spring.
The chairman says he did nothing wrong, and the IRS probe is nothing but a way for the administration to punish the country’s oldest civil rights organization.
Bond also blasted the Democratic Party for being unable to stand up to the Republicans in defense of civil rights and other social issues. In fact, he accused Democrats of caving in to the GOP on the war in Iraq.
“While one party has been whistling ‘Dixie,’ the other has been whistling in the dark,” Bond told those at NCSU’s Witherspoon Center. “While there are some exceptions, they’ve been absent without leave.”
Bond recently announced that an eclectic group of nine people have been named to conduct the search for a successor to President and CEO Kweisi Mfume, who announced his resignation late last month. Mfume’s resignation is effective December 31.
In addition to Bond, the Presidential Search Committee includes: Roslyn Brock, Vice-Chair, NAACP Board; Rupert Richardson, member, NAACP Board; former Republican Congress-man Jack Kemp; Hugh B. Price, former president, the National Urban League and senior advisor to Piper Rudnick LLP; Alice Huffman, member, NAACP Board; Philip Murphy, Managing Director, Investment Management Division, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and member, NAACP SCF Trustee Board; Coleman Peterson, President/CEO Hollis Enterprises, LLC and member, NAACP SCF Trustee Board; and Nicholas Wiggins, NAACP Youth Board Member.
“We are flattered that this distinguished group has volunteered to serve in this important task,” said Bond. “Their diversity reflects the diversity of the NAACP and the United States. We believe they will help the NAACP Board find a suitable candidate to take us forward.”
Mfume is leaving after nearly nine years as president and CEO. The former Congressman from Baltimore said he is stepping down “to pursue other challenges both in the private and public sectors.” During a press conference on November 30, Mfume said: “My decision to move on should be seen for what it is; another choice to seek another challenge, and another chance to make a difference.” To help assure a smooth transition to a new administration, Mfume has agreed to serve as a consultant to the NAACP until July 1, 2005.
Dennis C. Hayes, NAACP General Counsel, will serve as Acting President and CEO until a permanent chief executive officer is selected.
2004: BLACK YEAR IN REVIEW: THE YEAR THAT WAS
Dec. 30, 2004
Wilmington Journal
By CASH MICHAELS
© Copyright 2004
From the reelection of President George Bush, to the hurricanes that swept through North Carolina, 2004 was an eventful year in Black America.
JANUARY
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced the kickoff of a yearlong series of events to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.
The Democratic presidential primaries are n full swing with nine candidates, including Rev. Al Sharpton, NC Sen. John Edwards, and the eventual party nominee Sen. John Kerry, battling it out in debates.
The Carolina Panthers make it to the Super Bowl where they lose to the New England Patriots. Meanwhile a firestorm of controversy erupts when during the halftime show, singer Justin Timberlake rips off part of Janet Jackson’s costume to reveal one of her breasts.
Hillside High Track Coach Russell Blunt of Durham, at one time the oldest active coach in America, died on January 7 at age 95.
A flu vaccine shortage causes long lines at health departments across the state and country.
FEBRUARY
The NC Black Leadership Caucus files a “friend of the court” brief against a legislative redistricting plan it says reduces African-American representation in the state House and Senate.
Sen. John Edwards celebrates is only Democratic primary win in South Carolina, where he was born.
Saying that promoting Black ignorance in film is “genocide,” filmmaker Spike Lee told students at UNC-Pembroke that education is important, and the quality of Black films, though better, is not where it should be.
Durham Mayor Bill Bell decries the Bull City’s growing violent crime rate, saying, “Enough is enough,” after the city experienced five shootings in five days.
Same-sex marriages are conducted in New York, California.
After 18 years, the murder conviction of Darryl Hunt, a Black man convicted of murdering a White woman in 1984, was overturned. Two juries had found Hunt guilty of the crime he’d always denied committing. DNA testing finally him of the crime.
Former Supremes singer Diana Ross spends two days in a Greenwich, Conn. jail as punishment for an Arizona 2002 drunk driving offense. It’s later learned that Ross is given preferential treatment during her weekend stay.
Singer Luther Vandross, still recovering from a debilitating stroke, thanks the Grammy Awards audience via videotape for honoring him.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Pres. George W. Bush cannot explain why weapons of mass destruction cannot be found in Iraq almost a year after a U.S.-led invasion of the country toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
Former State Sen. John Winters of Raleigh dies at 84.
Members of the North Carolina Youth and College Division of the NAACP and the St. Augustine’s College Chapter of the NAACP announce they will peacefully protest a White supremacist national rally in honor of George Washington’s birthday scheduled for the State Capitol. The State NAACP decides not to sanction the protest.
Much is being said about singer Michael Jackson’s relationship with the Nation of Islam as he stands accused of molesting a child.
At the request of both the state Democratic and Republican parties, the State Board of Elections voted to cancel the Democratic and Republican primaries this year because of the ongoing redistricting dispute.
Alan Gell, convicted of a 1995 murder in Bertie County based on the faulty testimony of two women, was found not guilty at retrial because of exculpatory evidence proving his innocence that was originally withheld by the prosecution. Gell would become the second NC Death Row inmate to be released.
Bill McNeal, Wake County Public Schools’ superintendent, was honored as the 2004 National Superintendent of the Year at the American Association of School Administrators Convention in San Francisco, Ca., making him the best in the nation. McNeal, an African-American, was awarded NC Superintendent of the Year in December 2003.
MARCH
With the construction of a new downtown arena underway for its new NBA team, Charlotte makes it known that it will vie for the 2006-08 CIAA Basketball Tournament. The games have been successful for the past five years in Raleigh, but the member schools want more money and league expansion. Raleigh promises to be competitive in keeping the games.
Former state Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps is sentenced to four years in federal prison for violating campaign finance laws. Phipps, the daughter and granddaughter of two former North Carolina governors, plead guilty after she was convicted in state court, and indicted on 30 federal counts.
Actor Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” breaks all box office records for an independent film.
C. Colon Willoughby refuses to bring criminal charges in the NCDOT 7 “Hangman’s noose” case, saying there was no evidence that a noose a White coworker hung racially intimidated Blacks.
Durham police officers begin riding city buses to stem crime and shootings.
Actor Paul Winfield, best known for his role in the 1972 film “Sounder,” dies
at age 62.
U.S. Census 2000 figures confirm that the White population will indeed be a minority in this country after 2050. Blacks, on the other hand, will increase their numbers by over 70 percent.
National Security Adviser Dr. Condoleeza Rice testifies before the 9-11 Commission that the Bush Administration had information that Osama bin Laden planned to attack the United States, though they didn’t know when or specifically where.
Billy Yow, a White Guilford County commissioner who is an opponent of the NAACP, printed up t-shirts that show a boy urinating on the civil rights organization’s name. Yow says, “This shirt is not intended to be racial in any way to anybody specifically. This is directed to the members of the NAACP. This is how I feel.”
APRIL
Col. Richard Holden, the first Black commander of the NC Highway Patrol, announces that he will retire from the force in June after over 30 years.
State health officials are concerned about a dramatic rise in HIV/AIDS infections on Black college and university campuses. Of the 84 newly infected male college students discovered over the past three years, 73 of them were Black. Researchers say there may be more same-sex relations on some campuses than was originally realized.
Acknowledging that the event was a “terrible devastation,” an Oklahoma federal judge reluctantly dismissed a lawsuit seeking reparations from the state, city of Tulsa and the Tulsa Police Department for the deadly 1921 race riots that claimed over 100 lives.
A federal complaint claiming, among other things, that Black students in Wayne County Public Schools are suffering as a result of attending a racially segregated school system, was filed with the US Office of Civil Rights.
Reportedly, 100 percent of students attending public schools in Goldsboro are Black, while the overwhelming majority of White students attend the newer, better equipped and better staffed schools out in the county.
The liberal Air America radio network featuring comedian Al Franken, kicks
off with five stations nationwide.
Despite reports of alleged conflicts of interest, campaign mismanagement, unresponsiveness
to constituents and defaulting on loans, NC House Speaker Jim Black stood by
one of his most faithful, if not troubled lieutenants, Wilming-ton Rep. Thomas
Wright.
One percent of Democrats vote in the first ever North Carolina Presidential Preference Caucuses because primaries are cancelled. They choose native son Sen. John Edwards, even though Sen. John Kerry has already won the primaries.
Donna Brazile, Al Gore’s campaign manager, says the party must be proactive not only in mobilizing the Black vote, but educating Black voters about their rights at the polls on Election Day, so that the problems of Florida 200 don’t repeat.
The FBI probes the NCDOT-7 “Hangman’s Noose” case.
State Senate Minority Leader Patrick Ballantine resigns from the Legislature to run full-time for governor.
State Auditor Ralph Campbell, Jr. issues a scathing report documenting over $400 million in Medicaid overpayments by the NC Dept. of Health and Human Services. The report starts a public feud between Campbell and HHS Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom.
Actress Halle Berry files for divorce from singer Eric Benet.
Singer Michael Jackson, indicted for child molestation, fires his attorney Mark Geragos, and hires lawyer Thomas Meserau.
Rapper/businessman Sean “P. Diddy” Combs makes his Broadway debut in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.”
MAY
For the third straight year, personal income growth in North Carolina lagged below two percent behind most of the nation. In fact, only two other states - Texas and Utah - saw even lower growth for 2003, figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show.
Fed up with the seemingly unceasing amount of gang violence and gun homicides in the Bull City, officials there kick off Project STAY, a new effort by a coalition of community leaders, clergy and police to give troubled youth alternatives other than gang violence.
CBS’ “60 Minutes II” show pictures of alleged Iraqi prisoner abuse by US military personnel. A Black soldier is later charged.
Steve Bilzi, chairman of the New Hanover County Board of Education says he “apologizes” for derogatorily writing in a personal e-mail that inner city children are being bused to suburban schools “… without training, social skills, parental involvement, or emotional support.”
Triangle Urban League lobbies Legislature to fund the state’s historically Black colleges and universities.
The US Justice Dept. announces that it will reopen the 1955 Emmett Till murder case. Till was a Black teenager killed by angry Whites in Mississippi for whistling at a White woman. New evidence was uncovered by a Black filmmaker producing a documentary about the case.
Min. Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam announces plans for a tenth anniversary
commemoration of 1995 historic Million Man March in 2005.
Jackie McNeill, former Durham Police chief, dies at 55.
America will “do the right thing” regarding the truth behind the alleged Iraqi prisoner abuse, Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State, told graduates during commencement exercises at Wake Forest University.
Actor Tony Randall, best known as “Felix Unger” from TV’s ‘The Odd Couple,” dies at 84.
State NAACP Pres. Melvin “Skip” Alston blasts Gov. Mike Easley for not accepting the group’s Legislative Day invitation.
Comedian Bill Cosby shocks the world by publicly castigating low-income Blacks for lack of education, crime and holding the race back.
Fantasia Barrino of High Point becomes “American Idol” champion.
JUNE
Singer Ray Charles dies.
As the 60th anniversary of D-Day is remembered, Black soldiers who were in Normandy, France during that historic World War II engagement remember their role.
While the world mourned the passing of former Pres. Ronald Reagan, Blacks recall his racially biased policies.
Embattled First District Congressman Frank Ballance, under both state and federal investigations for alleged mismanagement of state funds appropriated to his drug treatment foundation, resigns his first-term seat due to health concerns.
After a personal inspection by Gov. Mike Easley and state Rep. H. M. “Mickey” Michaux, two newly constructed dormitories on North Carolina Central University’s campus that had to be shut down last year because of rampant mold infestation, finally reopened. Students had been forced to live in area hotels until renovations to the residents’ halls were completed. It cost $7 million to address the mold. The contractors, and the architectural firm owned by former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, were held responsible.
“Black Wall Street” in downtown Durham, where Black businesses like NC Mutual Insurance Company were headquartered on West Parrish Street, was commemorated by the city.
A seven-member panel is appointed to look into what led up to the Nov. 3, 1979 confrontation between the Ku Klux Klan and members of the Communist Workers Party that resulted in a street gun battle where five anti-Klan marchers were killed.
Durham attorney Larry Hall, chairman of the NC Black Leadership (NCBLC]; and Melvin “Skip” Alston, president of the NC NAACP, told reporters during a press conference at the Legislature that they want the two-year death penalty moratorium bill that’s been stuck in a House committee since last session to be voted on now before the summer short session ends. It doesn’t happen.
Director Michael Moore’s anti-Bush documentary “Fahrenheit 9-11” opens to big box office and rave reviews.
Vice President Dick Cheney angrily tells a Democratic senator on the Senate floor to “go f—- yourself” in front of colleagues. He later tells FOX News it felt good saying it.
JULY
Kerry chooses Edwards as his running mate. The Democrats go to Philadelphia
to officially nominate the pair as their presidential and vice presidential
standard bearers.
Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama delivers the keynote address at the Democratic Convention.
It’s revealed that singing star Brandy was never really married to the father of her baby.
Millions of Blacks are seen at risk for developing Type II diabetes.
Ralph Nader, consumer activist and independent candidate for president, demanded an apology from North Carolina Congressman Mel Watt [D-NC] for allegedly calling Nader to his face, “just another arrogant White man, telling us what we can do. It’s all about your ego, another [F-word] arrogant White man.” Watt, who denied he used the “F-word,” says he wasn’t being “abusive,” just “honest.”
Bush declines invitation to speak at the NAACP Convention in Philadelphia.
Chairman Julian Bond blasts the president for catering to the GOP’s right-wing.
Embattled Barber-Scotia College decides not to appeal accreditation loss.
Dr. Charles DeWitt Watts, “the father of medicine” in Durham remembered for fighting to keep Lincoln Hospital (now Lincoln Community Health Center), the only hospital Blacks could attend during segregation, died at 86. He was the first Black faculty member at Duke University Medical School, and the state’s first Black board certified surgeon.
After 11 years at the helm, Duke University President Nan Keohane step down, leaving behind a legacy of raising more than $2 billion for the school, promoting more racial inclusiveness, and enhancing Duke’s reputation as a center for intellectual learning.
From 2000 to 2003, the Capital City’s population has grown 12 percent to 316,802, helping to make the Triangle area one of the fastest growing areas in the state.
The nation commemorates the 40th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski declines an offer to go to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The J.W. Ligon High School Class of 1954 celebrates their 50th anniversary. Ligon was one of the top all-Black high schools in the state.
Pres. Bush comes to Raleigh for a $25,000 a plate fundraiser.
NC holds long delayed primaries. Voter turnout is very low.
AUGUST
Hurricane Alex, the first storm of the hurricane season, knocked power out to thousands along the Outer Banks, in addition to flooding various shoreline communities. The fury of the category 2 storm caught many by surprise.
As expected, the NC Attorney General’s Office has filed suit against four contractors it says is responsible for shoddy construction work on two North Carolina Central University dormitories. Toxic mold was found in the structures, causing the school to shut them down, put students up in hotels, and the state to spend $7 million cleaning the structures out.
Veteran Black journalist UNC Prof. Chuck Stone is inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame.
Thanks to a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, North Carolina will mount a “Safe Sex” campaign in the states bars, night clubs and college campuses to stem the growth of sexually transmitted diseases.
Hurricanes Bonnie and Charley, which devastated Florida, hit North Carolina with heavy rain.
June Kay Campbell, mother of State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr., passes.
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey serves on a Chicago jury that convicts a suspect
of murder.
The Republicans nominate Pres. George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for reelection. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers the keynote speech.
After a decade of delays, the Sonya Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History finally, and officially opens on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
The freestanding structure, named after a popular Black UNC professor who died years ago, will house Black historic and artistic collections, in addition to a lecture hall, dance studio, and administrative offices.
SEPTEMBER
Documents that CBS news anchor Dan Rather alleged proved something was fishy about President Bush’s service as a young man in the Air National Guard, turned out to be forgeries. Rather apologized and announced his retirement in March 2005.
Former U.S. Army Pfc. Shoshana Nyree Johnson tells a NCCU audience about her experience of being captured and held as a prisoner of war during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Democrats are urged to target Black voters for the Nov. 2 election.
Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, a Raleigh native, denies all wrongdoing
after being indicted by federal authorities on racketeering and other charges.
Civil rights leader Golden Frinks dies.
An Eagle County, Colorado District Court judge dismissed the felony sexual
assault charge against NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant at the request of the
prosecution. The alleged victim, angry that the court had mistakenly made public
her sexual history, decided the state could no longer win the case, and opted
to file a lawsuit in Federal Court instead. If convicted, Bryant, 26, could
have spent four years to life in prison, or 20 years to life on probation,
with a $750,000 fine. In a statement, Bryant, who always denied that he raped
anyone but did have consensual relations, apologized
Scholastic Aptitude Test scores 2003-2004 high school seniors in North Carolina
went up an average 5 points, the College Board said.
Bodies are found in the Western NC mudslides caused by the torrential rains of Hurricane Ivan.
While the majority of delegates to the annual convention of the all-White Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina voted to finally recognize the all-Black Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, that vote failed to muster a required two-thirds majority to pass. Thus it maintained a tradition of the 52,000 White Masons in North Carolina refusing to recognize their Black counterparts.
Lee Johnson, Jr., the president of Mechanics and Farmers Bank since 2000, has announced that he’ll retire by June 30, 2006.
Georgia Congressman John Lewis, during a visit to Chapel Hill, charges that Pres. Bush “lied” to the American people about the war with Iraq.
“Dream Team” attorney Johnnie Cochran is admitted to a hospital with an undisclosed neurological illness.
Bill Cosby pledges pledged $1 million towards the planned U.S. National Slavery Museum, which is expected to open in Fredericksburg, Va. in 2007.
Former Congressman Frank Ballance and son, District Court Judge Garey Ballance, are both indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with misuse of state funds earmarked for their drug treatment foundation.
Despite the continuing war on terror, North Carolinians polled say improving the state’s economy and attracting more jobs is their number one concern.
OCTOBER
African-American leaders join others in expressing difficulty with Gov. Easley’s
style.
The state and national elections are winding down, as the polls show a neck-and-neck battle for the White House between Bush and Kerry.
By official estimates, 836,319 went through the gates at the NC State Fair during the ten-day period. That was just over 10,000 short of the record 846,724 in 2000.
“American Idol” star Clay Aiken sang for his hometown at the State Fair.
The historic glass “Oval Table” that many of Raleigh’s Black leaders sat around to devise civil rights strategy, now has a new home in the NC Museum of History. State Auditor Ralph Campbell, Jr. donated the table and chairs from the home of his late parents, Ralph, Sr. and June Kay Campbell.
Pres. Bush tells Black Entertainment Television he has no time to interview with them (unlike Sen. Kerry), but he’ll talk with them after the election. The president does interview with several other media outlets.
FOX News commentator Bill O’Reilly is sued for sexual harassment, and later settles.
The Boston Red Sox beat the NY Yankees in the playoffs, and go on to win the World Series.
“Ray,” the film about the life of the legendary singer Ray Charles, opens to stellar reviews and Oscar buzz for actor/comedian Jamie Foxx’s performance in the title role.
One Stop Early Voting racks up 1 million votes statewide before Election Day.
It’s announced that comedian Chris Rock will host the 2005 Academy Awards.
Of the over $217 million in federal and state grants assigned to the state for homeland and bioterrorism security over the past few years, only one-third, or $65 million, has actually been spent, according to State Auditor Ralph Campbell, Jr.
Despite vocal concerns from some Jewish groups, a three-day conference on Palestinian solidarity went off without a hitch last week at Duke University.
Saying that “I will not allow my court to be used for something that is not in the interest of justice,” a federal judge rejected a plea agreement for NC District Judge Garey Ballance that would have allowed him to plea to a misdemeanor for using $20,000 of state funds to purchase an SUV, and failing to file a tax return. The plea agreement, if allowed, would have also given Judge Ballance, son of former Cong. Frank Ballance, immunity from further prosecution.
More than one in four American working families now earn wages so low that they have difficulty surviving financially, a new national report concludes. This situation is worse in North Carolina where one in three working families are low-income.
Well over 550,000 new North Carolina voters were registered in the past year, bringing the total number of new voters to over 5.4 million.
In a controversial move, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the once powerful political group, has made no endorsement in the race for governor between incumbent Democrat Mike Easley and Republican challenger Patrick Ballantine.
The widow of the legendary civil rights attorney Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. died.
Evelyn Chlorine Williams McKissick, 81, is best remembered as an educator, civil rights movement coordinator and mother of four children who integrated the Durham City Public Schools.
Provost James L. Oblinger was chosen by the UNC Board of Governors as the 13th chancellor of North Carolina State University, succeeding Marye Anne Fox.
NAACP announces it is being probed by the IRS because of negative comments made about Pres. Bush by Chairman Julian Bond.
NAACP suspends Durham NAACP Pres. Joe Bowser for endorsing candidates publicly.
NOVEMBER
Bush is reelected president; Easley remains governor; Democrats take back NC
House as Republicans feud; Erskine Bowles loses second try for the U.S. Senate
to Cong. Richard Burr.
State Appellate Court Judge Wanda Bryant wins reelection; Judge James Wynn, Jr. loses bid to State Supreme Court.
State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. loses bid for fourth term.
Electronic voting machines in Carteret County lose 4400 votes, while other voting irregularities plague North Carolina, holding the races for state agriculture commissioner and supt. of public instruction in limbo.
Remembering his accomplishments over the past six years, including his promising runs for president and vice president, Sen. John Edwards said goodbye to the U.S. Senate. His wife, Elizabeth, has announced that she is battling cancer. Many expect Edwards to run again.
Blacks blame state Democratic Party leaders for Campbell, Wynn losses as Chairwoman
Barbara Allen steps down.
Gov. Easley chooses Ed Turlington to replace her when 2005 vote taken.
The NBA slaps stiff penalties on several Indiana Pacers players after they fight with fans at The Palace in Michigan.
Sec. of State Colin Powell resigns; Bush nominates Dr. Condoleeza Rice to replace him.
Gov. Easley calls Legislature back into session to approve controversial $242 million incentives package to lure Dell Computer to North Carolina.
Rev. Al Sharpton announces that he and his wife of 23 years, Kathy Sharpton, have separated. Press reports indicate the couple, who have two daughters, separated much earlier than announced.
ESPN announces that it will carry the CIAA Basketball Championship games in ESPN2 and ESPN Classic.
DECEMBER
The CIAA announces that it will take its coveted basketball tournament from
Raleigh to Charlotte starting in 2006. The Queen City’s new downtown basketball
arena, and proximity to Atlanta, is the draw.
NAACP Pres. Kweisi Mfume announces that he will step down as of Jan. 1, 2005.
Talk show host Tavis Smiley quits NPR.
Autopsy results reveal singer Rick James died months earlier of drug overdose.
New domestic violence laws go into effect in North Carolina.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James causes a firestorm of controversy when he says Blacks live in a “moral sewer.”
Union Baptist Church Associate Pastor Charles Smith, 70, becomes the new Durham NAACP Chapter president.
Black, Hispanic HIV cases in the state are on the rise.
A Wake Superior Court judge has ruled that a special election scheduled for Carteret County next month cannot be held because it violates state law. The NC Board of Elections had decided that only those 4400 Carteret voters whose early votes were lost, and those who didn’t get to vote at all, would be eligible.
In the wake two murders at UNC-Wilmington, limited criminal background checks will be done on all applicants to all 16 campuses, announced UNC System Pres. Molly Broad.
In the aftermath of the SunTrust Bank-CCB merger, 300 CCB employees will lose their jobs in Durham by next spring.
NAACP National Board Chairman Julian Bond blasted the Republican Party at
NC State University in Raleigh, charging as he has before that the GOP was
catering to the right-wing extremists in the party, and was turning the clock
back on civil rights gains.
Singer James Brown successfully has prostate cancer surgery.
Bush announces he will renominate 20 conservative judges to the federal bench that were rejected by the U.S. Senate.
Just before the election results in the state superintendent’s race were to be certified as official, the NC Supreme Court issues a stay order, thus preventing Democrat June Atkinson from taking office, and giving Republican Bill Fletcher hope that his argument against provisional ballots will stand.
He was known as the “Minister of Defense” because he held the National Football League’s all-time sack record. Reggie White, who retired from the league in 2000, died of respiratory disease at Presbyterian Hospital in Huntersville. News of his death stunned the sports world.
Deadly tsunamis kill tens of thousands across the Indian Ocean.
As the nation prepares for 2005, terrorist Osama bin Laden has still not been captured three years after the deadly 9-11 attacks, and over 1200 US military personnel have been killed in Iraq.
Getting involved: Canine blood donors
Dec. 31, 2004
News & Observer
By Joyce Sykes
© Copyright 2004
CANINE BLOOD DONORS: The Veterinary Teaching Hospital at N.C. State University might have a need for pet blood donors if the animals qualify for a canine blood bank. The hospital is making the appeal for canine blood donors in order to build up a reserve and ensure an adequate blood supply for the many sick and injured dogs that are referred to the hospital's clinics or that are admitted to the Small Animal Emergency Service. For further details, call 513-6030.