The Newsroom

Sir Walter Wally makes official weather prediction Thursday, Feb. 2

2012-01-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

Newly elected Mayor Nancy McFarlane makes her official debut as Groundhog Whisperer

Weather in North Carolina is certainly unpredictable, but Sir Walter Wally is almost always right. Come tothe North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for the 15th annual Groundhog Day celebration. The free event is Thursday, Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the shadow ceremony beginning promptly at noon on Bicentennial plaza in front of the museum. The ceremony will be held in the museum’s auditorium in case of inclement weather. Newly elected Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane will join museum educator John Connors—who will be outfitted in top hat and tails—to assist Wally with the forecast.
Each year, crowds wait in anticipation to see if Wally sees his shadow. If he does, we're in for six more weeks of winter. Although not as well-known nationally as Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania, Wally has gained nationwide recognition for his amazing accuracy and is regularly featured on The Weather Channel's list of national representatives. Following the ceremony, Wally moves inside to his special station where those with cameras can pose for pictures alongside the famous weather predictor.
Visitors can also take advantage of educational stations on the first floor of the museum. There will be information on animal hibernation, signs of spring, the history of Groundhog Day and more, as well as fun games and activities including the hog toss. For kids 6 and younger, there will be special programs about animals in winter at 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in the Windows on the World theater on the third floor.
Students and teachers across North Carolina will also be keeping a close eye on Wally’s prediction. Anyone can download a free Groundhog Day Kit from naturalsciences.org, which includes a Weather Watch Activity Guide for grades K-8. For more information about Groundhog Day, contact Miranda Wood at Miranda.Wood@ncdenr.gov or (919) 733-7450, ext. 523.

Parents can help children stand up to bullying

2012-01-31T11:16:00.000-05:00

Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina offers bullying prevention tips for parents

All children deserve to grow up in nurturing environments that foster their healthy growth and development. Bullying disrupts those environments and affects everyone involved. Witnessing bullying can be as detrimental to a child as actually being bullied. They may feel afraid and believe if they interfere they will become the bully’s next target. Research shows, however, that when witnesses intervene, the bullying is more likely to stop.
Parents can be a child’s best ally when it comes to helping the child stand up to bullying. One of the best things a parent can do is to take time on a daily basis to talk to their child. Children who know their parents support them are more likely to come to the parent for help in difficult situations. Parents can also support their child by role playing to help them practice what to say in difficult situations and encouraging them to talk to their friends. Studies show that children are more likely to take a stand against bullying when they know their friends also think it is wrong.
Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina believes strong families are the foundation for strong communities. The organization has created an online resource center to help families work together to stand up to bullying. The resource center offers free tools, tips and information for parents, educators, teens and children. To learn more, visit www.preventchildabusenc.org.

US Department of Labor announces supplemental funding to help North Carolina residents looking for work cover health insurance payments

2012-01-30T14:33:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Department of Labor announced a $2 million National Emergency Grant supplemental award, in the form of a National Emergency Grant, to provide an estimated 1,175 additional jobless workers in North Carolina with partial premium payments for health insurance coverage. The state qualified for funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
An initial award of $2 million was approved on Aug. 11, 2009, to serve about 1,800 people. A supplemental award of $2.2 million was provided on June 30, 2010, to serve an additional 2,400 individuals. January 2012's $2 million supplement brings the total funds awarded to date to $6.2 million and the number of jobless workers served to 5,375.
“Health insurance is an important benefit for millions of American workers and their families,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “These additional funds will ensure that these North Carolinians keep their health insurance while they search for new jobs.”
Awarded to the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Employment and Training, the funding will be used to make payments for unemployed individuals who are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits and are eligible for the Health Coverage Tax Credit. The “gap filler” payments enabled by this funding cover up to three months, which is the amount of time it takes to complete Internal Revenue Service enrollment, processing and first payments under the Health Coverage Tax Credit program. Through the credit, eligible individuals can receive 72.5 percent of premium costs for qualified health insurance programs.
National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor’s discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state’s ability to meet specific guidelines. For more information, visit http://www.doleta.gov/NEG.

‘Solo Takes On 3’ features one-person performances

2012-01-30T12:47:00.000-05:00

“Solo Takes On 3: Story, Identity & Desire,” a festival of one-person performances, will be presented Feb. 3 through 14 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The performances in rotating repertory are sponsored by the communication studies department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Single tickets are $5 for students and seniors, $10 for the public. A solo pass, with admission to all performances, is $10 for students and seniors, $20 for the public. To purchase tickets, call (919) 962-1449.
All performances are in Swain Hall, Studio 6, with the exception of “No One Hurts You More than S/Mother,” which is in Hill Hall, Room 107.

Performances include the following:
• “I Was the Voice of Democracy,” by visiting artist and University of New Mexico professor Brian Herrera, is the humorous autobiographical tale of a young, gay New Mexican man facing the consequences of winning the national Voice of Democracy contest. Performances are 8 p.m. Feb. 3, 7 p.m. Feb. 4 and 2 p.m. Feb. 5.
• “Sketches of a Man” is an adaptation by graduate student Kashif Powell of the iconic work “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison. Performances are 5:30 p.m. Feb. 9, 8:30 p.m. Feb. 11, 2 p.m. Feb. 12 and 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13.
• “F to M To Octopus,” by honors undergraduate student Sam Peterson, is an unexpected and surprising look at the process of changing gender. Performances are 9 p.m. Feb. 4, 8 p.m. Feb. 10 and 5 p.m. Feb. 12.
• “No One Hurts You More Than S/Mother,” by graduate student Shannon Wong Lerner, is a one-woman opera about our first love, our mother. Performances are 7 p.m. Feb. 11 and 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14.
• “Stories are Lies (That We Tell to Get Other People to Like Us and Make Us Feel Better About Ourselves)” is a series of adaptations of 60 short stories in 70 minutes, presented by the Performance Collective, a group of local artists and UNC faculty, students and staff. Performances are 8 p.m. Feb. 9. and 10 p.m. Feb. 11.
Additional support for the festival is provided by Teatro Latino/a, the Carolina Latina/o Collaborative, the Latina/o Cultures Speakers Series, the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, assistant professor of dramatic art Ashley Lucas and the Honors Undergraduate Research Fund.

Transactors Improv holds shows, classes

2012-01-29T16:58:00.000-05:00

Transactors Improv has shows for adults and for families as well as classes in improvisation coming up.

Theater performances
“Transactors for Families" will run Saturday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m. at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Cost for ArtsClub members is $7; general admission is $8 in advance or $10 day-of. Student or senior tickets cost $5 in advance and $8 day-of. For more information, call (919) 929-2787 or visit http://artscenterlive.org/.

“The Love Show" will run Saturday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Cost for ArtsClub members is $12; general admission is $14 in advance or $16 day-of. Student or senior tickets cost $7 in advance and $9 day-of. For more information, call (919) 929-2787 or visit http://artscenterlive.org/.

“The Professor: Episode 4" will run Friday, March 2, at 8 p.m. at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. General admission is $14. Student or senior tickets are $10. For more information, call (919) 698-3870 or visit http://cgtheatre.com/.

“Taffy: Transactors for Families" will run Saturday, March 10, at 11 a.m. at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. Cost for adults is $7. Student or senior tickets are $5. Children younger than 2 are free. For more information, call (919) 698-3870 or visit http://cgtheatre.com/.

“Spring Fling" will run Friday, March 23, at 8 p.m. at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Cost for ArtsClub members is $12; general admission is $14 in advance or $16 day-of. Student or senior tickets cost $7 in advance and $9 day-of. For more information, call (919) 929-2787 or visit http://artscenterlive.org/.

“The Professor: Episode 5" will run Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m. at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. General admission is $14. Student or senior tickets are $10. For more information, call (919) 698-3870 or visit http://cgtheatre.com/.

“Taffy: Transactors for Families" will run Saturday, May 12, at 11 a.m. at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. Cost for adults is $7. Student or senior tickets are $5. Children younger than 2 are free. For more information, call (919) 698-3870 or visit http://cgtheatre.com/.

Acting classes
Intermediate improv course taught by Transactors Improv’s Anoo Brod will run Mondays, March 5, 12, 19 and 26 and April 2 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Cost is $101 or $91. For more information call (919) 929-2787 or visit http://artscenterlive.org/event/education/902.

Advanced improv and performance course taught by Transactors Improv’s Anoo Brod will run Mondays, April 16, 23 and 30 and May 7 and 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Cost is $101 or $91. For more information, call (919) 929-2787 or visit http://artscenterlive.org/event/education/903.

Environmental assessment approved for I-95 improvement

2012-01-29T08:22:00.000-05:00

The N.C. Department of Transportation has received final approval of the Environmental Assessment for improvements along Interstate 95 in North Carolina. The EA is part of the I-95 Corridor Planning and Finance Study, which began in 2009 and focuses on improving the safety, connectivity and efficiency of all 182 miles of I-95 through North Carolina.
The following recommendations have been made in the EA:
• Widen I-95 to eight lanes (four lanes in each direction) from exit 31 to exit 81;
• Widen the remaining sections of I-95 to six lanes (three lanes in each direction);
• Make necessary repairs to pavement;
• Raise and rebuild bridges;
• Improve interchanges; and
• Bring I-95 up to current safety standards for interstates.
The total cost for making these improvements is $4.4 billion. Current funding only covers about 10 percent of the costs of these improvements. In order to cover the cost of the improvements, the EA recommends tolling the interstate.
Should the department be granted permission from the Federal Highway Administration to toll the road, NCDOT is preparing a phasing plan for improvements. Phase 1, which includes widening I-95 between exit 31 and exit 81, would begin in 2016. Construction on the remainder of the corridor is proposed to begin in 2019.
The completed EA, including all of the department’s study information to date, is available for viewing online and at various locations along the I-95 corridor. To view the study or find a location, visit www.driving95.com.
Several public hearings will take place regarding the project beginning Feb. 7 and ending Feb. 27. Project data will be presented, and NCDOT staff will be on hand to answer any questions. For information on meetings near you, visit www.driving95.com.

Four-way stop being installed at U.S. 70 Business and Lawrence Road in Hillsborough

2012-01-28T14:43:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Jan. 31, the N.C. Department of Transportation will modify the intersection of U.S. 70 Business at Lawrence Road in Hillsborough to install a four-way stop.
The work will be done between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Different lanes will be closed as the work progresses.
Stops signs now halt traffic on Lawrence Road. This work will involve adding stop signs on U.S. 70 business as well as pavement markings on both roads.
This intersection is being converted to a four-way stop following an NCDOT investigation that found traffic volumes, crashes and other factors warranted installing the additional stop signs.
If inclement weather affects the area, NCDOT will postpone making the changes until the weather permits.
As drivers approach the intersection, they are advised to follow these right-of-way rules:
• The first vehicle to the intersection has the right of way ahead of any vehicle that has not yet arrived;
• When two or more vehicles reach an intersection at the same time, the vehicle to the right has the right of way;
• The vehicle with the right of way may move straight ahead or, if legal and after signaling, turn left or right;
• When two facing vehicles approach an intersection at the same time, both drivers can move straight ahead or turn right. If one driver is going straight while the other wants to turn left, the driver who wants to turn left must wait. The driver who is traveling straight ahead has the right of way; and
• Even with the right of way, remember to use the appropriate turn signals and be careful to avoid hitting other vehicles and pedestrians.
For information on navigating four-way intersections, consult the North Carolina Driver’s Handbook. To get a copy, call 1-877-DOT-4-YOU or visit the website.
For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit online or follow NCDOT on Twitter. Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smartphone. Then, bookmark it to save for future reference. NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.

N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher February events

2012-01-28T12:20:00.000-05:00

For more information or to register for a program, call (910) 458-7468 or visit ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher. For all programs, children ages 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult, except for camps. All programs require pre-registration and fees.

Behind the scenes
Aquarist apprentice runs Saturday, Feb. 11 and 25, at 2 p.m. Check out a dirty job you’re sure to love. Join staff on a behind-the-scenes tour and learn about aquarium animals, what they eat, how they live and how to care for them. Then, assist aquarists with food preparation and help feed the animals. Participants also observe aquarists during daily care and maintenance tasks. This limited opportunity is only open to 10 participants.
Participants should wear closed-toe shoes and be prepared to smell fishy. For ages 10 and older. Ages 14 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Fee is $25 for ages 13 and older and $23 for ages 10 to 12. Aquarium admission is included. Pre-registration is required.

Behind-the-scenes tour runs Thursday, Feb. 9 and 23, at 11:30 a.m. and Sunday, Feb.12 and 26, at 1 p.m. Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at an aquarium? Space for animal holding, husbandry, life support systems and access to exhibits is hidden behind the aquarium walls. If you have ever cared for a home aquarium, you may have some idea of what it takes to operate a collection of salt and freshwater exhibits with hundreds of animals. Accompany aquarium staff on a guided tour of animal quarantine, life support, food preparation and access areas. Participants should wear closed-toe shoes. Children younger than 8 are not permitted. Children ages 8 to 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Fee is $15 for ages 13 and older and $13 for ages 8 to 12. Aquarium admission is included. Pre-registration is required.

Extended behind-the-scenes tours will run Friday, Feb. 10 and 24, at 2:00 p.m. It’s feeding time, and you’re invited to watch. Visit the top of our largest exhibit, the Cape Fear Shoals, during an expanded tour behind the scenes. Get a birds-eye view of this 235,000 gallon tank as sharks, stingrays, moray eels and other fish swim below. Aquarists feed the animals during the tour, offering a unique opportunity for close-up viewing. Participants should wear closed-toe shoes. Children under 8 are not permitted. Children ages 8 to 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Fee is $20 for ages 13 and older and $18 for ages 8 to 12. Aquarium admission is included. Pre-registration is required.

For children and parents
Children's discovery time will be held
• Saturday, Feb. 4, at 10 a.m. featuring spiny-skinned animals
• Thursday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. featuring crabs
• Thursday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m. featuring reptiles
Creatures come alive in this story-telling and critter-creating program for ages 3 to 5. Fee is $11 per child. Aquarium admission is included. Parents pay admission only. Pre-registration is required.

Daddy and me will run Saturday, Feb. 11, at 9 a.m. Dads and their children interact and learn together about aquarium animals. Afterwards, you can enjoy free playtime in our Freshwater Wonders Room, which will be reserved just for program participants. The program is for adults and kids ages 1-2. Fee is $13 for one adult and one child ($1 for each additional child) Admission to the aquarium is included. Pre-registration is required.

The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher is located just south of Kure Beach, a short drive from Wilmington, on U.S. 421. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $8 for ages 13-61; $7 for seniors; $6 for ages 3-12. Free admission for children 2 and younger, registered groups of N.C. school children and N.C. Aquarium Society members. General information can be found online.

February programs at the N.C. Museum of History

2012-01-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

February is Black History Month, and several programs at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh will highlight the experiences of African Americans in North Carolina and beyond. From a children’s program about educator Charlotte Hawkins Brown to a lively performance by blues musician Boo Hanks, there is something for all ages.
During another February program, watch out when the notorious pirate Blackbeard and his crew take the stage. Don’t miss the wild pirate dance, sea chanteys and more in the participatory play A Rollicking Tale of Blackbeard, Pirate of the Carolina Coast.
Admission is free unless otherwise noted. Parking is free on weekends. Take advantage of February programs at the Museum of History.

History Corner: The Correct Thing
When: Wednesday, Feb. 1, from 10 to 11 a.m.
Ages: 6 to 9 with an adult
Cost: $1 per person
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Educator Charlotte Hawkins Brown taught not only the basics—reading, writing and arithmetic—but also polite behavior. Learn how knowing the proper etiquette benefited her students. The program is presented with Cameron Village Regional Library.

History Hunters: The Whirligig Man
When: Wednesday, Feb. 1, from 10 to 11 a.m.
Ages: 10-13
Cost: $1 per person
To register, call 919-807-7992.
Learn about Wilson County craftsman Vollis Simpson and the park that is being created to show off his giant whirligigs. Make a small whirligig of your own.

African American History Tour
When: Saturday, Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Explore the lives and accomplishments of African American North Carolinians from the antebellum period to the Civil Rights era. For example, in the exhibit Behind the Veneer: Thomas Day, Master Cabinetmaker. Learn about this free man of color who owned and operated one of North Carolina’s largest cabinet shops prior to the Civil War. See approximately 70 pieces of furniture crafted by this accomplished artisan and entrepreneur from Milton, Caswell County.

A Rollicking Tale of Blackbeard, Pirate of the Carolina Coast
When: Saturday, Feb. 4, from 2 to 3 p.m.
Presented by Raleigh Little Theatre’s Storytellers to Go!
Join the adventure with Blackbeard and his crew. A wild pirate dance, storytelling, a sea chantey and puppets will draw you into this participatory play that is appropriate for all ages. Help the notorious Blackbeard search for his hidden treasure and the crew of his flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge. Along the way, meet interesting people that he knew and learn about North Carolina’s 18th-century coastal history. Judy M. Dove created the play.

Time for Tots: Clay Creations
When: Tuesday, Feb. 7 or Feb. 14, from 10 to 10:45 a.m.
Ages: 3 to 5 with adult
Cost: $1 per person
To register, call 919-807-7992.
People have been making items out of clay for thousands of years. Find out about North Carolina’s pottery traditions and make your own clay creation.

History à la Carte: Operation Dixie
When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 12:10 to 1 p.m.
Bring your lunch; beverages provided.
James Wrenn, Phoenix Historical Society
Nearly 10 years before the Montgomery bus boycott, black workers in eastern North Carolina campaigned for civil rights in tobacco warehouses. Discover how thousands organized and secured union contracts in nearly 30 leaf houses.

Music of the Carolinas: Boo Hanks
When: Sunday, Feb. 12, from 3 to 4 p.m.
Drawing from a deep musical well, Hanks showcases his virtuosity in the delicate finger-style guitar of classic Piedmont blues. The performance is presented with PineCone, with support from the N.C. Museum of History Associates, Williams Mullen and WLHC-FM/WLQC-FM.

Orange County artists’ salon to be held in February

2012-01-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

The next Artists’ Salon—sponsored by the Orange County Arts Commission—will be held Friday, Feb. 3, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the West End Theatre at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Light refreshments will be served. Salons are free for artists of all kinds—performing, visual, literary, whatever. Come to meet, network and build a better arts environment for all area artists.
The topic for February will be “Shoebox Accounting.” Guest presenter will be Alex Lehmann, CPA, tax manager at McMillan, Pate & Company L.L.P. There will be time for lots of questions and answers.
The purpose of the salon is to bring together artists of all disciplines in a casual setting to share ideas, concerns and information. The Orange County Arts Commission works to not only bring the artistic community together but to facilitate closer ties between artists and the general community. One of the goals of the Orange County Arts Commission is to better serve the needs of artists. Artists often work in isolation, and salons can serve as a place to get feedback from peers as well as to share all of the problems and pleasures of being an artist with kindred spirits.
The Orange County Arts Commission thanks The ArtsCenter for allowing it to use the space for this series.
Those planning to attend should RSVP to the Orange County Arts Commission at (919) 968-2011 or email at arts@co.orange.nc.us.
The Orange County Arts Commission is a county agency that strengthens the arts in Orange County, which includes the townships of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. Created in 1985 by a resolution of the Board of County Commissioners, the Arts Commission’s 15-member citizen advisory board meets the second Monday each month (except for July) from 6 to 7:30 pm. For more information, contact Martha Shannon at (919) 968-2011 or visit www.artsorange.org.

Orange County Animal Services—pet of the week

2012-01-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

If you are the type who appreciates a kind, gentle soul, look no further. Jack is a 4-year-old lab mix who is as sweet and gentle as they come. He doesn’t ask for much and is appreciative for any and every thing he gets. Jack would do well in most environments but perhaps would be most fitting in a calm household where he and his owner could lounge on the porch or enjoy long walks and naps together.
Whatever type of home he does end up with, one thing is for certain—Jack will be a loyal and grateful life companion who will never forget to show his appreciation. Visit him today at Orange County Animal Services, 1601 Eubanks Road in Chapel Hill. You can also see him and other adoptable animals online.

Record-level attendance at North Carolina State Parks continued in 2011

2012-01-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

Visitation at North Carolina’s state parks and state recreation areas continued at a record level in 2011 with 14.25 million visits, matching the all-time record set in 2009 and posting a slight increase from 14.19 visits in 2010, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.
Among 39 state parks and state recreation areas, 15 reported increases in attendance in 2011. Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Dare County reported the highest attendance at 1.32 million visits, down slightly from 1.47 million last year.
Eno River State Park, including the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area saw a 5 percent increase in attendance between 2010 and 2011 and a 54 percent change in the month of December from 2010 to 2011. Falls Lake State Recreation Area saw an 8 percent change from 2010 to 2011.
“State parks make a strong contribution to North Carolina’s tourism economy as well as to the economies of local communities in which they’re located,” said Lewis Ledford, director of the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. “Their continued record attendance reflects the value that North Carolinians and visitors to this state place on outdoor recreation and our natural resources. In addition, families continue to benefit from the affordable recreation and education opportunities in these special places.”
A 2008 economic study revealed that travelers spend an average of $23.56 a day to enjoy the state parks. The analysis by North Carolina State University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management estimated the state parks system’s total annual economic impact at more than $400 million.
During the past 25 years, the state parks system has seen a dramatic 102 percent increase in visitation. In 1986, 7 million people visited state parks and state recreation areas.
Several state parks that reported higher attendance in 2011 were able to offer new amenities to visitors. A new 700-foot swim beach and picnic area at Lake James State Park opened for its first full season, and the park experienced a 70 percent jump in visitation. Improvements at other state parks contributed to increased visitation, including a renovated marina at Carolina Beach State Park, a new equestrian trail network at Medoc Mountain State Park and a number of hiking trail projects, including a volunteer-built summit trail at Elk Knob State Park.
The state parks system manages more than 215,000 acres within state parks, state recreation areas and a system of state natural areas dedicated to conservation of rare resources. Through its New Parks for a New Century initiative, six new state parks have been added to the system since 2003.
For a complete list of 2011 attendance records, see the website.

Former UN ambassador to give Weatherspoon Lecture at Kenan-Flagler Jan. 30

2012-01-27T08:03:00.000-05:00

Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will give a free public lecture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday, Jan. 30.
The 5:30 p.m. talk at the Kenan-Flagler Business School's Koury Auditorium is the annual Weatherspoon Lecture and kicks off the spring season of the Dean's Speaker Series. Free parking will be available in the business school parking deck. To RSVP to the lecture or for questions, call (919) 843-7787 or email kfbsrsvp@unc.edu.
Khalilzad served as the 26th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2007 through 2009. He is the highest-ranking Muslim in federal government in U.S. history.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, President Bush came to rely on Khalilzad's regional expertise in the early stages of planning to overthrow the Taliban. Khalilzad served as special presidential envoy to Afghanistan until 2003, when he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. He oversaw the drafting of Afghanistan's constitution and was involved with the country's first elections. Later, as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, he was instrumental in getting the Sunni Arabs to participate in the political process and move away from al-Qaida.
The Weatherspoon Lecture was created with a generous gift from longtime UNC-Chapel Hill and Kenan-Flagler supporters Van and Kay Weatherspoon. The series provides lectures by outstanding visiting scholars and world leaders from the fields of politics, education, business and government. The purpose of these lectures is to enrich the professional lives of members of the Kenan-Flagler community and provoke interesting discussion and debate.

Blue Ridge Parkway history now online

2012-01-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

The history of the Blue Ridge Parkway, America's most-visited national park system site, is now online.
The new collection, "Driving Through Time: The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina," was created through a collaborative project based at the library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"Driving Through Time," available online, presents photographs, maps, news articles, oral histories and essays documenting development and construction of the parkway's North Carolina segment.
The site invites users to explore parkway history chronologically, geographically or by dozens of topics from access roads and automobiles to wildlife and workmen. An interactive maps feature layers historical maps atop current road maps and satellite images. The comparisons provide insight into the parkway's development and its impact on pre-parkway towns, farms, roads and topography.
The 469-mile parkway radically altered the landscape of 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties when it was built between 1934 and 1987, and its construction sparked intense controversy, said Anne Mitchell Whisnant, adjunct associate professor of history at UNC and the project's scholarly adviser.
Whisnant, author of the parkway history "Super-Scenic Motorway" (UNC Press, 2006) and the children's book "When the Parkway Came" (Primary Source Publishers, 2010), was often frustrated as she combed archives and historic documents and tried to translate conflicts about routing and land rights into words.
"I found myself thinking, 'If only I could see and show what and where they're talking about, it would be so much easier to explain the arguments,' " she said. "'Driving Through Time' makes the park's history visible and accessible to historians, planners, local communities, landowners and anyone who wants to know more about this American landmark."
At the heart of the project are thousands of items from three institutions that collaborated to create the site: The Wilson Special Collections Library at UNC; the Blue Ridge Parkway headquarters (a division of the National Park Service, located in Asheville); and the North Carolina State Archives.
Materials in the online collection include:
• Historic photographs showing construction of the parkway and images of communities it passed through;
• Maps depicting private land parcels purchased for the parkway, proposed alternate routes, landscape planning and the completed parkway;
• Letters and documents pertaining to the community of Little Switzerland in McDowell and Mitchell counties, which sued the parkway;
• Oral histories from parkway designers and laborers;
• Images by the late N.C. photographer Hugh Morton, depicting the parkway as it passed Grandfather Mountain, which he owned.
Eleven essays share more insight into the building of the parkway and its impact. Whisnant and her students wrote about issues including competition between the tourism and logging industries, the parkway's impact on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and selection of the parkway route.
Also included are K-12 lesson plans that faculty from the School of Education developed to help students use the site's extensive primary source materials and interpretive essays.
"Driving Through Time" was made possible by a $150,000 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services under provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, as administered by the State Library of North Carolina.

North Carolina expects positive effects from U.S. tourism initiatives

2012-01-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

The North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development applauded the initiatives President Barack Obama announced Thursday, Jan. 19, to boost international tourism.
“We've been actively positioning North Carolina as a preferred international travel destination for nearly 20 years,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco. “Attracting international visitors to North Carolina is very important because they tend to stay longer and spend more of their money at North Carolina businesses.”
The president’s initiatives—which include national parks promotion, increased tourist visa processing and adding Charlotte Douglas International Airport and three others to the Global Entry program—are designed to bolster employment, which is at the heart of North Carolina’s tourism marketing activity.
“Today's announcement marks a turning point for our industry and provides us with unparalleled opportunity to work toward a national travel and tourism strategy,” Lynn Minges, Assistant Secretary of Tourism, Marketing and Global Branding in the N. C. Department of Commerce, said Thursday. “These efforts to make it easier for international visitors to get here will have a positive impact on North Carolina's economy because their spending supports jobs and adds to tax revenues in the state.”
According to the U.S. Travel Association, international tourism represents a significant part of North Carolina’s $17 billion tourism industry:
• International travelers spend $590 million a year in North Carolina.
• That total accounts for 7,500 jobs in the state.
• The spending generates $98 million in federal, state and local tax revenue.
Elements of the new initiative carry special resonance for North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway, which routes travelers across 250 miles of scenery in the western part of the state, is the most visited section of the U.S. National Park System, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park. Other properties in the National Park System include the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout national seashores.
The addition of Charlotte Douglas (CLT) to the Global Entry program—created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection—makes the airport more inviting to international travelers. The airport, which ranks seventh in the world in takeoffs and landings, has nonstop direct service from more than 30 international cities.
Coinciding with the announcement of the new national tourism initiatives, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda Carlisle was sworn in as one of 32 members of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The board advises the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry.

Orange County extends tax listing deadline

2012-01-26T14:41:00.000-05:00

The Board of County Commissioners for Orange County voted to extend the property tax listing deadline for 2012. The listing deadline is usually the last day of January. Due to a delay in mailing notifications, the deadline has been extended 30 days.
The deadline for Orange County property owners for listing property for taxation in 2012 has been extended until Feb. 29, 2012.

Orange County commissioners oppose North Carolina Constitutional amendment defining marriage

2012-01-26T14:37:00.002-05:00

The Orange County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution on Tuesday, Jan. 24, opposing a North Carolina constitutional amendment to appear on the May 8 ballot.
The ballot will offer voters the option to vote for or against a “Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State."

The full text of the BOCC resolution is printed below:
WHEREAS, Amendment #1 will appear on the May 8, 2012 primary ballot asking voters to decide for or against a North Carolina constitutional amendment that provides that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State”; and
WHEREAS, Orange County adopted social justice goals of which one goal is to foster a community culture that rejects oppression and inequity, thus the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color, religion or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation; national origin or ethnic background; age, military services; disability; and familial, residential, or economic status; and
WHEREAS, Orange County along with its local municipalities has adopted the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance with the purpose and policy to promote the equal treatment of all individuals; prohibits discrimination in Orange County based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, familial status, and veteran status; to protect residents’ lawful interests and their personal dignity so as to make available to the County their full productive and creative capacities, and to prevent public and domestic strife, crime, and unrest within Orange County; and
WHEREAS, Amendment #1, if approved by the voters, would prohibit marriage between people of the same gender, and further prohibit the recognition of any other form of domestic legal union; and
WHEREAS, Amendment #1, if approved by the voters, would be inconsistent with Orange County’s commitment to equal rights and opportunities for its residents and employees and would impact the County’s and its local municipalities’ domestic partner registry and benefits;
NOW, THEREFORE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners re-affirms its commitment to social justice, equal rights and equal opportunity for all residents of Orange County.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners opposes the proposed Amendment #1 that will appear on the May 8, 2012 North Carolina primary ballot.

2012 low-cost rabies vaccination clinics begin

2012-01-26T14:08:00.002-05:00

Orange County’s Animal Services Department will hold its first $10 low-cost rabies vaccination clinic of the year on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Animal Services Center in Chapel Hill.
Authorized by North Carolina State law, such clinics provide pet owners with substantial savings and allow cats and dogs to remain up to date on their vaccinations. This year, Animal Services will offer 1-year vaccinations at each of the clinics scheduled.
The vaccination fee is $10. Dogs must be on leashes, and cats must be in individual carriers. Animals that may be nervous or unsettled should be kept inside a vehicle for their vaccination. The Animal Services Center is located at 1601 Eubanks Road in Chapel Hill.
The next clinics are:
• Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Animal Services Center from 1 to 4 p.m.
• Thursday, March 22, at the Public Market House on Margaret Lane in Hillsborough from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Thursday, April 19, at the Animal Services Center from 1 to 4 p.m.
• Thursday, May 10, at the Public Market House in Hillsborough from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Saturday, June 16, at the Animal Services Center from 10 a.m. to noon
See the website for a full list of the 2012 low-cost rabies vaccination clinics.

Did you know?
• It is a law in North Carolina that dogs, cats and ferrets over the age of 4 months must have a current and valid rabies vaccination at all times.
• Orange County’s ordinance also requires that all pets wear a rabies vaccination tag.
• Pets with current rabies vaccinations that may have been exposed to rabies must be revaccinated within five days (120 hours) or they will be treated as unvaccinated pets.
• Unvaccinated pets that may have been exposed to rabies must either be destroyed or quarantined at a veterinary office for six months at the owner’s expense.
• Orange County had 11 positive rabies cases during 2011 and 2010.
• Rabies can be transmitted through secondary exposure as well, so do not touch your animal without gloves if it has had any possible exposure to a rabies vector.
• If a rabies suspect is alive, do not attempt to capture the animal. Keep visual contact with the animal until Animal Control arrives.
• If you discover a bat inside your house, be sure not to release it, but do remove yourself and any animals from the area.
• Always call Animal Control immediately if you find a bat in your residence even if there is no evidence of a bite.

Orange County Rape Crisis Center seeks volunteers

2012-01-26T13:50:00.002-05:00

The Orange County Rape Crisis Center is accepting applications for our upcoming volunteer training classes that will begin in early February. The center seeks dedicated individuals with diverse backgrounds to volunteer.
Volunteer positions include community educators and crisis companions. Community educators prevent sexual violence in our community by presenting educational programs to students in local schools. Crisis companions provide support and resources to survivors by responding to our 24-hour help line.
The deadline for applications is Friday, Jan. 27. Spanish-speakers and individuals with daytime and weekday availability are strongly encouraged to apply. Training will be provided and begins Saturday, Feb. 4.
The Center relies on volunteers to help provide our core programs and services. We have approximately 100 volunteers at any given time. Executive Director Shamecca Bryant says, “Community participation is crucial for the center. With a diverse volunteer pool, students in our education programs are able to learn from community members who share their background and experiences.”
Volunteer applications can be downloaded or completed online. Detailed information about volunteer positions and training schedules can be found at www.ocrcc.org/volunteer. Interested individuals can also contact the Orange County Rape Crisis Center at (919) 968-4647, visit the website or email info@ocrcc.org.
The Orange County Rape Crisis Center is a nonprofit agency that provides services to survivors of sexual violence and offers prevention education to the community. Services include a 24-hour help line (1-866-WE LISTEN), support groups, therapy referrals, Latino outreach and educational programs. The OCRCC is a United Way of the Greater Triangle Member Agency of Excellence.

President Obama's State of the Union Address

2012-01-26T12:53:00.002-05:00

(Note, this is a press release containing the written transcript of what President Obama said during the State of the Union Address.)

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought -- and several thousand gave their lives.

We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. (Applause.) For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. (Applause.) For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. (Applause.) Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.

These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. (Applause.) Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.

We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. (Applause.) My grandfather, a veteran of Patton’s Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line, was part of a workforce that turned out the best products on Earth.

The two of them shared the optimism of a nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share -- the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.

The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. (Applause.) What’s at stake aren’t Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. And we have to reclaim them.

Let’s remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.

In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn’t have the authority to stop the bad behavior.

It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hardworking Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly 4 million jobs. And we lost another 4 million before our policies were in full effect.

Those are the facts. But so are these: In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than 3 million jobs. (Applause.)

Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like this never happens again. (Applause.)

The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we’ve come too far to turn back now. As long as I’m President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place. (Applause.)

No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last -– an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

Now, this blueprint begins with American manufacturing.

On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number-one automaker. (Applause.) Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.

We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back. (Applause.)

What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh. We can’t bring every job back that’s left our shore. But right now, it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. (Applause.) Today, for the first time in 15 years, Master Lock’s unionized plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity. (Applause.)

So we have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it. Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed. (Applause.)

We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it. So let’s change it.

First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. (Applause.) That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home. (Applause.)

Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. (Applause.) From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and hire here in America. (Applause.)

Third, if you’re an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you’re a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making your products here. And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers. (Applause.)

So my message is simple. It is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I will sign them right away. (Applause.)

We’re also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world. Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years. With the bipartisan trade agreements we signed into law, we’re on track to meet that goal ahead of schedule. (Applause.) And soon, there will be millions of new customers for American goods in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Soon, there will be new cars on the streets of Seoul imported from Detroit, and Toledo, and Chicago. (Applause.)

I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules. We’ve brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration –- and it’s made a difference. (Applause.) Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It’s not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they’re heavily subsidized.

Tonight, I’m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China. (Applause.) There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing financing or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you -– America will always win. (Applause.)

I also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the United States but can’t find workers with the right skills. Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. Think about that –- openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work. It’s inexcusable. And we know how to fix it.

Jackie Bray is a single mom from North Carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. Then Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte, and formed a partnership with Central Piedmont Community College. The company helped the college design courses in laser and robotics training. It paid Jackie’s tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant.

I want every American looking for work to have the same opportunity as Jackie did. Join me in a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. (Applause.) My administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, and Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers -– places that teach people skills that businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.

And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help that they need. It is time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work. (Applause.)

These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.

For less than 1 percent of what our nation spends on education each year, we’ve convinced nearly every state in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning -- the first time that’s happened in a generation.

But challenges remain. And we know how to solve them.

At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced states to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies -- just to make a difference.

Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. (Applause.) And in return, grant schools flexibility: to teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn. That’s a bargain worth making. (Applause.)

We also know that when students don’t walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. When students are not allowed to drop out, they do better. So tonight, I am proposing that every state -- every state -- requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18. (Applause.)

When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. (Applause.)

Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves millions of middle-class families thousands of dollars, and give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years. (Applause.)

Of course, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid. We can’t just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down.

Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who’ve done just that. Some schools redesign courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it’s possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. (Applause.) Higher education can’t be a luxury -– it is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.

Let’s also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: the fact that they aren’t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.

That doesn’t make sense.

I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office. The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now. (Applause.)

But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away. (Applause.)

You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work. (Applause.) It means we should support everyone who’s willing to work, and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.

After all, innovation is what America has always been about. Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses. So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed. Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. (Applause.) Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. Both parties agree on these ideas. So put them in a bill, and get it on my desk this year. (Applause.)

Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. New lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. Don’t gut these investments in our budget. Don’t let other countries win the race for the future. Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries.

And nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. (Applause.) Right now -- right now -- American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right -- eight years. Not only that -- last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. (Applause.)

But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. (Applause.) A strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.

We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years. (Applause.) And my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. (Applause.) Because America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.

The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy. (Applause.) And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of 30 years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock –- reminding us that government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground. (Applause.)
Now, what’s true for natural gas is just as true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.

When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it’s hiring workers like Bryan, who said, “I’m proud to be working in the industry of the future.”

Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. (Applause.) I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here.

We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. (Applause.) It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits. Create these jobs. (Applause.)

We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well, tonight, I will. I’m directing my administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, working with us, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history -– with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year. (Applause.)

Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here’s a proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs. (Applause.)

Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges; a power grid that wastes too much energy; an incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.

During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our states with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.

In the next few weeks, I will sign an executive order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But you need to fund these projects. Take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home. (Applause.)

There’s never been a better time to build, especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest hit when the housing bubble burst. Of course, construction workers weren’t the only ones who were hurt. So were millions of innocent Americans who’ve seen their home values decline. And while government can’t fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief.

And that’s why I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low rates. (Applause.) No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won’t add to the deficit and will give those banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust. (Applause.)

Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.

We’ve all paid the price for lenders who sold mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them, and buyers who knew they couldn’t afford them. That’s why we need smart regulations to prevent irresponsible behavior. (Applause.) Rules to prevent financial fraud or toxic dumping or faulty medical devices -- these don’t destroy the free market. They make the free market work better.

There’s no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly. In fact, I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his. (Applause.) I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense. We’ve already announced over 500 reforms, and just a fraction of them will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years. We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill -- because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk. (Laughter and applause.)

Now, I’m confident a farmer can contain a milk spill without a federal agency looking over his shoulder. (Applause.) Absolutely. But I will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we saw in the Gulf two years ago. (Applause.) I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury poisoning, or making sure that our food is safe and our water is clean. I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage, or charge women differently than men. (Applause.)

And I will not go back to the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules. The new rules we passed restore what should be any financial system’s core purpose: Getting funding to entrepreneurs with the best ideas, and getting loans to responsible families who want to buy a home, or start a business, or send their kids to college.

So if you are a big bank or financial institution, you’re no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers’ deposits. You’re required to write out a “living will” that details exactly how you’ll pay the bills if you fail –- because the rest of us are not bailing you out ever again. (Applause.) And if you’re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices -- those days are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them. (Applause.)

We’ll also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there’s no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That’s bad for consumers, and it’s bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count.

And tonight, I’m asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorney general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. (Applause.) This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.

Now, a return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future.

Right now, our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working Americans while the recovery is still fragile. (Applause.) People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let’s agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay. Let’s get it done. (Applause.)

When it comes to the deficit, we’ve already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. But we need to do more, and that means making choices. Right now, we’re poised to spend nearly $1 trillion more on what was supposed to be a temporary tax break for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else –- like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we’re serious about paying down our debt, we can’t do both.

The American people know what the right choice is. So do I. As I told the Speaker this summer, I’m prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long-term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.

But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. (Applause.)

Tax reform should follow the Buffett Rule. If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up. (Applause.) You’re the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You’re the ones who need relief.

Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.

We don’t begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich. It’s because they understand that when I get a tax break I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference -- like a senior on a fixed income, or a student trying to get through school, or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know that’s not right. They know that this generation’s success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to the future of their country, and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. That’s how we’ll reduce our deficit. That’s an America built to last. (Applause.)

Now, I recognize that people watching tonight have differing views about taxes and debt, energy and health care. But no matter what party they belong to, I bet most Americans are thinking the same thing right about now: Nothing will get done in Washington this year, or next year, or maybe even the year after that, because Washington is broken.

Can you blame them for feeling a little cynical?

The greatest blow to our confidence in our economy last year didn’t come from events beyond our control. It came from a debate in Washington over whether the United States would pay its bills or not. Who benefited from that fiasco?

I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad -- and it seems to get worse every year.

Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow. (Applause.) Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa -- an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.

Some of what’s broken has to do with the way Congress does its business these days. A simple majority is no longer enough to get anything -– even routine business –- passed through the Senate. (Applause.) Neither party has been blameless in these tactics. Now both parties should put an end to it. (Applause.) For starters, I ask the Senate to pass a simple rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days. (Applause.)

The executive branch also needs to change. Too often, it’s inefficient, outdated and remote. (Applause.) That’s why I’ve asked this Congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy, so that our government is leaner, quicker, and more responsive to the needs of the American people. (Applause.)

Finally, none of this can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town. We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction; that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of building consensus around common-sense ideas.

I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. (Applause.) That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and states. That’s why we’re getting rid of regulations that don’t work. That’s why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a government program.

On the other hand, even my Republican friends who complain the most about government spending have supported federally financed roads, and clean energy projects, and federal offices for the folks back home.

The point is, we should all want a smarter, more effective government. And while we may not be able to bridge our biggest philosophical differences this year, we can make real progress. With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow. But I can do a whole lot more with your help. Because when we act together, there’s nothing the United States of America can’t achieve. (Applause.) That’s the lesson we’ve learned from our actions abroad over the last few years.

Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows against our enemies. From Pakistan to Yemen, the al Qaeda operatives who remain are scrambling, knowing that they can’t escape the reach of the United States of America. (Applause.)

From this position of strength, we’ve begun to wind down the war in Afghanistan. Ten thousand of our troops have come home. Twenty-three thousand more will leave by the end of this summer. This transition to Afghan lead will continue, and we will build an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, so that it is never again a source of attacks against America. (Applause.)

As the tide of war recedes, a wave of change has washed across the Middle East and North Africa, from Tunis to Cairo; from Sana’a to Tripoli. A year ago, Qaddafi was one of the world’s longest-serving dictators -– a murderer with American blood on his hands. Today, he is gone. And in Syria, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change cannot be reversed, and that human dignity cannot be denied. (Applause.)

How this incredible transformation will end remains uncertain. But we have a huge stake in the outcome. And while it’s ultimately up to the people of the region to decide their fate, we will advocate for those values that have served our own country so well. We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings –- men and women; Christians, Muslims and Jews. We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty.

And we will safeguard America’s own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests. Look at Iran. Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program now stands as one. The regime is more isolated than ever before; its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions, and as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent.

Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. (Applause.)

But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.

The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. Our oldest alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger than ever. Our ties to the Americas are deeper. Our ironclad commitment -- and I mean ironclad -- to Israel’s security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history. (Applause.)

We’ve made it clear that America is a Pacific power, and a new beginning in Burma has lit a new hope. From the coalitions we’ve built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we’ve led against hunger and disease; from the blows we’ve dealt to our enemies, to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back.

Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about. (Applause.)

That’s not the message we get from leaders around the world who are eager to work with us. That’s not how people feel from Tokyo to Berlin, from Cape Town to Rio, where opinions of America are higher than they’ve been in years. Yes, the world is changing. No, we can’t control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs –- and as long as I’m President, I intend to keep it that way. (Applause.)

That’s why, working with our military leaders, I’ve proposed a new defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget. To stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I’ve already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing dangers of cyber-threats. (Applause.)

Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. (Applause.) As they come home, we must serve them as well as they’ve served us. That includes giving them the care and the benefits they have earned –- which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. (Applause.) And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation.

With the bipartisan support of this Congress, we’re providing new tax credits to companies that hire vets. Michelle and Jill Biden have worked with American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. And tonight, I’m proposing a Veterans Jobs Corps that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that America is as strong as those who defend her. (Applause.)

Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind.

One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn’t matter. Just like it didn’t matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates -- a man who was George Bush’s defense secretary -- and Hillary Clinton -- a woman who ran against me for president.

All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn’t deserve credit for the mission. It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job -- the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other -- because you can’t charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there’s somebody behind you, watching your back.

So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those 50 stars and those 13 stripes. No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together. This nation is great because we worked as a team. This nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

Column: Does time heal all wounds?

2012-01-26T12:37:00.004-05:00

By D.G. Martin
UNC-TV host

Will John Edwards someday be the new Newt Gingrich?
Where did this crazy question come from? To get the answer, read on.
First, we should wrestle with the questions political experts have been stuttering over since Gingrich’s stunning upset of Mitt Romney in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary last weekend.
How can a candidate like Gingrich get over the deathblows his campaign suffered in Iowa and New Hampshire?
How can he sidestep the disgrace from the damning condemnation of his colleagues in the House of Representatives who censured him for misconduct 15 years ago?
How can he get around the moral consequences of his conduct in the breakup of two earlier marriages?
How does he get around the lack of support from people who worked with him when he was House speaker?
How does he get around the panic shown by so-called establishment Republicans who believe his nomination for president would lead to a disaster for their party in the fall?
How can these questions be answered? It would be easy to say, simply, that South Carolina voters are different. From John C. Calhoun to Strom Thurmond, South Carolinians have shown a fondness for brilliant, confrontational, no-holds-barred, attack- dog politicians. Newt fit their bill. But what about other states?
Both Calhoun and Thurmond had fans in other states. How about Gingrich? We will begin to find out next week in Florida.
Whatever the results in Florida and elsewhere, Gingrich has shown that time really can heal old wounds in politics. Even the most conservative religious voters in South Carolina showed that they were willing to forgive the sins of a seemingly penitent person.
The South Carolina results show us that, after the passage of time, voters are not bound by earlier judgments about a politician’s sins.
John Edwards may be trying to take advantage of this lesson.
The health problem that was the basis for the delay in his trial is a real one. An irregular heartbeat has bothered Edwards for many years. Still, delay may be part of his trial team’s strategy.
Every delay puts the management of the trial further away from the influence of the zealous investigation and prosecution led by former U.S. Attorney George Holding. He is running for Congress rather than continuing to lead the determined effort to put Edwards in jail.
Greater and greater distance from Holding increases the possibility that less-driven prosecutors will see the benefits of making a deal with Edwards that would free them to concentrate their efforts on getting other criminals off the streets.
Every delay works to distance the minds of potential jurors from the heavy and negative publicity that accompanied Edwards’s downfall. With the passing of time, jurors may be less likely to punish Edwards simply for being the bad person the news stories made him out to be.
Every delay lessens public interest in the case and the strength of any public demand that he be held accountable.
Every delay puts the public’s memory further away from his relevance as a public figure whose extraordinary gifts almost made him a vice president, almost a president.
Thus every delay could increase the chances that Edwards will win an acquittal if the case ultimately goes to trial or, even more likely, that there will be an acceptable plea bargain offer from prosecutors.
Back to our opening question: If Edwards does walk away from his legal troubles, could he, with the passage of time—say 10 years from now—bring his gifts of persuasion and charisma back into the political arena and have some of those who have written him off today declare him to be the new Newt Gingrich?

D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch," which airs Sundays at 5 p.m. For more information or to view prior programs, visit the webpage at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

Burning Coal Theatre Company presents the classic musical 'Man of La Mancha'

2012-01-25T16:58:00.000-05:00

Burning Coal Theatre Company continues its 15th season with Man of La Mancha by Darion, Leigh and Wasserman. The production will run Feb. 2 through 19 at the Murphey School, 224 Polk St. in Raleigh. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (Feb. 2, through 4, 9 through 11 and 16 through 18) and Sundays at 2 p.m. (Feb. 5, 12 and 19). Sunday, Feb. 5, at 2 pm is the ‘Pay What You Can’ Day. That performance will also be Audio Described. Tickets are $20 or $15 for students, seniors and active military. All tickets are $10 on Thursday evenings. For reservations and information, call (919) 834-4001 or visit www.burningcoal.org.

About Man of La Mancha
Drawn from the Spanish novelist Cervantes’ great book Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha is a musical retelling of the story of a troubled man, Alonso Quixana, who believes he is in fact a knight named Don Quixote (Randolph Curtis Rand). He enlists a simple man to support his quest, Sancho Panza (David Henderson), and sets off to right the ills that he perceives in the world.
On his travels, he meets the strumpet Aldonza, who he imagines to be the lady Dulcinea (Yolanda Rabun). In the musical retelling of this tale, playwright Dale Wasserman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), along with lyricist Joe Darion and composer Mitch Leigh, imagined that the writer himself, Miguel de Cervantes, has been imprisoned for crimes against the church and state. Cast into a prison amidst a bunch of low-life criminals, Cervantes finds that he must create a beautiful story in order to convince them that he, as an artist, deserves to live. He spins the story of the “madman”, Alonso Quixana and his fictional persona, Don Quixote.

About the director
Tea Alagic is originally from Bosnia. Recent work includes: Lidless by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, Soho Rep( NYC), Waking Up by Cori Thomas (Ensemble Studio Theatre, NYC); Anonymous by Naomi Iizuka (Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque); The Marriage Of Maria Braun by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (ZKM, Croatia); Binibon by Jack Womack and Elliot Sharp (The Kitchen, NYC); Events with Life’s Leftovers by Alberto Villarreal Diaz (Dramafest, Mexico City); and Aliens With Extraordinary Skills by Saviana Stanescu (Women’s Project, NYC). She directed the world premiere of The Brothers Size by Tarell McCraney at The Public Theater, NYC and later productions at The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, and The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Her original devised work includes The Filament Cycle, which performed at La Mama ETC, NYC, the 4+4 Festival in Prague, BAC London, Philadelphia, Colorado, and Potsdam; and Zero Hour, about the Balkan War. Other directing work from this period includes Man Have Called Me Mad, One Day in Moscow, Cerebral Events and Sam Perspective. She was Associate Artistic Director of the Ensemble Company for the Performing Arts in New Haven, where she directed Woyzek by George Buchner, Self–Accusation by Peter Handke, Preparadise Sorry Now by Rainer Werner Fassbiner, Baal by Bertolt Brecht and Zero Hour. Alagic holds a BFA in acting from The Charles University in Prague and an MFA in directing from Yale School of Drama.

About the cast and crew
Raleigh’s Scott McKenzie will serve as musical director. Debra Gillingham of Wilmington will provide choreography, and Chapel Hill’s Christine Zagrobelny will provide fight choreography. The assistant director is Nathan Adam Sullivan, and the production dramaturg is Eric Kildow.

Randolph Curtis Rand of Brooklyn, N.Y., [(The Seafarer (actor), To Kill A Mockingbird (director)] will play Quixana/Quixote. Aldonza/Dulcinea will be played by Yolanda Rabun of Raleigh (Crowns, Gee’s Bend). Sancho Panza will be played by Raleigh’s David Henderson (Rat in the Skull, Inherit the Wind). The cast also includes Jeff Aguiar of Greensboro, Raleigh’s James Anderson, Jeff Cheek, Fred Corlett, Ian Finley, Ashley Lorenz, Morgan Parpan and Jeff Vizcaino, Durham’s Jade Arnold and Wilmington’s Debra Gillingham. The understudy is Edward H. Cooke of Raleigh.
The scenery design is by Drew Boyce and the lighting by Joyce Liao, both of New York. Costumes are by Raleigh’s Jordan Jaked, and properties by Joncie Sarratt, also of Raleigh. Sound design will be by Michael Betts II of Raleigh. The technical director is Marcus Morphew of Raleigh, and the stage manager is Adam Budlong of Cary.
For further information, contact Burning Coal’s managing director, Simmie Kastner, at (919) 834-4001 or visit our website at www.burningcoal.org.

First charging station for electric vehicles at N.C. rest area opens to public

2012-01-25T16:32:00.001-05:00

History was made Wednesday, Jan. 11, as officials from the N.C. Department of Transportation, N.C. Department of Commerce and Praxis Technologies Inc. joined together to cut the ribbon on one of the first electric vehicle charging stations at a state rest area. The ceremony took place at the Alamance County Rest Area on Interstate 40 and I-85 near Burlington, which is now the site of two charging stations. A Nissan Leaf from Michael Jordan Nissan of Durham was on site to provide a demonstration of the charging stations.
“With this project, the state of North Carolina and its partners are helping lay the groundwork for an infrastructure that will support the increasing number of electric vehicles in North Carolina and the nation,” said State Roadside Environmental Engineer Don Lee.
The electric vehicle charging stations, as well as accompanying educational signage, were provided by Raleigh-based Praxis Technologies Inc. through a grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce Green Business Fund Program. In addition to the charging stations at the Alamance County Rest Area, Praxis provided two more charging stations to NCDOT, which were recently installed at the rest area located along I-40 at the I-95 junction near Benson. The charging stations are classified as “Level 2,” which means they can fully charge a vehicle in six to seven hours. There is no cost for using the stations.
The N.C. Department of Commerce grant, which totaled $247,000, has enabled Praxis to place 20 electric vehicle charging stations in key markets around North Carolina over the past eight months.
The Alamance and Johnston County rest areas were strategically chosen as installation sites. They are high-traffic locations that welcome a combined 1 million visitors annually and additionally are located along commuter routes near major metropolitan areas. This may allow motorists the option of charging their vehicle for a short period of time in order to gain enough charge to travel to another charging station location.
NCDOT continues to work with its private partners to investigate the possibility of installing more charging stations at rest areas in the future, including “Level 3,” stations, which are able to fully charge a vehicle in as little as 30 minutes.

Country legend George Jones coming to DPAC

2012-01-25T16:32:00.000-05:00

George Jones, a country singer, first hit the charts in 1955 with “Why Baby Why.” About 57 years and 140 hits later, he brings his timeless voice and songs to the Durham Performing Arts Center on Aug. 18, 2012.
Tickets can be purchased:
• Online at DPACnc.com
• DPAC TicketCenter at (919) 680-2787 or 123 Vivian Street in Durham
• Ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster Charge by phone at 800-745-3000
• Ticketmaster outlets including Crabtree Valley Mall
"DPAC is becoming famous for presenting the Hall of Fame Country Stars, and we're thrilled to have this legend onstage at DPAC. Classic country fans will be in for a very special treat, with fantastic sound and great views of the stage from every seat, this could be George Jones best show ever in the Triangle," said Bob Klaus, GM of DPAC.
Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 1996 he told his story in the best-selling autobiography "I Lived To Tell It All." He earned his second Grammy in 1999 and received the 2002 National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony. On Feb. 11, George Jones will be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.

Carrboro rec department holds volleyball camp

2012-01-24T16:32:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a volleyball camp from Monday, July 30, to Friday, Aug. 3, for youth ages 10 to 13. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camp runs from 8 to 11 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

Festifall 2012 calls for non-profit and commerical exhibitors

2012-01-24T15:45:00.000-05:00

Applications for local non-profit and commercial businesses at Chapel Hill’s 40th annual Festifall 2012 are now being accepted by the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department. Festifall will take place Sunday, Oct. 7, from noon to 6 p.m. on the tree-lined street of West Franklin. Applications are due by June 1st; space is limited.
More than 15,000 local and visiting attendees are entertained throughout the day with live music and the best that the local art scene has to offer accompanied by participatory interactive art and dance activities. Festifall was voted Best Festival by Chapel Hill Magazine readers 2011/12 In 2011 and attracts 15,000+ people from all over Central North Carolina; no other event in Chapel Hill or Orange County attracts as many people in one afternoon.
Partnerships in publicity include the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and the Chapel Hill Visitor’s Bureau. Festifall is also promoted through 30,000 printed event guides, in regional print, radio and television advertisements as well as the most current, wide-reaching social media outlets.
To support the Town’s sustainability efforts, we are encouraging all interested artists to apply using the paperless application. A hard copy, PDF version, can be downloaded at this site as well.
More information, including the full official event guide, parking, and pictures from Festifall 2011, can be found online. Questions about registration for Festifall 2012 can be directed to Carter Hubbard at chubbard@townofchapelhill.org.

Festifall 2012 artist applications now available

2012-01-24T13:06:00.000-05:00

Applications for artist booths at Chapel Hill’s 40th annual Festifall 2012 are now being accepted by the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department. Festifall will take place Sunday, Oct. 7, from noon to 6 p.m. on the tree-lined street of West Franklin. Applications are due by May 1, and space is limited to 120 qualifiers.
Festifall artists will be awarded cash prizes for: first place at $350, second place at $250 and third place at $150, and juror, Sara Latta Gress, owner of the North Carolina Crafts Gallery in Carrboro, will be selecting the awards this year.
Selected artists creating in all media will be a part of this well-publicized annual event celebrating the cultural arts held in downtown Chapel Hill. More than 15,000 local and visiting attendees are entertained throughout the day with live music and the best that the local art scene has to offer, accompanied by participatory interactive art and dance activities.
Partnerships in publicity include the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and the Chapel Hill Visitor’s Bureau. Festifall is also promoted through 30,000 printed event guides, in regional print, radio and television advertisements as well as the most current: wide-reaching social media outlets.
To support the Town’s sustainability efforts, we are encouraging all interested artists to apply using the paper-less application. A hard copy, PDF version, can be downloaded at this site as well. Applications are accompanied by a fee of $25. Applicants’ images will be reviewed by a panel of local artist jurors, and accepted artists will be notified on June 15.
More information, including the full official event guide, parking, and pictures from Festifall 2011, can be found online. Questions about registration for Festifall 2012 can be directed to Carter Hubbard at chubbard@townofchapelhill.org.

Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro poets place in annual state-wide contest

2012-01-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

The Poetry Council of NC—a self-supporting, all-volunteer nonprofit organization founded in 1949 to foster a deeper appreciation of poetry in the state—has announced the winners of its annual poetry contests. Judges were permitted to select first-, second- and third-place winners as well as up to three honorable mentions in each contest category with the exception of the book contest, which has no third-place winner. Some judges elected to name fewer winners.
All winners will receive their awards—including cash prizes for first, second and third place—at Poetry Day, held at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory on April 14. Winning poems will also be published in the Council’s annual awards anthology, Bay Leaves, and winning poets will be invited to read their poems at Poetry Day.
An additional category for Performance Poetry is judged and awarded at Poetry Day. Information on any of the contests, Poetry Day and the Poetry Council is available at www.poetrycouncilofnc.wordpress.com.
Susan Spalt of Carrboro took first in the humorous verse contest with her poem Where Time Does Not Fly, and Barbara Brooks of Hillsborough took second in humorous verse with her piece The Voice. Joanna Catherine Scott of Chapel Hill received an honorable mention in the book contest for her work An Innocent in the House of the Dead.

The complete list of category winners and judges is as follows:
Ellen Johnston-Hale (humorous verse):
JUDGE: Gloria Alden, Southington, Ohio
First: Where Time Does Not Fly by Susan Spalt, Carrboro
Second: The Voice by Barbara Brooks, Hillsborough
Third: Arctic by Lisa Zerkle, Charlotte
Honorable mention: Black Friday by Doris Dix Caruso, Burlington
Honorable mention: Patience by Jane Shlensky, Bahama
Honorable mention: I Think They Got It! by Janet Ireland Trail, Greensboro

Oscar Arnold Young (book contest):
JUDGE: Paul Hostovsky, Medfield, MA & Ron Moran, Simpsonville, S.C.
First: The Swing Girl by Katherine Soniat, Asheville
Second: Lie Down with Me by Julie Suk, Charlotte
Honorable mention: Rendering the Bones by Susan M. Lefler, Brevard
Honorable mention: An Innocent in the House of the Dead by Joanna Catherine Scott, Chapel Hill

Gladys Owings Hughes Heritage (free verse):
JUDGE: Darnell Arnoult, Harrogate, Tenn.
First: Babies Hurtling Several Stories by Ross White, Durham
Second: Daddy Imagines a Good Death by JS Absher, Raleigh
Third: The Museum of Broken Things by Jane Shlensky, Bahama

Charles Shull (traditional poetry):
JUDGE: Paul Bone, Evansville, Ind.
First: Facts about Early America by Ross White, Durham (rhyming couplets)
Second: Basic Bad Day by Peg Russell, Murphy (terza rima)
Third: Featured Reader by Alice Osborn, Raleigh (sestina)
Honorable mention: On a Recent Engagement by Michael A. Moreno, Rockville, Md. (sonnet)
Honorable mention: Water the Lover by Ellen Summers, Greensboro (sonnet)

James Larkin Pearson (free verse):
JUDGE: Felicia Mitchell, Emory, Va.
First: Address to Monarchs by Ross White, Durham
Second: My Mother’s Lake by Ann Campanella, Huntersville
Third: What Burns for Light by Lisa Zerkle, Charlotte
Honorable mention: Circumventing the Circumference by Terry Collins, Mount Airy
Honorable mention: Things Fall Out of My Father by Robert Moyer, Winston Salem
Honorable mention: The Lesbians Next Door by Alice Osborn, Raleigh

Charlotte Young (elementary school):
JUDGE: David Roderick, Greensboro
First: Jupiter by Sydney Campanella (home-schooled), Huntersville
Second: Light Saves Us by Paige Morrison (North Forest Pines Elem.), Wake Forest
Third: Blue by Joellen Callahan (North Forest Pines Elem.), Wake Forest
Honorable mention: Doves by Sonja Woolley (Episcopal Day School), Southern Pines
Honorable mention: Nature Walk by Lilly Corcoran (Episcopal Day School), Southern Pines

Carol Bessent Hayman (middle school):
JUDGE: David Roderick, Greensboro
First: The Pledge of Sausage by Devon Stocks (Clarkton School of Discovery), Clarkton
Second: Pumpkin Patch by Kenneth More (Clarkton School of Discovery), Clarkton

Sam Ragan North Carolina Connection (high school):
JUDGE: Natasha Trethewey, Decatur, Ga.
First: Lesson of the Lark by Maggie Apple of North Guilford High School
Second: Jennifer Comerford of North Guilford High School

Carrboro rec department holds ultimate Frisbee camp

2012-01-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring an ultimate Frisbee camp from Monday, July 9, to Friday, July 13, for youth ages 10 to 15. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camps run from 8 to 11 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

Dan River Basin Association to hike at Fairy Stone State Park

2012-01-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

The Dan River Basin Association will continue its 10th year celebration with a Feb. 4 hike on trails in Virginia's Fairy Stone State Park. Participants will meet at 10 a.m. at the Stuart's Knob Trailhead on Union Bridge Road (Virginia State Route 623) on the north side of Fairy Stone Lake (GPS 36.798504,-80.116784).
The 2-mile hike will begin with the Iron Mine Trail, which winds along high and steep ridges through areas of rhododendron and stands of beech, pine, hickory, poplar, maple and sycamore trees. The trail's namesake feature is the mouth of an old iron mine, its dark opening covered by a barred grate. Remnants of iron ore may be visible alongside the trail.
The path will then connect to the Upper and Lower Stuart's Knob loops. After a few climbs and declines and a fine vista of a portion of Fairy Stone Lake, hikers will return to the parking area.
The park's brochure rates the hike as strenuous, but Trip Coordinator Lucas Conkle, chair of DRBA's Outings Task Force, considers the trails moderate. Switchbacks make it easier to climb the slopes, and Conkle plans to set a gentle pace to allow participants to enjoy the forest, the historic sites and the views.
"The Stuart Knob Trail system has a nice mix of views and history," Conkle says. "It is sure to become one of your favorite hikes if you go on the trip."
Fairy Stone State Park, founded in 1936 as the largest of Virginia's first six state parks, is named for the cross-shaped staurolite, a rare mineral found in the region. Legend says this area was once home to fairies and other woodland creatures. Word of Jesus' crucifixion so saddened these fairies that they wept tears, which crystallized staurolite (silica, iron and aluminum) in the form of Maltese, Roman and St. Andrews crosses.
At the conclusion of the hike, participants will eat their picnic lunches near the shore of the 168-acre Fairy Stone Lake. The waters of the Smith River, delayed by the dam that forms the lake, eventually slip over the Fairy Stone spillway into Philpott Lake.
The 4,537-acre state park, still one of Virginia's largest, offers a total of 14 miles on several hiking trails. Conkle recommends that anyone who wants to hike after lunch consider taking the 1.5-mile Whiskey Run Trail around the base of Stuart's Knob on their own.
Participants are asked to bring lunch, water and a hiking stick; wear comfortable shoes or hiking boots; dress in layers of water-shedding artificial fabric or wool; and be prepared for rain or wind. All participants will be asked to sign a waiver form.
Outings and meetings of the Dan River Basin Association are open to the public without charge.
For more information, contact Trip Coordinator Lucas Conkle at conklel@alumni.greensboro.edu.
For membership information, visit www.danriver.org.

State to help taxpayers with individual income debt payment program

2012-01-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

Gov. Bev Perdue announced Wednesday, Jan. 18, that the North Carolina Department of Revenue is launching the Individual Income Tax Debt Payment Program to help individuals catch up on unpaid taxes.
This time-limited program will help individuals resolve unpaid taxes and get back on their feet financially by waiving certain penalties and fees and offering payment plan options. Participating taxpayers can avoid forced collections such as garnishments, liens and levies.
“This is exactly the type of program we need to help our fellow North Carolinians down the path to economic recovery,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “We are making it easier for our citizens to work with state government.”
The program provides a favorable and easy payment opportunity for taxpayers who have accrued debt, often because of a weakened economy. Eligible taxpayers could save as much as 35 to 40 percent by participating in the program.
The debt payment program ends April 30.
Any taxpayer who has properly filed their tax returns with NCDOR and has received a notice for unpaid taxes prior to Jan. 1, 2012, may participate. A taxpayer who has not filed a return, does not currently have an outstanding tax liability or is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution is not eligible.
In exchange for a taxpayer paying the balance of tax and interest owed by April 30, NCDOR will waive certain, unpaid civil penalties and fees.
“We are excited to offer this payment program to our citizens,” said Secretary of Revenue David Hoyle. “It will help them resolve their tax liabilities easily and have a fresh start in 2012.”
Anyone interested in participating should contact the NCDOR local service center nearest them or call 1-877-252-4983. For detailed information about the program, please visit the North Carolina Department of Revenue website.

Tar Heel Express shuttle to UNC vs. North Carolina State men's basketball game

2012-01-23T14:29:00.000-05:00

Chapel Hill Transit will provide Tar Heel Express shuttle service on Thursday, Jan. 26, for the North Carolina men's basketball game against North Carolina State, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Tar Heel Express shuttles will begin at 5:30 p.m. from the park and rides located at Friday Center, Southern Village, University Mall (next to Dillards) and Jones Ferry. Shuttles will also be available from the Carolina Coffee Shop located at 138 E. Franklin St. (no parking provided). The shuttles will provide continuous and fully accessible service, running every 10 to 15 minutes between the park and rides and the Dean E. Smith Center. The shuttles will operate for approximately 45 minutes following the game.
Shuttles drop off and pick up on Bowles Drive in front of the Dean E. Smith Center. Shuttle rides are $5 for a round-trip or $3 for a one-way trip. Rides from the Carolina Coffee Shop are $2 one-way or $4 round-trip.
For additional information on the Tar Heel Express Shuttle, please visit CHT's website or call a customer service representative at (919) 969-4900 (press 1).

N.C. Utilities Commission to implement 984 area code

2012-01-23T13:10:00.000-05:00

The option to place local calls using seven digits in the current 919 area code will end March 30. Beginning March 31, all local calls in the current 919 area code must be placed using the 10-digit telephone number (919 or 984 plus the 7-digit local telephone number). Customers having automatic dialing equipment—including alarm or security systems, abbreviated dialing or a PBX system—should make the necessary changes to accommodate mandatory 10-digit dialing including, if necessary, working with their service provider.
Further, Extended Area Service calls between customers in the 919/984 area code to customers in the 252, 336 and 910 area codes, and vice versa, will also require 10-digit dialing beginning March 31. Dialing three digit numbers such as 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711, 811 and 911 will remain the same and will not be impacted by the new 10-digit dialing requirement.
Customers seeking new telephone numbers in the current 919 area code region may be assigned the new 984 area code as early as April 30. Existing telephone numbers in the 919 area code will remain the same.

Carrboro rec department holds sports camp

2012-01-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Taste of Sports camp from Monday, June 18, to Friday, June 22, for youth ages 6 to 9. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camp runs from 8 to 11 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

State report assesses state’s environmental quality, discusses emerging challenges

2012-01-22T15:59:00.000-05:00

Environmental indicators show significant improvement in air and water quality in North Carolina, according to the 2011 State of the Environment Report released by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The report—a science-based review of the state’s air, water and land resources—evaluates the quality of the state’s environment, describes DENR’s efforts to protect the state’s natural resources and identifies current and emerging issues.
“I believe, as does Gov. Perdue, that a clean environment is a vital player in a thriving economy,” DENR Secretary Dee Freeman said. “For years, North Carolina’s bountiful natural resources have attracted new residents, new companies and visitors, and this report outlines the steps DENR and its partners have taken and will continue to take to maintain clean air, clean water and abundant natural resources for the health, enjoyment and recreation of all.”
Highlights of the report include:
• Air quality has improved substantially since the 1980s. With the cooperation of business and industry, significant steps have been taken to reduce ozone and particle pollution with additional reductions expected as industries and motor vehicles work to meet more stringent federal air quality standards.
• The majority of the state’s lakes, streams and rivers have good water quality and support fisheries and fish habitats, provide drinking water and allow a number of recreational uses. However, about 40 percent of the state’s waters are impaired by such pollutants as mercury, bacteria and large amounts of sediment; in some areas, excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus have threatened water quality in both rivers and water supply reservoirs.
• The state has made significant progress in addressing nutrient pollution; management strategies for the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico river basins have successfully reduced fish kills and algal blooms. Similar strategies have been developed for the Falls Lake and Jordan Lake water supply reservoirs.
• In the area of water supply or quantity, water shortage response plans have been developed to improve the state’s drought response, groundwater data collection has increased, aquifers have started to recover in the Central Coastal Plain and water supply models are being developed for most of the 17 major river basins.
• The state continues to make progress in cleaning up contaminated properties and in helping to provide alternative water supply where drinking water wells have been contaminated.
• After a decade of strong growth, the rate of land conservation has declined since 2009. However, the state continues to work on protection of key parcels, focusing on acquiring lands critical for water quality protection, wildlife habitat, recreation, agriculture and military activities.
Some emerging issues that DENR faces include the completion of a legislatively mandated state study to identify issues associated with oil and gas exploration in the state, focusing on the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas; the potential impacts of climate change in North Carolina; new federal air quality standards, which will require additional program resources at the state level; rapid population growth and development in some parts of the state, which put additional stress on water bodies and other sensitive natural areas and can make attainment of new, stricter air quality standards an ongoing challenge; water supply and the allocation of water resources between competing water users; and department-wide program impacts brought about by the recent recession and resulting state fiscal constraints.
The report can be found by visiting DENR’s home page and clicking on the “State of the Environment” tab near the center of the page.

Mayors, Orange County officials help survey homeless

2012-01-22T15:58:00.000-05:00

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens, Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton, Orange County Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier and Chapel Hill Town Council will survey Orange County’s homeless population to find the most vulnerable and target them for a quick housing solution as part of the national 100,000 Homes Campaign (www.100khomes.org) locally sponsored by United Way of the Greater Triangle.
The officials will help out Tuesday, Jan. 24, at various county locations. Kleinschmidt, Chilton, Pelissier and Rich will will be at S. Human Services Center in Chapel Hill at 3:45 a.m. while Stevens will be at S. Country Inn & Fairview Baptist Church in Hillsborough at 5:30 a.m.
The mayors and others will join trained volunteer teams, which will leave their locations at 4 a.m. and head to the areas where homeless are currently bedding down on the streets of Orange County. The Triangle is one of 110 cities/areas across the United States working with the 100,000 Homes Campaign to house 100,000 homeless by 2013. The surveys will assess chronic issues among the homeless and help those in dire need of attention find shelter and medical care as well as other services.

Hagan applauds Carlisle appointment to president’s Travel & Tourism Board

2012-01-22T15:54:00.000-05:00

U.S. Sen. Kay R. Hagan (D—N.C.) applauded the appointment of Linda Carlisle, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, to the president’s U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.
“I was proud to nominate Linda Carlisle to serve on the President’s Travel and Tourism Board,” Hagan said Thursday, Jan. 19. “For years, Linda has been a tireless proponent of economic development and tourism and has helped to make North Carolina a favorite travel destination through her work at the Department of Cultural Resources, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and various community organizations. I know that Linda will continue to be an outstanding advocate for our state and our country in her new position, and I am so pleased that North Carolina will have a seat at the table as we seek to increase travel and tourism in the U.S.”
Carlisle said she was thrilled at the opportunity.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve on this prestigious board of advisers,” Carlisle said. “North Carolina offers a unique perspective as we are ranked the sixth most-visited state in the nation, and last year alone travelers spent $17 billion in our state.
“Even more importantly, I’m excited to be a part of the nation’s efforts to boost tourism dollars, especially when cultural tourism accounts for nearly 40 percent of leisure travel. As Secretary of North Carolina’s Cultural Resources, I am committed to strengthening and growing this segment of tourism.”
Carlisle, along with 31 newly appointed TTAB members, was sworn in Thursday, Jan. 19, following the President’s announcement of a National Travel & Tourism Strategy.
The TTAB consists of up to 32 members that advise the Secretary of Commerce on government policies and programs that affect the U.S. travel and tourism industry, offers counsel on current and emerging issues, and provides a forum for discussing and proposing solutions to industry-related problems. Members represent companies and organizations in the travel and tourism industry from a broad range of products and services, company sizes and geographic locations.

Loose leaf collection in Hillsborough ends this month

2012-01-22T13:03:00.000-05:00

Loose leaf collection of leaves in Hillsborough will end Tuesday, Jan. 31.
Beginning Feb. 1, residents should place leaves in biodegradable bags for collection at the curb. A maximum of 10 bags per property will be removed each collection day.
Also beginning the first week in February, brush will be collected once every two weeks until the loose leaf collection season starts again in November.
Small amounts of brush must be placed in biodegradable paper bags or tied into bundles using jute, sisal or hay baling twine if the amount is less than 30 pounds. No plastic or cotton twine may be used. Residents with a few sticks should allow a bagful or several armfuls to accumulate before placing brush at the curb.
Residents may receive a free sample of twine to be used for bundling small amounts of brush. Stop by Town Hall at 101 E. Orange St. or at Town Hall Annex at 137 N. Churton St.
A brochure on residential curbside collections—including a calendar for 2012—was mailed to all residents in the fall. The information also is available on the home page and Public Works Department page of the town’s website.
For more information, contact Interim Public Works Director Ken Hines by at (919) 732-1270, ext. 78.

Gov. Perdue announces financial assistance available for tornado survivors

2012-01-22T09:46:00.000-05:00

Gov. Bev Perdue announced Thursday, Jan. 19, that financial assistance is available for survivors of the tornadoes that struck Burke and Rutherford counties last week. The aid is a result of the governor’s request for a disaster declaration by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“We are aggressively pursuing all possible assistance to help families repair their homes and begin rebuilding their lives,” Perdue said. “Homeowners and renters who suffered damages from the severe weather can apply for low-interest loans or grants.”
Two U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Centers opened at noon Thursday in Ellenboro and Hildebran to help individuals complete their applications, answer questions about the disaster loan program and explain the application process.
Loans up to $200,000 are available through the SBA to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters also are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
Storm victims in Burke and Rutherford counties who do not qualify for a federal loan may be eligible for a state grant of up to a maximum of $30,400 to help pay for housing and other essential needs. The state grants were made available as a result of the governor’s disaster declaration for those two counties.
Severe storms and tornadoes rolled across the state Jan. 11, injuring 15 people, destroying 25 homes and damaging dozens of others in Burke and Rutherford counties. Both counties declared a local state of emergency the evening of the storms. Damage assessment teams from North Carolina Emergency Management and the SBA helped local officials survey the damage Jan. 13. Those assessments did not meet the threshold for a presidential disaster declaration, but Gov. Perdue requested and received a SBA disaster declaration.
Interest rates are as low as 2.063 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Carrboro rec department holds field hockey camp

2012-01-21T16:25:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a field hockey camp from Monday, June 18, to Friday, June 22, and an advanced camp from Monday, July 9, to Friday, July 13, for youth ages 10 to 13. The fee for each camp is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camp runs from 8 to 11 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

Orange County Child Support Offices relocating

2012-01-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend of Jan. 28, Orange County Child Support Services will relocate services.
The child support office on N. Churton Street in downtown Hillsborough will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27. Child Support Services will reopen at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the new location in the Orange County West Campus Office. The office building is located at 131 W. Margaret Lane between the library and the parking deck in Hillsborough. Child Support offices will be in the lower level of the building.
Orange County Child Support strives to strengthen the family potential for economic independence and self-sufficiency. Primary services include locating non-custodial parents, establishing paternity for children born outside of marriage and establishing and enforcing child support orders.
The move is part of Orange County government’s continued plan to consolidate services into Orange County-owned facilities.
As with several facilities in the general location, free public parking is available for government services visitors in spaces 40 through 80 of the ground level of the parking deck.
For additional information, contact Janet Sparks at (919) 245-2178.

County commissioners to meet

2012-01-21T15:05:00.000-05:00

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute, the Board of County Commissioners provides notice of the following event. A majority of the Orange County commissioners may attend this event, making the event subject to open meetings laws.
Members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, along with other elected officials, have been invited by Judge Joe Buckner to attend a tour of the Hillsborough courthouse. The tour will be held Monday, Jan. 23, at 9 a.m. starting at the district court judge’s office at the Orange County Courthouse, 106 E. Margaret Lane.
It is possible a quorum of the members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners may be present at this event.

N.C. Sports Hall of Fame announces 2012 inductees

2012-01-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

The 2012 North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame honorees chronicled sports; played high school, college and professional football; played and coached basketball in college and in the pros; coached and played baseball and basketball in college; officiated college football; water-skied; played basketball for a NCAA championship team; and coached high school football.
The eight new members are Wilt Browning, Wray Carlton, M. L. Carr, Sam Esposito, Dr. Jerry McGee, Kristi Overton Johnson, Lennie Rosenbluth and Henry Trevathan.
They will be enshrined at the 49th annual induction banquet on the evening of Thursday, May 10, in the main ballroom of the North Raleigh Hilton.
“The achievements of this year’s class of inductees enrich our state’s remarkable sports heritage, and they certainly earned the honor of joining the 281 men and women previously enshrined,” said Dr. Janie Brown, president of the hall.
Banquet ticket information is available at www.ncsportshalloffame.org or by calling (919) 845-3455.
The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1962. The permanent exhibit is located on the third floor of the North Carolina Museum of History on Jones Street in downtown Raleigh. The exhibit features significant artifacts donated by all the inductees. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

WILT BROWNING
Five times Browning was honored as Sportswriter of the Year in North Carolina (1982, 1985, 1988, 1990and 1993). He is a former sports editor and longtime sports columnist for the Greensboro News & Record. During his newspaper career, he was the first major league beat writer for the Atlanta Journal, covering the Atlanta Braves through the team’s first six seasons in the South. He wrote the first story in which Hank Aaron said that he had set his sights on the Babe Ruth home run record, thus sparking a nationwide watch that lasted for more than two years. He also spent five years as the public relations director for the Atlanta Falcons and one year in the same capacity for the Baltimore Colts before returning to the newspaper business in Greensboro. Browning ended his newspaper career as the sports editor and columnist for the Asheville Citizen-Times. He is a member of the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame and the author of seven books.

WRAY CARLTON
Carlton made a name for himself as a high school star in Wallace, NC, before entering Duke University in 1955. As a running back at Duke, he shattered the legendary Ace Parker’s rushing and scoring records and set the ACC single-game scoring record of 26 points against Virginia — and he only played a half. He also scored all of Duke’s points against Rice, Clemson and Carolina while leading the Blue Devils into the Orange Bowl and a date with Oklahoma. As a high school star, Carlton turned down a chance to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates to play shortstop. He had scored 48 points in a basketball game and six touchdowns in a football game. As a pro, the two-time All-ACC performer also was a two-time All-AFL selection. As part of a rushing tandem with Cookie Gilchrist, Carlton played a key role in the Bills’ 1964 and 1965 AFL titles. As a pro, Carlton had 3,368 yards rushing, 1,329 yards receiving and scored 34 touchdowns.

M.L. CARR
At Wallace-Rose Hill High School, Carr ran track barefooted because he could afford only one pair of shoes — basketball shoes. Before his playing career ended, Carr had run to the top levels of the sport and, along the way, had played a key role in winning a storybook national championship for Guilford College. Carr became a pro star, playing a dozen years in the NBA and the ABA, and is best-known for his years with the Boston Celtics, the team he would later serve as general manager and, briefly, as coach. He was a key element in the Celtics’ 1980-81 and 1983-84 NBA championship teams. If one moment can capsulize a long career, for Carr that moment came in Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals, when he made a steal and cashed it in with a thundering dunk that sealed the victory for the Celtics and became the key to the title.

SAM ESPOSITO
Esposito played in the major leagues for 10 years with the Chicago White Sox including 1959 when the South Siders won the American League pennant and played in the World Series. In 1967, he was named baseball coach at N.C. State, where the team had won 20 games just one time since 1908. For 21 years under Esposito’s direction, the Wolfpack never suffered a losing season. His team won a program-record 513 games and he coached 69 All-ACC players and seven All-Americans. At N.C. State, he also coached 12 players who made it to the major leagues, including four who played in the big leagues for at least ten years. His 1968 team won the ACC championship and the NCAA District III title and finished third in the College World Series. His teams also took three straight league titles in 1973-1975. He was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1986.

Dr. JERRY McGEE
In a football officiating career that lasted more than 40 years, Dr. McGee ascended to the pinnacle of the college game. In fact, Jerry was the referee in the 2009 BCS championship game between Oklahoma and Florida, the last game at which he wore both the white hat and the striped shirt. When he retired after that game, Jerry had worked 405 games in his career and was awarded the “300 Games” plaque, the only such award ever presented by the Atlantic Coast Conference. More than 300 of his assignments came at the Division 1-A level, a number believed to be a record for NCAA referees. A former four-sport letterman at Rockingham High School (Class of 1961), Jerry began his officiating career at the high school level in 1967 and earned state playoff assignments every season before moving to the Carolinas Conference and the South Atlantic Conference. He worked 20 post-season bowl games including three with bearings on the national championship. He was a college baseball player at East Carolina University and was a golf and basketball coach at Richmond County Community College. Since 1992, he has been president of Wingate University. He has served on a number of national committees dealing with college athletics. He is a recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON
The Greenville native has been a competitive water skier for more than 30 years. She began to compete at age 5 and captured state, regional and national records before turning pro at 13. As a pro, she has been the World Record Holder since 1992. In women’s slalom, she has 80 professional victories and has captured the No. 1 world ranking in the event, which is more than any other woman. Kristi won the U.S. Masters eight times and the U.S. Open four times. She traveled throughout the world setting records as a World Champion, World Cup Champion, Pan American and U.S. Pro Tour championships and also won the British, French, Italian, Australian and Austrian Masters titles. She was away from competitive skiing for five years while she underwent 10 major surgeries to repair a congenital hip deformity, and she stunned the skiing world by returning as a competitor in 2008 in the U.S. Masters.

LENNIE ROSENBLUTH
Rosenbluth now lives in Chapel Hill, where in the mid-1950s he and the University of North Carolina basketball team made history with an undefeated season and a national championship victory over Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain. The New York City native led the Tar Heels in scoring in his first varsity season and still holds the school record for points in a season (895) and scoring average in a single season (28.0). He averaged 28 points a game in the 1957 NCAA Tournament and got 20 against Chamberlain’s Jayhawks. He was named in 2002 to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary men’s team and was selected to the “All-Decade Final Four” team for the 1950s. Rosenbluth is a member of the Helms College Basketball Hall of Fame and is regarded by many as one of the 100 greatest college basketball players of all time. He is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

HENRY TREVATHAN
Trevathan coached Wilson Fike to three consecutive 4-A state football championships in 1967-69. He also was head coach at Rocky Mount High School and an assistant coach at N.C. State. He coached at every level of competition, including midget, junior high, junior varsity, varsity, college freshmen, college varsity and professional, and only missed one practice (for a family funeral) in more than a half century of work. He coached quarterbacks, offensive backs, defensive backs, wide receivers and special team members in 10 years on the staff at East Carolina University, then spent nine years on Dick Sheridan’s staff at N.C. State. There, as the special teams coach, Trevathan developed five All-ACC kickers and punters, two All-Americans and one Lou Groza Award winner, all of them originally walk-ons at N.C. State. In retirement, Henry became a valued volunteer assistant at Bridgewater College in Virginia and was the school’s first recipient of the Soaring Eagle Award. He is a three-time North Carolina Coach of the Year Award winner at the 4-A level.

For further details about the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, call (919) 845-3455 or go to www.ncsportshalloffame.org. For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or visit www.ncmuseumofhistory.org.
The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

North Carolina’s interim statewide logistics coordinator named

2012-01-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

Transportation Secretary Gene Conti announced Friday, Jan. 20, that Thomas Bradshaw will be North Carolina’s interim statewide logistics coordinator. Bradshaw will assume this new position effective Monday, Jan. 23.
“Tom brings a wealth of real-world experience and knowledge to this position that will greatly benefit the future of North Carolina,” Conti said. “He will help guide our efforts to effectively plan and execute the strategies that will make North Carolina more competitive in the global economy.”
In his role as the statewide logistics director, Bradshaw will oversee and manage all operations of the N.C. Ports and the N.C. Global TransPark. In addition, he will coordinate the operation and development activities of those facilities in relation to other NCDOT transportation infrastructure. Bradshaw will work closely with all NCDOT partners to facilitate a more strategic approach to transportation assets and the needs of existing and future business interests.
“Our state’s transportation assets are critical to the success of business and industry,” Bradshaw said. “By taking a strategic approach to logistics, North Carolina is once again setting the standard for the nation, and I am excited to be a part of this effort.”
NCDOT will begin a nationwide search for a permanent statewide logistics coordinator in the coming months.
Bradshaw served as the City of Raleigh’s mayor from 1971-1973 and later as the North Carolina Secretary of Transportation from 1977 until 1981. He is a former chairman of the Triangle J Council of Governments, the N.C. Environmental Management Commission, and North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry (N.C. Chamber).
He is a board member of the N.C. Global TransPark Authority (former vice chairman), the N.C. Global Transpark Foundation and a member of the Southern Growth Policies Board. Additionally, he is the founding chairman of the Clarence Lightner Leadership Institute and has served as the director and treasurer of The Institute for Defense and Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Gov. Perdue appoints Bryan to 15-B District Court bench

2012-01-21T09:07:00.000-05:00

Gov. Bev Perdue has appointed James T. Bryan III to the District Court bench for the 15-B Judicial District, which covers Orange and Chatham counties. He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Page Vernon.
“Jay is extremely well-qualified to serve as a District Court judge.” said Gov. Perdue. “He is a highly experienced attorney who has practiced extensively in the areas of civil, criminal and family law. His work in the community demonstrates his commitment to the people of North Carolina, and I am confident he will prove to be an excellent District Court judge.”
Bryan has practiced law for 34 years in Orange County. He served for 10 years on the Town of Carrboro Board of Alderman. He has been on numerous civic and charitable boards, including the Orange County Partnership for Young Children, the Orange County Planning Board, the Leadership Advisory Council for North Carolina and the Board of Directors for the Orange County United Way. He is also a certified mediator.
Bryan received his law degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Yale University.

Carrboro rec department holds basketball camp for 9- to 11-year-olds

2012-01-20T16:23:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a basketball camp from Monday, July 23, to Friday, July 27, for youth ages 9 through 11. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camps run from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

Carrboro rec department holds basketball camp

2012-01-20T16:21:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a basketball camp from Monday, July 16, through Friday, July 20, for youth ages 6 through 8. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camp runs from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

Human Relations Commission holds forum

2012-01-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

The Orange County Human Relations Commission invites the public to the Human Relations Month Forum 2012 on Sunday, Jan. 29, from 3 to 5 p.m. The forum will be held at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 North Greensboro Street in Carrboro.
The theme will be, “Defining Marriage in North Carolina by Constitutional Amendment: What are the Implications?”
Panelists for the forum include the following:
• Stuart Campbell, Executive Director, Equality North Carolina
• Maxine Eichner, Reef C. Ivey II Professor of Law at the UNC-CH School of Law
• Brett Webb-Mitchell, an Ordained Minister (Presbyterian Church, USA), and Visiting Associate Professor, English and Mass Communication, North Carolina Central University
The moderator for the panel discussion will be Milan Pham, Attorney with NicholsonPham Attorneys at Law.
Entertainment will be provided by The Moaners from 2:30 to 3 p.m.
Refreshments will be provided. For more information, call (919) 245-2487.

Column: Greeting from Sen. Kinnaird

2012-01-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,
Last week I attended a news conference of the coalition of Partners Against Human Trafficking on the National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. The campaign runs through Feb. 1, the date the 13th Amendment ending slavery was passed. Information may be found by writing to pathnc@mindspring.com. In addition to bringing to the public’s attention the devastating human trafficking business, they recognized people who have worked to stop this unspeakable activity. The recognition included a young Asheville high school girl who is raising money for a shelter for trafficked teens, the Salvation Army and local groups throughout the state that are providing shelter for rescued victims. Legal Aid provides legal help to keep the victims from being deported back to the country that trafficked them to the U.S.
Human trafficking is the largest criminal enterprise after drug trafficking. In fact, many of the major drug traffickers also deal in human trafficking. This horrific activity that occurs throughout the world, including the United States, preys on young girls and some boys who are then subjected to rape and sexual abuse. North Carolina has both sex and labor trafficking, where Interstate 95/40 is a major route. The press conference emphasized that this is modern-day slavery. Part of the awareness campaign is to stop the buying of the victims, asking, “who is the buyer?”
I was the author of both the criminal statutes on trafficking and services to provide shelter, sustenance and legal protection to victims.

I serve on the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Crime Control and Public Safety. One of the recurring questions is how to measure workload to determine pay for our court personnel: clerks, judges, district attorneys, etc. Studies on those groups have been done in the past, and this year the Judicial Department Workload Formulas were brought before the committee by the Administrative Office of the Courts to determine Superior Court workload to pay. The report, requested by the General Assembly, looked at workload indicators from the past and a 2007 collaboration with the National Center for State Courts. To determine a formula that is data driven, the report focuses on the most common work performed.
The questions are whether some counties and districts have more judges than they need while others are severely shorthanded. (Of course, this will stop the practice of legislators getting extra judges for their district to satisfy constituents.) Judges will be asked to keep track of their tasks and the time spent on each task for a month. In addition, there is a weighting system as not all cases use the same amount of time to complete. The cases range from traffic, to DWI all the way to sex crimes and first-degree murder. They have assigned the time in minutes, e.g. traffic cases at four to six minutes all the way to 10,172 minutes for first-degree murder.
Using this formula, the budget should have (but didn’t) included the addition of 354 assistant and deputy clerks, 69 additional district court judges, 100 district attorneys and 47.5 victim witness/legal assistants. This study of our court system shows the legislature takes the use of tax-payer money into consideration on a continuing basis.

I am relieved we have left Iraq and now hope we will leave Afghanistan as soon as possible (though not 2014.) The shocking allegations against four Marines that emerged this last week remind me of Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D- CA) statement explaining her vote against the Afghanistan war, “Let us not become the evil that we deplore."
A general, while in no way condoning the acts of the Marines, pointed out that it is a difficult situation when young men are taught to kill, to keep parameters on war-time actions. On this weekend honoring Martin Luther King Jr., we remember that the Rev. King was excoriated for opposing the Vietnam War, but, as the case with so much of his vision, he was proved right. His words inspire us today. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more on military defense than on social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Let us affirm our beliefs in spiritual uplift.
Ellie

Imaging Center bus stop in Chapel Hill temporarily relocated

2012-01-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

Due to construction, the outbound bus stop on Finley Golf Course Road at N.C. 54 (Imaging Center) in Chapel Hill will be temporarily relocated approximately 300 feet south of the current location beginning Monday, Jan. 23, until further notice.
View a map. For additional information, email chtransit@townofchapelhill.org or contact a customer service representative at (919) 969-4900 (press 1).

More than 2,700 new commuters registered for SharetheRideNC in 2011

2012-01-20T13:39:00.000-05:00

Last year, we asked you to consider a different New Year’s resolution for 2011 and try an alternative commute by sharing the ride. More than 2,700 people took that challenge and registered for North Carolina’s free commuter-matching program, SharetheRideNC, bringing the number of commuters registered in the system to 31,326.
SharetheRideNC is a free, statewide, commuter-matching program for drivers interested in joining or starting a carpool or vanpool. Drivers who register online at www.ShareTheRideNC.org input their commute information and instantly receive a list of other drivers who have matching commutes.
As more people move to North Carolina, congestion is a reality in both urban and rural areas. Carpooling and vanpooling are two of several alternatives commuters have to driving their personal cars in addition to rail and public transportation. By joining a carpool or vanpool, commuters can save money and reduce stress as well as remove vehicles from the road. That, in turn, reduces congestion, harmful emissions and the need for more road maintenance.
In addition to finding carpool and vanpool matches, users can also sign up for the Emergency Ride Home program that provides commuters who carpool, vanpool, bike, walk or take transit with a reliable ride home in the event of an emergency.
NCDOT initially provided funding to develop www.ShareTheRideNC.org in 2005 and continues to support the program. The database is administered by Triangle Transit, the provider of regional bus and ridesharing services in the Triangle region.
Since Gov. Bev Perdue took office, NCDOT’s Public Transportation Division has awarded more than $310 million in grant funds to local public transportation systems. These grants enable systems to provide people in all 100 counties access to education, job opportunities and health care.
For more information on grant programs through the Public Transportation Division of NCDOT, as well as transit systems that serve the public throughout the state, visit www.ncdot.gov/nctransit.

Carrboro rec department holds baseball camp

2012-01-19T16:19:00.001-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a baseball camp from Monday, July 16, through Friday, July 20, for youth ages 9 to 12. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Camp runs from 8 to 11 a.m. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

Column: Learning about North Carolina from a favorite mystery writer

2012-01-19T14:48:00.000-05:00

By: D.G. Martin
UNC-TV host

What is the best book I could read to learn about North Carolina?
I get this question all the time from people who know about my interest in books about our state and those written by our great writers.
My answer differs, depending on what kind of books my questioner likes to read.

For instance, if the questioner likes murder mysteries, I will tell them to read one of the 17 books in Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott series. Knott is a smart country woman lawyer who is now a state district court judge in rural Colleton County east of Raleigh. Colleton is a fictional county that might be Johnston, or, more likely, Harnett, in the area where Maron grew up and, after a few years in New York, has been settled for many years.
Whatever the name or whichever the real county is Knott’s home, it is home to typical and real North Carolina small-town and rural life. Deborah Knott is smart and good but not perfect. She comes from a large farm family led by her father Kezzie Knott and populated by 12 children from Kezzie’s two marriages, plus spouses and numerous grandchildren.
Kezzie has not always been a simple farmer. For instance, his other activities were the basis for the title of the first book in the series published in 1992, “Bootlegger’s Daughter.”
Having a former bootlegger as Judge Knott’s daddy and a few other mischievous kinfolk whose lives sometimes intersect with the law add a special spice to Maron’s stories.
Knott‘s many friends and work colleagues also enrich Maron’s books. Everybody in Colleton County seems to know everybody else. Rich and poor; black, white and Hispanic; farmers and townspeople; old and young; good and bad. We meet them dealing with problems of the environment, migrant worker issues, hurricane damage, political shenanigans, real estate development and other challenges in addition to the murder mysteries that move every book along.
Every now and then, Maron moves the action to other North Carolina scenes. The furniture market. The Seagrove pottery community. Or the mountains and the coast. Along the way, Maron’s readers get a good look at our state and its people.
Maron brings back many of the same characters in book after book. She makes them so real and compelling that some fans say they read the books just to keep up with Deborah’s family. Most important in recent books has been a deputy sheriff named Dwight Bryant. First, he was one of many characters. He worked his way up to boyfriend, then fiancée and now new husband. Maron stretched out that courtship over several books, reminding this reader of the courtship of Father Tim and Cynthia in the Mitford series of books written by another popular North Carolina author, Jan Karon.
In her latest book, “Three Day Town,” Deborah and Dwight are on their way to New York City for a long-delayed honeymoon. On the way out of town, Deborah cannot keep her mind from her work, thinking about what confronts her when she gets back, a custody battle involving two casual friends. Judge Knott did not want to handle the case, but all the other judges had even closer connections, and “they both want me and they both swore they would abide by whatever ruling I made without bitching about it afterwards.”
Knott knows the two so well that she is already wrestling with which one would be the better parent, even before she has heard the first argument in her court.
But Maron and Judge Knott leave this problem behind and find a more serious one in a friend’s New York apartment. There, before you know it, the building superintendent has been murdered, a whole covey of likely suspects present themselves, and the reader is surrounded by intriguing puzzles that only a talent like Margaret Maron can devise for the pleasure of her readers.

D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch," which airs Sundays at 5 p.m. For more information or to view prior programs, visit the webpage at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

The Little Gym suggests three parenting resolutions for the New Year

2012-01-19T13:23:00.000-05:00

Each New Year is a new opportunity for Hillsborough-area residents to focus on making positive changes in their lifestyle, exercise and diet habits. For local families, there is another reason to make and stick with these types of healthy resolutions: the choices that parents and caregivers make have a direct effect on their children's current and future health, too.
The Little Gym thinks it's important to help children develop healthy habits and enjoy an active lifestyle at an early age. To help Hillsborough-area families keep the focus on health in the New Year, Bob Bingham, President and CEO of The Little Gym International, proposes three "Parenting Resolutions" for 2012:

1. Encourage physical activity. Physical activity provides countless benefits, but it's a healthy habit that children need to develop early so that it becomes a natural part of their lifestyle as they grow.
2. Establish healthy eating habits. Keep healthy, appealing snacks on hand and set an example for your children with your own food choices. Plan low-fat meals that follow the government's MyPlate guidelines, and involve your children in meal planning and shopping. This allows families to reinforce their children's healthy food choices and helps children discover new foods and flavors.
3. Focus on your child's positive behaviors. Like adults, children respond to favorable comments and adopt behaviors that gain them attention. Try to get in the habit of catching your children at their best. Providing encouragement for good behavior or for participating in sports or other physical activities is a great way to motivate children to maintain good habits.

About The Little Gym
"We know that children are more engaged when they're excited about what they're doing," Bingham said. "Our innovative programs introduce children to physical activities that are both fun and fitness-inspired. Discovering and mastering new skills in a fun and positive way at The Little Gym helps build a foundation for a fit and healthy lifestyle."
The Little Gym introduces children ages 4 months to 12 years to physical activity through a curriculum-based program. Each week, lessons focus on developing specific physical, emotional and life skills, creating a well-rounded learning experience. Children achieve success at their own pace in a fun, caring and non-competitive environment. As children develop coordination, balance, rhythm and flexibility, they are also developing their listening, social and cognitive capacities.
For more information, contact a team member at:
The Little Gym of Durham/Chapel Hill, NC, owned by Susan Jacques, at (919) 403-5437 or sjacques@thelittlegym.com
The Little Gym of Burlington, NC, owned by Tracey Adams, at (336) 585-1233 or tlgburlingtonnc@thelittlegym.com
Or visit the website.

Holiday, decorative items on ground should be removed from Hillsborough cemetery

2012-01-19T13:08:00.000-05:00

The Town of Hillsborough asks residents to remove all holiday decorations, including poinsettias, by Feb. 10 from gravesites in the Town Cemetery.
Items left beyond this time will be removed.
Other decorative items placed on the ground should be removed by March 1 due to grounds maintenance between March 1 and Nov. 1. These items include artificial flowers, plastic flower vases and wreaths.
Residents are permitted to place small flags in the ground around gravesites during the weeks of Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood announces close to $1.6 billion in funding for repairs to damaged roads and bridges

2012-01-19T12:13:00.000-05:00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced nearly $1.6 billion to states and territories across the nation to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by a variety of natural disasters.
North Carolina will receive about $23 million for damage incurred by Hurricane Irene in August 2011.
“Communities from coast to coast are still recovering from disasters that have affected the roads they use, their homes and businesses,” said Secretary LaHood. “The Obama Administration stands ready to provide emergency relief and reimburse these communities for the work that has been done to restore their critical transportation needs.”
Funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program was provided by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012. FHWA will provide a total of $1.58 billion to 30 states, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and federal land management agencies to reimburse them for repairs to roads and bridges caused by storms, flooding, hurricanes and other natural and catastrophic disasters.
“States and communities can rely on the federal government during these critical times,” said FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez. “When disaster strikes, the Department will do all it can to provide help to the affected areas.”
This money will reimburse states for fixing or replacing highways, bridges and other roadway structures. Costs associated with detours, debris removal and other immediate measures necessary to restore traffic flow in impacted areas are also eligible for reimbursement.

Lecture at the state capitol explores decorative arts of the Executive Mansion

2012-01-19T08:35:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Jan. 21, learn the stories behind some of the Executive Mansion's furniture and artifacts with Maria Shevzov, acting curator of decorative arts at the N.C. Museum of History and North Carolina's Executive Mansion. The free lecture takes place at 1 p.m. in the old House Chamber.
In this multimedia presentation, Shevzov will introduce several objects from the collection to discuss the medium, the use of the object and the private lives of the public families who used these items.
When the Executive Mansion was completed in 1891, high construction costs limited the amount of money that remained for the purchase of furnishings. Daniel Fowle, the first governor to inhabit the residence, brought his own furniture and thus set a precedent for future First Families until adequate furnishings could be acquired. Over the next 70 years, the mansion was furnished with a mix of personal pieces and furniture purchased by the state as funding allowed.
In 1965, First Lady Jeanelle C. Moore appointed an Executive Mansion Fine Arts Committee to raise funds for Mansion furnishings. EMFAC is tasked with preserving and maintaining the mansion as a unique architectural treasure—a historic house and home. It also is responsible for acquiring historical and artistic objects for use in the mansion. It works with the First Family and the Secretary of Cultural Resources to ensure the continued use of this historic treasure by and for the people of North Carolina.
The State Capitol's mission is to preserve and interpret the history, architecture and functions of the 1840 building and Union Square. The capitol is bounded by Edenton, Salisbury, Morgan and Wilmington Streets. For more information, visit www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol or call (919) 733-4994.

UNC-TV's North Carolina now reports on Bowles, Simpson Duke appearance

2012-01-18T21:34:00.000-05:00

Former White House Chief of Staff and former University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles and former U.S. Senator from Wyoming Alan Simpson, co-chairs of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, spoke in Page Auditorium at Duke University on Wednesday, Jan. 18. UNC-TV was there to record the event in its entirety, which will be used to produce two special North Carolina Now programs that will be broadcast on UNC-TV Jan. 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m.
The event, "Decision Time: Bowles, Simpson and the Federal Budget," is part of the Sanford School's Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture series, which brings notable leaders to speak on Duke's campus.
Bowles and Simpson will discuss ideas for reining in the federal budget and restoring confidence in the economy. Philip Bennett, a Duke public policy professor and managing editor of the PBS series FRONTLINE, will moderate the discussion.
President Obama created the budget commission in February 2010 to identify policies to improve the nation's fiscal situation and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run. The commission was to propose recommendations to balance the budget by 2015 and to address the growth of entitlement spending and the gap between projected revenues and expenditures of the federal government.
The bipartisan commission included members from both parties from the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Its recommendations failed to gain sufficient support and have not been implemented. Other federal fiscal reform attempts also have failed, most recently the "super committee."
The event is part of the Sanford School's series, "Gridlock: Can our System Address America's Biggest Problems?"
UNC-TV is North Carolina's statewide public television network.

Gov. Perdue issues disaster declaration for Burke and Rutherford counties

2012-01-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

Gov. Bev Perdue today issued a disaster declaration for Burke and Rutherford counties following the severe weather and tornadoes that struck on the evening of Jan. 11.
“I will make sure that any possible aid is provided to those who suffered damages from the tornadoes and other severe weather,” Perdue said. “It is critical that we help get our fellow North Carolinians back in their homes as soon as possible.”
The declaration allows the governor to make available individual assistance for victims of the storms, typically in the form of grants for housing and other essential needs up to a maximum of $30,400.
Perdue dispatched a letter Friday asking for assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration. That federal agency can provide low-interest loans for homeowners, renters and businesses that suffered damage from the storms.
The storms that rolled across the state that evening caused more than 15 injuries, destroyed 25 homes and damaged dozens of others in the two counties. Both counties declared a local state of emergency the evening of the storms.
On Jan. 13, damage assessment teams from North Carolina Emergency Management and the SBA assisted local officials in both counties in determining the extent of the damage. Those assessments did not meet the threshold for a presidential disaster declaration, but Perdue proceeded with a state declaration and is awaiting action by the SBA.

100,000 Homes Campaign volunteers needed

2012-01-18T16:51:00.002-05:00

The national 100,000 Homes Campaign is a grassroots effort to find and place the most vulnerable, long-term homeless individuals into 100,000 households across the country by July 2013. To learn more about the campaign, please click here and be inspired by these powerful videos: 100K Homes Introduction and 100K Homes Registry Week/
As part of Common Ground’s 100,000 Homes Campaign, the United Way of the Greater Triangle, the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness and the Wake County Partnership to End Homelessness are planning a week-long effort called Registry Week to identify and help persons who are homeless obtain and sustain permanent housing.
The goal of Orange and Wake Counties’ Registry Week is to create a by-name registry of people living on our streets and in shelters, enabling us to prioritize those who have significant medical issues and have been homeless the longest. The vulnerability index is administered in the form of a survey, which captures a homeless individual’s health and the duration of his/her homelessness. This ranking allows those with the most severe health risks to be identified and prioritized for housing and other support. What we learn together during Registry Week will help us reduce chronic homelessness in Wake and Orange counties.
The campaign is recruiting dedicated volunteers to canvass streets and shelters to survey the most vulnerable homeless individuals and families. To ensure the most accurate count possible, we will survey individuals during the early morning and evening hours for three consecutive days. The survey findings will be presented at a community debriefing at the conclusion of Registry Week on Friday, Jan. 27.

Volunteer Opportunities:
Sunday, Jan. 22, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Participate in a mandatory volunteer training session at the New Hope Fire Station, 4700 N.C. 86 South in Chapel Hill
Monday, Jan. 23, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Survey homeless people staying in shelters in Orange County.
Tuesday, Jan. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Survey unsheltered homeless people at meal distribution locations in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 24 and 25, from 4 to 7 a.m.
Take to the streets to survey Orange County’s homeless; we kindly ask that volunteers commit to participating both mornings.

Chapel Hill teen launches fundraiser for Huntington's Disease Documentary

2012-01-18T16:42:00.002-05:00

Starting Jan. 17, Kristen Powers, vice-president of the Chapel Hill High School Student Government, will launch an online fundraiser to raise money for a documentary chronicling her decision to get tested for Huntington's Disease, a genetic neurological brain disorder that destroys the victim’s ability to walk, talk, think and reason, eventually leading to premature death. The high school senior watched her mother lose an eight-year battle with the disease in January 2011; Powers has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the same fate.
The campaign will be spotlighted at IndieGoGo.com, an international crowd-funding platform. She will be hosting an online event called “$5K in a Day” on Jan. 26 to mobilize friends, family and supporters to help her reach the halfway point of her $10,000 fundraising campaign to fund the first phase of the documentary.
View Kristen's IndieGoGo page to learn more or to help.

Carrboro rec department offers baseball program for kids ages 4-6

2012-01-18T16:16:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation & Parks Department is sponsoring a Baseball C.L.A.S.S. (Children Learning Athletic Sports Skills) for kids and their parents. The program is designed for children 4 to 6 years old (as of the first class). The goal of the program is to introduce the fundamentals of baseball to the participant and parent.
The instructor guides both the child and parent in understanding the skills of throwing, catching, hitting and fielding. Parent participation is a major part of this program. The program will be held on Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m. April 14 to May 19. The cost is $47 per child. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Recreation & Parks Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Space is limited. For more information, contact the department at (919) 918-7364.

Burning Coal Theatre Company holds class on Shakespeare

2012-01-18T13:50:00.000-05:00

Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh presents Exploring Shakespeare, an eight-session class on acting and enjoying Shakespeare, taught by Burning Coal Education Director Ian Finley. Get up on your feet and explore the bard’s language.
Suitable for anyone interested in Shakespeare, no previous acting experience necessary.
The class will be held Mondays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. from Feb. 6 to March 26.
Cost is $155, including all texts.
For more information or to reserve a space, call (919) 834.4001 or visit www.burningcoal.org.

Burning Coal Theatre Company is Raleigh's small, professional theater. Burning Coal is an incorporated, non-profit [501 (c) (3)] organization; its mission is to produce literate, visceral, affecting theater that is experienced, not simply seen.

N.C. Transportation Museum offers behind-the-scenes tours

2012-01-18T12:59:00.000-05:00

For the first time in 25 years of operation, the N.C. Transportation Museum is offering a look behind closed doors. Those taking advantage of the museum’s new behind-the-scenes tours will see automotive and rail cars not currently on display, stroll through the enormous Back Shop, view the Roundhouse Restoration bays, and enjoy a tour through the private rail car of James Duke.
Behind-the-scenes tours open new areas of the historic Spencer Shops, while providing a unique view of museum artifacts and restoration projects.
A stroll through the awe-inspiring Back Shop starts the tour. Visitors can marvel at how such a massive structure was built in the waning years of the 1800s. Visitors will also get an up-close look at the Piedmont Airlines DC-3 Potomac Pacemaker, undergoing renovation in the Back Shop.
Visitors will see the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Combine Car No. 15, better known as the “Tweetsie” Combine Car. Undergoing a complete restoration in the museum’s Paint Shop, this 1917 railroad car consisted of a white passenger area, railway post office with black passenger seats and a baggage section. A wooden car with pot-bellied stoves for winter heating, it’s a unique piece of rail history that can only be seen during the museum’s behind-the-scenes tours.
Those who like their wheels on the road will be treated to classic automobiles not currently on display. A stop by Warehouse 3 will highlight the museum’s 1930 AA Truck, 1969 Jeep Wagoneer and Honda motorcycles, including a 1985 Goldwing GL 1200.
Restoration of classic rail equipment is a constant process for museum volunteers. Behind-the-scenes tours will show the work in progress with a walk through the Roundhouse Restoration Bays in the Bob Julian Roundhouse.
Regular visitors to the museum often take a look through the windows of the museum’s luxury private rail cars. Behind-the-scenes tours provide the opportunity to step inside, taking a walk through the private rail car of industrialist and tobacco magnate James Buchanan Duke. The “Doris,” named for Duke’s daughter, is an example of the luxury rail travel enjoyed by the wealthy in the early 1900s.
Behind-the-scenes tours are by reservation only and offered each Tuesday through Friday at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Tours last about 90 minutes. Groups are limited to 20 participants. The cost is $15 per person. Tours do not include a train ride. To schedule a behind-the-scenes tour, call (704) 636-2889, ext. 258, or email Kathryn.l.johnson@ncdcr.gov.

Carolina Performing Arts to present eclectic array in February

2012-01-18T11:20:00.002-05:00

February brings an intriguing mix of Piedmont bluegrass, Balkan-infused punk, modern dance, jazz and classical piano to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carolina Performing Arts will present such special guests as the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, classical pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and Overtone Quartet, featuring a jazz dream team of Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Jason Moran and Eric Harland.
Performances will be in Memorial Hall on Cameron Avenue. For tickets and more information, visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org or call or visit the Memorial Hall Box Office at (919) 843-3333, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and before shows. Show details follow.

Carolina Chocolate Drops with special guests Luminescent Orchestrii, 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 3
All about innovation and serious fun, the Grammy Award-winning and critically lauded Durham-based Carolina Chocolate Drops are the newest and youngest players in the long lineage of black string bands. The band has been widely credited with reviving the rich sounds of this music from the Piedmont region of the Carolinas. Upstarts in a stable of deep tradition, they are also a link between past and future, exploring generations-old songs with a modern touch.
They collaborate here with New York gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii, which renders Romanian gypsy melodies, punk frenzy, salty tangos, hard-rocking klezmer, haunting Balkan harmony, hip-hop beats and Appalachian fiddle music.
The pairing guarantees a night full of high-energy and foot-stomping music from the southern Appalachian and eastern European Carpathian Mountains. Tickets are $29 to $69 and $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students. Websites: www.carolinachocolatedrops.com, www.lumii.org

"Four Electric Ghosts: An Opera Masquerade" by Mendi + Keith Obadike, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9
This fantastically futuristic multimedia romp creates a composite world at the intersection of game culture, folk tales and pop songs. Inspired by Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola's 1954 novel "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" and Japanese video game designer Tori Iwatani's influential 1980s arcade game Pac Man, "Four Electric Ghosts" follows the afterlives of four ghosts who encounter the same mortal in a journey through the Land of the Dead. The provocative story is told through masquerade, dance, video interviews and original funk, rock and R&B music, and the audience is invited to dance with the performers at the end.
Mendi + Keith Obadike make music, art and literature. After working as a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University, Mendi Obadike became a poetry editor at Fence Magazine. Today, she is an assistant professor of humanities and media studies at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. Keith Obadike is a tenured assistant professor in the College of Arts and Communication at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., and an art adviser for the Times Square Alliance.
"Four Electric Ghosts" is part of the Loading Dock series in which audiences and artists share the Memorial Hall stage. Seating is limited to 160 people. Directions on how to enter Memorial Hall will be distributed with tickets. Tickets are $20 or $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students. Website: www.blacknetart.com

Overtone Quartet, featuring Dave Holland, Jason Moran, Chris Potter and Eric Harland, 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10
Grammy Award-winning Holland joins a quartet of jazz veterans who all have earned awards and critical praise as players, bandleaders and composers. Each contributes his own compositions to the Overtone Quartet. The online magazine "All About Jazz" reported, "This group has no bandleader and instead functions as a collective, coming together around the shared goals of challenging each other to greater and more subtle composition and performance."
From his beginnings with Miles Davis to his acclaimed ensembles today, Holland has one of the most celebrated legacies in jazz. "The Boston Globe" calls Holland "a master bassist and bandleader, one of the most sophisticated composers and arrangers in the jazz world." The "Los Angeles Times" described pianist and composer Moran as "a startlingly gifted pianist with a relentless thirst for experimentation." Grammy Award-nominated Potter has been called the finest saxophonist of his generation. And drummer Harland has recorded more than 30 albums and toured the world.
Tickets are $25 to $59 and $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students. Website: http://www.carolinaperformingarts.org/media

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 and Tuesday, Feb. 14
Spiritual, graceful, hopeful and one of the most celebrated modern dance companies in the world, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Memorial Hall. The group started in 1958, led by Ailey and young African-American modern dancers. Their performances forever changed the perception of American dance.
In 2008, a U.S. Congressional resolution designated the company as "a vital American cultural ambassador to the world" that celebrates the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage.
The modern classic "Revelations," to be performed both nights, tells a story of African-American faith and tenacity from slavery to freedom through dances set to spirituals and blues music. This is the first tour for the company featuring new artistic director Robert Battle, the personal selection of former director Judith Jamison. He is only the third person to head the company since it was founded.
Tickets are $25 to $64 and $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students. Website: www.alvinailey.org

Leif Ove Andsnes, 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 17
Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation, appears with the world's leading orchestras and gives recitals in the foremost concert halls. Also an active chamber musician, he plays at the Risør Chamber Music Festival in Norway and next year will be music director of the Ojai Music Festival in California.
This year, Andsnes has performed with the Boston, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Trondheim and Vienna symphony orchestras, the Norwegian and Swedish chamber orchestras and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In Chapel Hill, he will perform Haydn's Sonata in C minor, Bartók's Suite, Op. 14, Debussy's "Images" and Chopin's waltzes, ballades and Nocturne Op. 62.
Andsnes' discography comprises more than 30 solo, chamber and concerto releases, spanning repertoire from Bach to the present and garnering seven Grammy nominations and five Gramophone Awards. Among his recent recordings are Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos Nos. 3 and 4 with Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra. He also recorded Schumann's piano trios with violinist Christian Tetzlaff and his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff.
Tickets are $29 to $69 and $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students. Website: www.andsnes.com

Christian McBride and Inside Straight, 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24
Grammy Award-winning bassist, composer, arranger and educator Christian McBride is one of the most omnipresent figures in jazz, performing and recording with legends including McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis and Joshua Redman. He also works with hip-hop, soul, pop and classical artists such as The Roots, Sting and soprano Kathleen Battle.
Performing with McBride is his band, Inside Straight, which just released their its album, "Kind Of Brown," in 2009. The band features styles that range from hard swing to bluesy groove and includes pianist Eric Reed, alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, drummer Carl Allen and vibraphonist Warren Wolf, one of McBride's former students.
McBride, equally adept on acoustic and electric bass, has been at the forefront of jazz education, working as an artist in residence at festivals and artistic director at arts centers and museums—including stints as co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and creative jazz chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Christian McBride and Inside Straight will perform at UNC as part of the 35th annual Carolina Jazz Festival. Tickets are $15 to $39 and $10 for UNC-Chapel Hill students. Website: www.christianmcbride.com.

Carrboro rec department holds basketball clinics

2012-01-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a series of basketball instructional clinics on Sunday, Jan. 22 (shooting), and Sunday, Feb. 5 (dribbling/passing/rebounding). Age groupings are 6 through 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12. The fee is $15 per person. Registration is currently being accepted at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Pre-registration is required. For additional information, contact the recreation department at (919) 918-7364.

N.C. Museum of Art presents solo exhibition of Beverly McIver

2012-01-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

"Reflections: Portraits by Beverly McIver" is an exhibition celebrating McIver’s prodigious work from the past decade, highlighting her renowned, emotive self-portraits and portraits of her family. Opening Dec. 11 in the North Carolina Gallery, the exhibition will be free to the public and on view through June 24, 2012.
“Beverly McIver’s work is remarkable in its own right, but the timing of 'Reflections' with 'Rembrandt in America' is particularly illuminating as both exhibitions examine self-portraiture in some way,” said Jennifer Dasal, curator of the exhibition. “McIver’s portraits of herself and her family offer an opportunity for visitors to experience her world view as an African American, a caretaker, a daughter and a woman.”
McIver, a Greensboro native whose first solo show was in 2003, is recognized as a significant presence in contemporary American art. McIver has examined racial, gender and social identities through the lens of her own experiences. The history of her family—particularly the struggles surrounding her sister’s disability, her mother’s death and her subsequent assumption of Renee’s caregiving—allows McIver to explore and illustrate the complicated emotions that arise from these situations, including depression, frustration, tender compassion and innocent joy.
“All of my portraits are self-portraits,” McIver said. “I use the faces of others who reflect my most inner being.”
Among those closest to McIver represented in "Reflections" are her sister Renee and her mother, Ethel.
Accompanied by an exhibition catalogue, "Reflections" includes numerous loans from the artist, private collections and select museums as well as a new painting, "Truly Grateful," recently added to the NCMA’s permanent collection.
The latest installment in a series of exhibitions dedicated to the art and artists of North Carolina, "Reflections" is part of the NCMA’s ongoing commitment to exhibit the work of emerging and established North Carolina artists. Solo and thematic exhibitions rotate twice a year and draw from loans and the museum’s permanent collection. After the presentation at the NCMA, "Reflections" will travel to the Mint Museum’s Uptown location in Charlotte.

In brief:
What and where
"Reflections: Portraits by Beverly McIver" is located in East Building’s North Carolina Gallery.
Hours
• Tuesday–Thursday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Friday 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
• Saturday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Admission
Free

Orange County announces appointments to advisory boards and commissions

2012-01-17T14:40:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Dec. 13, the Orange County Board of Commissioners appointed the following resident volunteers to County advisory boards and commissions:

Volunteer Name Board Name

Ms. Judy Miller Animal Services Advisory Board
Dr. Lynn White Animal Services Advisory Board

Mr. Corey Davis Orange County Board of Health

Dr. May Becker Commission for the Environment
Mr. Jan Sassaman Commission for the Environment
Mr. Gary Saunders Commission for the Environment
Mr. Peter Cada Commission for the Environment
Mr. David Welch Commission for the Environment

Dr. Robert Ireland Historic Preservation Commission

Dr. Tracey Yap Orange County Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee

Congratulations. The Board of Commissioners appreciates your willingness to serve your community.
With more than 30 different boards and commissions, volunteers appointed by the Board of County Commissioners have an opportunity to influence the way of life in Orange County.
For additional volunteer opportunities, check online or call Donna Baker at (919) 245-2130 or Jeanette Jones at (919) 245-2125.

First Lady Michelle Obama announces coordinated effort by America’s academic institutions to combat PTSD & TBI

2012-01-17T12:39:00.000-05:00

130 medical schools and research facilities to join forces to serve veterans and families

As part of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine committed to creating a new generation of doctors, medical schools and research facilities that will make sure our heroes and their families receive the care worthy of their sacrifice. Recognizing veterans, service members and their families’ dedication and commitment, 130 schools associated with the AAMC and AACOM—including UNC-Chapel Hill—pledged to leverage their missions in education, research and clinical care to train the nation’s physicians to meet the unique health care needs of the military and veterans communities.
“I’m inspired to see our nation’s medical schools step up to address this pressing need for our veterans and military families," Obama said. "By directing some of our brightest minds, our most cutting-edge research, and our finest teaching institutions toward our military families, they’re ensuring that those who have served our country receive the first-rate care that they have earned."
Together, the AAMC and AACOM are committing to improve the education in their medical schools, the research in their laboratories and the clinical care in their hospitals to better address the health issues that military families face. Specifically, these organizations are committing to:
• Train their medical students as well as their current physicians, faculty and staff to better diagnose and treat our veterans and military families;
• Develop new research and clinical trials on PTSD and TBI so that we can better understand and treat those conditions;
• Share their information and best practices with one another through a collaborative web forum created by the AAMC; and
• Continue to work with the VA and the Department of Defense to make sure that everyone is providing the best care available.
“Because of our integrated missions in education, clinical care and research, America’s medical schools are uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in this important effort,” said Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges. “Medical schools have long recognized the sacrifice and commitment of our military, veterans and their families. The relationship between the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and academic medicine dates back to the end of World War II and serves as a model for successful partnerships between public and private institutions. Our work with the White House on Joining Forces is a natural extension of our efforts in this area and renews our commitment to the wellness of our nation’s military.”
“A central component of the White House Joining Forces Initiative is wellness, and I am pleased to announce AACOM’s participation in a new Joining Forces effort that could have a significant impact on the health and well-being of our nation’s veterans.” Dr. Stephen C. Shannon, President and CEO of AACOM, said.
Obama and Biden created Joining Forces to bring Americans together to recognize, honor and take action to support veterans and military families as they serve our country and throughout their lives. The initiative aims to educate, challenge and spark action from all sectors of society to ensure veterans and military families have the support they have earned. The initiative focuses on key priority areas—employment, education and wellness while raising awareness about the service, sacrifice and needs of America’s veterans and military families. More information is available at www.JoiningForces.gov.

The following is a list of the 130 universities and colleges participating in this program:
· University of Alabama School of Medicine
· University of South Alabama College of Medicine
· University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
· Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
· AT Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine of Arizona
· University of Arizona College of Medicine
· Loma Linda University
· Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
· Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Stanford University School of Medicine
· UC Davis Health System
· University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
· David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
· Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific
· Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Colorado School of Medicine
· Yale School of Medicine
· Georgetown University School of Medicine
· George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
· Howard University College of Medicine
· Florida State University College of Medicine
· Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Florida International University
· Nova Southeastern University College os Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Florida College of Medicine
· USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
· Emory University School of Medicine
· Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University
· Mercer University School of Medicine
· Morehouse School of Medicine
· University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine
· Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
· Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
· Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
· Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
· Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
· The Chicago Medical School in conjunction with the Lovell Federal Health Care Center
· University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
· University of Illinois College of Medicine
· Indiana University
· University of Kansas Medical Center
· University of Kentucky College of Medicine
· University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans
· Tulane University School of Medicine
· Boston University School of Medicine
· Harvard Medical School
· Tufts University School of Medicine
· University of Massachusetts Medical School
· Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
· Uniformed Services University of the Health Science's F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine
· University of Maryland School of Medicine
· University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
· Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Michigan Medical School
· Wayne State University School of Medicine
· University of Minnesota Medical School
· Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine AT Still University
· Saint Louis University
· University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
· University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine
· Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
· University of Mississippi School of Medicine
· Creighton University School of Medicine
· University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine
· The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
· Wake Forest School of Medicine
· University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
· University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
· Dartmouth Medical School
· Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.
· University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School
· University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
· University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of New Mexico School of Medicine
· University of Nevada School of Medicine
· Hofstra North Shore - LIJ School of Medicine
· New York Institute of Technology New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
· State University of New York Upstate Medical University
· Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University at Buffalo State University of New York School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
· Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
· The Ohio State University
· Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
· University of Toledo College of Medicine
· Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
· Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
· Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
· Pacific Northwest University of Health Science College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Commonwealth Medical College
· Drexel University College of Medicine
· Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
· Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
· Penn State University College of Medicine
· Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Temple University School of Medicine
· University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
· Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine
· Ponce School of Medicine and Health Sciences
· Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine
· University of South Carolina School of Medicine
· University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville
· University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine
· Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
· Meharry Medical College
· Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
· Baylor College of Medicine
· The Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine
· Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
· Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
· The University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
· The University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio
· University of Texas Medical School at Houston
· University of Utah School of Medicine
· Eastern Virginia Medical School
· University of Virginia School of Medicine
· Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
· Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
· Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
· University of Washington School of Medicine
· Medical College of Wisconsin
· University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
· The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University
· West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
· West Virginia University School of Medicine

Durham Arts Council grants now available

2012-01-16T16:26:00.000-05:00

Applications are now available for the Durham Arts Council’s Season Grants. These grants are designed to support arts activities occurring between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013. Non-profit arts organizations or nonprofits planning an arts activity may apply. An applicant must have non-profit 501c(3) status or apply using a fiscal agent that has 501c(3) status. The applicant organization must be based in Durham County or produce the majority of its programming in Durham County. An applicant may request cash and/or use of space in the Durham Arts Council building. Season Grants are not awarded to support fund-raising activities.
A representative of each first-time applicant organization must discuss their proposal with Margaret DeMott, director of artists services at Durham Arts Council, before completing the application. Representatives of previous applicant organizations are also encouraged to ask questions or discuss application drafts. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact DeMott at (919) 560-2720 or mdemott@durhamarts.org. An information session to introduce the program to new applicants is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m. at the Durham Arts Council. The information session is free and open to the public.
Applications must be delivered to the Durham Arts Council building by 9 p.m. Thursday, March 1. Applications are available at the front desk of the Durham Arts Council, located at 120 Morris Street in downtown Durham, or may be downloaded from the Durham Arts Council website.
Season Grant cash awards are funded in part by individual, corporate and foundation contributions to the Durham Arts Council Annual Arts Fund. For more information on giving opportunities to support the programs of the Durham Arts Council, go to DAC Annual Arts Fund.

Carrboro rec department holds girls' volleyball program

2012-01-16T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department will be sponsoring a girls' solleyball program for participants ages 10 to 13 years old as of Aug. 31, 2011. Registration is currently being accepted online through an existing registration account or in the office at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fee is $58 for Orange County residents, $95 for out of county residents. Registration forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and are accepted on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, call (919) 918-7364.

IRS Offers top 10 tax-time tips

2012-01-16T14:39:00.000-05:00

The income tax filing season has begun, and important tax documents should be arriving in your mailbox. Even though your return is not due until April, you can make tax time easier on yourself with an early start. Here are the Internal Revenue Service’s top 10 tips to ensure a smooth tax-filing process.
1. Gather your records. Round up any documents you’ll need when filing your taxes: receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support income or deductions you’re claiming on your return.
2. Be on the lookout. W-2s and 1099s will be coming soon; you’ll need these to file your tax return.
3. Have a question? Use the Interactive Tax Assistant available on the IRS website to find answers to your tax questions about credits, deductions, general filing questions and more.
4. Use Free File. Let Free File do the hard work for you with brand-name tax software or online fillable forms. It's available exclusively at www.irs.gov. Everyone can find an option to prepare their tax return and e-file it for free. If you made $57,000 or less, you qualify to use free tax software offered through a private-public partnership with manufacturers. If you made more or are comfortable preparing your own tax return, there's Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic versions of IRS paper forms. Visit www.irs.gov/freefile to review your options.
5. Try IRS e-file. IRS e-file is the safe, easy and most common way to file a tax return. Last year, 79 percent of taxpayers—106 million people—used IRS e-file. Many tax preparers are now required to use e-file. If you owe taxes, you have payment options to file immediately and pay by the tax deadline. Best of all, the IRS issues refunds to 98 percent of electronic filers by direct deposit within 14 days, if there are no problems, and some may be issued in as few as 10 days.
6. Consider other filing options. There are many options for filing your tax return. You can prepare it yourself or go to a tax preparer. You may be eligible for free face-to-face help at a volunteer site. Give yourself time to weigh all the options and find the one that best suits your needs.
7. Consider direct deposit. If you elect to have your refund directly deposited into your bank account, you’ll receive it faster than a paper check in the mail.
8. Visit the official IRS website often. The IRS website at www.irs.gov is a great place to find everything you need to file your tax return: forms, publications, tips, answers to frequently asked questions and updates on tax law changes.
9. Remember this number: 17. Check out IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax, on the IRS website. It’s a comprehensive resource for taxpayers, highlighting everything you’ll need to know when filing your return.
10. Review! Review! Review! Don’t rush. We all make mistakes when we rush. Mistakes slow down the processing of your return. Be sure to double-check all the Social Security numbers and math calculations on your return, as these are the most common errors. Don’t panic! If you run into a problem, remember the IRS is here to help. Start with www.irs.gov.

USDA announces funding for water quality markets, seeks proposals for projects

2012-01-16T13:07:00.000-05:00

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a funding opportunity that will bring states, USDA and other stakeholders together to enhance the effectiveness of water quality credit trading. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is providing up to $10 million in Conservation Innovation Grants for these projects with up to $5 million focused on water quality credit trading in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Proposals for projects are due March 2, 2012.
"For the first time, USDA has offered funding specifically for water quality trading; we want to help states and other partners develop robust and meaningful markets," Vilsack said. "Our goal is to demonstrate that markets are a cost-effective way to improve water quality in places like the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and agricultural producers are critical to the function of these markets."
Water quality credit trading is a market-based approach to lowering the costs of reducing pollution and has the potential to engage more farmers and ranchers in water quality improvement efforts through the implementation of more conservation practices on agricultural lands. Through water quality credit trading, a producer who implements conservation practices to reduce water quality pollutants can also benefit by generating water quality market credits that could be sold in an open market, which would reduce the costs of implementing and maintaining the conservation practices.
NRCS requests CIG proposals for projects that:
• Support the completion of state water quality market rules and infrastructure needed to carry out water quality trading between point and non-point sources;
• Deploy and test tools and metrics needed for crediting and verifying the effectiveness of conservation practices on agricultural lands;
• Establish certification, registry and reporting systems; and
• Educate and reach out to agriculture and other sectors.
CIG funds will be awarded through a competitive grants process. At least 50 percent of the total cost of CIG projects must come from non-federal matching funds, including cash and in-kind contributions provided by the grant recipient. Projects must involve producers who are eligible for the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
To apply electronically, visit Grants.gov or contact a local NRCS office. View the complete Announcement of Program Funding here.
The Chesapeake Bay portion of this effort is part of NRCS' Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative, which helps agricultural producers in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia improve water quality in the watershed.
NRCS will host a webinar at 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 24, for prospective applicants. USDA officials and staff will discuss the goals of the program and answer questions about the request for proposals. For more webinar details, go to the CIG website.
Learn more about NRCS conservation programs here or visit your local USDA service center.

Highway markers tell North Carolina's Civil Rights story

2012-01-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

The Civil Rights movement for African Americans in the 1960s called for an end to discrimination in voting, education, accommodations, housing and in other areas. In North Carolina and the nation, blacks turned to public persuasion and to civil disobedience to bring change to their lives and to change the world.
North Carolina was a proving ground for the Civil Rights movement and leaders.
In fact, the immortal words of Martin Luther King Jr. in the "I Have a Dream" speech are known the world over. However, few people know that he used a phrase about a dream in Rocky Mount in November 1962, long before the August 1963 delivery of the speech in the March on Washington. Near the conclusion of the November 1962 speech in Rocky Mount were the lines:
"I have a dream that one day right here in Rocky Mount, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will meet at the table of brotherhood, knowing that one God brought man to the face of the Earth. I have a dream tonight that one day my little daughter and my two sons will grow up in a world not conscious of the color of their skin, but only conscious of the fact that they are members of the human race. . . ."
A North Carolina highway historical marker dedicated in 2007 in Rocky Mount commemorates the King speech given there. It is one of nearly 1,600 of the familiar black and silver markers that dot the roadside to recognize people, places and events in an impressive body of markers statewide that share Tar Heel history on a stick.
Other events from North Carolina's Civil Rights story told in the 106 markers about African American history include the well-known Greensboro sit-ins that came to prominence after four students at the current N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter until being served in 1960. The sit-in movement spread across the South
Soon afterwards, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed at Shaw University on Easter weekend 1960. About 150 students from 10 states met to plan nonviolent resistance to segregation. The students were the shock troops of the movement and were especially active in summer protests in Mississippi. Several national leaders, including John Lewis and Stokeley Carmichael, rose from its ranks.
The "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement," Ella Baker, organized a meeting that gave birth to SNCC. A highway marker dedicated to her will be erected this spring. She got funding for the conference from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which she was a founding member and also an ally of Martin Luther King.
Even before the 1960s, nearly 10,000 workers, mostly African American women, joined a union seeking better working conditions in tobacco warehouses, also known as leaf houses, where cured tobacco was processed for sale to cigarette makers. The 1946 organizing campaign, known as Operation Dixie, eventually included 30 warehouses in North Carolina and Virginia. The first vote was won in Rocky Mount, and 22 of 24 elections in North Carolina were to join the union.
In a 1947 test to the Supreme Court ruling barring racial discrimination in interstate transportation, black and white citizens known as freedom riders left Washington, D.C., on buses. Along the way of the Journey of Reconciliation, they were challenged. In Chapel Hill, four of the riders were arrested after meeting with students from area colleges, and incidents continued for weeks.
In June 1957, a sit-in at the segregated Royal Ice Cream parlor in Durham was one of several that preceded the better known1960 Greensboro sit-in. The significant impact of the Durham sit-in was that a court case resulted that tested if segregated facilities were legal. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that segregated facilities were legal.
In 1977, Pauli Murray became the first African American female Episcopal priest in the United States. She had long been an activist for African American and women's rights. A lawyer, writer and activist, she also helped to found the National Organization for Women.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources and the N.C. Department of Transportation have joint responsibility for the marker program. The N.C. Highway Historical Marker Program is one of the oldest such programs in continuous operation in the United States. More information on the application process, and a searchable list by name or category, are available at N.C. Markers.

For additional information, call (919) 807-7389. The Highway Marker Program is within the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

Raleigh radio icon to be recognized at MLK celebration

2012-01-15T16:11:00.000-05:00

As a part of the Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast Celebration at 7 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at the Sheraton Imperial, RTP, special recognition will be given to a Raleigh radio icon, Ray “Dr. Jocko” Henderson. A dynamic personality with a broad following during the 1960’s, Dr. Jocko was huge on WLLE 570 am. He is credited by many observers of that tense time of civil right activities with promoting calm on the streets throughout the total community, black and white.
Mr. Henderson was very involved with local schools at a time when the Capital City had just one black and one white public high school. He visited the campuses, held dances, served as master of ceremonies at many functions involving students at Needham Broughton and J.W. Ligon High Schools. He stressed conversation and not confrontation. He was a measurable calming force at a time when, all across the nation, nerves were on edge and many communities were tinder boxes of potential overreaction to the news of the day. Ray Henderson built bridges between the races and helped Raleigh set a more positive tone and example for the rest of the country.
“Dr. Jocko” was on the air at WLLE (WiLLiE Radio) when other popular disc jockeys called that radio station their on air home. They included Daddy O on the Radio; Big Bill Haywood; Brother James Thomas; Prince Ike Behind the Mike; Jimmy Johnson of JJ’s House Party; and Sweet Bob Rogers. The station’s signal reached to Wallace - Rose Hill in the east and to Walkertown in the west.
Ray Henderson modeled “Dr. Jocko” after Jocko Henderson, a popular DJ in Philadelphia and “Dr. Jive” from WSRC radio in Durham. Henderson was an outstanding athlete as a student at J. W. Ligon High School and carried those talents forward as a college student at St. Augustine College.
Later in his career, he was an executive with Motown Records in Detroit. He hosted a television program in that city, The Scene, which was much like Teenage Frolics on WRAL-TV in Raleigh featuring J.D. Lewis. He was on a first-name basis with every music industry star of that era. He traveled with James Brown as master of ceremonies and toured the nation and world when the Godfather of Soul was at the height of his illustrious career.
Throughout it all, Ray Henderson never forgot his roots and proudly promoted, at every opportunity, his lifelong love of his hometown, Raleigh (third stop on the Night Train). The music of the sixties has its stars, known to all. Just as bright and shining in the firmament is Ray Henderson… the man behind the music.

Carrboro rec department holds middle school baseball program

2012-01-15T16:07:00.003-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department will be sponsoring a middle school baseball league for ages 13 to 14 (as of Aug. 31, 2011). Registration is currently being accepted online through an existing registration account or in the office at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fee is $58 for Orange County residents and $95 for non-Orange County residents.
School players are encouraged to participate as teams are formed to keep teammates together beyond the school playing season. Initial games are played around remaining school game schedules. Registration forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and are accepted on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, call (919) 918-7364.

Carolina #1 best academic value for N.C. and out-of-state students

2012-01-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks as the number one value in American public higher education because it offers students high-quality academics at an affordable price, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.
For the 11th time in a row, UNC-Chapel Hill ranked first on Kiplinger’s list of the 100 universities and colleges that provide the best value to in-state students. The magazine also listed Carolina number one for the value offered to out-of-state students.
Kiplinger’s periodically has ranked the best public campus values since 1998; Carolina has been first every time. The new ranking appeared in the February issue and was posted along with a related story Tuesday, Jan. 3, at www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/.
“Kiplinger’s takes a hard look at what we care most about at Carolina: providing a great education to a diverse student body at an affordable price,” UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said. “We established for the country the idea of higher education as a public good. So we are doubly proud to be recognized as one of America’s most accessible and high-quality public universities.”
The universities of Florida, Virginia and the College of William and Mary ranked second, third and fourth, followed by New College of Florida, and the universities of Georgia, California-Berkeley, Maryland at College Park, California at Los Angeles and California at San Diego. Other UNC system campuses on the list are UNC-Wilmington, 15th; NC State, 19th; Appalachian State, 33rd; UNC School of the Arts, 41st; and UNC-Asheville, 45th.
Kiplinger’s changed its methodology this year to more strongly emphasize value because of the economic challenges facing higher education. For academics, the formula considered the percentage of students returning as sophomores and the four-year graduation rate. The magazine favored campuses with low sticker prices and abundant financial aid, with bonus points for schools that keep student borrowing low.
Kiplinger’s calculated value for cost and financial aid (low sticker prices, generous need-based aid and percentage of need met) and student indebtedness (low average debt at graduation and low percentage of students who borrow). Other categories were competitiveness (high test scores among freshmen, a low admission rate and a high yield as measures of selectivity and intellectual synergy); graduation rates (maximum points for the four-year rate; half that amount for a strong six-year rate); and academic support (number of students per faculty and freshman retention rate).
Kiplinger’s story, “Best Values in Public Colleges,” focused on how Carolina exemplified value. From the 1990s through the post-2008 recession, “UNC-Chapel Hill has been a leader for academic excellence, low cost and generous financial aid—exactly the criteria by which we define value,” wrote Jane Bennett Clark, senior associate editor.
The story traced UNC-Chapel Hill’s efforts to protect academics while absorbing more than $230 million in state budget reductions since 2008 by focusing cuts on administrative areas until this year, when course sections and classroom seats declined and class sizes increased. Kiplinger’s also reported on Carolina Counts (http://carolinacounts.unc.edu/), a campus-wide initiative to make operations more efficient following a Bain & Company study. Carolina Counts has identified and implemented $50 million in permanent administrative savings.
“I’m really proud of the work we’ve done to shelter undergraduate teaching,” Thorp said in the story. “We’re running out of ways to do that.”
The Kiplinger’s story praised schools like UNC-Chapel Hill for delivering a great education to students despite budget cuts.
“North Carolina’s flagship institution boasts a highly competitive admission rate, a strong record for graduating students on time, an in-state cost that barely exceeds the national average and an admirable record on student borrowing: More than two-thirds of Carolina students graduate debt-free,” Clark wrote.
Kiplinger’s highlighted the University’s efforts to provide financial aid to students, pointing out that Carolina is one of only two top public universities (along with Virginia) that meets 100 percent of the documented need for all undergraduate students, including qualified out-of-state students.
“We’ve done really well at Carolina because of the commitment on the part of the administration to take care of students,” Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, said in the magazine’s story.
Data considered for Kiplinger’s top 100 list included total cost for in-state students (tuition, fees, room and board, and book expenses); the average cost for a student with need after subtracting non need-based grants (not loans); the average percentage of need met by aid; and the average debt a student accumulates before graduation. For the out-of-state ranking, the magazine recalculated academic quality and expense numbers using total costs for non-resident students and average costs after financial aid.
In fall 2011, Carolina enrolled 4,026 first-year students from a record 23,753 applications. Eighty percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and they posted an average of 1300 on the SAT. Eighteen percent were first-generation college students; another 12 percent were eligible for the Carolina Covenant (http://www.unc.edu/carolinacovenant/), which promises qualified low-income students the chance to graduate debt-free.
N.C. undergraduates pay $7,009 in tuition and required fees—the next-to-last lowest rate among the University’s public campus peer group (http://www.unc.edu/news/peerinstitutions.html). Out-of-state undergraduates pay $26,834, the fourth-lowest rate among those peers. (Kiplinger’s noted that the total annual cost for in-state students after need-based aid awards was $6,548.)
A significant portion of any campus tuition increase is allocated for need-based financial aid. (For example, 45 percent of the revenue from a tuition increase proposed for next year would support need-based aid for undergraduate and graduate students.) Financial aid packages make up about two-thirds grants and scholarships and one-third loans and work-study. About 35 percent of Carolina seniors graduating in May 2011 borrowed and left with cumulative average debt of $15,472, down from $16,165 the previous year. The national average is about $25,000. Measured in constant dollars, the average cumulative debt for 2011 graduates was $2,525 less than the average cumulative debt for those who graduated in 2000.
UNC-Chapel Hill graduates 81 percent of undergraduates in four years, and 90 percent in six years. In 2010, 97 percent of first-year students returned for their sophomore year.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has provided Americans with advice on managing their money and achieving financial security since 1947.

CenterFest holds planning focus groups

2012-01-15T11:01:00.000-05:00

We invite your participation in the CenterFest continuing planning process!
Durham Arts Council, producer and presenter of CenterFest Arts Festival for 37 years, announced in July its plans to expand and re-envision CenterFest. DAC and its key partners have been underway in the visioning/planning process for the 2012 event and invite your participation in the next step: CenterFest focus groups.
Focus Groups take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris St. in Durham. If discussions need additional time the groups will continue to 8 p.m.
Please RSVP by clicking on the link for each focus group. You are welcome to attend one, several or all.

CenterFest—Visual Arts Focus Group
Wednesday Jan. 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at DAC. If discussion needs additional time the group will continue to 8 p.m.
The visual arts focus group will discuss event components related to the visual artists who apply for sales/display booth space and other possible visual arts elements of the festival such as interactive public art, art demonstrations, student art showcase and other ideas.
Co-Moderated by: Molly Pasca, Pottery artist and Lucy Grant, DAC Board Member

CenterFest—Creative Community Focus Group
Friday, Jan 20, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at DAC. If discussion needs additional time the group will continue to 8 p.m.
The focus group for the creative community will discuss some new elements being considered for CenterFest such as showcases for new creative businesses, design arts and technology and favorite past elements such as the non-profit showcase. Although anyone is invited to attend, this focus group will be most appropriate for designers, game developers, architects, music industry, film arts, arts non-profits and other creative businesses that have not typically been part of traditional arts festivals.
Co-moderated by: Matthew Coppedge, Downtown Durham Inc. and Meredythe Holmes, Monarch Services and Beverly Meek, Duke University

CenterFest—Food/Beverage/Culinary Arts Focus Group
Monday, Jan. 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at DAC. If discussion needs additional time the group will continue to 8 p.m.
This focus group will discuss possible new culinary arts/beverage/food elements for CenterFest and how we might do that. Locally sourced foods, wine festival, beer garden, food truck rodeo, chef competitions and other foodie ideas will be on the table. Restauranteurs, brewers, wine folks encouraged to attend and all who can think with gastronomic glee.
Co-moderated by: Diane Daniel, author of Farm Fresh North Carolina and Shelly Green, President & CEO of Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau

CenterFest—Music/Performing Arts Focus Group
Thursday, Jan. 26, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at DAC. If discussion needs additional time the group will continue to 8 p.m.
This focus group will discuss the music and performing arts entertainment elements of the festival, including performances on the festival grounds and main stages and surrounding venues. This may possibly include both non-ticketed free performances, ticketed performances, a wrist-band access series, roaming entertainment, interactive crowd elements (planned and spontaneous) and other ideas.
Co-moderated by: Mike Woodard, DAC Board VP/Duke University/City Councilman; Joe Newberry, musician; Marc Lee, WNCU radio announcer/emcee; and Kirk Ridge, NC Songwriters Co-Op

CenterFest—Site/Venues/Format Focus Group
Monday, Jan. 30, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at DAC. If discussion needs additional time the group will continue to 8 p.m.
This focus group will discuss the possible sites, venues, event layout, gating, admission, load-in/load-out, look and feel of the event, security, volunteers and other site and format considerations.
Co-Moderated by: Casey Steinbacher, President & CEO, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce;
Sioux Watson, Publisher, The Independent; and Sherry DeVries, DAC Executive Director.

Durham Arts Council Executive Director, Staff and Board Leadership will be present at all the focus groups to provide information, listen and document all the great ideas, and answer questions.
Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Thanks to all of you who have already responded to the CenterFest Survey. You can still fill out the survey -click here!

The CenterFest Focus Groups will culminate in early February in a final Design Charrette co-facilitated by DAC and the Durham Area Designers with support from DCVB, DDI, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, and Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

Carrboro rec department offers spring baseball program

2012-01-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department will be sponsoring a spring baseball program for participants ages 6 to 12 years old. Age cut off is as of Aug. 31, 2011. Registration is currently being accepted online through an existing registration account or in the office at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5pm. The fee is $58 for Orange County residents, $95 for out-of-county residents. Registration forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and is accepted on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, call (919) 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – MIDDLE SCHOOL AGED BASEBALL

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department will be sponsoring a Middle School Baseball League for ages 13-14 (as of August 31, 2011). Registration is currently being accepted, online through an existing registration account, or in the office at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. Carrboro. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:30am-5pm. The fee is $58 for Orange County residents and $95 for non-Orange County residents. School players are encouraged to participate as teams are formed to keep teammates together beyond the school playing season. Initial games are played around remaining school game schedules. Registration forms must be signed by a parent/guardian and is accepted on a first come first serve basis. For more information, please call 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department will be sponsoring a Girls Volleyball Program for participants 10-13 years old as of August 31, 2011. Registration is currently being accepted, online through an existing registration account, or in the office at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. Carrboro. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:30am-5pm. The fee is $58 for Orange County residents, $95 for out of county residents. Registration forms must be signed by a parent/guardian and is accepted on a first come first serve basis. For more information, please call 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – SUNDAY BASKETBALL CLINICS

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a series of Basketball instructional clinics on Sunday, January 22nd (shooting) and February 5th(dibbling/passing/rebounding). Age groupings are 6-8, 9/10 and 11/12. The fee is $15 per person. Registration is currently being accepted at the Recreation Department, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Pre-registration is required. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – CLASS BASEBALL

The Carrboro Recreation & Parks Department is sponsoring a Baseball C.L.A.S.S. (Children Learning Athletic Sports Skills) for kids and their parents. The program is designed for children 4 to 6 years old (as of first class). The goal of the program is to introduce the fundamentals of baseball to the participant and parent. The instructor guides both the child and parent in understanding the skills of throwing, catching, hitting, and fielding. Parent participation is a major part of this program. The program will be held on Saturday mornings (9:00am-10:00am) from April 14th to May 19th. The cost is $47/child. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Recreation & Parks Department, 100 N. Greensboro St. Space is limited. For more information, please contact the Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – BASEBALL CAMP

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Baseball Camp, July 16th – 20th for youth ages 9-12. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camp runs 8am-11am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – BASKETBALL CAMP I

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Basketball Camp, July 16th – 20th for youth ages 6-8. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camp runs 8:30am-11:30am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – BASKETBALL CAMP II

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Basketball Camp, July 23rd-27th for youth ages 9-11. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camps run 8:30am-11:30am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – FIELD HOCKEY CAMPS

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Field Hockey Camp, June 18th – 22nd and an advanced camp July 9th-13th for youth ages 10-13. The fee for each camp is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camp runs 8:00am-11:00am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – TASTE OF SPORTS CAMP

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Taste of Sports Camp, June 18th – 22nd for youth ages 6-9. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camp runs 8:00am-11:00am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – ULTIMATE FRISBEE CAMP

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring an Ultimate Frisbee Camp, July 9th- 13th for youth ages 10-15. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camps run 8:00am-11:00am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT – VOLLEYBALL CAMP

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is sponsoring a Volleyball Camp, July 30th - August 3rd for youth ages 10-13. The fee is $90. Registration is currently being accepted at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro. Camp runs 8:00am-11:00am. For additional information, please contact the Recreation Department at 918-7364.

Durham, RTP and Raleigh recieve funding from North Carolina Humanities Council

2012-01-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has awarded $57,486 in grants for projects in the humanities. All funded programs are free and open to the public.
Projects supported by the North Carolina Humanities Council are vital to its commitment to serve as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life. Through grants and public programs, the Humanities Council facilitates the exploration and celebration of the many voices and stories of North Carolina’s cultures and heritage.
The Durham Library Foundation will receive $9,916 for Bull City Soul Revival, a collaboration of musicians and scholars to showcase the history of soul in Durham. This month-long community project debuts March 27. It includes a display of artifacts, lecture/discussion and the gathering of oral histories, some of which will be broadcast via television or the Internet. Dwandalyn Reece, curator of music history at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, will overview the historical context of soul music and its national legacy. Bull City Soul Revival culminates in live performances that pay tribute to Durham’s musical traditions, past and present.

The North Carolina Museum of History Associates in Raleigh will receive $9,649 for Al Norte al Norte: Latino Life in North Carolina, a yearlong photography exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History, opening May 4. Bilingual descriptions will accompany photographs by the Pulitzer Prize-winning José Galvez, and selected artifacts will complement photographic content. Galvez, José Villalba, Sandra Gutierrez and David Moore will explore with guests North Carolina’s distinctive Latino history and culture in a four-part lecture series.

The North Carolina Folklife Institute in Durham will receive $9,400 in support of Blazing the African American Music Trail, providing digital training for members of eight eastern North Carolina counties in support of the African American Music Trail, a heritage tourism initiative. Scholars will offer community partners instruction in digital technology and ethnography to create Internet-destined documentation of North Carolina’s distinctive African American musical traditions, events and venues.

The Apprend Foundation of Research Triangle Park will receive $3,500 for the development of a mobile tour of the Thomas Day (1801-61) furniture exhibition at the historic Union Tavern, home and shop of the acclaimed free African American cabinetmaker. The downloadable audiovisual tour will create an enhanced visitor experience with the interactive exhibit. The tour will incorporate new research on Day’s family and social circle and explore his lasting legacy as an artisan/entrepreneur in antebellum America.

The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, serves as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life. It facilitates the exploration and celebration of the many voices and stories of North Carolina’s cultures and heritage. In addition to grants, awards and publications, the council offers the Road Scholars speakers bureau and the library discussion series Let’s Talk About It. The Humanities Council hosts Museum on Main Street, a traveling exhibition in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and rural communities statewide; supports the Teachers Institute, a professional development program for the state’s public school educators; and presents Literature and Medicine, a scholar-facilitated book discussion group for hospital staff to reflect on the larger mission of medicine. To learn more about these programs and how you can be a part, visit www.nchumanities.org. Find us also on Facebook and Twitter.

Hillsborough police, UNC Habitat to resume tutoring Jan. 23

2012-01-14T12:36:00.000-05:00

Free tutoring sessions offered by the Hillsborough Police Department and UNC Habitat for Humanity will restart Jan. 23.
The sessions—available to youths in Orange County Schools—will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. every Monday and Tuesday at the Community Policing Substation, 501 Rainey Ave. UNC students will offer tutoring in all subjects except computers.
The Police Department and UNC Habitat began offering the free tutoring in 2008.
For more information or to register, contact Cpl. Tereasa King at (919) 732-2441, ext. 26.

Hillsborough starts team aimed at alcohol law enforcement

2012-01-14T10:41:00.000-05:00

The Hillsborough Police Department—in a partnership with the Orange County ABC Board and the Northern Orange Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth—has started an Alcohol Law Enforcement Response Team to focus on alcohol-related crimes enforcement.
The eight officers currently on the team have received additional training, including training on ABC laws and procedures; constitutional law and search and seizure; party dispersal; campus law enforcement options; and documentation and report writing. The ALERT officers will focus on:
• DWI and alcohol-related traffic enforcement
• Compliance operations targeting sales to underage buyers
• ABC enforcement
• Party response
• Public and youth education.

For more information, see the Jan. 11 edition of the News of Orange,

Voluteer rec baseball coaches needed

2012-01-13T16:03:00.000-05:00

The Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department is currently accepting volunteer coach’s applications for the 2012 Youth Baseball Program. Coaches must exhibit the ability to organize practices and communicate effectively with players (ages 6 to 8 and 13 to 14 years old), parents, and recreation department staff. They must also exhibit the ability to teach proper playing skills and fundamentals, sportsmanship and provide an enjoyable atmosphere at practices and games. To receive a volunteer coach’s application or additional information, contact the Recreation Department at (919) 918-7364.

Museum hosts prize-winning journalist Andrew Revkin

2012-01-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

Most people alive today will witness a momentous juncture in the history of the human species—the point when explosive growth in human numbers and appetites peaks and is followed by…no one knows. Join prize-winning journalist Andrew Revkin to explore the question “Which Comes First: Peak Everything or Peak Us?” at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. The event is free.
According to Revkin, there are plenty of signs that the planet’s human population will peak within the next couple of generations. There are even signs that resource-sapping activities will soon hit a peak. Are humans capable of influencing which comes first?
“Decisions made today about energy, education, urban design and other matters can help smooth the transition,” Revkin said. “But business as usual will almost assuredly lead to unnecessary losses.”
And there are a host of unanswered questions concerning how all this will play out.
Revkin is a prize-winning journalist, online communicator and author who has spent more than 25 years covering subjects ranging from the assault on the Amazon to the Asian tsunamis, from the troubled relationship of science and politics to climate change at the North Pole. From 1995 through 2009, he covered the environment for The New York Times and still writes his Dot Earth blog for their Op-Ed section. Revkin has produced more than 500 magazine and newspaper stories, two books, a prize-winning Discovery-Times documentary titled “Arctic Rush” and hundreds of posts on his blog. In 2008, he became the first science writer to receive one of journalism’s top honors, the John Chancellor Award, for more than two decades of pioneering coverage of the science and politics of global warming.
Prior to Wednesday's presentation, from 6 to 7 p.m., meet and talk with students from Triangle area universities and learn about their varied research projects. Revkin’s visit to Raleigh is made possible in part by “Earth: The Operators’ Manual” (ETOM), a TV+online+on-site education and outreach project on climate change and renewable energy supported by National Science Foundation.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, located at 11 West Jones St. in downtown Raleigh, documents and interprets the natural history of the state of through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming. Visit us online at naturalsciences.org. Hours: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. General admission is free. The Museum is an agency of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

UNC professor’s film on grandmothers of ‘the disappeared’ debuts Tuesday, Jan. 17

2012-01-13T13:36:00.000-05:00

A faculty member’s documentary about Argentinian grandmothers committed to finding the grandchildren they believe were stolen by their country’s government will premiere at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
The free, public screening of “Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo and the Search for Identity,” a film by C.A. Tuggle, a professor in UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Carroll Hall auditorium.
At least 10,000—and some estimate as many as 30,000—dissidents of the military dictatorship were kidnapped, tortured and killed during Argentina’s Dirty War from 1976 to 1983. Those kidnapped became known as los desaparecidos or the disappeared. Some of the women were pregnant or new mothers when captured, and infants ended up in homes of people sympathetic to the regime. The babies’ names, birthdates and other identifiers were changed.
“This isn’t something that happened years ago and has no relevance now,” Tuggle said. “The grandmothers continue to find missing grandchildren. This is an ongoing injustice, and it’s ordinary women who are fighting the battle and serving as an example to all of us that we can make a difference.”
The human rights organization Las Abuelas has located more than 100 missing grandchildren, many who had no knowledge of their true identities.
Tuggle’s daughters Brynne Tuggle Miller and Bethany Tuggle Parker, both graduates of the school, served as coordinating producer and writer-editor, respectively, for the documentary.
“Working on this documentary has been a labor of love,” Miller said. “But it’s also been such a rewarding experience to work on telling a story that my family is so passionate about and, in the process, complete a work that we are so proud of.”
Dylan Field, a TV director and producer in the school, served as the film’s audio editor and videographer.
Screenings at universities throughout the United States will follow the premiere.
For more information, visit the website or watch the video clip.

State environmental officials to seek comment on plan for drinking water projects

2012-01-13T12:39:00.003-05:00

State environmental officials will meet Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 2:30 p.m. to receive public comments on their plan for how to help North Carolina municipalities fund this year’s most pressing drinking water projects.
People are invited to attend public hearing in the Coastal Plain Room (Room 1107) of the new Environment and Natural Resources Building, 217 West Jones St. in Raleigh.
The annual public hearing is a routine step that officials with the state’s public water supply section use to determine where to direct money from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The fund comes from the Environmental Protection Agency and a 20 percent required state match. The federal government will contribute about $24.6 million to the fund contingent on the state’s match of $4.9 million.
During the public hearing, the state will seek comments on the plan, which is proposed for federal approval. The plan includes requirements for the types of projects to be funded, how projects are prioritized and other criteria for allocating the money. The proposed intended use plan can be viewed at http://www.ncwater.org/pws/srf/Pages/federal_reports.htm.
Congress in 1996 created the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to help public water systems finance the cost of infrastructure needed to protect public health and comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
People who wish to speak during the hearing should sign-in at 2 p.m. Spoken comments should be limited to three minutes. Written comments may be provided at the public hearing or mailed to Vincent Tomaino at 1634 MSC, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1634, or emailed to vincent.tomaino@ncdenr.gov. Written comments will be received until Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Applications being accepted for Public Transportation Urban Advanced Technology program

2012-01-13T12:35:00.000-05:00

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Public Transportation Division is currently accepting applications for the fiscal year 2013 Urban Advanced Technology Grant program. The program benefits public transportation systems throughout North Carolina that are currently using technology or are interested in embarking on technology projects that will improve operations and the overall transit experience for riders.
Urban and regional transit systems are encouraged to apply for this grant program. Interested organizations have until March 2 to submit their applications through the department’s online grant application system. Funding, which totals $1.7 million this year, will become available July 1, 2012, the beginning of the 2013 state fiscal year.
Focus areas for the FY 2013 applications include vehicle safety and security, completion of existing projects and integration of fixed-route automatic vehicle location data with NCDOT’s 511 Traveler Information System. More details on this grant program can be found at www.ncdot.gov/nctransit by clicking on the “Grant and Program News” tab.
Since Gov. Bev Perdue took office, the NCDOT Public Transportation Division has awarded more than $310 million in grant funds to local public transportation systems. These grants enable systems to provide people in all 100 counties access to education, job opportunities and health care.
For more information on grant programs through the Public Transportation Division of NCDOT, as well as transit systems that serve the public throughout the state, visit www.ncdot.gov/nctransit.

Events mark the Civil War arrival in North Carolina in 1862

2012-01-13T10:48:00.002-05:00

This year marks the 150th anniversary of when the Civil War came home to North Carolina in 1862. Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside captured Roanoke Island in February, New Bern in March and Fort Macon in April. Takeover of North Carolina's coast was meant to stop supplies to the Confederate Army through the state's ports.
On the 150th anniversary, those events and many others will be reviewed in a series of programs at historic sites and museums statewide.
"The Lights of the Great Armada: The 147th Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Fisher," Jan. 21 to 22, will focus on the Navy and Marines and the maritime war. Small arm and artillery demonstrations, presentations by U.S. Coast Guard Chief Historian Dr. Robert Browning, U.S. Marine Corps Historical Company representatives Larry Bopp and Steve Bockmiller, and N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Deputy State Archaeologist Mark Wilde-Ramsing, are among activities scheduled.
Two programs in Durham focusing on the enslaved are scheduled for February. At Historic Stagville on Feb. 12, "To Free A Family" will include a free lecture and book signing by Dr. Sydney Nathans, Duke University history professor emeritus. At Bennett Place on Feb. 16, Reginald Hildebrand, UNC-Chapel Hill historian, will lecture on "The First Year of Freedom in North Carolina: Pursuing Freedom with the Hoe and the Sword, the Book and the Lord." Admission will be charged.
A symposium, "Thunder in the East: The Civil War in Eastern North Carolina," will be presented by Tryon Palace and the New Bern Historical Society on March 10, featuring Civil War historians Ed Bearrs and Mark Bradley, and Hari Jones, curator of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum in Washington, D.C. It is one of the events in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration (Civil War 150).
A Civil War medical program, "War So Terrible," at Bentonville Battlefield in Four Oaks on March 17 and 18, will compare and contrast medical practices of the Civil War to 21st century treatment in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Army and Marine Corps triage units will participate dependent on availability. Candlelight tours of the Harper House, which served as a field hospital in 1865, will allow visitors to see the medical setting and experience the search for a loved one at that time.
The exhibit, "Watched by Sound and Sea: Occupied Beaufort, 1862" continues at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort through September. It features artifacts from the period and will present a speaker each month.
The April 26 through 28 "Flags Over Hatteras" Symposium will feature historians James McPherson, Ed Bearss, Craig Symonds and others speaking at the Hatteras Village Civic Center. A Civil War Trails marker will be unveiled during the weekend, and the "Flags Over Hatteras" exhibit will continue through July at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
Other lectures and programs will occur during the year and through April 2015. A traveling photography exhibit "Freedom, Sacrifice, Memory: The Civil War Sesquicentennial Photography Exhibit" is visiting libraries and museums in the state through May 2013.
The N.C. Office of Archives and History oversees the state's sesquicentennial observance, which includes production of posters, symposia, a vehicle license plate, an atlas and other books, and other commemorative activities through 2015. The Office of Archives and History is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

Orange County woman to share $212,554 Cash 5 win with family

2012-01-12T16:18:00.001-05:00

Evelyn Perry, a retired social worker from Hillsborough, plans to pay bills and share with her adult children after winning $212,554 playing Carolina Cash 5. Perry won half the jackpot in the New Year’s Eve drawing.
“I was at my neighbor’s house all night watching movies,” Perry said. “I had no idea I had won. The next day when I bought a scratch-off at the store, the clerk asked if I was the Cash 5 winner. When I went home and checked my numbers online, I was just stunned.”
Perry, who won $400 previously on a Powerball ticket, received a check for $144,538 after taxes were withheld. She purchased the winning ticket at The Quickie Mart on S. Churton Street in Hillsborough.
“Keep trying because it really can happen to you,” Perry said as she received her winnings. “Even if you don’t win, you know it’s going to education and it’s not going to waste.”
Since the lottery began through June 30 of this year, Orange County education programs received more than $21.9 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs. Players in Orange County have won more than $33.6 million in prizes since the lottery’s inception.
To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.1 billion for these initiatives statewide.

N.C. Museum of Art announces extended hours for final week of Rembrandt in America

2012-01-12T15:11:00.000-05:00

Director Larry Wheeler announced that the N.C. Museum of Art will offer extended hours for Rembrandt in America during the final week of the exhibition. Monday through Friday, Jan. 16 through 20, the exhibition will remain open each evening until 9 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 21, the exhibition will remain open until midnight. The exhibition opens at 10 a.m. each day.
The exhibition will also be open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. West Building, which houses the permanent collection, will remain closed that day. West Building will maintain regular hours. A full schedule can be found online.
Visitors may purchase tickets for Rembrandt in America at www.ncartmuseum.org/rembrandt, by phone at (919) 715-5923 or in person at the NCMA Box Office. The exhibition closes on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 5 pm.
The announcement for extended hours comes on the heels of the Museum welcoming the 100,000th visitor to Rembrandt in America.
The Museum is the only East Coast venue for the show, which features the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings ever presented in an American exhibition.

Column: Ellie Kinnaird's greeting from Raleigh

2012-01-12T15:09:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends,
In a bizarre session called for this purpose and that kept the House in until after 1 a.m., the legislature did not override the governor’s veto of the Racial Justice Act for which the special session was called. The Senate, where Republicans hold 31 seats to the Democrats' 19, easily overrode the veto.
The debate in the Senate reiterated the reasons for the original bill: I spoke about the several conclusive studies showing that race is definitely a factor in the imposition of the death penalty. Law Professor Boger and Political Science Professor Uno researched a comprehensive study of the death penalty as administered in North Carolina. They hired recent law graduates to go into every court house in the state and review every death penalty. The study found that there were three situations in which a person was given the death penalty over others not given the penalty: rural areas (that is understandable because in a small community everyone knows everyone and the emotions run high), poverty (rich people don’t end up on death row) and the race of the victim (white) and the perpetrator (black). The numbers were significant.
Two other studies have shown the same thing. The Michigan study done just last year shows that a black person is 2.5 time more likely to get the death penalty in cases where the jury had either no black people on it or only one. It sadly is about race even though we wish it weren’t.
But the House Republicans did not have the votes so instead decided to vote on overriding the veto of the bill that prohibited teachers from an automatic withdrawal of their dues to North Carolina Association of Educators. Many other groups ranging from United Way to state employees will still be allowed to participate in automatic payroll deductions. So for the legislature to disallow teachers the same privilege looks suspect since teachers vigorously objected to the cuts in education in this years’ budget. The bill affects not only the North Carolina Association of Educators, the state organization, but many other local teachers’ and teachers’ assistants’ associations throughout the state.
One of the Legislative Commissions is the Child Fatality Tax Force, which this year produced a recommendation that was passed into law requiring teens getting a learners’ driver’s license to log in 60 hours spread over six weeks driving in the car with an adult and record it in a journal. To get to the provisional level, students have to log 12 more hours but without requiring an adult in the car. The proponents feel this will cut down on teens’ reckless driving that leads to many serious accidents. This may help accountability and teach responsibility, and I voted for the bill, but I think many parents may find this difficult to fulfill.

The Public School Forum studies issues that affect our public school system. They have studied 10 foreign systems so far and just reported on their trip to Finland, which has one of the highest educational achievement records in the world. While Finland is more homogenous than the U.S., it has a large Swedish population with distinctly different cultural and linguistic traditions than the Finns. They also have Russians, Somali and Vietnamese immigrants and now even more diversity from the opening of borders from the EU. Finland is also a nation of diverse and well-balanced economic development. Their school achievement arises from several fronts. High pay and Masters Degree training for all teachers (even elementary) who are well-respected. Teachers work fewer hours to prevent burn-out and do not have all the burdensome paperwork we require. School systems are equal in rural and urban areas. Finland attracts the best and brightest into teaching and limits the number of teaching schools to those with high standards and that use research extensively. The teachers come from the top 20 percent of high school graduates.
All students are expected to do well, but testing is only for diagnostic purposes, and schools and teachers are not graded on test results nor are they published.
Prevention is the guiding philosophy. Finland focuses on special education and special assistance to students needing help, from eyesight to language impairment. Early education begins at 8 months of age, continuing through age 5. It is run by the health ministry and focuses not on education but on overall well-being, with staffing of one full-time teacher and two full-time nurses for each 12 students through age 3, and from 3 through 5, one teacher and two nurses for 20 students. At age six, children begin pre-school but don’t start formal training but instead focus on socializing. When they start formal school at age 7, children begin language acquisition and other subjects.
Finland also has a diversified and balanced economic system and is ranked as one of the most competitive. 76 percent of health care is provided by the government. Finland is rated No. 4 on child well-being and No. 1 in low rates of child still birth and best place for women to live (Finland granted women the vote in 1906.) The pension system provides 60 percent of the average of a retiree’s last four years of income in the private sector, 66 percent for public sector.

Occupy Chapel Hill has decided to shut down, at least for a time. I greatly commend those who started the movement, and we must keep their message alive. It expresses what so many are feeling and the desire and need to bring real change to our country.
However, it is not surprising that it would end and may eventually end throughout the country. To start with, the streets are already home to a group of people: the homeless, some of whom are mentally ill and prefer the streets, some who can’t give up alcohol and won’t adhere to the homeless shelter rules, some drug abusers and some criminals. When Occupy moved into their territory with tents, and food and medical supplies and chairs and other comforts of home, that was ready-made for the street crowd. Unfortunately the two didn’t mix very well.
Beyond that, while the message is so important, only talking without action is unsustainable. The difference between the civil rights movement, divestment of apartheid, ending the Vietnam War and even the Tea party is that concrete changes took place through either working in the system to get people elected or civil disobedience on a grand scale with the goal of changing discriminating laws or stopping the war.
Where does Occupy go? That remains to be seen, but I know their general assembly is still meeting and planning. Maybe we’ll see a new and effective direction emerge.
Ellie

Free and fun at the Aquarium

2012-01-12T11:14:00.000-05:00

Visit the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher this holiday weekend for fun family time and take advantage of free admission on Monday, Jan. 16. Pre-registration is required for all programs. Register online at ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher or call (910) 458-7468.

For parents and children
Daddy and Me
Date: Saturday, Jan. 14
Time: 9 a.m.
Ages: For adults and children ages 1-2
Fee: $13 for one adult and one child ($1 for each additional child); Admission to Aquarium is included.
Dads and their children interact and learn together about aquarium animals. They also enjoy free playtime in our Freshwater Wonders Room.

Mommy and Me
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 17
Time: 9 a.m.
Ages: For adults and children ages 1-2
Fee: $13 for one adult and one child ($1 for each additional child); Admission to Aquarium is included.
Mothers and their children interact and learn together about aquarium animals. They also enjoy free playtime in our Freshwater Wonders Room.

Children
AquaCamp-Aquatic Critters
Dates: Monday, Jan. 16
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Ages: Children 5 to 12 years old
Fee: $40
Children spend a fun day learning about aquatic critters from alligators to wood ducks. Happy campers play games, create art and watch live animal presentations. Snacks are provided. Campers will need to provide bag lunch. Limited transportation available from/to Monkey Junction area for additional fee.

Orange County small business loan program provides funding to Hillsborough microbrewery

2012-01-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

Orange County’s small business loan program recently provided support to West Hillsborough’s newest business, Mystery Brewing Company, an artisanal brewery focused on creating distinctive beer. Their approach to their craft is summarized on the Mystery Brewing website: “Our mission is to create a cornucopia of high-quality, small-batch, rustic ales for the discriminating consumer, to test the boundaries of creativity and style. In short, to make outstanding beer.”
“The County is very pleased to be able to support the growing West Hillsborough Business District," Orange County’s Director of Economic Development, Steve Brantley, said. "This fine company will be a great new addition to the vibrant culture that helps define this community.”
Mystery Brewing is also one of the collaborators behind a new retail venture offering supplies for homebrewers. Nash Street Homebrew is also located in West Hillsborough and will carry home brewing equipment, ingredients and recipes, and serve as a resource for all levels of homebrewers.
The loan program is a revolving loan fund designed to foster small businesses development and expansion of local companies that may have limited access to conventional financing. This program is open to small businesses located in Orange County with gross revenues of less than $3 million. The program is managed through the County’s Economic Development office and administered by a volunteer board of directors composed of local business owners, bankers and staff representing several Orange County departments. For more information on this program, contact Dottie Schmitt of Orange County Economic Development at (919) 245-2327 or at dschmitt@co.orange.nc.us.

N.C. MLK Jr. Commission calls for Friday bell ringing tribute to Dr. King

2012-01-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

Members of the N.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission will initiate a statewide bell ringing tribute at 11:55 a.m. Friday on the Bicentennial Plaza near the N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh. The event will precede the annual State Employees’ Dr. Martin Luther King Observance Program, which will get underway at noon at First Baptist Church, 99 N. Salisbury St. in Raleigh.
“Ringing of a replica Liberty Bell proclaims the fundamental importance of freedom in our own lives, in our state, our nation and our world,” said Dr. Dumas A. Harshaw Jr., commission chair. “We will use this occasion to ring out to call attention to the insensitivity, injustice and inequality that curtail freedom and happiness throughout society.”
The commission encourages all residents, churches and organizations to participate in MLK holiday observances by ringing bells at noon Friday in their own communities. The goal is to create a simultaneous bell-ringing tribute throughout the state in memory of the civil rights leader and to affirm that North Carolinians continue to cherish the value of freedom, democracy, diversity and equal opportunity.
“Though our actions are symbolic, they have tremendous potential,” said John Campbell, commission executive director. “Energized by the legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the bell ringing is a statement of personal conviction and community involvement. It provides a moment for both reflection and resolve.”
Friday’s bell-ringing event is one of many observances planned by organizations across North Carolina. Gov. Bev Perdue, who will issue a 2012 MLK Day proclamation, is scheduled to speak at the annual State Employees’ Dr. Martin Luther King Observance Program. Additionally, the 32nd Annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast will be held at 7 a.m. Jan. 16 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham. For additional activities, visit the Human Relations Commission website.
The commission, which promotes among the people of North Carolina an awareness and appreciation of the life and work of Dr. King, was established by the General Assembly in 1993 and is part of the N.C. Human Relations Commission of the N.C. Department of Administration. For information, contact the N.C. Human Relations Commission at (919) 807-4420 or visit the website.

Orange County Rape Crisis Center offers support groups

2012-01-11T17:04:00.000-05:00

The Orange County Rape Crisis Center is offering two upcoming support groups for adult female survivors of sexual violence.

Support group for survivors of rape and sexual assault
This eight-session group will be held weekly on Thursday evenings beginning Jan. 19 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The group will be limited to eight women. This is an opportunity to share and gain support from others with similar experiences of abuse. Screenings for the group will be held in early January.

Healthy Sexuality & Intimacy: A Healing Group for Survivors
This group for adult female survivors of sexual violence will explore topics related to healthy sexuality and intimacy. This eight-session group will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 22, and will meet weekly from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Support groups are an opportunity to learn, share, and gain support from others with similar experiences of sexual violence. All services, including support groups, are free and confidential. Groups are co-facilitated by trained volunteers. Screenings are required for group participation. If you are interested in participating or have questions, contact Programs Director Krista Park Berry at (919) 968-4647 or groups@ocrcc.org.
The Orange County Rape Crisis Center is a nonprofit agency that provides services to survivors of sexual violence and offers prevention education to the community. Services include a 24-hour help line (1-866-WE LISTEN), support groups, therapy referrals, Latino outreach and educational programs. The OCRCC is a United Way of the Greater Triangle Member Agency of Excellence.

UNC-TV presents discussion with Malcolm Gladwell at HPU

2012-01-11T15:02:00.001-05:00

High Point University Presents: Malcolm Gladwell & Nido Qubein
Premieres Thursday, Jan. 12, at 10 p.m. on UNC-TV

Recorded live as part of High Point University's Cultural Enrichment series, President Nido Qubein and celebrated author Malcolm Gladwell trade insights on the trends shaping our world. Gladwell, the best-selling author of "The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers: The Story of Success," covers everything from Steve Jobs to the Occupy Wall Street movement to the world marketplace. Dr. Nido R. Qubein became High Point University’s seventh president in January 2005. Under his leadership, the university has seen unprecedented growth in enrollment, academic programs and facilities. He is an acclaimed professional speaker, author of 12 books and sits on the boards of several Fortune 500 companies.

UNC-TV is North Carolina's statewide public television network.

MLK holiday schedule for Orange County

2012-01-11T14:39:00.003-05:00

Orange County government offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 16, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Orange Public Transportation will operate the dialysis route from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other Orange Public Transportation Services will observe the holiday.
Little River Regional Park will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16.
As always, emergency services are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Schedule for Orange County Solid Waste Management
There will be no change in curbside recycling on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. If your recycling day falls on Monday, Jan. 16, have your bins to the curb as usual by 7 a.m. or bring them out the night before to ensure collection.
The Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Road will be closed Monday, Jan. 16. All associated services such as the hazardous household waste collection facility and mulch sales will also be closed. Normal hours of operation will resume Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Orange County Solid Waste convenience centers will be closed Monday, Jan. 16. Normal hours of operation will resume Tuesday, Jan. 17.
The Solid Waste Management Department administrative office will be closed Monday, Jan. 16. Normal hours of operation will resume Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Column: Replacing elections with lotteries

2012-01-11T11:58:00.000-05:00

By D.G. Martin
UNC-TV host

There has to be a better way.
Some of us reached that conclusion after discussing the mess our congressional and legislative governing systems have come to.
Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government “except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
I wonder if he would agree today, after taking a look at the U.S. Congress deadlocked by political divisiveness and mean-spirited partisan competition that stifle almost every effort to deal with challenges crying out for practical responses.
Instead of being free to work fulltime with their colleagues on the nitty-gritty work of crafting legislation, our representatives are slaves to a system that requires them to spend most of their time on electoral politics and fundraising.
Taxpayers pay them to be legislators. But keeping those jobs requires them to do something else altogether.
The time spent raising money and the obligations that come with begging money from people and organizations that want something takes more than just time away from the job. It drains away the independent judgment of the legislator.
So does the extreme loyalty to political parties, to the caucus and to the legislative leadership. The demands to stick together handicap the prospects for working on solutions that do not fit into the agenda of one of the political groups.
Efforts to maintain control lead to ugly games of gerrymandering and pandering to voting groups.
How could we find a system that frees our elective representatives from the servitude of full-time fundraising, from the draining of energy and spirit that go with permanent campaigns and from the tribal commitments to political caucuses and parties? How could we free them from these things so they could spend full time working on legislation to make our state and nation better?
Somebody asked, what about a lottery? Why not just select our representatives by lottery?
That suggestion sounded like a joke.
At first.
What could be more antithetical to democracy than putting aside citizen participation and simply choosing representatives by lot?
But, after I thought about it a minute, some advantages were apparent. No need to raise money. No permanent campaigns. No automatic partisan divides on every question. And, with modern computer techniques, a legislature that could be composed of people that would closely reflect the population, geographically, ethnically, gender, age and otherwise.
Of course, somebody said, you would have a whole bunch of people who would have no idea what they were doing. Then, somebody else said, neither do most newly elected legislators!
Still, making important selections by chance is just not the way we do things in America, is it?
One person quietly mentioned that we get our jury pools by random selection. The jury system is not perfect. But Americans have a pretty strong commitment to it. It works without the problems of partisan bickering and gamesmanship, fundraising or time-consuming political campaigns.
All this may be true, but selecting representatives by lottery would be an unprecedented violation of the democratic tradition that began in ancient Greece.
Or would it?
Actually, the selection of many major officers in Athens was by allotment or a random process. According to the “New World Encyclopedia,” “Election was seen as less democratic and open to corruption because it would favor the rich (who could buy votes) and the eloquent, whereas a lottery gave everyone an equal chance to participate and experience, in Aristotle’s words, ‘ruling and being ruled in turn.’ ”
So, am I ready to lead an effort to replace elections with a lottery selection process?
Not today.
But check with me after Nov. 6.

D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch," which airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. For more information or to view prior programs, visit the webpage at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.