1492

MOORE COUNTY, N.C. -- Pinecrest High School has only 25 varsity football players, well below the average for most 4-A schools.

"It's heartbreaking," said Pinecrest senior Jay Heimrich.

School officials confirmed that Heimrich is one of only four seniors on the Patriot football squad.

"Obviously, every kid is out here giving his all," he said. "We've been here all summer."

Because of the low participation at the varsity level in recent years, school officials said that only junior varsity and freshman schedules might be played this season. School leaders, coaches, and parents will meet to discuss the future of the team early next week.

The school's principal, Joel County, said it's the numbers not the talent level that might cost the team its season.

"We've got some skilled participants," said County. "It's the number that concerns us."

Because of low participation, players would have to play both offense and defense for the entire season, with very little substitutions available. County said he fears for their safety.

"Our concern is putting kids out on the field and incurring more than you'd expect from playing football," County said.

If the varsity season is cut short, the school could face fines from the conference and seniors like Heimrich would likely see their high school careers come to a disappointing end.

"The kids looking forward to scholarships," Heimrich said. "It's just a heartbreaker, it's not looking too good."

So what? What does it matter if you only have 25 players. When I played at WCHS we where lucky to have that many players. As far as playing both offense and defense, many of us did that every game of the season. Let the kids play.

Public Education In LA

2006-09-07T21:05:00.000-04:00

Here is an excerpt from the OpinionJournal about the sorry state of public education.

In L.A., the district has squelched school choice for children in failing schools by evading deadlines for notifying families of their transfer options; burying information in bureaucratese; and encouraging families to accept after-school supplemental services (often provided by the same district employees who fail to get the job done during the regular school day) rather than transfers. Still, the district insists that the reason for the low transfer numbers is that parents don't want their kids to leave failing schools.

That explanation rings false because, well, it is. The Polling Company surveyed Los Angeles and Compton parents whose children are eligible to transfer their children out of failing schools. Only 11% knew their school was rated as failing, and fewer than one-fifth of those parents (just nine out of 409 surveyed) recalled receiving notice to that effect from the districts--a key NCLB requirement. Once informed of their schools' status and their transfer rights, 82% expressed a desire to move their children to better schools.

I'm a strong proponent for school choice. I believe that putting capitalist competition between schools will make them strive to perform better or risk locking their doors. I support school vochers and open enrollment in public schools. I'm also a strong opponent opponent to NCLB. I feel that it's a bad law that only makes our schools worse. The US is lagging behind other nations in education and that is something that we can't afford.

Missing Man Found

2006-09-07T02:56:00.000-04:00

The Ohio man that was missing since Friday was found last night. He had fell about 50 feet from the Martin Luther King Parkway near McRae St.

New Tax To Watch For

2006-09-07T02:38:00.000-04:00

According to the Winston-Salem Journal we can look to a TV/pc monitor tax next year. Senate Bill 1030 would create a tax that would be paid when you purchase these goods and would go to NC counties to help pay with recycling costs. And why not, the state taxes us on almost every thing else we buy or enjoy. I just find it hard to believe that this one has slipped past our state legislature this long. If we don't get a change in Raliegh soon we will be taxed based on the amount of carbon dioxide we exhale.

Honest Criminals?

2006-09-06T23:33:00.001-04:00

The News & Observer

Four months ago, convicted sex offender Antonio Davon Chance gave his father's Garner address to the local sheriff's office when he moved from Chapel Hill -- except his father said he never lived there.

Advocates say Chance's lie illustrates a common flaw with sex offender registries across the country -- their reliance on convicted criminals to participate and to tell the truth.

Chance, 29, is charged with the Aug. 22 kidnapping of Cynthia Moreland of Wendell. Police say Moreland, 48, was abducted from the Progress Energy parking deck in downtown Raleigh on Aug. 22. Her car was found several hours later in Southeast Raleigh, and her body was found Friday in Harnett County.

What do we expect when we ask a violent criminal to do something honest. We need to lay off the victimless crime arrests and save room to keep violent dangerous people like this off the streets.

Tax Us To Teach Us

2006-09-06T23:33:00.000-04:00

RockyMountTELEGRAM.com

N.C. consumer agency recommends rate hike for conservation

RALEIGH, N.C. — The agency that represents North Carolina utility consumers is supporting an increase in electricity prices to pay for energy efficiency and conservation programs.

The Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission recommended that the state consider using the proceeds of a rate hike to create a public benefit fund. The fund would promote efficiency and conservation or even pay rebates for energy-saving measures such as added insulation in homes.

The idea emerged from a workshop last week that included the Public Staff, the state's utilities, trade groups and environmental organizations. Industry groups remain wary that such programs can be wasteful if not closely monitored.

Public Staff executive director Robert Gruber acknowledged that a conservation program could end up paying people to waste energy, if done the wrong way.

"What if I give you $200 to go to Sears and buy yourself an energy-efficient refrigerator, and you put the new refrigerator in the kitchen and move the old refrigerator out to the garage to stock it with soda and beer for the weekend?" Gruber said. "What you want to do is what they call 'market transforming' things — like building codes — because that has a long-term effect."

At least two dozen states have programs that finance energy saving programs through added charges to customers.

A study would help show precisely how much such a program would cost in North Carolina. Monthly charges in other states usually amount to a few dollars or even less than a dollar, Gruber said.

Part of the increase would be used to compensate the utilities for lost revenue.

State officials are taking a close look at options for producing electricity as North Carolina's two biggest power producers make plans for new, multibillion-dollar power generators.

About 95 percent of the electricity generated by Progress Energy and Duke Power now comes from coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

Duke Power plans to build two coal-fired plants in Rutherford and Cleveland counties, and a nuclear plant in South Carolina. Progress plans to apply for a federal license to build a new nuclear reactor at the Shearon Harris plant in Wake County.

Cutting electricity consumption would alleviate the need for new power plants.

The state utilities commission already has ordered a separate study that would analyze the costs and benefits of requiring utilities in North Carolina to get part of their power from renewable resources, such as solar, wind, water or biomass. Such a program would also have to be financed by a public utility fund.

"Anything that can reduce the need for new plants can help the consumer and help the environment in the long run," Gruber said.

But large industrial customers oppose fee increases that would subsidize improvements in homes or offices. The newly recommended study would investigate whether those large customers could be exempted from the rate increases, Gruber said.

I don't think so. A few people may learn to conserve but not enough in my opinion to support increasing ~~taxes~~ rates.

Easley Violated State Constitution

2006-09-06T23:23:00.000-04:00

Gov. Mike Easley and others violated the constitution in 2001 by intercepting $225 million headed for state pension funds to help cover a budget shortfall, a Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Easley has defended taking the state's contributions to the pension funds, saying it was his legal duty to balance a budget that was off by $850 million. Some of the money was repaid by the end of the 2001, but $130 million wasn't returned.

Fourteen current and former state workers sued in June 2002, arguing that the decision hindered the financial soundness of the North Carolina Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System. The transfer didn't delay any pension checks, but opponents worried it set a bad precedent and threatened future cost-of-living raises.

After hearing oral arguments in the class-action lawsuit in February, Superior Court Judge Joseph John agreed that the Easley administration and other state officials violated a state constitution provision requiring that retirement funds be used only for their intended purpose.

You can read the rest in the extended section.

"Our primary goal has been throughout this is to establish as a matter of law that this money is off limits to state government once its been appropriated" for pension funds, said Hardy Lewis, the employees' attorney.

But John rejected requests by the employees to force Easley to return the money he didn't return and permanently bar a governor from appropriating retirement funds for other purposes. Going that far may raise questions of separation of powers between branches of government.

The ruling could be appealed once it's final, possibly in a month or so. The Attorney General's Office said it will review the case once complete. Easley still believes his decisions, the result of a budget emergency, were justified, a spokeswoman said.

"North Carolina has one of the best funded pensions in America, and Gov. Easley will continue to make sure that every retiree gets the benefits that they have rightfully earned," spokeswoman Sherri Johnson said.

The General Assembly has made annual payments to the pension funds to replace the money that Easley took. A $30 million installment _ the fourth of five projected payments _ was included in this year's budget. There still could be $83 million outstanding when interest is included, Lewis said.

Other defendants included State Treasurer Richard Moore, controller Robert Powell and the state retirement system. John declined to force Moore, who runs the pension fund, to penalize the state for failing to hand over the withheld money, as required by law.

Dana Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, whose group filed a similar lawsuit, said the legal fight isn't about Easley, with whom the group has had a strained relationship.

GOP Gov. Jim Martin also withheld pension money during a 1991 budget crisis.

"It's about establishing a precedent," Cope said.

The retirement systems overseen by Moore's office cover 700,000 active and retired state employees, teachers and local government employees, with assets of $70 billion. Public employees contribute up to 6 percent of their salaries to the retirement system, with the state often matching or even surpassing that amount over the years.

The state constitution says that retirement system funds "shall not be applied, diverted, loaned to, or used by the state, any state agency, state officer, public officer, or public employee."

The money in question was taken before being put into the pension plan.

Hillsborough Deputy Called A Hero

2006-09-06T23:20:00.000-04:00

Triangle Business Journal

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. -- When the sounds of firecrackers and gunshots pierced the air at Orange High School last Wednesday, the school's resource officer, Corporal London Ivey, moved into action.

The deputy told WRAL he knew right away something was wrong.

"I looked and saw a hole in the window and said, 'That's a bullet hole,'" said Ivey. "I knew someone was shooting. I walked out and I saw Castillo in the parking lot."

First, Ivey and drivers education teacher Russel Leblanc hustled students inside the building. Then, they headed straight for 19-year-old Alvaro Castillo. The pair had to cross 75 yards of open pavement to reach the armed teenager.

During his 12 years with the department, Ivey has rarely pulled his gun. Last Wednesday, he didn't hesitate.

"I told him to lay down his weapon," said Ivey. "He laid down the rifle, he let the shotgun slide down his body. Then I told him to get down on the ground and he got down on the ground."

I can go along with that. He did his job in the face of danager. You can read the rest of the article in the extended section.

Ivey admitted that he was scared.

"Well, yeah ... I mean, anybody who says they weren't scared would be lying to you," he said. "But, at that point, I couldn't let being scared get in the way. His objective was to hurt the kids at the school and I wasn't about to let him reach his objective."

Ivey said being called a hero is not something he's entirely comfortable with. However, that's exactly how people think about him around the town of Hillsborough.

"(Ivey) did his job and he did his job in the face of danger," District Attorney Jim Woodall told WRAL. "I truly believe (Leblanc and Ivey) saved lives last week."

Ivey insisted he was doing what any good deputy would do.

"I'm paid to protect and serve those kids, teachers and that school," he said. "I just happened to do it good that day."

Castillo is currently at Central Prison on suicide watch. He is scheduled to be in court again Sept. 11.

Discrimination Is Good!

2006-09-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

I read this article today by Walter E. WIlliams at WorldNetDaily

What's discrimination?

Posted: September 6, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

There's so much confusion and emotionalism about discrimination that I thought I'd take a stab at a dispassionate analysis. Discrimination is simply the act of choice. When we choose Bordeaux wine, we discriminate against Burgundy wine. When I married Mrs. Williams, I discriminated against other women. Even though I occasionally think about equal opportunity, Mrs. Williams demands continued discrimination.

You say, "Williams, such discrimination doesn't harm anyone." You're wrong. Discriminating in favor of Bordeaux wine reduces the value of resources held in Burgundy production. Discriminating in favor of Mrs. Williams harmed other women by reducing their opportunity set, assuming I'm a man other women would marry.

Our lives are spent discriminating for or against one thing or another. In other words, choice requires discrimination. When we modify the term with race, sex, height, weight or age, we merely specify the choice criteria.

Imagine how silly, not to mention impossible, life would be if discrimination were outlawed. Imagine engaging in just about any activity where we couldn't discriminate by race, sex, height, weight, age, mannerisms, college selection, looks or ability; it would turn into a carnival.

I've sometimes asked students if they believe in equal opportunity in employment. Invariably, they answer yes. Then I ask them, when they graduate, whether they plan to give every employer an equal opportunity to hire them. Most often they answer no; they plan to discriminate against certain employers. Then I ask them, if they're not going to give every employer an equal opportunity to hire them, what's fair about requiring an employer to give them an equal opportunity to be hired?

Sometimes students will argue that certain forms of discrimination are OK, but it's racial discrimination that's truly offensive. That's when I confess my own history of racial discrimination. In the late 1950s, whilst selecting a lifelong mate, even though white, Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Japanese women might have been just as qualified as a mate, I gave them no chance whatsoever. It appears that most Americans act identically by racially discriminating in setting up marriage contracts. According to the 1992 Census Bureau, only 2.2 percent of Americans are married to people other than their own race or ethnicity.

You say, "All right, Williams, discrimination in marriage doesn't have the impact on society that other forms of discrimination have." You're wrong again. When there is assortive (non-random) mate selection, it heightens whatever group differences exist in the population. For instance, higher IQ individuals tend toward mates with high IQs. High-income people tend to mate with other high-income people.

It's the same with education. To the extent there is a racial correlation between these characteristics, racial discrimination in mate selection exaggerates the differences in the society's intelligence and income distribution. There would be greater equality if there weren't this kind of discrimination in mate selection.

In other words, if high-IQ people were forced to select low-IQ mates, high-income people forced to select low-income mates, and highly educated people forced to select lowly educated mates, there would be greater social equality. While there would be greater social equality, the divorce rate would soar since gross dissimilarities would make for conflict.

Common sense suggests that not all discrimination should be eliminated, so the question is, what kind of discrimination should be permitted? I'm guessing the answer depends on one's values for freedom of association, keeping in mind freedom of association implies freedom not to associate.

Columbus Is Considered For Road Improvement

2006-09-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

The North Carolina Department of Transportation will consider about $31.6 million in highway development projects at its monthly meeting on Thursday.

None of the proposed projects involve road work in the Triangle.

Among the proposals is a Buncombe County project to resurface 4.4 miles of Interstate 40 east of Asheville.

The DOT is also considering four other road improvement projects in Greenville, Morganton and Hyde and Columbus counties. Three bridge replacements in Burke, Cumberland and Martin counties will also be proposed.

A Look At The New Face Of Politics

2006-09-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

Politics spins a new web
Hopefuls turn to interactive sites to click with new voters
JIM MORRILL
jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com

When Democrat Larry Kissell started running for Congress a few months ago, he'd never heard of a couple of guys called "Anglico" and "Targater," or their new project, BlueNC.com.

Tech-savvy Republican Vernon Robinson hadn't heard of YouTube when he launched his congressional campaign.

And Thomas Ravenel, a GOP candidate for S.C. treasurer, never had a MySpace profile.

Now those sites are helping each of the three tap into money and support, and in some cases, build a national following.

Though e-mails and Web sites have become common, a growing number of Carolinas candidates are finding new, interactive ways to use the Internet. They're riding electronic networks like surfers swept along in rushing currents.

"Social networking sites are ways for young folks to connect with each other," says Phil Noble, founder of the Charleston-based PoliticsOnline. "What smart candidates are doing is injecting their campaigns into ongoing conversations of millions of people."

Bloggers like those on BlueNC helped bring Kissell to the attention of activists across the country. Now donors come from far beyond his 8th District, which runs from Charlotte to Fayetteville.

A recycled TV ad that gained new life online brought Robinson nearly $200,000 in two weeks for his race in the 13th District, stretching from Greensboro to Raleigh.

MySpace has helped Ravenel reach a new generation of supporters in South Carolina. His profile includes his astrological sign (Leo)and sexual orientation (straight).

Few candidates are as sophisticated about the cyber-possibilities as Democrat John Edwards, North Carolina's former U.S. senator and probable 2008 presidential candidate.

His site features podcasts, blogs and chat rooms. Average citizens upload video questions. Supporters soon will get mobile alerts on their cell phones.

"We're seeing a change in the way people are engaging," says Julie Germany, deputy director of the Washington-based Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet. "People are engaging online. And they're taking that activism offline."

Spreading the message

Running for Congress two years ago, Robinson aired a TV ad called "The Twilight Zone." To the soundtrack of the old TV show, it blasted homosexuals, illegal immigrants and supporters of abortion rights. It even showed Jesse Jackson in a police lineup.This year Robinson put it on his Web site. Bloggers picked it up. So did Rush Limbaugh. "Hardball" host Chris Matthews found it on YouTube, a nine-month-old Web site that has 20 million visitors a month.

"If you're an indistinguishable candidate that has the same blow-dried hair and the same indistinguishable message ... you won't do very well in this medium," says Robinson. "Conservatives want somebody to take a stand. Liberals want somebody to take a stand. And they're frustrated when candidates don't."

Like Robinson, Kissell also has a YouTube following. His video shows people in his hometown of Biscoe lined up for $1.22-per-gallon gas, which he subsidized to call attention to rising prices.

The Montgomery County teacher has become popular with liberal bloggers. He's one of about 20 candidates nationwide endorsed by Netroots, an alliance of leading Democratic-leaning blogs. So far that's helped him raise more than $42,000 online. His own blogs appear on national sites such as the Daily Kos.

"He's exactly why the Netroots say they're in business ... to bring people to the table who otherwise wouldn't be there," says U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, an Alabama Democrat who campaigned with Kissell this month.

That's why James Protzman, a Chapel Hill writer whose screen name is Anglico, has helped Kissell both online and by hosting a fundraiser at his home. Protzman helped found the blog BlueNC.

"Larry's definitely caught a lot of interest because, quite frankly, we don't think the media has done a very good job covering him," Protzman says. "The light's not shining on that race yet, so we're trying to shine it there."

21st-century `soda fountain'

To widen their appeal, S.C. consultant Rod Shealy urged clients Ravenel and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer to sign up on MySpace, a two-year-old site popular with young people.

"It's the soda fountain of today," says Shealy. "Young people of the '50s congregated at the soda fountain. Today they're congregating at MySpace and YouTube."

MySpace boasts profiles on more than 50 million people. Other S.C. candidates -- including Ravenel's 83-year-old opponent -- have entries in Facebook, a similar site that caters to the young.

Some politicians use the Net for quick feedback. Robinson tests messages online before sending them out in direct mail or conventional ads. "In 36 hours you know whether you did a good job," he says.

Robinson's opponent, Democratic Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh, also is Net-friendly. Less so is Kissell's rival, Republican Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord. Asked if he knows much about blogging, Hayes said, "I know it's something on the Internet."

Noble of PoliticsOnline says politicians are using only a fraction of the Web's potential.

"The great power of the Internet is its power to reform politics by finding ways to put people back in charge, and that goes around power-brokers," he says. "That's its radical potential. It's democracy with a little `d.' "

Users Online

A look at two who are involved in the political arena on the Internet.

THE BLOGGER

Screen name: "The Southern Dem." Slogan: "Sometimes leaning right... Usually leaning left... Always with an opinion."Who she really is: Charlotte mom Betsy Muse, 44.

Affiliation: Democrat.

Where she posts: On her own site, The Southern Dem, on BlueNC and other blogs.

A recent post: "Saturday was the first day that Larry Kissell and Robin Hayes attended the same campaign event. I've been working much of the afternoon doing my best to write a serious piece ...My plans were to do a mature piece devoid of snark, sarcasm or silly photoshop pictures. Yeah....Like that's gonna happen."

Why she does it: "Probably what we do best is connect people with like ideas. ... We fancy ourselves as people who can have a little more freedom probably than a corporate journalist. We don't have an editor who says we have to balance the story. It isn't necessarily about being fair and balanced. I feel like I'm digging for the truth."

Why Democrats appear to be more active bloggers: "Unfortunately it's easier to rant than to rave," says Phil Noble of PoliticsOnline, himself a Democrat. "We've seen Internet activism organized and directed more effectively against things and candidates than for."

THE CANDIDATE

Name: Thomas Ravenel, 44.

Affiliation: Republican.

Running for: S.C. state treasurer.

Internet niche: MySpace.

What it says about him: He's single (but in a relationship), straight, has an athletic build and is a Leo. It also has his platform and brief bio.

How it differs from his official Web site: "It's a little hipper."

Why he does it: "We want to stay ahead of the curve. I think South Carolina, in its policies and adherence to the status quo ... is one reason we're behind the other 49 states. I'm all about new approaches."

What the site has done for him: It's helped recruit new volunteers. Two of his county campaign chairmen were people who signed up as "friends."

People who've signed to be his "friend": As of last week, 160, including one purporting to be South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier.

Ravenel's rules: "Friends" have to be 18 or older. No bathing suit pictures allowed.

Caught on the Net

Several politicians have felt the sting of Internet politics this year.

• In Connecticut, thousands of people saw YouTube replays of President Bush appearing to kiss U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman during the State of the Union. In last month's Democratic primary, it was a kiss of death. Net activists helped Ned Lamont defeat Lieberman.

• At a rally in Virginia, a video camera caught Republican U.S. Sen. George Allen referring to a dark-skinned man in the crowd as "macaca." To critics the remark was racially insensitive. The resulting furor -- fed by thousands of replays on YouTube -- forced him to apologize.

• In South Carolina, Republican Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's MySpace page included "friends" who submitted scantily clad pictures and it linked to a racy discussion group called "Matt's Mom is HOTT." The photos and link disappeared after a story about it in the Greenville News.

Good Bye Crocodile Hunter

2006-09-05T22:42:00.000-04:00

I guess you've already heard that Steve Irwin died after an encounter with a stingray yesterday. Just in case you haven't here's an article from Environmanet News Service

CAIRNS, Queensland, Australia, September 5, 2006 (ENS) - Steve Irwin, the Australian conservationist and television personality nicknamed the Crocodile Hunter, was killed Monday by a stingray barb during filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was filming for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" off the coast of Queensland near Port Douglas when he swam too close to a stingray, said his friend and colleague John Stainton.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," Stainton, who was aboard Irwin's boat at the time, told news reporters.

Stingrays have a serrated barb, or spine, loaded with toxin on top of their tails. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened.

Irwin pulled the deadly stingray barb from his own chest before blacking out and dying. He was pulled from the water by a cameraman and a crewman, put aboard an inflatable and taken to a nearby support boat.

Crewmembers said Irwin was still conscious in the moments after the sting, but died as his production team transported him to his vessel, "Croc One," and to an island for emergency treatment.

A charter dive boat crew tried to revive him on the beach, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards by Queensland Rescue Service officers, who arrived by helicopter.

Film of the death has been handed over to Queensland police, who are preparing a report for the coroner.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns. "He died doing what he loved best."

Irwin became world famous his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network where his trademark exclamation "Crikey!" was part of the show's appeal.

But it was Irwin's dedication to wild animal conservation that was the heart and soul of his work.

He used his high profile to promote the cause of conservation, becoming owner and manager of the world renowned Australia Zoo in southern Queensland, the wildlife park that his parents opened.

He also established the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation and International Crocodile Rescue.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" to learn of Irwin's sudden death.

The Prime Minister called Irwin "a passionate environmentalist who used his television programs and his award-winning Australia Zoo to promote a serious conservation message. He made an extraordinary contribution to creating a widespread appreciation of the value and uniqueness of Australian wildlife."

Australian Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell said, "While the world knew him as the 'Crocodile Hunter' and as a colorful, quintessential Australian character, Steve Irwin was driven by an enormous and deeply held commitment to the environment and specifically Australia’s unique wildlife."

"He was so successful because he believed passionately in his life’s work - the protection and conservation of our planet and its creatures and the promotion of our nation’s natural wonders," Campbell said.

Irwin's wife Terri rushed to Queensland from a holiday in Tasmania after being told of the tragedy. She is now at the couple's family home on the Sunshine Coast with their two children, Bindi, 8, and Robert 2.

An outpouring of grief from across Australia and around the world was triggered by news of Irwin's death. At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, flowers laid by mourners are massed at the entrance.

On an Irwin weblog on the MySpace.com website, the majority of posters yesterday respected his non-religious stance, sending condolences to his family and wishing that the conservationist "rest in peace."

Town Of Bolton Blocks Strip Club

2006-09-02T13:30:00.000-04:00

The News Reporter

Bolton’s board of aldermen approved a 60-day moratorium on adult businesses Monday.

More than 20 people attended a public hearing on the proposal. More than half in attendance spoke against allowing topless dance clubs and similar businesses in town.

“They don’t belong here,” said Mason Matthis. “They don’t produce revenue for the town. They don’t produce jobs for our residents. I don’t think we want our town associated with places like that.”

Aldermen called for the public hearing at an emergency board meeting Aug. 18. The town was approached that week by two women reported to be associated with the Whispers club, an adult dance club in Delco.

Whispers and another club, Magic Moments, were closed in a raid by sheriff’s deputies Aug. 3. Six women were arrested on a variety of drug and sex-related charges. The clubs were raided due to violations of the county adult business ordinance. The clubs have remained closed since the raid, pending the outcome of a civil trial. The management of Whispers has kept the club closed voluntarily since the raids.

Town Attorney Harold “Butch” Pope explained the moratorium procedure to those attending Monday’s meeting, and detailed the town’s options. He also emphasized that there is virtually no way to completely forbid such establishments.

“Whether we agree with them or not,” he said, “the Supreme Court has ruled erotic dancing to be a freedom of expression in some cases.”

Pope said the town’s best hope lies in regulation.

“These places are hard to keep out,” he said, “but you can control where they go, and what times they can be open.”

One unidentified speaker suggested allowing topless clubs only on N.C. 211 south.

“There’s a lot of swamp and mosquitoes out there,” he said.

Several people attending Monday’s meeting asked if the town could hold a referendum on adult clubs. Pope said he didn’t think that was necessary.

“You voted for the people on this board,” he said, “and they will vote on what to do about these businesses. You elected them to do this for you.”

Mayor Frank Wilson asked for a show of hands from those attending who would support a moratorium. Every resident in the room raised his or her hand.

Wilson told the crowd that the town’s planning board and aldermen were working on a draft ordinance “as we speak,” and hoped to have something ready shortly.

“The purpose of this moratorium is to give the town time to research and assemble a possible ordinance, “ he said.

On a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Mae Neil, which was seconded by Alderman Pearl Mills, the board approved the moratorium. Alderman Geraldine Jenkins did not attend Monday’s meeting.

The issue is expected to be discussed further at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the board.

Church Leaders Oppose County Strip Clubs

2006-09-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

This is from the August 24th edition of the News Reporter

Church leaders are at the forefront of a movement to keep the doors of two adult entertainment businesses in Delco closed and prevent others from opening in Columbus County.

Several preachers from the area asked county commissioners to keep Whispers and Magic Moments closed and toughen existing ordinances concerning adult businesses at a Monday county commission meeting.

The Columbus County sheriff closed both establishments on Aug. 3, citing violations of local ordinances enacted in October 1977 and modified in February 2000 that forbids such establishments within 3,000 feet of a residence or other sexually oriented businesses, and 5,000 feet of churches, daycares and schools. Six employees and a manager were arrested on a number of charges.

The Rev. Charles Hester of Riegelwood Baptist Church commended commissioners for amending the ordinances in 2000 and thanked Sheriff Chris Batten for the raid on the clubs. He urged officials to continue “until establishments have no place to land” in Columbus County and “do whatever” could be done to strengthen the laws pertaining to the adult businesses.

“We’ve contended with Magic Moments for more than 10 years,” Hester told commissioners. “What begins on the borders –it won’t be long before it is at the county seat.”

Pastor Eddie Watts of Riegelwood thanked officials for “progress made,” telling commissioners that he had been trying to encourage people to pray and seek the Lord’s power. “I don’t want to see our county become a reproach,” Watts said, quoting Proverbs 29:16 and 18:3 that read in part: “…when the wicked are increased, transgression increaseth …”

Thurston Calvin Malpass of Red Hill joined other church leaders in asking what was being done to review the ordinance.

“This is a top priority,” Commissioner Bill Memory said.

“We are looking at it,” said Steve Fowler, county attorney, adding that it was being tweaked “more into compliance.”

Donald Melvin Lawing of Faith Baptist and Faith Christian in Delco said the unsightly businesses were frequented by passersby traveling from Charlotte to Wilmington. “It doesn’t benefit the county,” Lawing insisted. He said the illegal money floating about the establishments was money the county “would never see.” Urging commissioners to make laws and ordinances “as strong as possible,” Lawing said, “Wouldn’t it be great to get that big sign down across from our church?”

Wednesday, the county attorney issued a press release in reference to the ordinances. The release states that the 1977 ordinance is focused primarily on massage parlors and that the county would like an ordinance that is “as up to date and contemporary as possible.”

The county attorney’s release goes on to state that, “the county is looking at ways to strengthen and tighten this ordinance while, at the same time, obtain balance within the law to the judicial rulings as determined by the United States Supreme Court in what constitutes free speech.” Fowler explains that the office is “aggressively reviewing the current county ordinance but wishes to be cautious in making sure that what is presented to the commissioners can be adequately enforced and reasonably upheld by judicial authority.”

In several highly controversial rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in 1986 and 1991 that sexually explicit speech or actions are not necessarily obscene. That means local church leaders’ and residents’ desire to keep such establishments out of the county are likely to be met with the defense that the operations of adult businesses often are protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution.

The next hearing regarding Magic Moments is set for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Columbus County Courthouse. The case had been continued to that date due to one of the club’s owners Donald Mercer’s notice of hearing being returned “unserved” and defendant Gabriel Spence Mercer being given adequate time within the law to respond to his notice .

Meanwhile, the Town of Bolton, recently approached by individuals looking to open a club there, is reviewing the town’s ordinances that do not specifically address adult businesses. A meeting is also planned for Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at the town hall.

War Between The States Documents Stolen

2006-09-01T14:32:00.000-04:00

Myrtle Beach Online

A thief snatched two rare Civil War documents from a public library exhibit last weekend, an unusual theft that librarians said could force them to limit future exhibits.

The documents, on loan to the library, were taken from a sealed display case in the main branch on North Tryon Street.

Library officials and Walt Hilderman, the owner of the documents, say they believe the theft was planned. Police are investigating.

Donovan Still Missing

2006-09-01T14:30:00.000-04:00

Myrtle Beach Online

Autopsy results have determined that human bones discovered Wednesday morning in Brunswick County, N.C., are not Alice Donovan.

Donovan is the Galivants Ferry woman presumed dead since being carjacked and kidnapped from Conway four years ago.

Investigators from the Conway Police Department on Wednesday were brought in to the wooded area near the N.C.-S.C. border to assist the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office.

Forensic tests later showed, though, that the bones are actually those of a 5-foot-5-inch to 5-foot-7-inch black male, 30 to 40 years of age.

Along with the bones, detectives also found articles of clothing, including dark blue jogging pants with blue and yellow stripes on the legs, keys, coins with the dates 1995 and 2001 and a diamond-studded earring.

Authorities believe the man has been dead for over a year.

Donovan disappeared from the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Conway in 2002. She hasn't been found.

In 2004, two men, Branden Basham and Chadrick Fulks, were sentenced to death in federal court for her death.

Investigators from the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office canvassed the field off McLamb Road, a short distance from the N.C.-S.C. border, where the remains were discovered by workers from a Conway timber company Wednesday morning.

Numerous searches for Donovan have not turned up any clues. She was last seen alive with Basham and Fulks near Winnabow, N.C., which is north of the area where the bones were found.

Anyone with information about the bones that were found is asked to contact Lt. David Crocker of the sheriff's major crimes unit at (910) 253-2754.

Bomb Found In Myrtle Beach

2006-09-01T14:24:00.000-04:00

Well not quite.

Myrtle Beach Online

What turned out to be a weather device caused a temporary bomb scare at a Myrtle Beach pier this morning.

Myrtle Beach police closed a 600-yard radius of the beach at Pier 14 after someone walking on the beach reported seeing a metal box strapped to a pilon under the pier at 14th Avenue North, Myrtle Beach police Capt. David Knipes said.

Horry County's bomb squad blew the top off the box to reveal its contents: a device from the U.S. Geological Service that measures wave height and frequency, and storm surge.

Dozens of onlookers gathered along the beach to watch the scene unfold.

A worker said the Pier 14 restaurant was evacuated temporarily, but the business was open again by lunchtime.

Opps. I guess the USGS should have informed someone about the device.

Elections Board Drops Complinat Filed Against GOP Group

2006-09-01T14:22:00.000-04:00

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The State Board of Elections dismissed a complaint Wednesday against a Republican group accused of using mailings to attack GOP House members who had allied with Democrats at the General Assembly, determining that the group barely avoided breaking the law.

By a vote of 4-1, the board determined that Republican Legislative Majority of North Carolina, a so-called "527" group, didn't violate the state law that requires disclosure of donations and expenditures for mailings that advocate expressly for a candidate.

One particular set of mailings with a baseball motif urged recipients to "call out" legislators, but didn't directly call for their defeat in the May primary, even though the lawmakers were named in the flyers, a majority on the board decided.

"Under the current status of the law, I believe they have operated within that law," board chairman Larry Leake said at the close of two days of hearings.

The board also unanimously found no evidence that the group coordinated its work with the incumbents' challengers or the state Republican Party.

The complaint had been filed by House Speaker Pro Tempore Richard Morgan, R-Moore, one of the five incumbents targeted by the group and one of two along with Rep. Rick Eddins, R-Wake, who lost their primaries.

The series of mailers had highlighted their voting records on taxes, redistricting and a power-sharing agreement between Morgan and House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg.

Morgan's complaint to the board marks another clash between moderate GOP members and conservative Republicans who believe Morgan and his political friends betrayed the party by allying with Democrats.

Morgan alleged the committee hid contributions and crossed the line into express advocacy, enough to earn a fine and an order to return any unlawful donations. He said after the ruling that he would consider appealing the decision to the courts.

The group was bankrolled by the family-owned businesses of Morgan's political rival, former state Rep. Art Pope, and Morgan said he took "offense at a Wake County CEO millionaire trying to buy up legislative seats.

"The best thing we can do is let people know about that," Morgan said.

Pope, who testified earlier Wednesday that the group took care to follow the rules and only educate voters about their representatives, said he was pleased with the decision and said Morgan was trying to blame him for his election defeat.

"It's a vindication of the Republican Legislative Majority," Pope said. "We fully complied with the law."

Leake said after the meeting that the board probably would have sided with Morgan if the federal courts hadn't already blocked enforcement of one state election law. The law would give the board more leeway to explore other activities of the Republican Legislative Majority as it decided whether the mailers were legal.

Pope and his lawyers said the "call out" mailers were designed to urged voters to confront a candidate on the issues, not to defeat one.

"It comes so close to the line of being express advocacy," board member Genevieve Sims said.

Bob Cordle was the only member to vote against dismissal of the accusation, saying the group crossed the line and should have been ordered to pay an $18,000 penalty, the cost of the ads.

Pope's family businesses gave at least $186,000 to the Republican Legislative Majority this year, generating more than 300,000 pieces of mail to the targeted districts, according to records and Morgan's attorneys.

Republican Legislative Majority is a so-called "527" group that can receive unlimited amounts of corporate money. Recent state laws attempt to require more disclosure from these independent political groups.

Morgan testified during the two-day hearing that he filed the complaint to reduce the power of 527 groups and corporate influence in elections.

Pope told the board his group modeled its organization after a similar 527 group begun in 2004, the Republican Main Street Committee, which supported Morgan and other Republicans who had cooperated with Democrats in the state House.

Republican Main Street was disbanded before the 2006 elections.

Duke Lacrosse Rape Update

2006-09-01T14:20:00.000-04:00

DURHAM, N.C. -- Attorneys representing three Duke lacrosse players charged with rape filed a motion Thursday seeking additional notes and reports from investigators, including the results of a toxicology test performed on the accuser.

The motion _ filed jointly by attorneys for Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans _ seeks notes and e-mails outlining activities of Durham police officers involved with the case and a report outlining statements made by the accuser in a meeting with District Attorney Mike Nifong and investigators in April.

It also seeks results of a toxicology report discussed by attorneys during a meeting last week with Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III. Nifong said the report found the accuser's system "was negative for the presence of any controlled substances," though the report has not been provided to the defense, according to the motion.

In a past motion seeking such toxicology reports, defense attorneys have cited a story published in Newsweek in May that said Nifong "hinted" such tests would reveal the presence of a date-rape drug. The accuser told police she was raped by the three players at a March team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper.

The motion seeks handwritten notes from at least 11 Durham police officers regarding their activities in the case; e-mails to and from officers regarding the lacrosse case; reports from labs that performed DNA testing for the case; and an order allowing defense attorneys to view items in a sealed rape-kit box.

The defense also renewed its request for records from the facility where the accuser was taken for involuntary commitment in the hours after the party and where she first said she was raped. The accuser interacted with at least three staff members and was there for 40 minutes, but there is no "substantive report" about her presence there, according to the motion.

Nifong did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment Thursday.

Constitution In Jeopardy

2006-08-29T01:51:00.000-04:00

Opinion Journal

Trash the 'Compact'
An attempt to circumvent the Electoral College is really an urban power grab.

BY PETE DU PONT
Monday, August 28, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT

For more than 200 years America has chosen its presidents as the Constitution provides: through the Electoral College. Traditionally, each state has cast its electoral votes--equal to its total representation in Congress--for the candidate who receives the most votes statewide.

But last week the California Senate passed legislation to award the state's Electoral College votes to the candidate who has received the most popular votes nationally--whether Californians chose him or not. A similar bill passed the Assembly on May 30, so it will soon be up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign or veto the bill. Such a bill also passed the Colorado Senate in April, part of a national to change the way we choose our presidents. The mandate doesn't take effect until enough other states sign on to provide a majority of electoral votes. If it were in effect in 2004, George W. Bush would have taken California's 55 electoral votes, even though John Kerry carried the state by a margin of nearly 10%.

It is an odd idea, an "interstate compact" switching the Electoral College votes of member states from their state's vote winner to the national vote winner. And the direct election of presidents would be a political, electoral, and constitutional mistake that would radically change America's election system.

First, the direct election of presidents would lead to geographically narrower campaigns, for election efforts would be largely urban. In 2000 Al Gore won 677 counties and George Bush 2,434, but Mr. Gore received more total votes. Circumvent the Electoral College and move to a direct national vote, and those 677 largely urban counties would become the focus of presidential campaigns.

Rural states like Maine, with its 740,000 votes in 2004, wouldn't matter much compared with New York's 7.4 million or California's 12.4 million votes. Rural states' issues wouldn't matter much either; big-city populations and urban issues would become the focus of presidential campaigns. America would be holding urban elections, and that would change the character of campaigns and presidents.

Second, in any direct national election there would be significant election-fraud concerns. In the 2000 Bush-Gore race, Mr. Gore's 540,000-vote margin amounted to 3.1 votes in each of the country's 175,000 precincts. "Finding" three votes per precinct in urban areas is not a difficult thing, or as former presidential scholar and Kennedy advisor Theodore White testified before the Congress in 1970, "There is an almost unprecedented chaos that comes in the system where the change of one or two votes per precinct can switch the national election of the United States."

Washington state's 2004 governor's race was decided by just 129 votes. A judge found 1,678 illegal votes were cast, and it turned out that 1,200 more votes were counted in Seattle's King County than the number of people recorded as voting. This affected just Washington state, but in a direct national election where everything hangs on a small number of urban districts, such manipulations could easily decide presidencies.

Third, direct election would lead to a multicandidate, multiparty system instead of the two-party system we have. Many candidates would run on narrow issues: anti-immigration, pro-gun, environment, national security, antiwar, socialist or labor candidates, for they would have a microphone for their issues. Then there would be political power seekers--Al Sharpton or Michael Moore--and Hollywood pols like Barbra Streisand or Warren Beatty. Even Paris Hilton could advance her career through a presidential campaign.

For such candidates to run under the present system is very difficult, for they have to win state by state electoral votes. But if all you need is national fame and fortune to win popular votes, many candidates would run and presidential campaigns would become unfocused, confused, and about political advocacy instead of presidential substance.

Finally, direct election would also lead to weaker presidents. There are no run-offs in the Interstate Compact--that would require either a constitutional amendment or the agreement of all 50 states and the District of Columbia--so the highest percentage winner, no matter how small (perhaps 25% or 30% in a six- or eight-candidate field) would become president. Such a winner would not have an Electoral College majority and therefore not be seen as a legitimate president.

So rather that trying to eviscerate the Electoral College, we should be embracing it. It was put in the Constitution to allow states to choose presidents, for we are a republic based on the separation of powers, not a direct democracy. And the Electoral College--just like the Senate--was intended to protect the residents of small states. As James Madison said, the Electoral College included the will of the nation--every congressional district gets an electoral vote--and "the will of the states in their distinct and independent capacities" since every state gets two additional electors.

And might not the direct-election Interstate Compact lead to other similar efforts? California's Sen. Dianne Feinstein says the Electoral College violates "one person, one vote," and so we should have direct election of the president. But the equal allocation of two senators to each state also violates "one person, one vote." Montana, with 900,000 people, gets two senators and so does California with 34 million, so Feinstein's logic would say that California should have 12 senators, and Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont should share just one among them.

Might not "one person, one vote" allow a national vote to amend the Constitution instead of requiring approval by three-quarters of the states? To restrict freedom of speech, or expand searches and seizures, or modify any of the Bill of Rights?

One wonders if the direct election of presidents is really the beginning of an effort to bring national government under the control of large and liberal states. Common Cause, a Washington-based lobbying group that describes itself as "promoting open, honest and accountable government," argues "how neatly it fits with American tradition." But it doesn't. It contradicts our constitutional republic's state and federal government sharing of powers. Choosing presidents is one of our states' powers, and we should not remove it to begin a centralized national American government.

Mr. du Pont, a former governor of Delaware, is chairman of the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis. His column appears once a month.

When I was younger, I thought the Electoral College was wrong and needed to be absolved. But as I read more history and The Federalist Papers I started to see why the Electoral College is needed. I do not agree with what Califoria is doing and I will fight it with tooth and nail if NC tries this.

Karr Won't Be Charged

2006-08-29T01:49:00.000-04:00

News & Observer

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case Monday against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his insistence he sexually assaulted and strangled the 6-year-old beauty queen.

Just a week and a half after Karr's arrest in Thailand was seen as a remarkable break in the sensational, decade-old case, prosecutors suggested in court papers that he was just a man with a twisted fascination with JonBenet who confessed to a crime he didn't commit.

"The people would not be able to establish that Mr. Karr committed this crime despite his repeated insistence that he did," District Attorney Mary Lacy said in court papers.

The 41-year-old schoolteacher will be kept in jail in Boulder until he can be sent to Sonoma County, Calif., to face child pornography charges dating to 2001. An extradition hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.

The district attorney vowed to keep pursuing leads in JonBenet's death: "This case is not closed."

Karr was never formally charged in the slaying. In court papers, Lacy defended the decision to arrest him and bring him back to the United States for further investigation, saying he might have otherwise fled and may have been targeting children in Thailand as well.

Lacy said Karr emerged as a suspect in April after he spent several years exchanging e-mails and later telephone calls with a University of Colorado journalism professor who had produced documentaries on the Ramsey case.

According to court papers, Karr told the professor he accidentally killed JonBenet during sex and that he tasted her blood after he injured her vaginally. But the Denver crime lab conducted DNA tests last Friday on a cheek swab taken from Karr and were unable to connect him to the crime.

"This information is critical because ... if Mr. Karr's account of his sexual involvement with the victim were accurate, it would have been highly likely that his saliva would have been mixed with the blood in the underwear," Lacy said in court papers.

She also said authorities found no evidence Karr was in Boulder at the time of the slaying. She said Karr's family provided "strong circumstantial support" for their belief that he was with them in Georgia, celebrating the Christmas holidays. JonBenet was found beaten and strangled at her Boulder home on Dec. 26, 1996.

Defense attorney Seth Temin expressed outrage that Karr was even arrested.

"We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand, with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption he did anything wrong," Temin said.

In an interview Monday with MSNBC, Gary Harris, who had been spokesman for the Karr family, said he knew the DNA would not match.

Karr has been "obsessed with this case for a long time. He may have some personality problems, but he's not a killer," Harris said. "He obsesses. He wanted to be a rock star one time. ... He's a dreamer. He's the kind of guy who wants to be famous."

Earlier this month, Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood pronounced Karr's arrest vindication for JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, who had long been suspected in the killing.

On Monday, the attorney said: "From day one, John Ramsey publicly stated that he did not want the public or the media to jump to judgment. He did not want the public or the media to engage in speculation, that he wanted the justice system to take its course."

Wood said he still has great confidence in the district attorney. Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in June.

JonBenet Ramsey's aunt, Pamela Paugh, said she was disappointed there won't be a prosecution of someone in the case, but added: "I think our justice system worked as it was supposed to."

"We asked the DA to do her thing. She did it," said Paugh, who is Patsy Ramsey's sister. "My disappointment came about the end of December 1996 when we didn't have the killer then. We've had 9 1/2 years of disappointment and waiting."

Nate Karr, John Karr's brother, said he was elated by the news. "We're just going to be celebrating with family," he said.

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens blasted prosecutors for wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars to bring Karr to Colorado given such a lack of evidence. The district attorney "should be held accountable for the most extravagant and expensive DNA test in Colorado history," he said.

Scott Robinson, a Denver attorney who has followed the case from the beginning, said prosecutors may now be back at square one in the JonBenet case. He said Karr may be charged with lying about his role in the case.

"Seems to me there should be some criminal consequences," he said. "He has cost the taxpayers an enormous amount of money."

Karr was arrested in Petaluma, Calif., in 2001 on charges of possessing child pornography but fled before he could be tried. Colorado authorities said that after the Boulder case against Karr was dropped, California officials asked that he be turned over to them for prosecution.

In court papers, prosecutors said Karr began exchanging e-mails with professor Michael Tracey in 2002, signing them "D" and later "Daxis." The meaning of "Daxis" was not immediately clear.

At first, Karr seemed to be just someone with an intense interest in the case, but he soon claimed responsibility for the crime, and provided more and more detail about that night, according to court papers. He claimed that he accidentally killed JonBenet during sexual activity that included temporarily asphyxiating her, prosecutors said.

He began telling his story in hopes of being included in a book Tracey was planning to publish, according to the court papers. Authorities eventually traced his calls and identified Daxis as Karr, prosecutors said.

"Are you asking me why I killed JonBenet? I don't see it that way," Karr wrote in a May 22 e-mail. "Her and I were engaging in a romantic and very sexual interaction. It went bad and it was my fault."

The DA's office late Monday provided hours of discussion and pages of grisly details from Karr's correspondence with professor Michael Tracey, who alerted authorities.

Karr described how he hung JonBenet with a rope and slowly strangled her to put her in a "dream-like state" before performing oral sex. He said he tasted her blood after the sex went too far and tried to revive her when he realized she was dead.

"I loved her so much and I am so sorry that she died in my arms," Karr wrote to the professor in May. "If anyone came close to screaming, it was I. ... 'Please don't leave me. I love you so much. Oh, babydoll, please come back to me!'"

During a July 15 telephone call with Tracey that lasted 100 minutes, Karr - going by the alias Daxis - said he placed a new "necklace around the throat of the child." The garrote was loosened and tightened, and JonBenet stopped breathing.

"Daxis explained again that due to the twitching of JonBenet he was concerned she might be brain dead but her body could continue to survive," according to a summary of the call in the 98-page arrest affidavit. "He did not want JonBenet to suffer, so he struck her in the head with a flashlight he brought with him."

The district attorney said there was no way to take a cheek swab from Karr without alerting him that he was under investigation, and that would have created an "unacceptable risk that he would flee."

Also, Karr was about to start a teaching job in Thailand, and in his correspondence began to describe an interest in several girls "in much the same terms that he had described his interest in JonBenet," Lacy said in court papers.

In a July 19 e-mail, Karr described feeling excited to have two 5-year-olds "flashing their hot little bellybuttons at me" and later how a "naked little foot felt so sexy in my hand."

Authorities confirmed he was involved with at least one of the girls, Lacy said.

---

Associated Press writers Chase Squires in Boulder, Sandy Shore in Denver, Harry R. Weber in Atlanta and Scott Lindlaw in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Wilmington Man Loses His Legs

2006-08-28T23:26:00.000-04:00

WILMINGTON -- An accident at Wilmington's WASTEC plant has cost a man both of his legs.

Officials say the man climbed onto a piece of machinery and fell in.

Ernesto Gonzalez, an employee at WASTEC was operating a bailer at the time. The machine is used to compact about 20 tons of recyclable goods, like cardboard and newspaper, each day.

Officials say Gonzalez climbed on top of the bailer, ignoring many warning signs and safety procedures. He then fell inside.

He triggered a sensor, automatically starting the machine, which then amputated both of Gonzalez's legs.

Officials say they'll now take extra precautions when training operators and will keep the bailer shut down for the next few days.

Schools In Columbus Not Making The Grade

2006-08-28T19:42:00.000-04:00

The News Reporter

Because both local school systems have low-performing schools for the third consecutive year, there is the possibility that the N.C. Department of Public Instruction could send in advisory teams to help run things.

The Whiteville City Schools and the Columbus County Schools – called local education agencies (LEA) by state bureaucrats – both have campuses not meeting the standards of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

Both systems have one or more schools that continue to fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading with NCLB.

Each school must meet a statewide goal set by the state in reading, as well as math. Each school, including all of its applicable subgroups of students, must meet these goals, which are raised every three years.

Locally, subgroups include students with disabilities, low-income students, white students, black students and Native American students.

There must be 40 or more students in a subgroup for it to count. A failing subgroup keeps the entire school from making AYP.

One subgroup’s continuing failure to make AYP keeps the entire school system from making AYP and this is what has happened to Columbus County and Whiteville.

With a third year looming of LEA Improvement, the state may decide that both systems will enter LEA Corrective Action, which can call for an advisory team to come in and help run the system and at the very least, a consultant coming in to offer options.

Whiteville and Columbus County have a lot of company. At least 17 other North Carolina LEA’s are entering the corrective action phase. That number could increase in October when the state finally releases its much-delayed math scores.

Nearly 40 percent the state’s school systems are in LEA Improvement with more on the way. As many as two-thirds of the systems are expected to be in LEA Improvement when the minimum test score goals in reading and math are raised in 2007-08.

In the city system, it has been Central Middle School that has kept the system in LEA Improvement based on reading and math scores. CMS, which itself is in School Improvement, made AYP this year, based solely on its reading scores. If its math scores aren’t up to par, it could lose that AYP status and push the school system into still another year of LEA Improvement.

It takes two years to go into School or LEA Improvement and two years to come out.

In the county schools, the LEA Improvement status is because of Nakina Alternative, Fair Bluff Elementary, Guideway Elementary, Tabor City Elementary, Tabor City Middle and Williams Township Elementary school.

Like Central Middle, Fair Bluff Elementary made AYP and awaits math scores to make sure.

All of the above listed schools are in School Improvement because one or more subgroups have been unable to make AYP.

Pending the October math scores, more county schools could enter School Improvement status.

NCDPI has a list of schools that need to be watched and are in danger of going into School Improvement. They are Acme-Delco Middle, Chadbourn Middle, Chadbourn Elementary, Hallsboro Middle, Edgewood Elementary and Whiteville Primary schools.

All of these schools have large subgroups that historically have difficulty working at grade level.

Statewide, only 60 percent of the public elementary and middle schools made AYP. That number is likely to decrease when the math scores are released.

Neither local system knows what NCDPI has in store.

“We haven’t heard anything definite,” said Columbus County Schools Superintendent Dan Strickland. “Nothing’s official yet.”

The state will most likely send full teams to the worst performing school systems.

“We may get a team, depending on the level we’re on,” Strickland said. Or it might be a consultant for one year.

With so many school systems in LEA Improvement, the state only has so many teams and consultants it can assign LEAs.

Strickland said that a consultant would act as a guide for “the direction we need.”

He said that a visiting team last spring from NCDPI was “pleased” with the county’s strategic planning that focused on more staff development.

When Columbus County first entered LEA Improvement, it had only weeks to develop its first strategic plan for moving out of LEA Improvement. The county has continued to build upon that initial plan. Already, it has held two summer academies for its principals.

The Whiteville City Schools has similar plans and academies in place.

“That team said we were on the right track to improve,” Strickland said.

Part of the county’s plan is to require its principals to make daily walkthroughs of every classroom.

Historically, most principals rarely visit their classrooms unless something special is going on or there is a discipline problem or “fire to put out.”

Strickland believes the walkthroughs will help.

If the city and county schools cannot pull themselves out of LEA Improvement, they could face the following actions:

They will have to inform parents of the district’s status. They might have to defer program funds or reduce administrative funds. They will have to align their instruction with the N.C. Standard Course of Study, something that both systems have already done.

Either system could see the State Board of Education replace local personnel.

The state could step in and remove the school system from local jurisdiction and establish an alternate governance structure for the school.

The state could also abolish the local school boards and even allow students to attend school in adjacent school districts.

Strickland said that neither system is sure of what might happen.

I'm not surprised at this. First things first, I don't like No Child Left Behind. It's a bad law that only makes bad schools worse. Second, I don't like NC's end of the year testing. Our schools do a great job in the eary grades, my 6 year old son learned to read, tell time and do math last year in kindergarten at Williams Township. Back when I was in kindergarten, we counted to 10, learned ABCs, played, took naps, played and played some more. But once a kid gets into the higher grades it's less learning what's needed and a nine month cram session for EOGs. A lot gets left out and that child misses out. Another thing is that not all kids are wired the same. So learn math and science easy but struggle at history and social studies. Another loves history and reading but dislikes math to the point that they almost refuss to learn it. But with NCLB, all these kids must be taught the same. Why? If a kid shows a natural mechanical ability, why not develop that. If a child has a nack at science then teach him the skills needed to develop that. One size fits all doesn't work. No matter what the PC crap of the day is, we are all different. We are all good at something, but that something varies from person to person. We need schools that put a child in a class that they will benefit from. Down the road we are going to need scientist as well as auto mechanics, we will need engineers as well as landscapers. White, black, indian it doesn't matter, teach the child not the ethnic subgroup.

Now onto the schools themselves, I want school vouchers. Our government attaches about $9,000 (national average) to each student each year. I want to send my kids to any school that I want. If I want to drive 45 miles to take my children to school that's my choice and I should be free to make it. My wife and I send our 2 oldest kids to Williams. I like the school and like a lot of the teachers there. Some are great and some are so so. Every year we have to get Whiteville to release them and then go before the county to pick them up. It shouldn't be this hard. WTS is filled to the max. Why because a lot of people do what we do and send their children there. We should have open enrollment in all our taxpayer funded schools, period. We should also have vouchers so that the tax money attached to my kids follows them to the school I decide to send them to, regardless if it's public, private, charter, magnate, vocational, etc.

Local Home Schooling Success

2006-08-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

WILMINGTON -- She's a 12-year-old girl raising the eyebrows of fellow students and teachers at Cape Fear Community College.

Instead of going to middle school like most kids her age, Julia Nepper is taking a full college course-load.

Julia Nepper began reading at the young age of two. Her parents home-schooled her and now, still a youngster at 12 years old, Julia is taking on college.

Julia Nepper picks a seat in trigonometry class, her pink shoes swinging, not even touching the ground. Her book seems bigger than she is.

But Julia says college is not intimidating at all.

"It is pretty much the same except the people are taller and older," Julia said.

Julia's father, Richard Nepper, vividly remembers when he first noticed his toddler's intellectual talents.

Richard said, "When we drove into a Wal-Mart parking lot and she pointed at the sign at the top of the building and blurted out the word Wal-Mart."

So where will Julia go when she graduates community college at age 14?

"I want to go to UNCW and get a masters degree and then maybe go to Duke. And maybe get a Ph.D.," she said.

Wilmington May Get Another Ship To Tour

2006-08-26T21:14:00.000-04:00

WILMINGTON -- The world's first nuclear-powered ship could wind up in Wilmington. The Maritime Administration wants to decommission the NS Savannah and it's considering Wilmington as a possible site.

At 600 feet it's a ship that rivals the size of the Battleship North Carolina.

Government officials are thinking about bringing the NS Savannah to the Wilmington riverfront.

NS Savannah Senior Technical Advisor Erhard Koehler said, "Savannah is arguably one of the most beautiful ships that was built; it certainly would grace the waterfront for however long she's here."

The nuclear ship was originally launched in 1959 during the Eisenhower administration, demonstrating the peaceful and productive use of atomic power.

The Maritime Administration now wants to decommission the ship, literally taking out the empty reactor.

Koehler said, "Wilmington possesses certainly a nuclear infrastructure that's capable of doing this type of work, and it's one of the port cities that we're considering along the east coast."

It's not a done deal yet. Charleston, S.C. and Norfolk, Va. are also in the running for the decommissioning project.

It is a venture that could bring jobs to the area, as well as a significant addition to the skyline.

Southport resident and former Savannah crew member Joe Seelinger would love to have the ship so close to home.

"To get the Savannah down here, even temporarily, I think would be wonderful," Seelinger said.

When the decommissioning project is finished possible plans include turning the Savannah into a museum, much like the Battleship North Carolina.

The NS Savannah's active sailing life ended in 1971, that's when crews removed all of the nuclear fuel from the ship.

If done right, this is something I support. I enjoy touring old ships and subs.

NC To Get Tougher On DWIs

2006-08-26T21:12:00.000-04:00

RALEIGH -- North Carolina is getting tougher on drunken drivers.

Monday Gov. Mike Easley signed the Motor Vehicle Driver Protection Act into law. It limits a judge's discretion to find DWI suspects not guilty.

It also forces prosecutors to document their reasons for dismissing DWI cases.

The bill also has tougher penalties on suspects who hurt or kill someone while driving drunk.

If you would like to see the bill you can visit the N.C. General Assembly web site.

This is a new law I can live with. I don't mind people drinking, but I do have a problem with people driving drunk. At that point you are putting someone else at risk and that is wrong.

Uninsured Driver Yet To Pay Victim

2006-08-26T21:03:00.000-04:00

It's been a year and a half since a hit-and-run accident in Pender County put Laurie James in the hospital.

The accident shattered her foot and crushed her arm.

Authorities found Hermelindo Sanchez responsible for the accident and the courts ordered him to pay Laurie's uninsured medical expenses.

Laurie has never been able to collect a dime from Mr. Sanchez. She has had eight surgeries and spent over a month in the hospital recovering from an accident in April 2005.

She was hit head-on by a Camaro owned by Hermelindo Sanchez, who didn't have insurance.

Laurie's medical bills so far have run close to a quarter of a million dollars, and her uninsured motorist insurance has only picked up about half of the cost.

"It's overwhelming. I receive new bills every day," Laurie said. "He should come in and pay what my insurance does not pay, that's only right."

The courts agreed. They put Hermelindo on supervised probation and ordered him to pay for Laurie's uninsured medical expenses.

But after a year passed Laurie had yet to receive a single restitution payment.

"I'm sure if he doesn't come forth and start paying on some of these bills it's going to mess up my credit," Laurie said. "I don't make that kind of money."

Laurie called the probation office to find out where her money was and was shocked to learn Hermelindo had been taken off of supervised probation, and a judge had waived the order that he pay Laurie restitution.

Managers at the local probation office say they tried to reach Laurie last year to find out details on her medical expenses. They actually mailed her two letters looking for information and say they got no response.

Probation office supervisor Jean Walker said, "We try to be very sensitive to the needs of victims, and we make every effort possible to try and contact the victims. If we don't hear from them we may assume that there is no restitution owed."

Laurie says she's not sure what happened. She said between her medical ordeal, her wedding that had to be delayed because of the accident and filing insurance claims, she's had a lot going on.

She passed her paperwork on to her attorney, and thinks the letters from the probation office may have gotten lost in the shuffle.

But Laurie is in disbelief that failing to respond to a form letter could get Hermelindo off the hook. At this point Laurie's only remedy is to go after Hermelindo Sanchez in civil court.

But the fact is, $100,000 is a lot of money, and there's no guarantee that he could come up with the funds to pay her even if she won a judgment in court.

If you see this guy ask him when he plans on paying Laurie.

Photo from WWAY TV 3

IP Closes Acme-Delco Middle School

2006-08-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

RIEGELWOOD -- Acme-Delco Middle School was forced to close early Friday because of water issues.

International Paper in Riegelwood supplies water for that part of Columbus County. The company says too much demand was put on the system Friday morning and they had to shut down the potable water supply.

A water pipe that broke earlier this week contributed to the problem.

Officials say they are giving out water at the Riegelwood Shopping Center and that if you do need water out of the tap, you need to boil it.

Authorities expect to restore water service in some areas later Friday, but residents are still asked to conserve and boil water.

The water in the area is still not safe to drink. Bacteria tests have to be done 48 hours after it was cut on Friday to determine if it meets drinking standards.

Gaston Sheriff To Check Immigration Status Of Inmates

2006-08-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

GASTONIA - Faced with a growing jail population of illegal immigrants, Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger announced Friday that his department will join a federal program that allows local law enforcement officers to screen for illegal immigrants and place them in deportation proceedings.

The Gaston County Sheriff's Office will become the eighth law enforcement agency in the country to join the program.

Cloninger made the announcement at a congressional hearing in Gastonia on how local authorities can combat illegal immigration.

Details on the local program are still being worked out, but Cloninger said six deputies will be trained as certified federal immigration officers.

And, in 60 to 90 days, he said, the Gaston County Jail with begin using a federal database to check the immigration status of every foreign-born person arrested.

Those identified as illegal immigrants will be reported to immigration officials, and deportation proceedings would be started.

Glad to see a sheriff doing his duty.

Black's Campaign Gives $10,000 To Decker Defense

2006-08-26T20:37:00.000-04:00

WRAL.com

POSTED: 6:51 pm EDT August 26, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- State House Speaker Jim Black's campaign paid $10,000 to the Winston-Salem law firm that represented a political ally who pleaded guilty this month to campaign finance violations, according to records reported Saturday by The Charlotte Observer.

Black's spending reports, which reflect two checks of $5,000 each sent to the firm, suggest the powerful Mecklenburg County Democrat was paying legal bills for former state Rep. Michael Decker.

"It looks bad, the fact that that money went to a law firm representing Decker," said state Sen. John Snow, D-Cherokee, who has called upon Black to resign. "Anybody would draw the inference that Black was helping take care of his legal expenses."

Black has denied offering or giving Decker anything in exchange for his support. Neither he nor David Freedman, the law firm partner who represents Decker, would comment on the checks. The newspaper could not reach Decker.

Decker pleaded guilty in federal court this month to taking $50,000 in campaign contributions and cash from an unidentified Democrat in exchange for supporting Black for speaker in 2003.

I guess Black really takes care of the people that take care of him even when they admit to breaking the law.

Judge Says No To Louisiana Video Game Ban

2006-08-26T20:33:00.000-04:00

Wired.com

Associated Press 13:20 PM Aug, 26, 2006

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- A state law that would ban sales of violent video games to minors violates free speech rights and cannot be enforced, a judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge James Brady said the state had no right to bar distribution of materials simply because they show violent behavior. Brady issued an injunction, calling the law an "invasion of First Amendment rights" of producers, retailers and the minors who play the games.

"Depictions of violence are entitled to full constitutional protection," Brady wrote Thursday.

Louisiana is the latest in a string of states, including Minnesota, Illinois, California and Michigan, to have had similar bans blocked in the courts. A federal judge in Illinois this month ordered the state to pay more than $510,000 to three business groups -- including the Entertainment Software Association, a plaintiff in the Louisiana case -- for legal fees incurred in fighting a similar state law.

The association's president criticized Gov. Kathleen Blanco and state lawmakers for approving the law while struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Busy

2006-08-26T03:08:00.000-04:00

I've not had time to post for the last week due to just a busy life. I've had a lot going on at work, not only with my regular job but with our mill's safety program that I'm a part of and we have contract negotiations going on. The wife, kids and I spent last weekend at the beach. We had a good time as always doing 2 of our favorite things, eating and swimming. Our fall soccer season is starting up. This year I'm heading up one team and helping with another. I just finished my practice planning for today. I hope to be back in full blogging swing ASAP.

Charlotte Bound Woman Found With Explosives

2006-08-17T17:43:00.000-04:00

A woman bound for Charlotte was detained for questioning at a West Virginia airport Thursday morning after two containers in her carry-on luggage tested positive for explosive material.

The concourse of Tri-State Airport in Ceredo, near Huntington, W. Va., was evacuated at 10:20 a.m. after the discovery, said Transportation Security Administration official Christopher White.

The woman's name and hometown have not been released, but airport manager Larry Salyers told the Associated Press that he was told the woman was 28-year-old native of Pakistan who had moved to Huntington from Jackson, Mich. The woman was connecting in Charlotte for a flight to Detroit, Salyers said.

The woman was scheduled for Charlotte on U.S. Airways 4168, which was scheduled to depart at 9:17 a.m. US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said flight 4168 left on time.

Flight 4236 from Charlotte to Huntington was canceled; flight 4363 from Charlotte to Huntingon was diverted to Charleston, W.Va.

Flight 4242 from Charlotte to Huntington will depart around 9 p.m. if the concourse is reopened, Wunder said.

A TSA screener noticed a bottle in the woman's carry-on bag as she prepared to board a flight to Charlotte. Four items were deemed suspicious, and two containers tested positive, said TSA's White.

The woman was detained for questioning, commercial airline service was temporarily suspended, and about 100 passengers and airport employees were ordered to leave the terminal.

Man Wants 45 Family Members At Execution

2006-08-17T17:41:00.000-04:00

News & Observer

Death row inmate Samuel Flippen's request that his execution be delayed unless 45 family members can witness the event was denied Wednesday by the state appellate court.

A three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals rejected a petition filed by Flippen's attorneys that argued that Wake County Superior Court Judge J.B. Allen ignored state law that sets no limit on the number of family members who can witness an execution.

On Tuesday, Allen refused to delay Flippen's execution scheduled for 2 a.m. Friday. Flippen, 36, was convicted of first-degree murder by a Forsyth County jury in the 1994 beating death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter, Britnie Nichol Hutton.

A second petition for a temporary stay of execution was also denied Wednesday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where Flippen's attorneys have challenged the constitutionality of an execution by lethal injection. Flippen's attorneys say they'll file an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting a stay but are uncertain whether to challenge the state appellate court's denial.

The setbacks narrow Flippen's chances of delaying his execution to the nation's highest court and a clemency request before Gov. Mike Easley that asks him commute the inmate's sentence to life in prison. Easley, a former prosecutor and state attorney general, took no action on the request Wednesday, said his press secretary, Sherri Johnson.

Flippen's petition before the state appellate court stems from a civil lawsuit filed in Wake County last week. The inmate's parents, Russell and Rita Flippen of Winston-Salem, joined their son and more than 40 other relatives in asking to witness his execution. That suit cites a state law governing executions that says "any relatives of such person, convict or felon ... may be present if they so desire."

Flippen's attorneys say Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk misread that law when he told Flippen in an Aug. 8 letter that it limits inmates to two family members as witnesses.

In his written ruling Tuesday, Allen said Polk was within his authority to limit the number of witnesses to executions. The judge also said he doubted the sincerity of the family members who joined the lawsuit.

"It's a stall tactic," said Ben Streett, Britnie Hutton's uncle.

Streett said the toddler's mother, Tina Gibson, and other family members will travel to Raleigh for the execution.

"This is not about Sammy Flippen, it's about Britnie," he said. "She's the victim, not Flippen."

NC Judge Lets Arsonist Go

2006-08-17T17:40:00.000-04:00

A man who confessed to setting 15 fires in three counties will not serve prison time.

A judge suspended Brian Wood's sentence and ordered him to pay restitution. He also has to undergo a psychiatric exam.

Wood pleaded guilty to setting fires in Cumberland, Sampson, and Harnett counties.

Authorities said the fires were set in April.

Why?

Arrest In JonBenet Ramsey Case

2006-08-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

Authorities think they've solved the nearly 10-year-old mystery of who killed 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

Police in Thailand said the man accused of murdering JonBenet claims he drugged the 6-year-old and had sex with her before accidentally killing her.

A general who heads Thailand's immigration police said he wasn't there when U.S. officials questioned John Karr, but that he was told what happened. According to the general, Karr claims the girl was still alive when he had sex with her, but then realized he "accidentally" killed her.

The autopsy on JonBenet showed no alcohol or drugs in her body, though it said she had vaginal abrasions.

The general didn't say who briefed him, and U.S. officials could not immediately be reached.

The child was found murdered in her home in Boulder, Colo., the day after Christmas in 1996. For a long time, her parents were identified by authorities as possible suspects.

Karr said publicly Thursday he was with the child when she died and called her death "an accident," a stunning admission that may help answer 10 years of questions in the unsolved murder case.

"I was with JonBenet when she died," John Mark Karr told reporters in Bangkok, visibly nervous and stuttering as he spoke. "Her death was an accident."

Police said Karr, a youthful-looking 41-year-old school teacher from Georgia, admitted to the killing after he was arrested Wednesday at his downtown Bangkok apartment by Thai and American authorities.

Asked if he was an innocent man, Karr said: "No."

Later, as he was escorted to his guesthouse by U.S. and Thai authorities to pick up his belongings, he told The Associated Press: "I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet. It's very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much, that her death was unintentional, that it was an accident."

Asked what happened when JonBenet died, he said: "It would take several hours to describe that. It's a very involved series of events that would involve a lot of time. It's very painful for me to talk about it."

Karr, a divorced father of three boys, also said he wrote JonBenet's mother, Patsy Ramsey, before her death in June and told her "many things."

The head of Thailand's immigration police said Karr has told authorities that he had intended to kidnap JonBenet for a $118,000 ransom but that something went wrong and he strangled her. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house.

Karr will be transported to Colorado, where he will face charges of murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, said Ann Hurst, a U.S. official with the Department of Homeland Security.

Earlier Thursday, Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul told The Associated Press that Karr arrived in Bangkok on June 6 from Malaysia to look for a teaching job. The police officer said it was not clear whether he got a teaching position.

Suwat said Karr's visa had been revoked as an "undesirable person" given the accusations against him, and U.S. authorities are expected to take him to the United States in the next few days.

The Boulder prosecutor said there's still "much more work to be done" in the Ramsey investigation.

In a news conference Thursday where more questions went unanswered than answered, District Attorney Mary Lacy stressed that suspect John Karr is presumed innocent. She then said the same thing when asked if JonBenet's father is still considered a suspect.

Lacy was also asked if she's worried that Karr may be making a false confession. To that she said she "can't comment on the evidence."

Karr is under arrest in Thailand, and according to Lacy he had just started working there this week as a second grade teacher. She said Karr has traveled extensively since leaving the United States, and it took months to identify, locate and arrest him.

Attorney Gives Details

An attorney for the Ramseys is offering more details on the family's contacts with Karr.

Atlanta attorney Lin Wood said Karr tried to correspond with Patsy Ramsey in writing in the months before Patsy Ramsey died this year. He said Mrs. Ramsey didn't reply, but that she handed the information over to investigators, and that it helped link Karr to the case.

Wood is also disputing news reports that said Karr spent a Christmas at the Ramsey home. He said that's not true.

He said Karr has been sending a number of e-mails in recent months to a Colorado professor, in which he made statements about JonBenet's death. He said the e-mails were a key development in linking Karr to the murder.

Wood said authorities should be able to tell whether Karr has first-hand knowledge of the case. He said, "There is information about the murder that has never been publicly disclosed."

Karr's Family Says He Was Fascinated By Case

Long before his arrest, Karr had a deep fascination with JonBenet Ramsey, according to his family members.
John Mark Karr
SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
John Mark Karr

His ex-wife, who lives in Petaluma, Calif., told a San Francisco TV station he often spent time reading up on the cases of Ramsey and of Polly Klaas, the Petaluma girl who was abducted and killed in 1993.

The Denver Post reported that Karr disappeared in 2001 when he and his wife divorced after his release from jail on child pornography charges.

Karr's father told the paper that while Karr was in college as an adult, a professor encouraged him to write a book about the Ramsey case after being impressed with a school paper. John Karr spoke with JonBenet's grandparents, but the Ramseys refused an interview, Wexford Karr said.

Wexford Karr said that until Wednesday's arrest, he had feared his son might have died.

An attorney for the Ramseys said Karr once lived near the family in Conyers, Ga., but the Ramseys moved to Colorado when JonBenet was a baby.

Ramsey Praises Arrest, But Keeps Mum On Specifics

John Ramsey said in a public statement Wednesday that his wife knew authorities "were close to making an arrest" before she died.

Ramsey declined to comment on the specifics surrounding the arrest. He told a Denver television station that wouldn't be proper, especially considering the experience of his family. Not long after the murder, authorities said Ramsey and his late wife, Patsy, were considered to be under an umbrella of suspicion in their daughter's death. The child beauty queen was found dead in their home.

Patsy Ramsey died of cancer in June, but the family said she did know that authorities were close to making an arrest.

John Ramsey praised prosecutors in Boulder for closing the case. And he said the hardest part "by far" of all the family has been through was losing JonBenet.

The seemingly out-of-the-blue arrest has relatives and even a former prosecutor surprised.

JonBenet's aunt said that while the arrest was "a long time in coming," she said it still came as "quite a shock."

Pamela Paugh also dismissed the suspect's claims that he loved JonBenet. Paugh points out that she also loved the girl -- but never did her any harm.

Former Boulder Deputy District Attorney Trip DeMuth was also caught off-guard by the arrest -- and he knew the investigation was under way. DeMuth figured it would be like past investigations that never panned out.

DeMuth and Paugh agree investigators were too focused on JonBenet's parents and brother as suspects. The ex-prosecutor said some had "blinders on" that kept them from following the evidence.

Patsy Ramsey Knew Arrest Was Near

Patsy Ramsey died in June of ovarian cancer. John Ramsey said in a public statement Wednesday that his wife knew authorities "were close to making an arrest" before she died.

Patsy Ramsey always maintained that she found a ransom note on a back staircase demanding $118,000 for her daughter's return. John Ramsey said he discovered the body in the basement eight hours later.

A grand jury investigated the case but returned with no indictments. In December 2003, after investigators obtained a new DNA sample, a federal judge in Atlanta concluded that the evidence suggested an intruder killed JonBenet.

JonBenet and Patsy are both buried in Cobb County, Ga.

Tracked Online By Boulder Police

According to law enforcement officials, Karr was tracked online by Boulder police.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, federal officials told The Associated Press that Karr had been communicating with somebody in Boulder, who was cooperating with police.

A spokesman for the University of Colorado, Barrie Hartman, confirmed that journalism professor Michael Tracey communicated with Karr over several months and contacted police.

An attorney for Ramsey's family said the family had given authorities information about the man, but would not say how they knew him.

Officials told the AP that Karr was arrested Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. (EDT) in Bangkok, Thailand, where he's being held on unrelated sex charges. Boulder, Colo., District Attorney Mary Lacy confirmed the arrest, which she called the result of a "focused and complex investigation," but did not confirm details about the suspect.

Globe-Trotting Teacher?

Karr's resume painted a portrait of a globe-trotting elementary school teacher who is good with children.
This resume was posted on a Web site for teachers seeking jobs.
His mission statement said:

To provide excellence in education that develops academic and technological skills, instills strong values of superior character, develops interpersonal skills and nurtures leadership qualities amongst students to prepare them for a successful future with the expectation that such an education will result in a student of superior poise.

The resume listed places of employment in Honduras; Costa Rica; Germany; Heemstede, Netherlands; and Seoul, Korea.

It also said that Karr is "world travelled," having visited places such as London; Paris; Amsterdam; Zurich; Milan; Bologna; Stuttgart; Munich; Sydney, Australia; Taipei; Singapore; and Istanbul, among others.

The job list also noted his responsibilities at each of those positions. In Germany, Karr said that he taught English to two girls, ages 5 and 8, and a 10-year-old boy. He said that he awoke the children in the mornings and fed them breakfast. He also said that he helped the children get ready for school and "made sure the children had their evening bath, then put them to bed and read to them before they went to sleep."

The man also claimed to have worked at some of the "most prestigious schools in the United States."

Update On 3 Men With 1,000 Phones

2006-08-17T16:50:00.000-04:00

Techdirt

Some good news came for the three Palestinian-American men arrested in Michigan, basically for having 1,000 prepaid cell phones: they won't be charged with any terrorism-related offenses. The bad news: they've been hit with federal fraud charges instead. The guys' business plan was pretty straightforward: buy subsidized prepaid phones, then get them unlocked so they could work with any compatible provider, then sell them for a higher price. Prosecutors allege the men's actions represent an attempt to defraud prepaid provider Tracfone, phone manufacturer Nokia and the public by trafficking in counterfeit goods. While unlocking phones, particularly for resale, annoys mobile operators, it's not abundantly clear how doing so represents fraud, nor how unlocking the phones makes them counterfeit, and it's not clear at all why doing so is illegal, though Tracfone and other providers apparently make the bizarre claim that it's copyright infringement. In any case, it seems like any potential legal problems here would be of a civil nature, and not worthy of federal fraud and money-laundering charges. Somehow, you get the feeling somebody doesn't want to admit the arrest and subsequent treatment of these guys was nothing other than a big mistake.

Federal Judge Says No to NSA Wiretapping

2006-08-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

Free Speech Coalition

The National Security Agency (NSA) will no longer be able to conduct domestic eavesdropping, according to a ruling by federal judge Anna Diggs Taylor, who said the Bush administration’s actions contravened a range of constitutional provisions, including the right to free speech, protections against unreasonable searches and separation of powers.

In a 44-page decision, Taylor ruled in favor of a host of plaintiffs that included the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Associated Press, who filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of the government program that conducted surveillance on American citizens without judicial oversight.

Update: Fort Johnston

2006-08-11T03:07:00.000-04:00

I posted a while back that a church group wanted to turn Fort Johnston into a homeless shelter. Although I advocate turning closed military bases into homeless camps where they can live and work to maintain the site and grow their own food, I did not think that this historic fort fit that bill. Well I'm glad to say that the fort is being turned over to Southport. The town hasn't set anything in stone yet but they plan on making it a public historic site.

'Be a man, get a job'

2006-08-11T02:50:00.000-04:00

This is a reprint of a letter to the editor that appeared in the Star News 2006-08-08.

Editor: I still believe in our country, heart and soul, but I am about ready to give up on some of our male citizens, yes 30 to 54, who are opting out of work, according to a recent Star News article. One of these men "could not find a job that, in his view, was neither demanding or underpaid."

What kind of a country do we have when healthy, able men - many of them married - would rather sit home (than) act like real men? To compound this complete rejection of manhood, we are paying taxes so our government can help support these bums! How can anyone call himself a man when he is content to have his wife work (and) is unwilling to make any effort at all to support his wife and family?

Thor Ronningen
Wilmington

I agree completely with Mr. Ronningen. That's the problem with a welfare state that makes it to easy to obtain benefits with little enforcement of the rules.

Plot Thwarted

2006-08-11T00:14:00.000-04:00

ABC News

LONDON Aug 10, 2006 (AP)— British authorities said Thursday they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in carry-on luggage. Britain's Home Secretary John Reid said 21 people had been arrested in London, its suburbs and in Birmingham, including the alleged "main players" in the plot.

Huge crowds formed at security barriers at London's Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.

Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain and banned hand-carried luggage on all trans-Atlantic flights.

The extreme measures at a major international aviation hub sent ripple effects throughout the world. Heathrow airport was closed to most flights from Europe.

The U.S. government responded by raising its threat alert to its highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States amid fears the plot had not been completely crushed. The alert for all flights coming or going from the United States was also raised slightly.

You can read the rest in the extended section.

In Washington, two U.S. counterterrorism officials said the terrorists had targeted United, American and Continental airlines. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

A U.S. intelligence official said the plotters had hoped to target flights to major airports in New York, Washington and California, all major summer tourist destinations.

Britain's Home Secretary John Reid said 21 people had been arrested in London, its suburbs and in Birmingham following a lengthy investigation, including the alleged "main players" in the plot. Searches continued in a number of locations.

The suspects were "homegrown," though it was not immediately clear if they were all British citizens, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Police were working closely with the South Asian community, the official said.

The official said the plotters intended to simultaneously target multiple planes bound for the United States.

"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident that we've prevented and attempt to committee mass murder on an unimaginable scale," Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, vacationing in the Caribbean, briefed President Bush on the situation overnight, Blair's office said. There was no immediate public reaction from the White House. Bush is spending a few days at his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."

"We believe that these arrests (in London) have significantly disrupted the threat, but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated or the plot completely thwarted," said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Chertoff added, however, there was no indication of current plots within the U.S. Numerous flights from U.S. cities to Britain were canceled Thursday morning.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said authorities believe dozens of people possibly as many as 50 were involved in the plot, which "had a footprint to al-Qaida back to it." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The plan involved airline passengers hiding masked explosives in carry-on luggage, the official said. "They were not yet sitting on an airplane," but were very close to traveling, the official said, calling the plot "the real deal."

Passengers in Britain faced delays as tighter security was hastily enforced at the country's airports and additional measures were put in place for all flights. Laptop computers, mobile phones, iPods, and remote controls were among the items banned from being carried on board.

Liquids, such as hair care products, were also barred on flights in both Britain and the U.S., raising the possibility that authorities were searching for a liquid explosive.

As part of the foiled Bojinka Plot to blow up 12 Western airliners simultaneously over the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1990s, terrorist mastermind Ramzi Youssef had planned to put together an improvised bomb using liquid in a contact lens solution container.

Huge lines formed at ticket counters and behind security barriers at Heathrow and other airports in Britain. Ed Lappen, 55, a businessman from Boston, who was traveling with his wife and daughter to Russia, found himself unable to travel further.

"We're safe, we're OK," he said at Heathrow. "Now my daughter is going to get a shopping trip in London."

Hannah Pillinger, 24, seemed less concerned by the announcement. "Eight hours without an iPod, that's the most inconvenient thing," she said, waiting at the Manchester airport.

Most European carriers canceled flights to Heathrow because of the massive delays created after authorities enforced strict new regulations banning most hand baggage.

Heathrow's block on incoming traffic applied to flights of three hours or less, affecting most of the incoming traffic from Europe, an airport spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with airport policy.

Officials at Frankfurt's airport, Europe's second-busiest, Schiphol in Amsterdam and Charles De Gaulle in Paris said Heathrow-bound planes could instead land at their airports if they needed to.

London's Heathrow airport was the departure point for a devastating terrorist attack on a Pan Am airplane on Dec. 21, 1988. The blast over Lockerbie, Scotland, killed all 259 people aboard Pan Am Flight 103 and 11 people on the ground.

The explosive was hidden in a portable radio which was hidden in checked baggage.

Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington and Matt Moore in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this report.

Citizen Protecting Their Property

2006-08-09T21:06:00.000-04:00

A homeowner killed one suspect and wounded another during an apparent break-in early Wednesday, police said.

Residents of 3301 Dearborn Drive told police that two men kicked in their front door at about 1:40 a.m. and entered the house. At least one of the men was carrying a gun, they told police.

A man, a woman and a 15-month-old boy were in the home when the incident occurred, police said.

One of the adults shot and killed one suspect and wounded the second, police said.

The first suspect, who hasn't been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second suspect fled from the house. A short time later, a 19-year-old man showed up at the Duke University Hospital emergency room for treatment of a gunshot wound to his arm.

Rashaad Cox, of Newcastle Road in Durham, was charged with first-degree burglary and robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the attempted burglary, police said.

Nice, very nice indeed. I'm glad to see that once again a private citizen was able to fight off the attack of criminals. I'm very happy to see that the article doesn't make any mention of an investigation into the legality of the self defense used by the home owner.

Minimum Wage = Russian Roulette

2006-08-09T04:11:00.000-04:00

I enjoy reading Thomas Sowell. His views are insightful and hit the nail on the head. In yesterday's article he talked about the negative impact of minimum wage increases.

RealClearPolitics

It was a common political move when Chicago's city council voted recently to impose a $10 an hour minimum wage on big-box retailers. There is nothing that politicians like better than handing out benefits to be paid for by someone else.

What was uncommon was the reaction. Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley denounced the bill as "redlining," since it would have the net effect of keeping much-needed stores and jobs out of black neighborhoods. Both Chicago newspapers also denounced the bill.

The crowning touch came when Andrew Young, former civil rights leader and former mayor of Atlanta, went to Chicago to criticize local black leaders who supported this bill.

While the $10 an hour minimum wage was politics as usual, the unusual backlash against it provides at least a glimmer of hope that more people are beginning to consider the economic consequences of such feel-good legislation.

A survey has shown that 85 percent of the economists in Canada and 90 percent of the economists in the United States say that minimum wage laws reduce employment. But you don't need a Ph.D. in economics to know that jacking up prices leads fewer people to buy. Those people include employers, who hire less labor when labor is made artificially more expensive.

It happens in France, it happens in South Africa, it happens in New Zealand. How surprised should we be when it happens in Chicago?

The economic consequence of political largess -- whether in the form of minimum wage laws or medical or other benefits mandated to be paid for by employers -- is to make labor artificially more expensive.

Countries with generous employee benefits mandated by law -- Germany and France, for example -- have chronically higher unemployment rates than unemployment rates in the United States, where jobs are created at a far higher rate than in Europe.

There is no free lunch. Higher labor costs mean fewer jobs.

Since all workers do not have the same skill or experience, minimum wage laws have more impact on some than on others. Young, inexperienced and unskilled workers are especially likely to find it harder to get a job when wage rates have been set higher than the value of their productivity.

In France, where the national unemployment rate is 10 percent, the unemployment rate among workers less than 26 years old is 23 percent. Among young people from the Muslim minority, the unemployment rate is even higher.

In the United States, the group hardest hit by minimum wage laws are black male teenagers. Those who refuse to admit that the minimum wage is the reason for high unemployment rates among young blacks blame racism, lack of education and whatever else occurs to them.

The hard facts say otherwise. Back in the 1940s, there was no less racism than today and black teenagers had no more education than today, but their unemployment rate was a fraction of what it is now -- and was no different from that of white teenagers.

What was different back then? Although there was a minimum wage law on the books, the inflation of that era had raised wage rates well above the specified minimum, which had remained unchanged for years.

For all practical purposes, there was no minimum wage law. Only after the minimum wage began to be raised, beginning in 1950, and escalating repeatedly in the years thereafter, did black teenage unemployment skyrocket.

Most studies show unemployment resulting from minimum wages. But a few studies that reach different conclusions are hailed as having "refuted" the "myth" that minimum wages cause unemployment.

Some of these latter studies involve surveying employers before and after a minimum wage increase. But you can only survey employers who are still in business. By surveying people who played Russian roulette and are still around, you could "refute" the "myth" that Russian roulette is dangerous.

Minimum wage laws play Russian roulette with people who need jobs and the work experience that will enable them to rise to higher pay levels. There is now a glimmer of hope that more people are beginning to understand this, despite political demagoguery.

Liberman Loses Primary

2006-08-09T04:03:00.000-04:00

Right winger Ned Lamont beat Lieberman yesterday in the Connecticut primary. Lieberman says he will get on the general ballot as a independent. I hope Lamont doesn't win the the general.

Gas Issues

2006-08-09T03:46:00.000-04:00

BP has closed 16 miles of it's US pipeline in Alaska to prevent a spill from corroided pipe.

Look for the price of gas to creep up in the next few days.

Both Strip Clubs in Columbus County Get Raided

2006-08-09T03:44:00.000-04:00

The News Reporter

It’s not so magic today for exotic and erotic dancers, and residents of the Delco community didn’t remain quiet about their relief after a raid Thursday evening by Sheriff Chris Batten and his staff that shut down two businesses along U.S. 74-76 – Magic Moments and Whispers Erotic Dancing.

“We are working on civil actions to permanently close both of these businesses. Our raid Thursday was the right thing to do and the people down there appreciate it,” Batten declared.

“We arrested six women on a variety of charges and we’re going after the owners of both of the businesses. We’re going to do whatever it takes to shut them down,” the sheriff added.

The raid was set up after numerous complaints by residents and business owners in the eastern end of the county about the clubs’ operation. “I was getting three or four calls a day last week from people complaining, and now I’m getting the same number, but they’re congratulating us for what we did Thursday,” the sheriff said.

Residents in the Delco community used lawn chairs to watch the raids Thursday, and others honked their horns and waved as they drove by the locations on the four-lane highway.

Batten said he is continuing investigations against Don Mercer of Sneads Ferry, owner of the Magic Moments club, and the owner of Whispers, a business that was just opening when raided. The building housing the new club is a renovated laundry mat and is owned by G&M Investments of Wilmington.

Tommy Tomlinson Talks About Black and Decker

2006-08-05T13:48:00.000-04:00

Charlotte Observer

It's almost too easy, but somebody has to say it:

Black & Decker is the company known for power tools.

Black and Decker are the tools known for abusing power.

At this point, the only people who still defend House Speaker Jim Black fall into two groups: the people he did favors for, and the people who did favors for him.

Lately a lot of those people have found themselves in need of lawyers.

The latest one to end up on a court docket is Michael Decker, the former state rep from Forsyth County.

Decker was a Republican who switched parties and threw in with Black so the Democrats could control the House three years ago. Now Decker is revealing what he got in the deal: $50,000 in campaign contributions and cash.

Decker admitted the payoff as part of his plea to a federal conspiracy charge. He didn't specify who provided the money, and Black denies doing anything wrong.

But Black has admitted directing a few campaign checks Decker's way -- including some with the payee line left blank.

And after Decker lost his election in '04, Black got him a state job at $48,000 a year.

And somehow, Decker's son ended up with a job as a legislative staffer.

And, and, and.

Black's political director, Meredith Norris, is charged with violating the state's lobbying laws.

The guy Black appointed to the state lottery commission, Kevin Geddings, was indicted by a federal grand jury on nine counts of fraud.

And the state Board of Elections says Black himself broke campaign-finance laws.

"I'm not going to comment on any ongoing legal matters," Black has said.

In that case, he won't get to talk much for the next five years or so.

You can believe that Jim Black picked the worst group of friends and allies in political history -- people who cut corners and broke laws left and right while poor ol' Jim watched unawares.

Or you can believe that Jim Black is smarter than that.

Black loves to tell the story about his first election -- in first grade, he ran for the post of crossing guard at Matthews Elementary. He lost by one vote. He lost three elections in the '80s before latching onto his House seat for good.

He learned from those losses. He says he learned not to quit. But he also learned what it takes to win.

And over the years he has made himself into one of the most powerful people in our state. When important people in North Carolina want something done, they don't go to the governor. They go to Jim Black.

Black likes that position. And I suspect he has done a lot to keep it.

He is so entrenched that even these scandals might not pry him out of office. But a man as smart as Jim Black has to know the damage he's doing to this state.

If he loves the power, he'll find a way to stick around.

But if he loves North Carolina, he'll resign.

You hit it right on the head Tommy. In case any reader doesn't know Black is planning on keeping his speaker job after he is 're-elected'. But that can only happen if you allow him to win another term.

NC Buys Jobs

2006-08-05T13:38:00.000-04:00

North Carolina has had its best year ever for attracting new business and jobs, but it hasn't come cheap: the state has promised nearly five times the incentives as last year to attract the companies.

The state has committed to give $55 million in grants to companies that have pledged $1.7 billion in investment through the end of July, state Commerce Secretary Jim Fain said. More than 12,000 jobs are on tap from the business recruits.

Last year, the state handed out almost $12 million worth of incentive grants in exchange for $1.5 billion in investment with almost 10,000 jobs.

This year's numbers don't reflect plans by Fidelity Investments to invest $100 million and hire 2,000 workers in Research Triangle Park in Raleigh. Fidelity, which announced the plans earlier this week, received promises of up to $69 million from state and local governments.

Fain discussed the results Thursday before the state Economic Development Board.

Former state Supreme Court justice Bob Orr, a critic of incentives, said spending millions of dollars to attract companies is "an insane national game where states are being played off each other."

The cost to attract the companies is greater because the firms themselves are bigger, said Tony Copeland, assistant commerce secretary for business recruiting.

"The types of companies that we're getting are blue chip, marquee companies that are investing large amounts of capital," Copeland said. "We're a world-ranked state."

Fain told the board that incentives make the difference in attracting companies that are heavily recruited by other states and have "game-changing impact in economic development activity."

Copeland said the state was ready for an improved economy by spending earlier on infrastructure and education. The state also established the One North Carolina and the Job Development Investment Grant funds.

The Commerce Department also is working with $1 million in state funds to advertise the state to businesses.

"You create your luck," Copeland said. "We've created this luck."

Easley Oks Bandaid

2006-08-05T13:37:00.000-04:00

Gov. Mike Easley signed into law Friday an overhaul of ethics and lobbying rules designed to end lawmakers receiving dinners, campaign donations and other perks from lobbyists.

The bill also creates a broader state ethics commission that can investigate all three branches of government, although its probes would largely be hidden from the public. Cases would be referred to other panels when credible complaints are made against judges and lawmakers.

Easley had asked for a stronger commission compared to the one that currently covers mostly executive branch officials and state board appointees. The governor appeared satisfied with the finished product approved by the House and Senate on July 27.

"While this bill will have to be refined and clarified as we go forward, it is a powerful first step at establishing clear ethical standards, oversight and enforcement for public officials," Easley said in a written statement after signing the bill without a public ceremony.

"The General Assembly has worked hard on this bill and we all must ensure that this new law is implemented efficiently and effectively," he said.

The new rules, most of which take effect in January, would ban lobbyists from giving gifts to legislators, the governor, executive branch officials and high-ranking appointees, with several exceptions. Those include meals and drinks at public events for several people and travel for educational or legislative organizations.

Lobbyists also would be prevented from "bundling" campaign donations, a practice in which several campaign checks are given at a time to a candidate, sometimes after a fundraising event.

The ethics commission staff also would collect and review expanded economic disclosure statements of government officials for potential conflicts of interest, issue advisory opinions and oversee mandatory ethics training of public officials.

"We have made a significant step in building public trust," Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, said in the statement.

The ethics and lobbying overhaul took shape after House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, created a state House panel to study the issue. The move came after at least two people associated with Black were investigated for violating state lobbying laws related to their work with Scientific Games Corp. leading up to last year's lottery vote.

Earlier this year, the State Board of Elections ordered Black's campaign to forfeit $23,675 in unlawful campaign contributions. Black is appealing some of the penalties.

This week, former Rep. Michael Decker of Forsyth County pleaded guilty to conspiring to accept $50,000 in campaign contributions in exchange for switching parties, a move that helped Black share power in the House in 2003.

Republicans and a handful of House Democrats have called on him to resign from his post.

Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, will hold a news conference Monday in Raleigh to unveil publicly a new television advertisement critical of Black's legal troubles. The ad calls on viewers to "sign" a Web site petition telling Black to step down.

Claude Allen Pleaded Guilty

2006-08-05T13:36:00.000-04:00

A former White House adviser pleaded guilty to theft Friday, briefly breaking into tears as he tried to explain to a judge why he made phony returns at discount department stores while working as a top aide to President Bush.

"Something did go very wrong," Claude Allen said.

Allen, 45, is a native of Raleigh, N.C., and a former aide to Sen. Jesse Helms. He pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court to one misdemeanor count of theft under $500. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

Allen must also pay $850 in restitution to Target Corp. and perform 40 hours of community service.

In a short statement before he was sentenced, Allen, who made $160,000 a year as a domestic policy adviser, did not directly say why he made thousands of dollars worth of fraudulent returns to Target and other stores last year.

But he and his wife, Jannese, described the stresses he faced last fall, working long days following the Hurricane Katrina disaster, sleeping just two hours each night. The couple and their four children moved four times in three months, at one point living out of boxes in a friend's basement.

"I lost perspective and failed to restrain myself. At the time, I did not realize or fully appreciate what was going on," said Allen, his hands clasped in front of him as he stood behind the defense table. "These factors do not excuse my behavior ... but they were certainly a part of what happened."

Allen apologized to his wife and friends, many of whom filled one side of the courtroom.

Allen was President Bush's domestic policy adviser until he abruptly resigned in February, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. The resignation came after he was arrested in January leaving a Gaithersburg Target store with merchandise that authorities said he didn't pay for.

He told the White House about the arrest, but said it was the result of a mix-up with his credit cards. President Bush later said it would be "deeply disappointing" if Allen had misled White House officials.

Allen could have been sentenced to 18 months in prison on the theft charge. Judge Eric Johnson, however, gave Allen probation before judgment, which means his record will be expunged after his probation is over.

The judge noted that Allen already has suffered public humiliation for his arrest, and said he appreciated that Allen accepted responsibility for the crimes without trying to make excuses.

"You are a classic example ... of the fact that shame is not dead," Johnson said.

New Sex Offender Restrictions

2006-08-01T03:31:00.000-04:00

WWAY TV #

Lawmakers have approved a bill which prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center.

Friday's unanimous vote comes as the Legislature attempts to adjourn for the year.

The proposal also bars offenders from working or volunteering in a position where they would interact with minors. Some of the worst predators face lifetime satellite monitoring.

All offenders would face stiff registration requirements, giving authorities more chances to update addresses and photographs.

This law like the one is Geogria that recently passed is too broad. There are sex offenders that in my opinion deserve to die and then there are some that are now labeled sex offender by no or little fault of their own.

Legislature Goes Home

2006-08-01T03:25:00.000-04:00

Our state legislature ended it's session last week for the year. I've looked over the "accomplishments" that the democrat lead legislature has been bragging about all weekend.

I've only found 3 things that came out of the session that are decent. One is the small step taken to make it a little harder for illegals to get driving licenses in NC. The second the pay raise for state employeess. And the third is the sex offender law (I do have some reservations that this law may be too far reaching).

Most everything else it crap. And what happened to the $2 billion dollars that we overpaid last year in taxes? They spent it and found new ways to raise even more money next year. What a nice bunch of men and women we have looking out for us in Raliegh. Be sure to remember this come November and make it a no-incumbent win election year.

Small Step To Deter Illegals

2006-08-01T03:07:00.000-04:00

Just as the year's state legislative session came to a close, legislators added several provisions into bills intended to curb the flow of illegal immigrants into the state.

The provisions address driver's license security, employment and law enforcement.

The addition of the measures on the final evening of the legislative session surprised some activists for tighter immigration enforcement, who thought the laws would die at the end of the session. Activists for greater immigration enforcement had complained that the Democratic leadership was not addressing a serious illegal immigration problem.

"We really (thought) they were not going to pass anything until the last minute," said William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC.

About 390,000 illegal immigrants live in the state, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Democratic leaders have said that immigration is a federal issue limiting their ability to pass enforceable laws. But they say they are actively exploring what states can do, as shown by the passage of these bills.

"Sometimes people urge us to do things that states can't do or would be ineffective to do," said Rep. Joe Hackney, a Chapel Hill Democrat. "But there are other things that we can do and we ought to be investigating those and doing those that make sense."

New Requirements

Legislators passed several bills in the 2006 session hoping to address the growth of the state's illegal immigrant community.

DRIVER'S LICENSE

Legislators voted to eliminate the use of the Individual Taxpayer ID Number as a valid identification document for driver's license applicants.

EMPLOYMENT

State agencies, beginning next year, will be required to check a federal database to verify that newly hired employees are authorized to work in the United States. School systems have until March to comply.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Local and state law enforcement are now authorized to join a federal program that gives officers the authority to investigate, arrest and detain illegal immigrants.

It's a good first step.

Tax Break Weekend

2006-07-29T21:28:00.000-04:00

NC's tax break weekend is next weekend, August 4th to the 6th. Sales tax free items include clothing and shoes under $100. School supplies under $100. Sports equipment under $50. Computers under $3500. Computer supplies under $250.

NC Passes New Film Incentives Bill

2006-07-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

Lawmakers Thursday passed a film incentives bill that's expected to revitalize the industry in North Carolina.

They fixed a loophole in a current law that had film companies getting smaller incentive packages than expected.

The companies will now get the entire 15 percent tax break, without having to pay corporate income tax.

Senator Julia Boseman said Screen Gems Studios plans to move ahead with expansion plans for the studio on 23rd Street, which would give Wilmington the largest single stage on the east coast.

Jelly Fish Invade NC

2006-07-29T20:48:00.000-04:00

A swarm of slimy invaders is menacing beachgoers on North Carolina's southern coast.

Jellyfish have stung so many people in the area of Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach that the New Hanover County Health Department issued an alert on Friday.

Charles Smith, the director of Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue, says reports of stings have been gradually increasing over the past couple of weeks, and at least 75 people were stung by sea nettles and other jellyfish from Monday through Thursday.

One swimmer had to be taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center with a suspected Portuguese man-of-war sting.

"I can't recall any particular year that it's been that bad," Smith said.

Sea nettles, a type of jellyfish, began arriving at Wrightsville Beach in mid-July, a few weeks ahead of schedule. Now they're bombarding Carolina Beach, where so many were in the water on Thursday that lifeguards posted red flags to alert visitors of dangerous conditions.

At Wrightsville Beach, Ocean Rescue director Dave Baker said lifeguards treated about a dozen stings a day when the jellyfish were at their peak. They're now down to about one a day.

Experts offer a variety of reasons for the increase in jellyfish, ranging from tropical weather pushing them inland to a combination of temperatures, salinity and rich feeding grounds.

"Last year we had very few, this year we have a lot," Baker said. "It's just Mother Nature."

They do hurt a lot. My wife, daughter and I went kayaking in Shallowbag Bay at Manteo when we decided to take a cool off swim. My daughter jumped right into a large school of jellies. I had to un-tangle them from around her arms and legs. She looked like she had been whipped with a bullwhip afterward with long red welts all over her body.

NC To Be the Home of the Nation's 2nd Body Farm

2006-07-29T20:36:00.000-04:00

But Williams, of course, isn't trying to dispose of any dead bodies. Rather, he's a student of how the human body decomposes. He needed the chipper for a study on what the machine does to bone, a study commissioned by attorneys suing a Georgia crematorium owner charged with dumping _ and chipping _ human remains he had been given for incineration.

Soon, Williams will have a new place to conduct his research _ a well-hidden location near Western Carolina's campus where he and students studying the science of the human skeleton and human remains can watch cadavers decompose in the mountainous environment of western North Carolina. It will be just the second such "body farm" in the country.

"They'll be involved with the daily observation process. Very early on, you are examining that body daily, because the changes initially go very quickly," Williams said. "They'll learn how to observe as scientists."

How fast a body left in the open breaks down _ key to establishing when a person was killed _ depends heavily on temperature, moisture and other environmental factors, Williams said. In relatively dry, cold conditions, like those found in these mountains in the winter, it can take months for a body to decompose to skeletal remains.

In the warmer, more humid conditions of summertime, when there are plenty of insects around, that process can speed up greatly, said Williams, a veteran of body recovery operations at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 1999 EgyptAir crash off the Massachusetts coast.

School officials are keeping the facility's exact location a secret, to discourage those with a morbid curiosity from dropping by. Roughly the size of a garage with room for six bodies, it will be hidden from view by a 9-foot privacy fence and protected by a second security fence topped with razor wire. Campus plans daily patrols at the site, which is a half-mile from the nearest home.

If you watch CSI you may remember that a body farm like this was used to dump a body.

Convention Center

2006-07-25T16:35:00.000-04:00

I heard that Wilmington can get it's convention center now that a bill for it's fund has passed. I'm sorry about that guys.

Girl Dies In Elavator Accident

2006-07-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

A Wilmington child is dead after a horrifying accident involving an elevator. It happened Sunday night at a house off Pinfish Lane in Carolina Beach.

According to investigators, the 10-year-old girl was celebrating her birthday with friends at her mother's boyfriend's house when things took a deadly turn.

Investigators say around eight p.m. Sunday night the girl went to play in an elevator that was recently put into the house. Police did not say who pushed the buttons in the elevator but at some point the girl was hanging out of the front, from her shoulders up, when the elevator began to move up to the next floor.

The girl did not get out of the way in time and got crushed.

This is terrible and my heart felt sympathy goes to this little girl's family.

One That Got Lost In The System

2006-07-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

Some say an overwhelming caseload was a factor in why an illegal immigrant charged in what investigators have called a violent case of road rage was not deported after a prior conviction for a McDonald's shooting.

Joel Ortiz was arrested in April in connection with the shooting at the Raleigh restaurant and was under investigation by local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But when there was not enough evidence to support a felony conviction, according to prosecutors, a plea bargain was reached with Ortiz and the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.

Although a misdemeanor-assault charge is a deportable offense, according to immigration attorney Lynn Calder, immigration officials said that because the charge was reduced, the case became a low priority.

"If they got something more serious going on at the time, I don't think they'll get to them," Calder said.

That procedure, referred to as a detainer, is now under way for Ortiz after he was arrested last Thursday in a series of incidents in which he allegedly chased down motorists, rammed their vehicles and shot at them. He is currently in jail under $407,000 bond.

But Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby said on Monday that he had hoped immigration agents would have taken a serious look at Ortiz's immigration status after the first arrest in April.

"Anytime someone is in this country illegally and gets arrested for a felony with a firearm, it ought to get reviewed by ICE," Willoughby said.

Willoughby, the police, as well as many other people, have said they realize and understand how overwhelmed immigration agents are. For example, the local immigration office covers 31 counties.

The enormous amount of work, in part, has prompted state lawmakers to take a tougher stance on illegal immigration. On Monday evening, they unanimously passed a resolution to pushing for an immigration court in North Carolina, which is one of three states under consideration for the court.

North Carolina's illegal-immigrant population is estimated at about 300,000 and is the eighth largest in the United States. Currently, the closest immigration court is in Atlanta.

The resolution also urges the U.S. Congress to make a driving-while-impaired conviction a cause for deportation, and it calls for the expansion of Homeland Security to give local law-enforcement officers the authority to identify people who have previously been deported.

An Elon University poll released in April shows that 71 percent of North Carolinians believe illegal immigration is an important issue, but those who responded are split as to whether it has helped the state.

Of the 677 participants, 44 percent said illegal immigration has been bad for North Carolina, while 43 percent said it has been good or has not made much difference.

Participants were asked their opinions about a variety of statements to determine what makes immigration an important issue to them. More than 70 percent agreed that providing school, health care and similar services for illegal immigrants costs too much and 72 percent said such immigrants do not pay their fair share of taxes.

State House and Senate Fight Over Sex Offender Tracking

2006-07-25T16:29:00.000-04:00

State lawmakers were poised on Monday evening to move forward with a bill that would better track sex offenders, but the House rejected the Senate's version of the bill.

Easley Says Give It Back

2006-07-25T16:26:00.000-04:00

Gov. Mike Easley demanded Monday that the state's Ports Authority repay nearly $4,000 of taxpayer money used to make a state ferry available for an invitation-only boat party during a sailing festival.

"I want to be crystal clear with you: this type of activity should not ever occur again," Easley wrote in a letter to Ports Authority officials. "State agencies and their employees are stewards of the public's money and trust and our actions should reflect the highest of standards."

The cruise gave about 200 passengers -- including Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and other elected lawmakers -- an up-close view of the Tall Ships Festival in Beaufort and Morehead City on July 1. While officials dined on seafood and enjoyed the music of a steel drum band, others fought crowds and congestion.

The ferry was replaced on its route by a smaller ship, leading to delays for passengers trying to cross the river.

"It is absolutely indefensible that a ferry was taken out of service to transport dignitaries while the general public battled traffic and stood in stifling heat for hours to get a glimpse of the ships," Easley wrote.

Easley found that the Ports Authority, which is a state agency but runs on its own revenue, paid almost $25,000 out of its budget to host the event. The Department of Transportation added about $3,800, which is taxpayer money.

Most of the $3,800 was used for paint and cleaning supplies to renovate the Floyd Lupton, additional staffing and personnel to cover the costs of two ships, fuel and a photographer to document the event, said DOT spokesman Ernie Seneca.

"To cover the costs borne by the taxpayers, I am directing the State Ports Authority to reimburse the Department of Transportation for the costs of using the ferry," Easley wrote.

Watermelon Festival

2006-07-25T16:09:00.000-04:00

Fair Bluff's annual Watermelon Festival kicks off this weekend. I've never been to it before, but this year my daughter is a Melon Belle, so I must throw in my support of this local festival. Also my 6 year old is really looking forward to the seed spitting contest, he keeps telling me he has to practice before the big day. Hope to see you there.

Offensive Jokes

2006-07-15T23:28:00.000-04:00

I found this list of jokes at Boortz

Something To Offend Everyone!

What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball?
Juan on Juan.

What is the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?
The position of the dirt bag.

What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?
Doughnuts?

Why is air a lot like sex?
Because it's no big deal unless you're not getting any.

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?
45 lbs.

What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?
45 minutes.

What's the fastest way to a man's heart?
Through his chest with a sharp knife.

Why do men want to marry virgins?
They can't stand criticism.

Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good-looking?
Because those men already have boyfriends.

What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
After a year, the dog is still excited to see you.

What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?
The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving.

What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant?
"Are you sure it's mine?"

Why does Mike Tyson cry during sex?
Mace will do that to you.

Why did OJ Simpson want to move to West Virginia?
Everyone has the same DNA.

Did you hear about the dyslexic Rabbi?
He walks around saying "Yo."

Where does an Irish family go on vacation?
A different bar.

Did you hear about the Chinese couple that had a retarded baby?
They named him "Sum Ting Wong.

What would you call it when an Italian has one arm shorter than the other?
A speech impediment.

What does it mean when the flag at the Post Office is flying at half-mast?
They're hiring.

What's the difference between a southern zoo and a northern zoo?
A southern zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the cage along with... "a recipe."

How do you get a sweet little 80-year-old lady to say the F word?
Get another sweet little 80-year-old lady to yell *BINGO*!

What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale?
A northern fairytale begins "Once upon a time..."
A southern fairytale begins "Y'all ain't gonna believe this s....t."

Why is there no Disneyland in China ?
No one's tall enough to go on the good rides.

Easley Blocks Attempt To ID New Marina Leaseholders

2006-07-15T23:20:00.000-04:00

Carolina Journal

Gov. Mike Easley, saying proper procedure had not been followed, thwarted Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry’s attempt in a Council of State meeting Tuesday to learn the identities of the individuals awarded a new lease for the state-owned Southport Marina property.

When Berry tried to raise the issue at the meeting, Easley would not allow it. He told Berry that she “didn’t allow enough time” for her request to be put on the agenda, though she said she had made the request five days in advance of the meeting. Easley indicated that her request would be taken up in August.

Berry said she wanted the individuals involved in the marina deal identified because she said the public has a right to know. She also said full disclosure is necessary so state officials can avoid a conflict of interest when voting on real estate matters.

Berry, Carolina Journal, and other media organizations have tried unsuccessfully to identify the leaseholders since Easley coaxed the lease though the approval process in January. Neither Easley’s office nor the North Carolina State Ports Authority, the agency that controls the property, will identify the new owners of the marina operating company.

This was a shady deal from the get go. A lot of Southport residents are upset at how this process was handled. They really feel betrayed by Easley and the state. A lot of questions have been brought up about who holds the lease and what their relationship to the governor is and with why the deal was made without giving residents input but so far very few answers have emerged from Raliegh.

What the Heck?!?

2006-07-15T04:25:00.000-04:00

Myrtle Beach Online

Seeking to patch any holes in North Carolina's criminal justice system, the state Senate approved a bill Monday to create an "innocence commission" that could override a court to free a prisoner.

The eight-member commission would conduct inquiries into claims of innocence. A convicted criminal would have to petition the commission, citing new evidence that may prove a new verdict.

"It would restore the integrity and the public's confidence in the process," said Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg.

A criminal justice task force recommended the panel. The task force was formed in part because of the murder case of Darryl Hunt, who spent 18 years in prison for the slaying of a Winston-Salem woman before DNA evidence exonerated him.

If five of the eight members agree there is enough evidence, the case would be sent to a three-judge Superior Court panel. Charges would be dismissed if the judges unanimously determine there "is clear and convincing evidence" that the defendant is innocent.

Only one senator - Hugh Webster - dissented in the vote. He said lawmakers should work on fixing the justice system as it is now.

"We're saying it's not working, so we have to have this commission to catch and correct errors," said Webster, R-Alamance.

The Senate version, slightly different than a House bill passed last year, would bar defendants who pleaded from going before the commission. And while the House would allow a split decision of a three-judge panel to be appealed to the state Supreme Court, there is no such provision in the Senate bill and provides for no additional appeals.

The measure now returns to the House for concurrence.

So after going to a jury of his peers and being found guilty a panel can recommend an inmate to be set free. This is bull crap. This is wrong. An appeals process is set up for this and no panel is needed to second guess a jury.

NC Moves To Break Law

2006-07-15T04:19:00.000-04:00

NBC17.com

North Carolina is following the lead of other Southeastern states in proposing tolls for Interstate 95 to help pay for repairs and expansion.

I-95 needs about $4 billion in repairs in North Carolina, state Department of Transportation officials said. That includes replacing dozens of bridges and adding lanes to the highway's 182 miles of asphalt across the state.

DOT officials have discussed the toll-road plan with federal highway officials. But North Carolina law prohibits tolling an existing road, so the General Assembly would have to approve the change.

"This follows the plan of Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia in making those improvements. The study is underway, and it no way implies you'll see construction equipment in the next few months," state Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett said.

South Carolina wants to start collecting tolls in 2009. Virginia lawmakers have already passed a bill that would allow the state to share tolls collected at the state border with North Carolina.

Drivers said Wednesday that they don't like the idea.

"I'm already paying lots of money," said Wilmar Pinargote, who noted he would look for another route from Florida to New York if tolls are levied. "I try to save money. I need to save money for my family."

Our state law states that an existing road can not be made into a toll road. The law does allow tolls on new roads being constructing. But it doesn't suprise me that our state legislature is considering breaking the law or changeing to so that they can collect more taxes. Yes a toll is a tax. And don't believe that if tolls are set up that they will be used just for repairs on that road. The money will be pulled for whatever the legislature wants. Don't believe me, what about the lottery? Remember it wouldn't replace any existing education money, but within a week it was.

Senate Votes To Protect The 2nd Amendment

2006-07-15T04:10:00.000-04:00

I'm very very happy to see this.

MyWay

- The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to prohibit the confiscation of legally owned guns during an emergency like last year's Hurricane Katrina, marking another victory for the gun lobby.

By a vote of 84-16, the Senate embraced an amendment by Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. He attached his measure to a domestic security spending bill for the fiscal year starting October 1 that the Senate is expected to pass soon.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed its version of the spending bill and negotiators will have to decide whether to keep the gun provision. The House is usually sympathetic to gun owners.

Citing the constitutional right to bear arms, Vitter said that during an emergency people should be allowed to hold onto "legally possessed firearms to defend your life, your property" at a time when telephone lines and cell phones probably are not operating and victims "can't reach out to law enforcement authorities."

Vitter said 10 states have passed similar laws. Louisiana is one of them.

Following Hurricane Katrina last August, some emergency workers expressed fears about guns being looted from stores and first-responders being threatened by gun proliferation.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, called the amendment "pay-back time by the National Rifle Association," a powerful lobbying group that opposes gun controls.

Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, added, "You send the National Guardsmen in ... and then snipers start shooting at them and the police make it known this is going to be a gun-free zone. We don't want any National Guardsmen killed because of this national emergency, this disaster. Is that an unreasonable thing?"

Vitter countered that the "declaration or state of emergency in and of itself does not give anyone the right to confiscate guns" and local law enforcement officials should not "trump" the Constitution.

Last month, gun lobbyists won another victory when the House voted to overturn a recently enacted law requiring safety trigger locks on all hand guns sold in the United States.

That measure, attached to a law enforcement spending bill, awaits Senate action.

Senate Doing A Kerry

2006-07-14T23:42:00.000-04:00

The US Senate has voted not to fund a fence on the southern border just two months after voting to build the 370 mile fence.

The Washington Times

Less than two months after voting overwhelmingly to build 370 miles of new fencing along the border with Mexico, the Senate yesterday voted against providing funds to build it.
"We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of legislating," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican whose amendment to fund the fence was killed on a 71-29 vote. "The things we do often sound very good, but we never quite get there."
Mr. Sessions offered his amendment to authorize $1.8 billion to pay for the fencing that the Senate voted 83-16 to build along high-traffic areas of the border with Mexico. In the same vote on May 17, the Senate also directed 500 miles of vehicle barriers to be built along the border.
But the May vote simply authorized the fencing and vehicle barriers, which on Capitol Hill is a different matter from approving the federal expenditures needed to build it.

Hazleton, PA Gets Tough On Illegals

2006-07-14T23:40:00.000-04:00

NewsMax

The Hazleton, Pa., City Council approved a law Thursday night designed to make this small city in northeastern Pennsylvania among the most hostile places in the U.S. for illegal immigrants to live or work.

The 4-to-1 vote came after nearly two hours of passionate debate. Opponents argued it was divisive and possibly illegal, but supporters argued illegal immigrants' growing numbers have damaged the quality of life here.

"We must draw the line, and we are doing it tonight," Mayor Lou Barletta told a packed council chambers.

Barletta proposed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act last month as a response to what he said were Hazleton's problems with violent crime, crowded schools, hospital costs and the demand for services.

The ordinance would deny licenses to businesses that employ illegal immigrants, fine landlords $1,000 for each illegal immigrant discovered renting their properties, and require city documents to be in English only.

Good job.

Johnston County Elections Director Stole Funds

2006-07-14T23:28:00.000-04:00

The Johnston County elections director resigned Friday after an investigation linked her to missing cash from the office -- more than $6,000 over five years.

County attorney Mark Payne said Teresa Davis, who had been director since 1998, was expected to begin repaying the money soon. He said his office would notify the county prosecutor.

An internal investigation showed the missing money included filing fees from candidates and notary fees.

Deputy director Leigh Anne Price was selected as interim director while the county elections board decides on a permanent replacement for Davis.

Davis was paid about $52,000 a year and had experienced financial problems, filing for bankruptcy last year.

House Passes Voting Rights Act Renewal

2006-07-14T04:03:00.000-04:00

Did you know that there is no federal right to vote. That's right the constitution of the US does not grant you the right to vote. There are amendments that prevent the discrimination when granting the franchise, but they do not automatically give you the franchise. People mistake this state granted right as the law of the land when it's not.

The VRA is no longer needed. Heck it wasn't truely need in 1965. Just read the 15th amendment and you will see that blacks have same right to vote as whites. The 19th amendment stated that a woman has the same right to vote as a man. Then the 24th amendment stated that poll taxes are illegal (voter id is not a poll tax no matter what the ACLU and DNC say). The 26th amendment gave every citizen (it does state citizens, not guest workers, illegal aliens, undocumented workers, etc) equal right to vote.

It should be allowed to die. Why do we need bilingual ballots, if only citizens can vote? Why do some southern states still need DOJ approval of voting practice changes 40 years later when the Constitution states that all states should be treated the same by the federal government? Why? Please explain this to me.

Jugde Says No To Voter ID Check

2006-07-14T03:34:00.000-04:00

WSAV.com

Georgia voters won't have to show a government-

issued photo id when they go to the polls.

That's because of two rulings issued Wednesday.

One denied the state's appeal to an earlier ruling that blocked enforcement of the new law during next week's primary.

The other decision blocking enforcement came from a federal judge.

Critics -- who believe the law will keep Georgia's elderly, low-income and minorities from voting -- are relieved.

"It's logical. Because when people went to get the photo id, the same 17 pieces of identification they needed to get the photo id -- they can't use to vote! So it really didn't make any sense at all,"

says Democratic State Senator Regina Thomas.

Law proponent, Republican Senator Eric Johnson, who sees photo id's as a way to fight election fraud, issued a statement saying, "Democrats have found a way to allow Illegals and the dead to have a say in next Tuesday's primary. Every registered voter should be outraged."Georgia voters won't have to show a government-

issued photo id when they go to the polls.

That's because of two rulings issued Wednesday.

One denied the state's appeal to an earlier ruling that blocked enforcement of the new law during next week's primary.

The other decision blocking enforcement came from a federal judge.

Critics -- who believe the law will keep Georgia's elderly, low-income and minorities from voting -- are relieved.

"It's logical. Because when people went to get the photo id, the same 17 pieces of identification they needed to get the photo id -- they can't use to vote! So it really didn't make any sense at all,"

says Democratic State Senator Regina Thomas.

Law proponent, Republican Senator Eric Johnson, who sees photo id's as a way to fight election fraud, issued a statement saying, "Democrats have found a way to allow Illegals and the dead to have a say in next Tuesday's primary. Every registered voter should be outraged."

I don't see where it's illegal or un-constitutional to require you to prove you are you to vote. Photo IDs aren't hard to get (just ask any illegal alien here in NC).

Lebanon Grabbed the Tiger By the Tail

2006-07-14T03:25:00.000-04:00

Washington Post

Israel imposed a blockade on Lebanon by land, sea and air on Thursday, striking the capital's airport twice, cutting off its ports and wrecking bridges and roads in attacks that killed at least 47 people in the last two days, nearly all of them Lebanese civilians. Israel said the radical Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah fired 150 rockets into northern Israel, including two that reached the port city of Haifa. Israeli jets repeatedly crossed over Beirut before dawn Friday. At least two explosions were heard, and antiaircraft fire and flares lit up the night sky.

Minuteman Project Slowing the Border Drug Trade

2006-07-14T03:21:00.000-04:00

KVOA News 4

This intelligence report obtained by News 4 says that the Minuteman Project had an impact on drug trafficking in Cochise County in 2005.

DEA officials say bulk loads of marijuana crossing the border dropped siginificantly.

Anthony Coulson, with DEA says, "When you have eyes on the border -- I think any law enforcment will admit this -- you have a great deterrent effect of keeping things away."

Easley Signs Minimum Wage Bill

2006-07-14T01:12:00.000-04:00

Gov. Mike Easley Thursday signed into law a bill that will increase the state's minimum wage by $1.

House Bill 2174 raises the hourly minimum pay rate from $5.15 to $6.15 per hour and also ties North Carolina's minimum wage to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

If the federal minimum wage is raised, employees in North Carolina will receive whichever wage is higher. The federal minimum wage is currently $5.15 an hour and has not been raised in nine years.

At a news conference Thursday, Easley said the bill is just one step in changing the state's economy.

"We are not trying to build a low-road economy based on low wages and low skill. Those days are gone," Easley said.

"We are building a better workforce by providing the knowledge, talent and skill our citizens need to succeed in the global marketplace," he added. "This higher level of education is bringing in high-paying jobs but raising the minimum wage helps our people make the needed transition to this new economy."

Several state and community leaders, including bill sponsor Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford, who worked to get the bill passed in both the House and Senate.

"Raising the minimum wage by this first dollar is a small but significant step in the right direction toward a living wage," she said. "It sends a powerful message that North Carolina values hard work and is concerned about working poor families and the 'least of these' among us who need a lift up."

An estimated 139,000 workers will benefit from the law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2007.

How much skill does it take to say, "hi welcome to Wal-Mart, wanta a sticker?" or to flip a burger or sweep a floor. Mr. Easley, I have to inform that bio-tech engineers, nurses, doctors and teachers aren't makeing $5.15 per hour.

Higher Minimum Wage For Illegals

2006-07-14T01:08:00.000-04:00

The Washington Times

The Senate immigration bill would require that foreign construction laborers here under the guest-worker program be paid well above the minimum wage, even as American workers at the same work site could earn less.
The bill "would guarantee wages to some foreign workers that could be higher than those paid to American workers at the same work site," says a policy paper released this week by the Senate's Republican Policy Committee. "This is unfair to U.S. workers, inappropriate, and unnecessary."
The 11-page, harshly critical analysis of the Senate immigration bill on this one point reveals how torn Senate Republicans are over the larger issue of immigration.
Though the bill was supported by Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, it was opposed by the rest of the Senate Republican leadership and a majority of Republicans in the chamber. And despite the support of Mr. Frist and Mr. McConnell, this week's policy paper critical of the wage guarantees for foreign workers marks the official stance of the Republican Policy Committee, which formulates and implements the policies of the caucus.

The Senate is really getting ourt of sync with the American people.

FCC On Gone Wild

2006-07-14T01:05:00.000-04:00

MSNBC

In its continuing crackdown on on-air profanity, the FCC has requested numerous tapes from broadcasters that might include vulgar remarks from unruly spectators, coaches and athletes at live sporting events, industry sources said.

Tapes requested by the commission include live broadcasts of football games and NASCAR races where the participants or the crowds let loose with an expletive. While commission officials refused to talk about its requests, one broadcast company executive said the commission had asked for 30 tapes of live sports and news programs.

“It looks like they want to end live broadcast TV,” said one executive, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. “We already know that they aren’t afraid to go after news.”

Why is the FCC trying to protect us from ourselves? I thought the main job of the FCC was to make sure that the airwaves where being used fairly. Sort of to make sure that WWAY doesn't block WECT's signal to gain viewers. I didn't know that they where mandated to be the official censors of the US.

Network-Neutrality

2006-07-13T03:46:00.000-04:00

IPI

No need now for new net neutrality regulation
By Tom Giovanetti

Here’s a proposed solution to the current debate over new network-neutrality regulations: How about let’s do nothing — at least not now?

The net-neutrality debate started off with a great name and a good premise — namely, that a user should have the ability to connect and use any device over the Internet. But today net neutrality has morphed into a set of proposed restrictions designed to limit significantly the ability of Internet service providers to enter into private contracts with content owners and to prioritize traffic over their networks. And the proposed regulations have been grafted onto an otherwise useful bill designed to remove regulatory barriers so that telecom companies can more easily introduce video services.

Why are such regulations being proposed? The fear is that network owners will leverage their control over the “pipes” in order to restrict consumer choice and competition.

Here’s an imagined worst-case scenario: Let’s say that a major broadband provider like AT&T decides to go into the business of selling music online. The problem, from AT&T’s standpoint, would be formidable established competitors such as Apple’s iTunes Music Store.

Since AT&T controls its own pipes, and thus access to customers, might it go to Apple and say, “If you won’t pay us, we’ll block our customers’ access to iTunes”? Or at least slow down iTunes’ traffic and guarantee faster access to AT&Tunes?

But even net-neutrality supporters don’t agree on the right response to this imagined threat. Some advocates wanted to see much more restrictive language in the bill that passed out of the House Commerce Committee last week, which is scheduled for a floor vote in the House tomorrow. And they’ll probably try to get more net-neutrality restrictions through floor amendments. But others worried that the language in the bill is actually worse than nothing because at least under the status quo the Federal Communications Commission has fairly broad authority to field complaints and take action should a broadband provider behave in an abusive manner.

And, of course, broadband providers want no restriction at all on their ability to enter freely into contracts with content providers. And they have a point. Onerous restrictions would quite likely preclude new business models designed to give consumers new products and services. And if we’re not careful we could end up with net-neutrality regulations that are actually harmful.

For instance, if broadband companies are legally precluded from prioritizing Internet traffic, might we someday read the horror story of fire and police departments not being able to get through on their voice over Internet protocol phones because too much traffic was being tied up by men downloading the Victoria’s Secret fashion show?

Don’t laugh — as more and more critical communication moves to the Internet it will be absolutely necessary for broadband providers to prioritize traffic. First responders, hospitals and other key infrastructure elements will need access to the equivalent of HOV lanes on the Internet, to ensure that urgent communications get where they need to go as quickly as possible.

So, at this point in the broadband rollout, where we don’t even know if such regulations are going to be necessary, what’s wrong with doing nothing — at least not now? After all, it’s likely that these companies know that their customers will not tolerate practices that discriminate against customer choice.

It seems reasonable to take a go-slow approach to net neutrality, rather than legislating a solution in search of a problem.

This is the also the model we used on Internet taxation. When the Internet was still young, there were calls to allow Internet transactions to be taxed. The concern was that brick-and-mortar businesses were going to be devastated by online competition unfairly favored by a lack of sales taxes and that state revenues would plummet. But Congress wisely decided to hold off on such taxation and observe the development of the Internet without burdening it.

And the feared damage has simply not occurred. Brick-and-mortar businesses have adapted to compete with online competition, and states are flush with revenue.

It seems reasonable to adopt a similar “first, do no harm” model for net neutrality as well. Without net-neutrality regulations, government doesn’t go away. It just doesn’t get in the way.

Deficit Shrinks

2006-07-13T03:36:00.000-04:00

MyWayNews

President Bush touted new deficit figures Tuesday showing considerable improvement upon earlier administration predictions, saying it shows the wisdom of his tax cuts.

Bush himself announced the figures - a task that for the most part has been left to lower-ranking administration officials in the past. The new figures show the deficit for the budget year ending Sept. 30 will be $296 billion - much better than the $423 billion that Bush predicted in February and a slight improvement over 2005.

Bush said the improvement is due to tax cuts he pushed in 2001 and 2003 and his clampdown on domestic agencies funded by Congress.

"These tax cuts left nearly $1.1 trillion in the hands of American workers and families and small business owners. And they used this money to help fuel an economic resurgence that's now in its 18th quarter," Bush said. "Economic growth fueled by tax relief has sent our tax revenues soaring."

Impressive profits and big income gains by the wealthy are largely responsible for the surge in revenues and, in turn, the deficit drop.

However, the results are less impressive when compared to the $318 billion deficit posted last fall for fiscal 2005. Despite strong revenues, the high costs of the Iraq war and Gulf Coast hurricane relief have weighed on the deficit - as have higher interest payments paid on the national debt.

The deficit for next year would ease back up to $339 billion, the White House predicted. It would drop to $188 billion in 2008.

"The 2006 deficit may be a bit lower, but it represents a $600 billion swing from the surplus projected in 2001. And a deficit of $296 billion is still a large deficit. In nominal terms, its one of the four largest in history," said Rep. John Spratt Jr. of South Carolina, top Democrat on the Budget Committee.

"Let's not boast about a $300 billion deficit," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Any statistic you look at recognizes the rich in America are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is getting squeezed."

Revenues are running $115 billion greater than expected earlier this year, the White House said, reflecting particularly strong growth in taxes paid on corporate profits and income taxes paid by wealthier people and small businessmen who pay taxes quarterly instead of having them withheld by employers.

Taxes paid by individuals are growing at an 11 percent rate, the White House says, while corporate taxes are rising at a 19 percent rate.

"Bold pro-growth tax policies enacted by Congress and the president have sparked unprecedented economic growth," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H.

But Gregg and budget experts across the spectrum say the real challenge lies ahead, when the retirement of the baby boomers threatens to swamp Social Security and the Medicare health plan for the aged.

For his part, Bush reiterated that Congress should enact the line-item veto to help him crack down on wasteful spending passed by Congress.

The economy is estimated to grow at a 3.5 percent rate in real terms, a slight slowdown from the 5.6 percent rate of the first quarter of the year.

"We've had extraordinarily good profit growth, and when you have better profit growth than wage growth you tend to have windfall tax revenues because taxes on profits are higher than taxes on wages," said Diane Swonk, chief economist for Mesirow Financial, a Chicago-based financial services firm.

Swonk predicted that the unexpected revenue surge would ease around the end of the year as profits peak.

Bush has had few opportunities to boast about the deficit over the course of his time in office. He inherited in 2001 a surplus estimated by both White House and congressional forecasters at $5.6 trillion over the subsequent decade, and it quickly dwindled.

Those faulty estimates assumed the late-1990s revenue boom - fueled by the stock market and dot.com booms - would continue. But that bubble burst, and a recession and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks started a flow of red ink. Several rounds of tax cuts, including Bush's signature $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, also contributed to the return to deficits four years ago after four years of budget surpluses.

Some budget experts say the steep rise in tax receipts looks more impressive than it really is since revenues are bouncing back from a three-year decline during Bush's first term, drops not seen since the Great Depression.

"The current so-called revenue surge is merely restoring revenues to where they were half a decade ago," said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities think tank. That's after accounting for inflation and population growth.

Still, the new figures allowed Bush to claim that he will meet his promise, made in early 2004, that he will cut the deficit in half by the end of his second term. Bush's deficit-halving promise was based on 2004 estimates projecting a $521 billion deficit for the 2004 budget year, setting the goal of $260 billion.

Landfill Moratorium Gets Committee Approval

2006-07-13T03:32:00.000-04:00

A Senate committee Wednesday unanimously approved an 18-month moratorium on new landfills to give state officials time to study the impact of solid waste disposal is having on North Carolina.

Waste management businesses are planning four major landfills around the state, which have the potential to double North Carolina's waste capacity.

"We all know that landfills are an integral part of the state and of economic growth," said Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, the bill's sponsor. "However, we've got to take a look at these mega-landfills before we move forward."

One facility in Camden County would take in 10,000 tons of garbage each day from all along the East Coast and as far away as Michigan. Currently, the state landfill with the highest volume of waste is the Charlotte Motor Speedway facility, which takes in about 3,500 tons per day.

Elizabeth Self, a lobbyist for the environmental advocacy group Sierra Club, said the new projects would turn North Carolina, which is now a net exporter of trash, into the fourth largest waste importing state.

"North Carolina is poised to become the destination of choice for trash along the East Coast of the United States," said Jim Stephenson, policy director for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, an environmental group concerned with issues along the waterfront. "These mega landfills pose serious environmental, ecological and economic impacts."

All the major facilities -- in Camden, Brunswick, Hyde and Columbus Counties -- are currently under review.

While House Speaker Jim Black has said representatives will consider the proposal, he questioned the state's decision to hault existing reviews.

"There's some companies that have made significant investment in North Carolina and we let them get pretty far along (in the process of planning a new landfill)," Black said last week. "And if you pass a moratorium ... there may be some legally jeopardy there."

And while landfill opponents said the trash could contaminate groundwater supplies and harm fragile ecosystems, Greg Peverall, a consultant for Waste Management, said the landfills instead protect the environment by safely storing trash. He added that a number of North Carolina landfills will reach capacity over the next decade.

Dexter Matthews, the director of waste management for North Carolina's Department of Natural Resources, said the bill's exceptions allow existing landfills to expand, which will help the state meet its needs during the moratorium.

The Senate, which is expected to bring the bill to the floor Thursday, originally wanted to add the landfill moratorium in the budget.

"We're talking about some real severe implications with these landfills," Jenkins said. "We have to consider those implications."

Congress, Really Looking Out For Us

2006-07-12T02:26:00.000-04:00

Our US Congress is debating on rather or not to ban online gambling. This is much more important then taxes, terrorist and the bloated mass of bureaucracy trying to run our lives to protect us from ourselves.

Judge Says Search of Jefferson's Office Was A OK

2006-07-12T02:23:00.000-04:00

The Times-Picayune

Federal agents conducting a criminal investigation of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson were entitled to raid his congressional office, a federal judge ruled Monday, and prosecutors can immediately begin reviewing seized material, including the computer hard drives seized from the congressman and his staff.

The May 20-21 search, the first ever of a congressional office, was carried out as part of a nearly 16-month political corruption probe that has targeted the eight-term New Orleans Democrat. It had been challenged by attorneys for Jefferson and by House leaders of both parties who argued that the search was unnecessary to advance the investigation and that it violated the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches and the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.

But Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, in a 28-page ruling, rejected all the arguments, saying their theories, if carried to their logical conclusion, would allow members of Congress to hide evidence of criminal activities.

"Congressman Jefferson's interpretation of the speech or debate privilege would have the effect of converting every congressional office into a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime," said Hogan, who had approved the search warrant for the May 20-21 search of Jefferson's office.

Jefferson's attorney, Robert Trout, vowed to appeal Hogan's ruling, but the fact that the judge, an appointee of President Reagan, said the material can be reviewed immediately by the Justice Department may indicate he won't be willing to stay his ruling during what could be a lengthy appeals process. Law enforcement officials have said they would expect a decision by a Virginia grand jury on whether to indict Jefferson fairly soon after the material taken from the office is made available.

Hogan rejected the contention by Jefferson's attorneys that the search wasn't necessary because the Department of Justice had not exhausted less intrusive approaches to obtaining the evidence and that the FBI agents had taken privileged material related to Jefferson's legislative duties.

"While the search here entailed an invasion somewhat greater than usual because it took place in a congressional office certain to contain privileged legislative material, the government has demonstrated a compelling need to conduct the search in relation to a criminal investigation involving very serious crimes and has been unable to obtain the evidence sought through any other reasonable means," Hogan ruled.

Separation of powers

As to whether the search violated the separation of powers, as argued by Jefferson's attorneys, Hogan said he actually found the opposite to be the case.

"Rather, the principle of the separation of powers is threatened by the position that the Legislative branch enjoys the unilateral and unreviewable power to invoke an absolute privilege, thus making it immune from the ordinary criminal process of a validly issued search warrant," Hogan said.

Trout, Jefferson's attorney, vowed to appeal, and that appeal is expected to be filed today. Initially, it's likely that the appeal would be heard by a three-judge panel of U.S. District Court, and after that panel's ruling, the matter could come before the U.S. Supreme Court.

'Unprecedented' raid

Trout said the raid "was unprecedented, unnecessary and unconstitutional."

"In this case, 15 FBI agents spent 18 hours looking at every piece of paper in the congressman's office, and they carted away his computer hard drive as well as the hard drives of every single member of his staff," Trout said. "A bipartisan group of House leaders joined us in court to argue that these procedures were in direct violation of the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which the Framers specifically designed to protect legislators from intimidation by the legislative and judicial branches. While a congressman is not above the law, the executive branch must also follow the law."

Hogan said it is true that members of Congress, under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, may not be questioned by a member of the executive branch, including federal prosecutors, for their legislative work. But that's not what happened, he said.

"No one argues that the warrant executed upon Congressman Jefferson's office was not properly administered," Hogan wrote. "Therefore, there was no impermissible intrusion on the Legislature. The fact that some privileged material was incidentally captured by the search does not constitute an unlawful intrusion."

The Justice Department has been investigating Jefferson since March 2005. The major allegation is that he accepted payments in return for using his congressional position to assist a small Kentucky telecommunications company, iGate Inc., in getting Internet and cable television contracts in Nigeria and Ghana. The CEO of iGate, Vernon Jackson, one of two people to plead guilty in the probe, has said that he paid a company controlled by Jefferson's family more than $400,000.

Lori Mody, an iGate investor who has been cooperating with federal investigators and has worn a wire during meetings and telephone discussions with Jefferson, was videotaped handing the congressman a briefcase with $100,000, reportedly to be used as a bribe for the vice president of Nigeria. All but $10,000 of the money was later found in the freezer of Jefferson's Washington home.

Jefferson has said he has an honorable explanation for the allegations against him. He has not been charged in the case and predicts he ultimately will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

Pelosi's views

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who led the move to strip Jefferson of his seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee because of the allegations against him, said the ruling shows that "no one is above the law."

Still, Pelosi, who challenged the raid along with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., continued to question the way the raid was carried out without allowing a representative of the House counsel's office to observe.

"This particular search could have been conducted in a manner that fully protected the ability of the prosecutors to obtain the evidence needed to do their job while preserving constitutional principles," she said.

In his ruling, Hogan said there is no provision in federal rules for search warrants that allow someone to observe the search. Pelosi and a Department of Justice spokesman said discussions continue on procedures that both sides would agree to follow in any future raid of a congressional office.

"We are pleased with this decision, which allows us to move forward in this investigation using the documents that the court has concluded were lawfully obtained," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. "At the same time, we will also continue our discussions with Congress about harmonizing policies and procedures for possible future searches."

Our State Legislature Has Been Busy

2006-07-12T01:53:00.000-04:00

The Senate has signed onto the House bill that will make it so that you as an adult have to buckle up even in the back seat. The bill is off to the governor's desk. No word yet on the thousands of kids that ride in state owned buses back and forth to state owned schools without seatbelts. My question still is, is it for safety or for money?

Also this week with a lot of finger pointing and name calling the Senate 49-0 (after a second call, when lt governor Purdue refused to break a tie) passed the House version of the pledge bill. The House pledge bill allowed time each school day for the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited (if a student wanted to say it). The Senate republicians wanted this plus a time devoted to civics and NC symbology. Off to the governor's desk it goes.

The Senate also has passed a ban on third party checks and incomplete checks for campaign contributions. They also made it so that anyone donating over $50 will be revealed.

The North Carolina Medical Board has been granted more powers on what they can to do doctors that don't follow board approved methods of treatment.

NC minimum wage will be raised for the first time in 10 years. Easley is waiting for this one to cross his desk. So while low wage workers will gain $1 an hour their employers will loose money and this lost will most likely be passed onto the consumer or employees in the form of layoffs or cutbacks on benefits. Way to go!

And let's not forget that 1 week after the start of the fiscal year Easley has signed our state's huge $18.9 billion budget! Bureaucracy lives on in NC.

Laughable

2006-07-08T15:23:00.000-04:00

According to MediaDailyNewsABC execs don't think people will mind if you can't fast forward commericals on future DVRs.

The 2004 State Constititional Amendment Bites Again

2006-07-08T15:16:00.000-04:00

News & Observer

State officials gave 375 law enforcement agencies $2.4 million that should have gone to schools from North Carolina's tax on illegal drugs, and legislators are requiring that it be repaid.

Revenue Department spokeswoman Kim Brooks said the error was an oversight. The department was uncertain about a 2005 ruling by the state Supreme Court on whether fines went to schools.

"It's something that happened, and it's something that we're going to correct," Brooks said.

The ruling said penalties on the drug tax should be paid to schools, and the tax and interest could be divided with the state and law enforcement agencies.

Legislators voted to require that the department repay the schools with its own funds and that it must repay itself by withholding money from law enforcement agencies.

"This is a way to correct a mistake that was made," said state Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat from Guilford County.

The largest overpayment was $342,000 to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, and the smallest was 13 cents to the Andrews Police Department.

My question is, how is APD going to raise 13 cents?

Blogger Post Template

2006-07-08T15:13:00.000-04:00

The News & Observer reports that our state Senate has passed a bill that limits 527 groups political power.

Wal-Mart Sues NC Over Taxes

2006-07-08T15:11:00.000-04:00

Wal-Mart has sued the state of North Carolina, contending it paid $30.2 million too much in corporate income tax because the state combined income from Wal-Mart with 112 stores in the state and two separate businesses.

The lawsuit was filed in Wake County Superior Court. The state has filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit, but had no comment on the case.

The corporation said the state shouldn't have combined income taxes on Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust and Wal-Mart Property Co.

Wal-Mart attorney Jack Cummings said he also has filed a lawsuit seeking a $3.5 million refund for Sam's Club stores in North Carolina.

The lawsuit said Wal-Mart Property didn't conduct business in the state.

Why To Go New York

2006-07-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

NewsMax

New York's Department of Motor Vehicles can require immigrants to prove they are in this country legally before allowing them to have driver's licenses, a state appeals court ruled.

The 5-0 ruling Thursday by the Appellate Division in Manhattan reversed a decision by Justice Karen S. Smith, who ordered the DMV last year to stop denying driver's licenses to immigrants who didn't have Social Security numbers or proof they were legal.

In dismissing the illegal immigrants' complaint, the appeals court said Smith had erred in barring the identity procedures DMV Commissioner Raymond Martinez put in place and said they were "within his authority and enforceable."

The court noted cases in which one Social Security number was used to get licenses for 57 people and another in which one taxi driver used two numbers to get two licenses - one for insurance and the other for traffic tickets.

Now if only our own state will do this.

Seat Belt Law, Safety or Greed?

2006-07-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

The legislature has a bill that makes it the law for everyone in a car to buckle up, even adults in the backseat. They say it's to make it safer to drive and to protect the driver. My question is what about all the kids that ride on state owned school busses twice a day without a selt belt? Is it for safety or to increase the number selt belt tickets written?

House Passes Budget

2006-07-07T17:31:00.000-04:00

An $18.9 billion state spending plan is headed to Gov. Mike Easley on Thursday after the General Assembly gave final approval to a budget that cuts some taxes, spends more on education and sets aside money for the next crisis.

In approving the budget bill for the second time in as many days, the House voted 82-31 and the Senate 31-15 to spend nearly 10 percent more than last year, although more than $560 million of the $1.7 billion increase is set aside in reserve.

The rest goes toward large state employee and teacher raises, $206 million in pay-as-you-go construction and $163 million for more than 27,000 new students expected this fall.

The Democratic-led Legislature also used more than $160 million to begin reducing a pair of "temporary" tax increases first approved in 2001 and extended twice.

A huge budget surplus for the previous fiscal year -- the largest as a percentage of the budget in at least 35 years -- gave budget-writers the confidence to begin phasing out a half-penny increase in the sales tax and a 0.5 percent increase in the individual income tax.

Easley has not said yet whether he will sign the bill into law, but he praised the budget when it emerged from final negotiations late last week, especially its education programs.

I'm sure Easley did praise it since it's 1 10% growth in the size of our large bloated state government.

Duke Lacrosse Hearings Are Monday

2006-07-07T17:29:00.000-04:00