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Blog and Media Roundup - Friday, Feb 20, 2009; News Roundup
Topic Started: Feb 20 2009, 06:04 AM (615 Views)
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/durham/4-1101915.cfm

City Council open to eliminating primary
By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun
gronberg@heraldsun.com
Feb 20, 2009

DURHAM -- City Council members on Thursday signaled that they're willing to formally consider changing Durham's election system by eliminating the primary that traditionally has preceded city elections by a month.

Members agreed to debate the proposal on March 2, and to have City Attorney Patrick Baker prepare a so-called "resolution of intent" to amend the city charter that it could vote on that night or on March 16.

Putting the idea on the agenda will "allow other input to come forth" from the public, Mayor Bill Bell said. "Then the council will make a determination as to how to proceed."

Bell added that financially, eliminating the October primary used now to winnow the mayoral and City Council field is "a no-brainer" because it would save the city $175,000 to $180,000 during each election cycle.

But he noted that "there are other issues involved in this kind of decision," given that it affects how residents choose the city's leaders.

The request that the council consider doing away with the primary came from the county Board of Elections.

The board sees it strictly as "a question of saving thousands of dollars," if the city goes to a single-ballot system that awards city office to whoever wins at least a plurality of the vote in the November general election.

Both that, the current system and the two other election systems North Carolina cities and towns use "have and will continue to elect great and not-so-great leaders," Ashe said.

Ashe and one city councilman, Eugene Brown, noted the October primary traditionally draws a significantly smaller turnout than the follow-up general election in November.

For example, in the most recent city election 12,875 voters -- a bit less than 11 percent of those registered -- went to the polls in the primary to winnow the field in the 2007 at-large City Council race.

"The professional term for that turnout is 'pathetic,'" Ashe said.

Turnout a month later for the 2007 general election was 36,318 votes, almost 25 percent of those registered.

Baker gave council members a memo explaining what they have to do, legally, to change the election system. Approving the resolution of intent is the first step. Officials would have to follow up by holding a full-blown public hearing, and then pass an ordinance amending the city charter.

The attorney's memo included what he termed a "conservative" timeline that suggested an April 20 public hearing and a final council vote on May 18.

Councilwoman Diane Catotti said she thought the council should, if it's interested, speed things up by a couple weeks at each step so would-be candidates would have more time to plan between a final vote and the opening of election filing in July.

She and Councilman Mike Woodard also signaled that they're not necessarily sold on the elections board's proposal because of the theoretical possibility that candidates in a crowded field could win with a tiny plurality.

"You could have 10 people [running] and they all get roughly around 10 percent," Catotti said.

Woodard, however, conceded that the elimination of the primary wouldn't have changed the outcome of recent city elections.

The eventual winners of the 2007 at-large council election -- Brown, Catotti and Farad Ali -- also won that year's primaries.

The other three council members -- Woodard, Cora Cole-McFadden and Howard Clement -- also led their primaries before winning ward seats in 2005.
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/durham/4-1101927.cfm

Thousands of Duke student papers stolen
BY KEITH UPCHURCH : The Herald-Sun
kupchurch@heraldsun.com
Feb 20, 2009

DURHAM -- Duke University police continued investigating Wednesday's theft of 8,000 to 10,000 copies of The Chronicle, the student newspaper.

The thefts occurred Wednesday morning from campus distribution bins, according to Chronicle General Manager Jonathan Angier.

Duke police Maj. Gloria Graham said the thieves hadn't been identified as of Thursday afternoon.

"A delivery person said she actually had a conversation with one of the young men [suspected of stealing the papers], but she couldn't provide any additional information.

"The other one -- nobody even saw them taking anything,' she said. "They just saw them standing around the newsstand. Perhaps they were going to, but it wasn't definitive that they had taken anything.'

Graham said she wasn't sure if charges will be filed if the thieves are identified.

"We'll have to consult with the DA's office and see whether or not they'd be willing to pursue it,' she said.

The Chronicle reported that its distributor first noticed the papers missing from the West Union Building and reported the incident about 8 a.m. Wednesday. All suspects were described as white males of college age, Graham said.

She said the thefts have been categorized as a larceny, although the thieves' identities and motives are so far unclear.

But The Chronicle reported that it had received tips that the thefts were fraternity-related.

Angier said the theft cost The Chronicle $5,000 in advertising revenue and another $3,000 in reprinting and redistribution of the papers.

Graham said the investigation is "still open and active.'
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/state/6-1101745.cfm

Judge tosses out NC's ban on video poker machines
By GARY D. ROBERTSON : Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
Feb 19, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina can't legally ban video poker machines while also allowing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to operate the games on their lands within the state, a state court judge ruled late Thursday.

The ruling issued by Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning overturns the 2006 law that ended the state's 13-year experiment with video poker machines, a popular attraction when legal in bars and convenience stores.

The ruling won't lead to the immediate return of the machines, since Manning also issued a stay of his order to give the state time to file an expected appeal.

Manning's decision came in a lawsuit filed by former video poker machine vendor McCracken and Amick Inc. and its owner. The Fayetteville company's attorneys argued the federal law that governs the state's gambling agreement with the Cherokee does not permit the state to bar games it allows on tribal lands.

"The state acted unlawfully in authorizing the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to possess and operate video gaming machines on tribal lands within North Carolina because that activity is not allowed elsewhere in the state," Manning wrote in his order.

Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, the primary booster of the legislative ban, said late Thursday it was approved after lawmakers heard repeated complaints about people losing money playing machines that could legally offer only $10 in merchandise as a prize.

"There was no regulation of these machines," Albertson said. "You couldn't find anything good about them, to tell you the truth."

The state's sheriffs had long complained that it was too hard to weed out those that illegally offered large cash pay outs.

After legalizing the machines in 1993 and approving new regulations on them in 2000, lawmakers imposed a one-year phase out of the games that was completed in June 2007. The Eastern Band began offering video poker machines in the mid-1990s after it negotiated a gambling agreement with then-Gov. Jim Hunt, who was obligated by federal law to work out a deal.

The lawsuit was filed last fall and Manning issued an oral ruling from the bench Monday in Raleigh, said Mike Tadych, an attorney for the plaintiffs. The judge's written order was filed late Thursday afternoon.

Tadych said he argued that McCracken and Amick shouldn't be forced out of the video poker machine business because the Cherokees were still allowed to offer the games to customers at their reservation casino.

"The Legislature couldn't carve out the exception after prohibiting this type of gaming in this law," Tadych said. The text of the law said the statewide ban would be voided if a court made a final ruling similar to what Manning approved.

The video poker ban law "is null, void and of no effect," Manning wrote.

Asked about Manning's decision, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to comment Thursday evening.

Associations with the video poker industry sent one western North Carolina sheriff to federal prison and led to an investigation of former House Speaker Jim Black.

Former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted last May of taking up to $300,000 in bribes from illegal video gambling operators while sheriff. Many witnesses testified they gave money to Medford so he would turn a blind eye to their operations.

State and federal officials also had investigated Black's ties to the video poker industry for two years. Black's campaign had been the largest recipient of legislative campaign donations from the video poker industry. The Mecklenburg County Democrat had blocked an outright video poker machine ban for years, arguing they generated thousands of jobs.

But Black finally relented on the ban. In 2007, Black was sent to federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting illegal cash payments from chiropractors.
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/opinion/chhedits/57-1101801.cfm

Tax revolt is a root of self-rule
Feb 20, 2009

It might not be the modern equivalent of the Boston Tea Party, but the Orange Tax Revolt is certainly in keeping with the spirit of the Founding Fathers' loathing of the government's penchant for pilfering too much money from the pockets of productive workers.

Bryan Berger of Carrboro even invokes the revolutionary slogan "no taxation without representation," which, just a few generations back, was a cherished bit of Americana still taught in civics and American National Government classes (remember those?).

It's not immediately clear why Berger believes taxation without representation is afoot in what he considers to be high tax rates and a seemingly large property revaluation hike. Elected officials representing him and everyone else in the county vote on tax rates. But, taking another page from the leaders of those original 13 colonies, government does derive its just powers from the consent of the governed, so those folks railing against what they see as profligate spending by elected leaders have every right to demand tax relief.

And this group of limited-government supporters plans to do exactly that. Loudly. Berger and company have been meeting in cells around the county, buying and planting signs opposing property tax increases and planning for a mass meeting in Hillsborough Monday night. Hillsborough, of course, is the historic site of the Regulators' uprising in the late 1760s over -- what else? -- high taxes, especially property levies that were making it impossible for some farmers to keep their land. What comes around, goes around.

Among those sharply critical of the county's spending ways is former County Commissioner Ben Lloyd, who said taxpayers are "mad as a bunch of hornets."

As it stands, the county is fielding hundreds of appeals from property owners who say the revaluation jacked up their property values much more than actual worth. By law, the commissioners must lower millage to offset the higher property values so that the net result is a revenue-neutral process. Where tax rates go once that happens is still up in the air.

Opposition, of course, is the easy part for the Orange Tax Revolt. Convincing people to live with less government is the real test ahead for the fledgling group.
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http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1412402.html


Published: Feb 20, 2009 12:30 AM
Modified: Feb 20, 2009 05:01 AM
Howard Manning's decision could restart a political battle.

Judge rescinds video poker ban
But don't expect to see the machines right away. Howard Manning put a hold on his own order
Mark Johnson, Staff Writer Comment on this story
A state court late Thursday struck down North Carolina's ban on video poker, ruling that it was unlawful to allow the machines on an Indian reservation but prohibit them in the rest of the state.

The order, however, was immediately put on hold until the lawsuit brought by a former video poker operator against North Carolina is heard by the state Court of Appeals, which could take months.

The order raises the possibility of video poker returning to the state, where the industry was tied to political scandal and sheriffs complained that they routinely encountered crime associated with the games.

The judge's decision could reopen a political fight that stretched over several years in the legislature, where the industry's chief defender was Jim Black, then speaker of the House. He went to prison after a federal investigation that began with a probe of video poker.

In his Thursday order, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning of Wake County wrote that federal law covering the regulation of Indian casinos prohibits the state from banning the machines in most of the state while the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians operate them in a casino on their reservation.

The legislature passed the ban in 2006 after the creation of the state lottery and after years of attempts to outlaw video poker, and gave operators a year to phase out the machines. Video poker operators contributed thousands to Black's campaign, while the state's sheriffs lobbied the legislature to ban the machines. South Carolina, where video poker parlors used to line the roads across the state line from Charlotte, banned video poker in 2000, and the machines began migrating north.

The games' operators in North Carolina already had been restricted to approximately 10,000 machines statewide that were limited to paying out $10 in merchandise. Sheriffs complained, though, that they repeatedly made arrests for illegal machines. Buncombe County's sheriff was sent to prison last year for taking bribes from illegal video poker operators.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey said Thursday evening that he was appalled by Manning's decision.

"That's nuts. That's a horrible ruling," Bailey said. "It does nothing but take money from families. Video poker in North Carolina is run by organized crime, period. It has been and will be again if they let it back in."

Mike Tadych, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said that description did not fit his clients, Fayetteville-based McCracken & Amick Inc.

"That's certainly not our client," he said. "His interests are in legitimate operation of games."

Black's undoing

The video poker industry's champion in the legislature in 2006, Black, was mired in a scandal that eventually sent him to federal prison. He had received tens of thousands of dollars from video-poker operators in the previous two elections. The State Board of Elections investigated some of the poker operators, and a federal probe that began with video poker ultimately sent Black to prison for illegal payoffs from chiropractors for pushing legislation they sought.

When lawmakers passed the ban, legislative leaders argued that the state could not extend the ban to the Indian reservation in Swain County.

"We don't have jurisdiction on the Indian reservations," said Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and Senate majority leader, on Thursday. Gambling "is allowed under federal law."

But McCracken & Amick sued, arguing that that the state does play a role on the reservations.

Indian agreement

The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires states and Indian tribes to reach an agreement on gambling on tribal lands. The Cherokees and the state of North Carolina maintain an agreement for the tribe to operate a casino. The casino is filled with electronic machines, such as video poker, not the sort of human-operated table games seen in Las Vegas.

"The state must allow the tribes to do whatever it allows the rest of the state to do," said Hugh Stevens, a Raleigh lawyer representing McCracken & Amick. "A corollary to that is that you can't allow the tribe to do classes of gambling that are denied to the rest of the state."

mjohnson@charlotteobserver.com or 919-829-4774
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123509358392428915.html#printMode

FEBRUARY 20, 2009

Justice for Ted Stevens
Signs of prosecutorial misconduct.

The headlines are gone, and MSNBC no longer cares. But that's all the more reason to take note of the strange and disturbing turn in the Ted Stevens legal saga.
[Review & Outlook] AP

Ted Stevens.

Prosecutors claimed this senior Senatorial scalp last year, winning an ethics conviction a fortnight before the octogenarian Republican narrowly lost his bid for a seventh term from Alaska. Though media interest stopped there, the story has since become one of ambitious prosecutors who at the very least botched the job and may have miscarried justice.

Let's unwind from the end. The Justice Department this week took the highly unusual step of replacing the team handling posttrial litigation in the case. This followed last week's bizarre turn, when the chief of the public integrity section at Justice, William Welch, and his deputy, Brenda Morris -- the federal prosecutors who won the Stevens conviction -- were held in contempt of court. Judge Emmet Sullivan berated the prosecutors for failing to act on his January 21 demand to deliver internal documents to Mr. Stevens's attorneys. "That was a court order, that wasn't a request," he said. "Is the Department of Justice taking court orders seriously these days?"

Those 33 documents relate to a complaint filed December 2 by one of the two FBI agents assigned to the case. Chad Joy claimed prosecutors covered up evidence and tried to keep a witness from testifying. He also said his partner, Mary Beth Kepner, had an unspecified "inappropriate relationship" with the state's star witness, Bill Allen, and other potential witnesses. The government alleged the Senator failed to list on his Senate disclosure forms gifts and home renovation work from Mr. Allen, who ran a large Alaskan oil services company, Veco Corp.
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During the trial, Judge Sullivan had also admonished the prosecution for failing to share documents with the defense and redacting exculpatory passages from witness transcripts. Under the so-called Brady rule, Justice isn't obliged to share everything. But in a high-profile case prosecutors usually err on the side of absolute disclosure.

Any one of these prosecutorial missteps may not negate the jury's verdict. Taken together, however, they raise serious questions about possible prosecutorial malpractice. The government's lawyers have angered the judge and given Brendan Sullivan (no relation of the judge) and the rest of the Senator's defense team plenty of ammunition to call for a retrial, if not dismissal. The judge will soon rule on their motion.

One excuse heard at Justice is that prosecutors didn't expect Mr. Stevens to get such a quick trial after his July indictment, and were rushed. That raises the more relevant question -- why was the Senator indicted so close to an election? The Stevens case emerged out of a broader corruption inquiry in Alaska overseen by Alice Fisher, a Bush appointee who headed up the Criminal Division. She left last May. The Stevens indictment was unveiled in July by Matthew Friedrich, tapped by the Bush Administration to run the division. He had served on the Enron task force, helping bring down Arthur Andersen. That verdict was later overturned by the Supreme Court, albeit too late for Andersen. He exited Justice on Inauguration Day, leaving the current mess.

Mr. Welch, the prosecutor, is a career Justice lawyer appointed to his post by Ms. Fisher. In a profile last week in his hometown newspaper, the Springfield, Mass., Republican, he was described as a registered Democrat vying for a promotion to U.S. Attorney in Boston. The day this story appeared, he was found in contempt.

So what we seem to have here are young lawyers eager to make their reputations by bagging a big-name Senator. Justice rules forbid issuing indictments too close to elections. These columns were tough on Mr. Stevens at the time, but the facts that have since come to light cast real doubt on the case. Though Mr. Stevens was a champion earmarker, the government never alleged much less proved that Veco got anything in return from the Senator. The formal charges are a low-grade felony -- in essence, lying on forms. This is not like the charges against William Jefferson or Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Mr. Stevens will try to overturn the verdict and rebuild his reputation. He is unlikely to get his Senate seat back, even if he wins on appeal or at retrial. But the evidence of prosecutorial malpractice is serious enough to warrant an internal Justice probe, and perhaps judicial sanctions.

:bill:
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/02/20/News/Officials.To.Spread.Cuts.Over.Time-3640917.shtml

Officials to spread cuts over time
5% shrink will consider planned projects, benefits
By: David Graham
Posted: 2/20/09
The hallmark of the past 15 years at Duke has been expansion: new departments, bold plans for a new campus and so many new buildings that many alums swear they don't recognize the place.

No more. With the economy in shambles, the University will have to cut around 5 percent of its annual budget, marking the first time it has had to actively cut in years. During the last recession, in 2001, Duke had to forgo some growth but did not have to make budget cuts.

"What you're going to see is Duke become a smaller place over time," Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said in an interview earlier this month. "We don't want to do that with a meat axe. We don't want to do it too quickly. Universities don't respond well to big slugs to the head."

Instead, officials will work to gradually shrink the budget by more than 5 percent per year, roughly $100 million, over about two years. Trask, the University's chief business and financial officer, said the total decrease could be in the $130 million range. To make that figure, Duke will push the timeline back for some projects and work to increase efficiency across the University.

Employee compensation-comprising some 60 percent of the annual budget-will likely be one of the first areas to be considered.

"We're going to protect employees," he said. "Hopefully it is through attrition [that we will cut costs], through deferrals of some expense and hopefully not through some massive disruptions."

Kyle Cavanaugh, who became vice president for human resources at the beginning of February, said discussions about hiring issues are taking place within each department.

"We've started very preliminary conversations about potential options, from efficiencies to potential process changes, we're looking at alternatives," he said.

There are currently some 2,000 unfilled positions at Duke, but that number ranges from posts that have been long unfilled to others that are necessary for day-to-day operations. It also counts everything from top-level white-collar positions to maintenance staff. In some cases, compensation is already budgeted, even if it is not being paid out.

Only truly essential positions, such as police officers and nurses, will be filled, Trask said. He added that Duke, unlike some other universities, has not had to resort to calling off faculty searches and hiring. But the ranks of professors may still contract.

"I think over three years the faculty will... get a little bit smaller," said Provost Peter Lange, adding that any changes will vary from school to school.

Lange said there may be fewer searches, but he expects fewer departures, as faculty members worried about nest eggs choose to push back retirement plans.

Trask also believes there are places to slim down operations. During the boom years parallel offices developed in some schools, but those must now be combined.

By setting uniform standards for University buildings on temperature controls, window-opening and hours of operation, Trask estimated Duke will be able to save between $500,000 and $1 million.

"It costs a lot of money on this campus to let people do whatever they want on campus in terms of buildings being open."

Those controls will apply to buildings already standing. But as Lange told Campus Council last week, there will be no new large building projects before 2011. Trask said the University's capital budget-which includes buildings-will probably be put "essentially on hold, at least for the foreseeable future."

Even with these changes in place, officials will likely need to make some hard choices. The annual endowment payout is based on a three-year average, and because the last three fiscal years have seen positive growth, Trask said the worst is yet to come.

"For next year we can hold the endowment payout dollar flat, but unless there is some significant shift in market performance, that can't be continued," he said. "The models become rather terrifying if you run them out with highly negative numbers."

Several factors limit choices. The University remains committed to financial aid, officials said, and they expect aid expenditures to increase next year, although there are not yet numbers to confirm this. If aid costs rise as endowment payout sinks, Duke will have to find money to cover it.

Adding more debt is also not an option. After issuing $500 million in bonds last month, Trask said he did not want to add any more debt. The effects of the University's existing debt are already being felt. Standard and Poor's analyst Marc Savaria pointed to Duke's nearly $1.86 billion in total long-term debt as one negative factor in rating the bonds AA+, one step short of the top AAA mark.

Trask said he was optimistic students would not bear the brunt of whatever cuts are made.

"I don't think students will notice the difference," he said. "We don't want to go out of the business of adding to excellence. That's not free."

The annual budget typically goes to the Board of Trustees in May.
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/02/20/News/Harvard.Prof.Discusses.Imprisonment.Inequalities-3640926.shtml

Harvard prof discusses imprisonment inequalities
By: Zachary Tracer
Posted: 2/20/09
The high number of incarcerated Americans has created an "era of mass imprisonment" in the United States, Harvard University's Professor of Sociology Bruce Western said in a talk Thursday evening.

High incarceration rates, in particular among young black men, have increased inequality in the United States, said Western, who is also director of the Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy at Harvard, for his lecture as part of the Provost's Lecture Series.

"This is a very disadvantaged population to begin with, so the penal system has the effect of magnifying inequality in American society," Western said.

Based on his research, Western said spending time in prison reduces an individual's yearly earnings once he is released by about 40 percent compared to similar people who have not spent time in prison. Having a criminal record also makes it more difficult for people to get jobs, he added.

In 2004, 13.5 percent of black men aged 22 to 30 were incarcerated, compared to two percent of white men in the same age group, Western said.

Both show an increase from 1980, when 5.7 percent of black men and under one percent of white men aged 22 to 30 were incarcerated, he added.

Western attributed the increase in incarceration to the war on drugs, the imposition of longer sentences and the re-imprisonment of parolees for technical violations of their parole.

Western said, however, that the problem he wants to resolve is not incarceration rates, but "the chronic idleness, addiction and mental health problems of men with little schooling."

To address these problems, as well as the broader issue of reintegrating released prisoners into society, Western proposed a "National Prisoner Reentry Plan." The plan includes drug treatment, housing and education, as well as the creation of 200,000 jobs for recently-released prisoners.

The plan would cost $8.5 billion to implement, but would save $10 billion a year in reduced crime and imprisonment expenses, Western said.

Provost Peter Lange, whose office sponsors the "Policy Visions for a New Presidency" lecture series, said this proposal and its relation to the causes of mass incarceration Western identified were the parts of the lecture that interested him most.

"I think it highlighted a policy issue that's not getting much attention and has broad consequences," Lange said.

Lange added that he was impressed by Western's knowledge of many aspects of the American penal system.

"Professor Western showed in the question period the incredible breadth of his knowledge in this area," Lange said.

Shawn Selleck, a second-year student in the Masters in International Development Program, called Western's lecture "excellent."

"There have been many studies published about this issue," he said. "To me, the question is not whether we have a problem, but whether we have the will to implement social policies that can solve these problems.
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/02/20/MLacrosse/With-New.Company.Quinzani.Paces.Attack-3640946.shtml

With new company, Quinzani paces attack
By: Joe Drews
Posted: 2/20/09
The Blue Devils know it won't be easy to replace two of the best players in lacrosse history.

But they're ready to try.

After losing the NCAA's all-time leading scorer Matt Danowski and the NCAA's all-time leading goal scorer Zack Greer, No. 5 Duke (1-0) has begun its season with several players in different positions. Fifth-year senior Rob Schroeder has replaced Dan Loftus in goal. Midfielder Chris Loftus has been elevated to a starting role. Several players had not even played a collegiate game before last Saturday's 11-7 win over Bucknell.

The area of most scrutiny, however, will be the Blue Devils' new-look attack. Junior Max Quinzani, who was second on last year's team-and second in the nation-with 61 goals, is the only starting attackman with collegiate experience at the position. Senior Ned Crotty and sophomore Zach Howell have both moved up from midfield to join Quinzani.

"We're very happy with the way they performed [against Bucknell], knowing it was their first time out," head coach John Danowski said of the trio, which combined for 10 points against the Bison. "Practice is one thing, but once game time comes and there are referees and teams with different color shirts on, it changes. It changes how you play and how you react."

A year after sneaking up on opponents as the Blue Devils' third attackman, Quinzani becomes the leader of the starting unit, and he knows that opponents-like No. 15 Colgate (1-0) Friday at 4 p.m. and Harvard Sunday at 12 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium-will be well aware of his presence this season.

"I've never really experienced that," said Quinzani, who owns the national record for most points in a high school career. "Now I'm getting the first or second defender, not really ever getting a [short stick defenseman], always exchanging on me. It's nice for me because it's a bigger challenge."

Last year, a lot of Quinzani's goals came when he initiated behind the net or waited near the crease. That role could change now that Duke has lost Danowski's precise passing and Greer's laser shot, as well as the attention that those two players drew from opposing defenses.

"I'm going to have to dodge into a lot of doubles, get out and just move it onto the next guy, and hopefully there will be a play made after I make a pass or second pass after me," Quinzani said. "I'm going to have to do a lot of operating. I can't just be hanging around the crease and waiting for guys to leave me because probably I'm in a lot more scouting reports this year."

What makes Quinzani's situation unique, however, is not that he's taking on a bigger role this year. It's that he's the Blue Devils' only returning starter at his position.

Howell played attack in high school but switched to midfield when he came to Duke, and Crotty is a career midfielder. They are both trying to learn how to be attackmen for a team that has been in the Final Four the last two seasons.

Having one of the top scorers in the country as a teammate certainly doesn't hurt.

"We arguably had two of the best players ever last year, and the fact that [Quinzani] got to play with them and learn from them-it's huge," Crotty said. "He definitely helps us out a lot, and it's definitely nice to know that if I put the ball on his stick, he's most likely going to score."

As important as Quinzani will be to Duke's success, Danowski does not want to put too much pressure on his star attackman. After all, he was one of just two Division I players to score more than 50 goals in 2008, and he was an integral part of the Blue Devils' run to the Final Four. Duke will gladly take a similar output this season.

"We just want Max to be a little better than he was last year," Danowski said. "Be the best person you can be, and we'll work around that. We're not going to try to change you or make you something that you're not."
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http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/4581260/
Police: Wake Forest teen made up mugging story
Posted: Today at 2:51 p.m.

Wake Forest, N.C. — A Wake Forest teen made up a story about being stabbed last month on a walking trail in the Heritage development, police said Friday.

The 15-year-old told police he was running along a wooded trail near the neighborhood when a man approached him and demanded money. The teen said the man then stabbed him.

Wake Forest police stepped up patrols in the area after the alleged incident and issued an alert to nearby residents.

Police said a subsequent investigation turned up no suspects or leads. They confronted the teen Friday about several inconsistencies in his story, and he confessed to making it up, police said.

The teen, whose name hasn't been released because of his age, will be charged through a juvenile petition with filing a false report to law enforcement.
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http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/4581598/
Ex-death row inmate's DNA not found on evidence
Posted: Today at 3:17 p.m.
Updated: Today at 4:46 p.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — DNA from key evidence in a Tennessee woman's slaying does not match the man who spent more than two decades on death row for killing her, according to new FBI lab tests.

Paul House, 47, who uses a wheelchair because he developed multiple sclerosis in prison, was convicted of killing Carolyn Muncey nearly 23 years ago. But the case against him has been in doubt for years because of DNA testing, which wasn't available then.

House was released last year after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded no reasonable juror would have found him guilty based on DNA tests of semen stains on Muncey's clothing. Authorities had claimed he lured Muncey from her dilapidated cabin, beat her, killed her and then dumped her body in a culvert. There were no witnesses.

The court also said House's lawyers offered new witnesses who provided "substantial evidence pointing to a different suspect" - Muncey's husband, Hubert.

The new FBI tests examined blood from under Carolyn Muncey's fingernails and cigarette butts found near her body and determined the DNA doesn't belong to House or the victim but to an unidentified third party. The DNA also doesn't match Hubert Muncey, who has always denied any involvement in the crime and believes House is guilty.

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Kerri P.
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http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_basketball/story/4582341/
Krzyzewski, Suiter among those honored by Sports Council
Posted at 4:29 p.m.

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and longtime WRAL anchor Tom Suiter are among those being honored by the Greater Raleigh Sports Council at its sixth annual Evening of Champions Awards Celebration March 5.

The dinner honors local athletes, coaches, teams, and community members for their excellence in sports and their positive impact on the community. Tickets are still available to the public.

Krzyzewski will be awarded the Capitol Broadcasting Company Sports Person of the Year Award. The longtime Blue Devils coach led the U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal last summer.

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Quasimodo

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Police said a subsequent investigation turned up no suspects or leads. They confronted the teen Friday about several inconsistencies in his story, and he confessed to making it up, police said.

The teen, whose name hasn't been released because of his age, will be charged through a juvenile petition with filing a false report to law enforcement.


If I were him, I'd sue for discrimination; because they certainly don't charge adults or women give false reports to law enforcement...
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Quasimodo

Quote:
 
The dinner honors local athletes, coaches, teams, and community members for their excellence in sports and their positive impact on the community.


Pressler ought to be there...
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DMom

"filing a false report to law enforcement" this person will be charged

Is this a law in Durham, as well?

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Edited by DMom, Feb 20 2009, 07:39 PM.
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