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| Blog and Media Roundup - Thursday, July 2, 2009; News Roundup | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 2 2009, 05:17 AM (227 Views) | |
| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:17 AM Post #1 |
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http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/opinion/hsedits/56-1177106.cfm Putting crime in perspective Jul 2, 2009 Bookmark and Share There are many ways to analyze crime and many ways to react to violent crimes, including homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults. The City of Durham tracks such crimes by grouping them all under "violent crimes," which is the way the U.S. Justice Department compiles its figures. Through that lens, Durham had 335 violent crimes in the first three months of 2009, which seems like a lot until you consider that for the same period last year, there were 482 violent crimes. That's a 30 percent decrease. To add further perspective, that puts Durham at about average when compared to 11 similar cities in the Southeast, and below average when compared to 28 "peer" cities across the country. (http://www.dcvb-nc.com/cr/2008_Crime_Comparative_Summary.pdf) So it is good news that violent crimes are decreasing. Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said reasons for the decrease include the department's success in jailing key suspects and that bail policies have tightened since 2007. So people who commit violent crimes are more likely to be put in jail and to stay in jail. Again, given Durham's flawed record with letting the wrong people out on bail, that is good news. Of course it also seems strange to brag about 335 violent crimes in three months as being good news. Likewise, it seems odd to make a distinction that a homicide was "not random," such as the murder this month of Jessica Ellis, 28, at 414 Newsom St., which shocked the quiet neighborhood. Police have issued a murder warrant for Joseph Demetrius Muller, 40. And no one suspected that Lewis Scarlette, 56, would have killed his half-brother Joseph Best, 40, in a home in the Crest Street neighborhood Saturday night. But Scarlette is charged with Best's death. The point is that although a violent incident occurred, neighbors and other members of the public were not in danger. In fact, in most homicides, the victims and the perpetrators knew each other. That does not diminish the severity of the crime, or our emphasis on reducing crime city-wide. But it's good to remember as we try to put violent crime in perspective. |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:19 AM Post #2 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/1591996.html Published: Jul 02, 2009 06:05 AM Modified: Jul 02, 2009 06:04 AM Duke Official Charged Lombard isin federal custody. Photographers Name in Upper and, AP Buy Photo Affidavit details child sex charges BY STANLEY B. CHAMBERS JR., STAFF WRITER DURHAM - A federal affidavit submitted by a Washington, D.C., detective tells a chilling story of the abuse of a 5-year-old adopted boy. The child's father, Frank McCorkle Lombard, 42, of Indigo Creek Trail in Durham, is charged with sex offense with a child, and is accused of persuading someone to cross state lines for illegal sexual activity. Lombard, a Duke University administrator, was released from the Durham County jail into U.S. marshals' custody Tuesday and is expected to face a federal judge in Washington within the next week. If convicted, he could face as long as 20 years in prison. An unidentified individual facing unrelated child porn charges told federal investigators in mid-June that someone on an Internet chat program with the username "cooper2" or "cooperse" was sexually molesting a child. The person with the two usernames was later identified as Lombard, the affidavit said. As recently as last year, the individual said he saw Lombard perform sex acts on the child through a webcam. The child was one of two adopted children in Lombard's home, which he shared with a live-in partner who did not participate in the abuse, said the individual, who added that others also molested the child. The affidavit did not say whether the other child, whose age was not revealed, was abused. It also did not say how long the abuse of the 5-year-old went on. Lombard's online profile stated he was interested in "perv fam fun," a reference to child molestation, the document said. On June 23, Washington police detective Timothy Palchak, posing as a child predator, had an online conversation with Lombard. Palchak is part of the Northern Virginia Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. "During that online conversation, the user with the display name 'FL' stated that he had sexually molested his adopted male, African-American child who he had adopted as an infant and is currently five years old," the document said. He described having oral sex with the child and fondling the child. Lombard later said he didn't molest the child while his partner was home but that the partner was going on a four-day business trip. "He further stated that the abuse of the child was easier when the child was too young to talk or know what was happening, but that he had drugged the child with Benadryl during the molestation," the affidavit said. The next day, Lombard showed Palchak a picture of the 5-year-old and invited him to fly to Durham to have sexual contact with the child, the affidavit said. Instead, Lombard was arrested that evening. Investigators seized two webcams, five computers and a sex toy from his home, among other items. The two children were placed in protective custody by social services. News of Lombard's arrest quickly spread through the circles he associated with -- and they remain tight-lipped. His neighbors in Eno Commons, a co-housing community in north Durham, have kept reporters out. Church is cooperating Lombard was part of a group that advised on legal and financial matters at The Episcopal Church of the Advocate in Carrboro. He is listed as inactive on the church's Web site. Church leaders referred interview requests to a statement from the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, which said that church leaders were cooperating with investigators. "The church is providing pastoral care and spiritual guidance for all parishioners who have been affected by this painful situation," Bishop Michael B. Curry said on the diocese's Web site. Lombard seemed like a good father to his two children, said Sandy Barnhart, who attended the same church. She said he was a quiet and knowledgeable person who was excited about the research he did at Duke. "I was absolutely floored," she said of hearing about Lombard's arrest. "I've seen him with the kids, and he seemed to be a caring father. It seemed like [they lived in a] structured environment. He wasn't spoiling the kids. He seemed like a regular parent." Lombard has worked at Duke since 1999 and was associate director of the university's Center for Health Policy. He was a researcher who has obtained millions in federal grants to study HIV/AIDS in the rural south. He was placed on unpaid administrative leave last Thursday. stan.chambers@newsobserver .com or 919-932-2025 |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:26 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1592092.html Published: Jul 02, 2009 02:00 AM Modified: Jul 01, 2009 11:23 PM Edwards' ex-aide visits courthouse RALEIGH - The Associated Press A former aide to John Edwards who claimed he fathered a child born to the mistress of the two-time Democratic presidential candidate spent Wednesday in a federal courthouse. About 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, with his lawyer at his side, Andrew Young walked into the building in Raleigh where a grand jury was meeting. Young simply smiled as he went by and declined to comment about the investigation into his former boss. His attorney, David Geneson, did not return repeated calls from the AP. A few months before the crucial 2008 presidential caucuses in Iowa, Young publicly declared that he was the father of Rielle Hunter's baby. Edwards placed second to Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency. Edwards later admitted having an affair with Hunter that he says ended in 2006. Edwards acknowledged in May that federal investigators are looking into how he used campaign funds. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh has declined to confirm or deny an investigation. |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:28 AM Post #4 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/executive_privilege/story/1592039.html The News & Observer Published: Jul 02, 2009 05:39 AM Modified: Jul 02, 2009 05:40 AM Easley was fired after controversy over her job. SHAWN ROCCO, Staff photo by Shawn Rocco N.C. State Interim Chancellor Jim Woodward replaced James Oblinger, who resigned. Woodward supported Easley's firing and will not be part of the grievance process. SHAWN ROCCO, Staff photo by Shawn Rocco Easley's appeal may be doomed Chancellor says N.C. State does not have the money to offer the former first lady a settlement. BY ERIC FERRERI, Staff Writer N.C. State University is highly unlikely to negotiate a settlement with former first lady Mary Easley, who earlier this week indicated she will appeal her firing, the university's new leader said Wednesday. NCSU does not have the money to pay any settlement, Interim Chancellor James Woodward said in a meeting with editors and reporters at The News & Observer. He added that he stands behind his decision to eliminate Easley's position. Easley had come under pressure last year when she was given a five-year, $850,000 contract to run a speakers series and create a public safety leadership center. But she was fired this spring after disclosures in The N&O that her job was pushed by her husband, former Gov. Mike Easley, and orchestrated at the highest levels of state government. Woodward said Wednesday that Easley that "had to know" that her husband, one of his top aides and a member of the university's Board of Trustees played a role in the creation of her job. "I think she was well aware of the efforts made on her behalf to get her a new job and a new contract," Woodward said. "And those efforts were highly inappropriate." Easley's attorney, Marvin Schiller, who notified NCSU earlier this week that Easley intends to appeal her firing, declined comment Wednesday. Easley's appeal will be heard first by a faculty committee, which normally would make a recommendation to the chancellor. But because Woodward has publicly supported Easley's termination, he will not be involved in the grievance process, he said Wednesday. A committee of trustees, new members who were not involved in the firing, will then review the recommendation, Woodward said. Woodward replaced James Oblinger, who resigned last month as it became apparent that he repeatedly misrepresented his role in Easley's hiring. He also negotiated a deal, subsequently scrapped, that would have paid former Provost Larry Nielsen $310,255 more over the next three years than a salary commensurate with other faculty in the College of Natural Resources, where Nielsen will teach. Nielsen had said repeatedly that he alone had decided to hire Mary Easley in 2005. Nielsen resigned in May amid questions about his role in her job. Nielsen will receive six months of pay at $298,700, his annual pay as provost. Then his pay drops to $156,715, which is in line with the other faculty. Though Woodward quickly invalidated the deal Oblinger created for Nielsen, he nonetheless Wednesday defended the decision to allow both former administrators to retain tenure, continue to earn their administrative salaries for six months after leaving their posts, and return to teaching. "Once you get tenure, it should be extremely hard to take away," he said. He said their actions did not rise to that level. While he knows that former Gov. Easley helped orchestrate the creation of Mary Easley's NCSU job in 2005, Woodward said he can't find evidence of a quid pro quo. "I can't see where N.C. State got anything as a result of that," he said. "What could the governor do that could bring some short-term benefit to N.C. State? I can't identify anything." eric.ferreri@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2008 From the interview: N.C. State's Interim Chancellor James Woodward said: •One of his immediate tasks is to restore the morale of the university community. "They're terribly embarrassed; they're mad at those they feel are responsible," he said. "One of my goals has been to help them re-focus on the work that they do." •He supports a closed search for his successor and said the university is likely gunning for a president or chancellor at a public university. "Successful sitting presidents at major universities cannot let themselves be seen looking for other jobs," he said. A search committee is being assembled, and a consultant will likely be hired within weeks, he said. •That the Easley saga, ugly as it is, may have a silver lining. "This is a big problem for us in the short term," he said. "It will be better for us in the long term, because it has forced a review of a lot of things." Related Content * Read previous stories about Mary Easley's job and our Executive Privilege series |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:30 AM Post #5 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/1591973.html Published: Jul 02, 2009 06:07 AM Modified: Jul 02, 2009 06:08 AM Prison officials charged 3 are accused in inmate's beating BY MICHAEL BIESECKER, Staff Writer RALEIGH - Three correctional officers face felony charges in the alleged 2008 beating of an inmate at a state prison in Greene County. Capt. Gregory Allen Beck, Sgt. Terry Lynn Bell and Officer Brian Steve Bostick of Maury Correctional Institution are charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, according to a news release by the N.C. Department of Correction. The charges are related to an incident in March 2008 involving inmate David G. Richardson, 31. He is serving a nine-year sentence for robbery, according to the prison system's online database. George Dudley, a public information officer, sent a news release about the arrest at 4:46 p.m. Wednesday. Reached by a reporter shortly after 5 p.m., Dudley said he could provide no details about the alleged assault or the nature of the injuries to the inmate, because it was after business hours. Dudley said more information would be available today. The arrests come after a long review by agents with the State Bureau of Investigation, according to the release. The investigation was requested July 2 in a letter by Theodis Beck, then the state secretary of Correction. In his letter, Beck referred to an internal inquiry that had uncovered "serious implications" of "excessive use of force against certain inmates." Beck, the captain, resigned from his position in July 2008, according to the release. Bell and Bostick are still employed. They are on investigatory suspension. Formal disciplinary action against them began Wednesday, according to the release. "Our job is protecting the safety of the public and the inmates in our institutions," said the current Correction secretary, Alvin Keller, in the written statement. "This agency has zero tolerance for employees who abuse inmates or operate outside the bounds of the law and our policies and procedures." Gov. Beverly Perdue also issued a statement about the arrests late Wednesday. "I have zero-tolerance for putting public safety or the safety of inmates at risk," the governor was quoted as saying. "Those who abuse inmates or operate outside the law will be held accountable." michael.biesecker@ newsobserver.com or 919-829-4698 |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:35 AM Post #6 |
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/07/01/News/With-Endowment.Down.24.Dumac.Ups.Its.Cash.Liquidity-3749957.shtml With endowment down 24%, DUMAC ups its cash liquidity By: Hon Lung Chu Posted: 7/1/09 As of May 31, the University's endowment value is down 24.5 percent from its June 30, 2008 value of $6.1 billion, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said last Thursday. According to these figures, the most recently available, the endowment is now worth $4.6 billion. At the same time, the Duke University Management Company has increased its 30-day liquidity to $1 billion-funds available within 30 days-which is currently held in cash, stocks and high-grade bonds, said Trask, a member of DUMAC's nine-person Board of Directors. "We got close to the point of not knowing whether we had any liquidity, which is why we borrowed the $500 million [in March] to make sure we have liquidity," he said. "And now we're convinced that now there is something like a billion dollars of rapid access liquidity in the pool." Trask added that it is "inconceivable" to him that Duke would ever need $1 billion dollars within a week or a month, and the main purpose of having the liquidity is to "reinvest when prudent." The cost of restructuring Although high-grade bonds historically have lower risks than other investments, their returns are also among the lowest, said Barry Bryant, Trinity '78, managing director of Dahab Associates, an investment consulting firm based in Bay Shore, N.Y. Bryant has also served as a financial consultant for the Board of Directors of the Duke Student Publishing Company, which publishes The Chronicle. According to the CME Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a widely accepted benchmark of bond performance, the average annual return on bonds is 7.6 percent in the last 10 years, Bryant said. He added that higher-risk investments such as private equity averaged 16.7 percent annual return in the last 20 years, and the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index had an annual return of 10.4 percent in the same period. In comparison, Duke's Endowment grew by an average of 15.6 percent annually in the last 10 years, according to DUMAC. Trask said private equity caused most of the losses in Duke's investments, and DUMAC has taken many steps toward lowering the risk of Duke's portfolio since the start of the economic crisis. "The main change in the portfolio is that the leverage is now completely out of it," he said. "There are no investments funded by borrowed money, which is in essence what leverage is." Trask added that along with the deleveraging, the University has returned some of its loans and has not borrowed any more money since March. He noted, however, that Duke has not repaid any of the $500 million in debt it raised in a March bond offering. "I believe, almost beyond any doubt, that we are out of any credit issues and any liquidity issues, which we never had compared to other people," Trask said. The opportunity cost of holding money in bonds is compounded every year, so the difference in earnings between high-grade bonds and private equities is "astronomical," Bryant said. He added, however, that there are occasions, such as the current economic environment, when bonds are the only investments that have positive returns. "The main purpose of investing in these types of instruments is their liquidity," Emma Rasiel, associate director of undergraduate studies and assistant professor of economics, wrote in an e-mail. "Certainly yields on bonds are relatively low at present-but that is a trade-off against the need for liquidity." Although Trask could not confirm the details of the transactions, Bryant said other private universities like Harvard have been marketing significant portions of their private equity positions to increase liquidity and Duke is probably doing the same. The endowment's performance is subpar compared to national averages. According to Northern Trust Corp., a financial firm based in Chicago, the median return for endowments and foundations is negative 20 percent for the first 11 months of the July 2008 to June 2009 fiscal year, the Wall Street Journal reported June 23. During this period, Duke's endowment lost 24.5 percent. In addition, although Trask said the endowment has grown 3 percent in May, the S&P 500 grew by 5.3 percent over the same period. Despite the portfolio's weak performance, Trask said the University has made the right choices so far to handle the crisis. "I mean, we could have just sold everything and just funded all this stuff," he said. "We didn't want to make a $1.3 billion paper loss become a $1.3 billion actual loss until we knew we have no choice. And right now I think that was exactly the right thing for us to have done, because we've now picked up 3 percent on that pool, which if we had sold it, we would have been out of it." No change in investment philosophy University endowments usually rely on the belief that as long-term investors, they have sufficient time to vie for large gains and make up the losses. "That's what a lot of people got caught on liquidity problems, because those [investments] were essentially down the curb and very hard to get back," Trask said. He added, however, that despite the changes in Duke's portfolio, the investment philosophy of DUMAC has not changed and will not change significantly. "It's still the philosophy, although it's been tempered by the deleveraging and by the liquification to the portfolio," Trask said. "Its not as aggressively in that direction as it was a year ago." Trask said the University's low reliance on the endowment, which funds 15 to 16 percent of the annual operating budget, has allowed the University to make up for the losses over a longer period of time. He added that larger endowments at peer institutions fund 30 to 50 percent of those institutions' annual budgets. "Duke's low dependence on the endowment to fund operations does mean, though, that Duke may be able to afford to take a longer-term view in this environment than some other schools," Rasiel said. Trask said that as of May 31, the University's "long-term pool," which contains the endowment and other investments, has lost $1.3 billion, and is now valued at $5.8 billion. The pool is now composed of 8.5 percent in cash and fixed investments, 20 percent in real estate and 25 percent in equities, most of which are public. Trask noted that the University has lost very little on its real estate investments. The "short-term pool," which contains mostly cash and cash equivalents, has been stable throughout the crisis. "I'm not worried about anything other than how to get the overall total expenses down to accommodate the fact that a billion dollars plus has gone out of the investment pools and therefore the earnings on those funds are not available to be spent on an annual basis," he said. |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:37 AM Post #7 |
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/07/01/Columns/Bring.Brodhead.In.To.Teach-3750087.shtml Bring Brodhead in to teach good night, and good luck By: Nathan Freeman Posted: 7/1/09 On his curriculum vitae, President Richard Brodhead is listed as holding two titles at Duke University: President, and Professor of English. But five years after he accepted the former of these two jobs, he has not yet officially performed the latter. Why hasn't Brodhead-one of Yale's most beloved scholars during his tenure as the A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of English, and a 19th century literature expert of wide acclaim-ever stepped into a Duke classroom for a semester? It's something English majors like myself have pondered from time to time, so I stopped by his office June 18 to ask him. "I don't think, in the near future, I see a way for me to teach a whole course," said Brodhead. "But I know in my life I will teach again. I'll teach all kinds of things again." Though mum on the subject of when he'll take on a class, Brodhead emphasized his life-long passion for the classroom, and explained that he can still fulfill the role of educator from his office in the Allen Building. "When I was in college, I wanted to be a teacher, and that's what I became-but then I also became a scholar, and then I got responsibilities for other things at universities," he said. "But if I'm ever stopped at an airport and asked for my profession or something like that, I'll usually say teacher. What am I going to say-administrator?" As president, Brodhead has read poetry in the Nasher, given countless talks on campus and off and stopped by the odd English class to deliver a guest lecture, but he has not yet stepped behind the podium of his own class. It goes without saying that it's a position for which he would be eminently qualified. At Yale, he climbed the ranks of the Department of English-from a Ph.D. student, to a junior professor and eventually to its chair. But he wasn't just an English professor-he was a rock star at the lectern with classes that were "packed to the rafters," Yale Associate Dean Penelope Laurans recalled to The Yale Herald, a Yale student newspaper, upon Brodhead's departure to Duke in 2004. In 1980, the Yale Daily News, another student-run newspaper at Yale, printed an editorial entitled "Make me late for Brodhead" that criticized the slow tenure process by mentioning his burgeoning reputation: "Assistant professor of English Richard Brodhead, whose teaching skill has drawn an award from the Phi Beta Kappa Society, raves in the Course Critique and high course enrollment, is up for tenure this year. If the University continues effectively to ignore teaching ability as a criterion for tenure, Brodhead probably won't be around to be late for." But Yale did not ignore Brodhead's ability-it embraced it for the next 24 years. When Brodhead decided to abscond to Durham, Yale brass came out in full force to let everyone know what the New Haven institution was losing. "Dick Brodhead is one of the finest educators of his generation and one of the greatest deans in Yale's 300-year history," Yale President Richard Levin wrote in an e-mail to his university's community upon news of Brodhead's departure. "The trouble is that my way of teaching doesn't marry easily with the job I now have," he said. "I don't like to pull notes out and walk into a room and teach from old notes. I like to reread everything I teach, I like to think it through again… and the trouble now is, when would I do it?" What if you had, I asked him, a "battalion of TAs" to help you with the material? "See, a 'battalion of TAs?'" Brodhead repeated, skeptically. "I don't want to be making cameo appearance, or doing star turns. That's not my idea of teaching." Yes, Brodhead's job may leave little free time to teach a class, but the practice is not unheard of: A 2006 survey by the American Council on Education reported that 20 percent of college and university presidents teach a course as well. And Duke's president should increase that percentage. Though he may be booked for the time being, Brodhead should start taking the necessary steps to allow for a future semester when he can helm an English course. Five years after Yale students lost their chance to show up late to Brodhead's class, Duke students still can't show up at all. But if they could show up, they'd find that his itch to rip back into his cherished areas of study has not abated at all. "What would I teach?" he wondered aloud, smiling, his voice rising with excitement. "Oh!-Let's not even go there, let's not even go there, let's not even go there..." Nathan Freeman is a Trinity senior. |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:38 AM Post #8 |
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/07/01/News/Health.Director.Lombard.Faces.Child.Sex.Charges-3749959.shtml Health director Lombard faces child sex charges By: Julius Jones Posted: 7/1/09 A University employee was charged by the FBI with child sex abuse June 24 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Frank Lombard, 42, associate director for the Health Inequalities Program at the Center for Heath Policy, is charged with enticing an undercover police officer over the Internet to take part in interstate travel in order to engage in an illegal sex act with a minor during a sting conducted by the FBI and Metropolitan Police Department for the District of Columbia's Child Exploitation Task Force, according to a news release from the FBI. According to The (Raleigh) News & Observer, Lombard waived an extradition hearing June 26 and was held without bond in the Durham County Jail until his extradition to Washington, D.C. this week. The FBI declined to give further comment on a pending investigation. Lombard has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. He added that the University is cooperating with the investigation. According to Detective Timothy Palchak's affidavit, a confidential informant told the FBI he had knowledge of people engaged in child molestation online. The report said the criminal prosecution against the informant is still pending, but no plea deal was reached in exchange for the information. The informant told investigators that a customer of ICUii-an online program that offers "adult, discreet videochat," according to the company's Web site-with the user name "cooper2" or "cooperse" had performed acts of child molestation and broadcast it over the Web site. A subpoena sent to ICUii June 15 confirmed that the "cooper2" user name identified by the informant belonged to Frank Lombard, according to the affidavit. After the sting operation began, the officer alleges that over the course of a Yahoo! Instant Messenger conversation June 23, Lombard-using the display name "F L"-confessed to multiple acts of sexual abuse online using the ICUii video chat program. Lombard identified the minor he had molested as his 5-year-old, black adopted child. Lombard also offered to allow the undercover officer to watch him perform sexual acts on the child via ICUii and fly to Lombard's home to have sex with the child himself, according to the affidavit. "He further told your affiant that he lived in Durham, North Carolina with his live-in homosexual partner," Palchak wrote in his affidavit. He went on to write that "F L" said his partner did not know about the abuse, but when his partner leaves for an upcoming business trip, it "would allow him the ability to molest the child just as he did the last time the partner had left town." Lombard has been employed at Duke for 10 years. In addition to his responsibilities at the Center for Health Policy, Lombard taught an undergraduate course in the public policy department-"Intro to the U.S. Health Care System"-in the past and was scheduled to do so Fall 2009. Students described Lombard as a good teacher and someone who knew a large amount about the subject he was teaching, although they said they were not close to him outside the classroom. "He was definitely very knowledgeable on the topic we were covering in class and I can't say much bad about him as a professor," senior Bryan Fox said. "He was a great teacher." Multiple colleagues of Lombard declined to comment for this story. |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 05:41 AM Post #9 |
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http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/07/01/News/Durham.Braces.For.A.Smaller.Duke-3749955.shtml Durham braces for a smaller Duke By: Julius Jones Posted: 7/1/09 During the deepest recession in recent memory, even the nation's wealthiest universities are slashing their budgets and producing serious economic consequences for the communities in which they reside. The most recent economic impact study conducted by the Office of Public Affairs and Government Relations estimated that Duke generated an estimated $3.4 billion during the 2006-2007 fiscal year for the City and County of Durham economies. But with the University curtailing spending as it attempts to close a $125 million budget deficit over the next three years, there will be a decrease in local investment. Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said although the University will meet all of its current obligations and pledges in terms of investment, it will not be entering into any more commitments in the foreseeable future. "We made it clear in the beginning we would do our share, but now it's time for others to do theirs," he said. "There's momentum downtown and other companies are moving down there and they wouldn't have been if Duke hadn't started five years ago." Durham feels real estate pinch Given the size of the University's investment in the community, especially in revitalizing downtown Durham, it is unlikely that another company or institution would be able to fill the gap. According to the study, Duke spent approximately $227 million on construction services alone in the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Casey Steinbacher, president and chief executive officer of the Durham Chamber of Commerce, said a large number of development projects in Durham can only begin because of Duke's commitment to lease space in the new buildings when construction is completed. "They have been very successful with their leasing program throughout Durham, and specifically downtown Durham, in using their leases to help development projects get off the ground," she said, adding that Duke will help reverse the downward real estate cycle. Perhaps the most prominent example of Duke's investment downtown is the American Tobacco Campus, where the University is the largest tenant. When Duke completes its previously planned move downtown, the 1 million sq.-ft. complex will be home to more than 500 employees. Bill Kalkhof, president of Downtown Durham, Inc., said without Duke, the American Tobacco Campus could not have existed. Currently, the University leases approximately 210,000 square feet of commercial space in the complex. "Duke has been the major player in helping the development of downtown Durham," Kalkhof said. "Duke's contribution to the ongoing revitalization of downtown has been remarkable and they are certainly one who deserves all the major credit." Durham City Manager Tom Bonfield said many private companies-who often partner with the University to develop commercial property-have also abandoned new construction projects in Durham. It is unlikely that either will come back with commitments until the economy recovers, he said. "As Duke makes cuts to get through the economic crisis, we believe that as Duke's economic situation improves, it would coincide with the city's economic improvement as well," he said. The University currently leases approximately 1.4 million sq.-ft. of office space in Durham and Durham County-making Duke and the Duke University Health System Durham's largest tenant, leasing nearly 30 percent of all office space in the county, according to the economic impact study. Any decrease in development will mean fewer construction jobs, said Larry Parker, spokesperson for the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. According to statistics released by the ESC, the construction sector lost 2,100 jobs statewide in May. The labor cost In addition to the indirect employment opportunities created by Duke's investments, the University and DUHS combined are the largest employers in Durham County, Steinbacher said. According to the University's 2006-2007 study, 49.6 percent of Duke's 39,782 employees live in Durham. Currently, the University is offering early retirement incentives to 825 bi-weekly employees to close its $125 million budget deficit. If this option does not provide the necessary savings, then Duke may offer early retirement to its salaried employers whose age and total numbers of years employed by Duke are equal to or greater than 75, according to the Rule of 75, Trask said. He noted that the administration was only in the beginning stages of planing for that outcome. Trask said he cannot project the number of employees who would be laid off or if any employees would be laid off at all, because the University will wait until both retirement incentive programs are completed. If the University reaches that point, then employees will be compensated based on Duke's employee compensation program, which constitutes a week of pay for every week they worked at Duke and their vacation accrual, he said. After Duke's employee compensation ends, University workers-many of whom only make between $20,000 and $30,000 annually-could face a difficult time finding another job, several University employees said. In May, unemployment reached 8.1 percent in the Durham and Chapel Hill metropolitan area, according to the ESC. While that number is 3 percent less than the 11.1 percent state average, it is almost a 1 percent increase from the previous month. The unemployment rate in April was 7.3 percent in Durham and Chapel Hill. According to the ESC, only two of North Carolina's 11 economic sectors added jobs during May-Leisure & Hospitality Services and Trade, Transportation & Utilities. "Well, certainly it's a difficult time for anybody to find a job in North Carolina," Parker said. "I think a lot of folks hear about education cuts and automatically think teacher, but there are others who work at the school... they are also affected by education cuts." Millicent Rogers, an employee at the Duke Textbook Store, said although she would not like to be laid off, she is not too worried about the possibility because she would use the opportunity to go back to school. "I'm 24, I'm young and I have opportunities that my older co-workers who have kids and families don't," she said. "I haven't been out of school that long. There are a plethora of opportunities that are available to me that aren't available to other people." Part of the University's plan to save $50 million this year is to freeze salaries and wages, which has some employees feeling as though there are slim prospects for upward career mobility at the University. Although the University does not offer additional assitance to employees who are laid off, the city of Durham currently offers workforce training programs to any Durham resident who loses his or her job, helping them re-enter the job market, Bonfield said. He noted, however, that those programs will not be able to fully mitigate the effect of job cuts at Duke. "It would depend on the extent to which it happens," Bonfield said. "But, obviously, at the end of the day, when Duke employees or any company's employees are laid-off, then there is an impact." Rogers said while professors are an important part of the student experience at the University, the role the staff plays in the lives of students is often overlooked. "Just because we are not professors does not mean that we are not essential to the atmosphere here at Duke for the students," she said. |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 06:48 AM Post #10 |
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http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2009/07/01/News/Board.Is.Top.Priority.For.New.Chair.Blue-3749961.shtml Board is top priority for new chair Blue New Chair: Dan Blue By: Toni Wei Posted: 7/1/09 Democratic state Sen. Dan Blue, Law '73, is no stranger to making history. Blue, the first black chair of the Board of Trustees, was also the state legislature's first black Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives-a position he held from 1991 to 1994-and the first black president of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "I'm extremely honored to be the chair of the Duke Board-to come from being a plain and simple student, to lead the University policy-making board, it's a lifetime honor for anybody I believe, and I especially feel very good about that," Blue said. "I look at it first through those lens, but given Duke's history in the South, you can't help but reflect back a little bit on where we come from as an institution-it's a pretty strong statement of where we are that those issues don't matter in who we choose as a leader today." Blue was elected chair at the Board's May 8 meeting and begins his term today. Blue's election has garnered praise from Durham as well as University leaders. "I think it's a testament to Dan's fortitude and insight-he has great skills and capability and is a proven leader," said Durham Mayor Bill Bell, who worked with Blue last year on Barack Obama's presidential campaign. "There's not a question in my mind he deserves this position." Before attending the School of Law, Blue earned a bachelor's degree from North Carolina Central University in 1970. NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms said Blue has the experience and the record of service required to fulfill the responsibilities of the position. "He is someone who is imminently qualified, well-versed in issues and he's fulfilled leadership positions, so I think he's a wonderful servant leader and it's good for Duke, it's good for the community and it's good for society," Nelms said. "I can assure you that NCCU is proud that an alumnus of this institution has an opportunity to serve at this level." Blue first joined the board in 1995, completing the term of then-retiring trustuee Daniel Tostesen. In 1999, Blue was elected to two more six-year terms-the limit any person can consecutively serve on the Board-and served as vice chair of the Board alongside Richard Wagoner, Trinity '75 and former General Motors chief executive officer. Blue has chaired the Board's Business and Finance Committee and the Trusteeship Committee, and was a member of the Audit Committee. Blue's term-as well as his tenure as chair-will expire in 2011. Blue said his policy-making role will not be drastically different as chair of the Board, because the Board takes a very collaborative approach to decisions. "[On] an exceptionally talented board such as ours, many people bring many skills and different perspectives but also great talent," he said. "We call upon the board members on many things and match their talents with the needs of the University and the administration." Currently a partner at the law firm Blue, Stephens & Fellers in Raleigh, Blue also served in the N.C. House from 1981 to 2002 and again from 2006 to 2009, last month he joined the N.C. Senate when he was appointed to fill the late Democratic state Sen. Vernon Malone's vacated seat. "I certainly thought he'd go very far in politics-some of the jobs I thought he might aspire to are more important than the chair of the Board of Trustees," said George Christie, James B. Duke professor of law and one of Blue's former professors at Duke. "I thought he was destined for some serious positions in life, and in large part he's accomplished that, he's had a distinguished career." Blue said he does not know whether he will pursue another term in the N.C. Senate when his current term ends next year. "I think the Senate is a very important calling, but I'll be quite frank-I'm certainly considering helping to lead Duke to be the most important task at hand," he said. Currently spending his time moving between his four offices, Blue said he was up to the challenge of taking on so many important roles. "It's not difficult," he said. "I learned a long time ago how to delegate and still get stuff done that you need to get done." Blue's political background is a marked change from that of previous Chair Robert Steel, Trinity '73, who served as chief executive officer of Wachovia. "This is the first time Duke will have a prominent voice in the General Assembly," said Phail Wynn, vice president for Durham and regional affairs. "He commands a great deal of respect and has high ethical standards." Wynn added that Blue's political connections will be advantageous to the Board. "He's still very well-connected in Raleigh-locally as well as nationally-and can provide real help to Durham in terms of federal programs and federal dollars," he said. "He brings a different network of connections." Blue said his experience in politics may bring some perspective to the table other board members do not have from having to go out and explain issues to the electorate. He added, however, that he did not think his political expertise will result in a change in the way the Board is governed. "I don't think I'm that unique as far as Duke board members are concerned. I think all of us have an understanding of University constituencies," he said. "It may be that I'm more in the public view, because I have set policy for the state, so from a visibility standpoint, I may make Duke more visible in those circles, but at the end of the day it's about Duke." Blue takes on the role of chair of the Board of Trustees at a challenging time for the University, as administrators attempt to eliminate a $125 million deficit. The Board approved a "flat" $1.8 billion budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year at the same meeting in May during which Blue was elected the next chair. "[Duke is] still very much in a growing mode, and we have to make sure we help set the vision for it so it continues to grow in the best way possible and create the best place for these exceptionally talented students we have," Blue said. "Whatever it takes in this age of competition and the challenge of financial resources, we are doing things that continue to have our University excel and exceed even some of the threshold expectations some of us may have set for it." He added that in the current financial climate, it is especially important to focus on the University's priorities, noting that the Board will ask the administration to ensure that decisions are "well thought-out." "We use all of the resources to our best advantage and it's terms like these that you go through and make sure where you're spending the resources are the very best places to spend them," Blue said. "To be as great of stewards of the University's resources [as possible] and to be of assistance to the administration and basically ensure that Duke continues on its path of greatness-that's what we think about with every decision that we make." |
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| abb | Jul 2 2009, 07:09 AM Post #11 |
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http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/ Wednesday, July 01, 2009 Five News Stories Before Nifong’s Copier “Discovery” On Apr. 14, 2007, three days after NC AG Roy Cooper declared three Duke students innocent of charges brought against them by then Durham DA Mike Nifong, Raleigh News & Observer investigative reporter Joe Neff told readers: Mike Nifong found out about the case that now threatens his career March 23, 2006, when he stopped by the office copier and found a court order demanding DNA samples from 46 Duke lacrosse players. An escort service dancer told police that three men at a team party had dragged her into a bathroom and raped her anally, vaginally and orally for 30 minutes, according to the order. The Durham district attorney's reaction, he later told lawyer Jim Cooney: "Holy crap, what is going on?"… I've used a series of posts to tell readers why Neff’s copier "discovery" story is false. See for example - - Nifong Copier "Discovery" Story: A Fantastic Lie - - and the posts to which it links. There are many reasons why we can be sure Neff’s story is false. One is that before Nifong's alleged copier “discovey,” Neff’s own N&O published two stories on the alleged rapes, the Durham Herald Sun published one story and Duke’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, published two. On the thread of Nifong Copier "Discovery" Story: A Fantastic Lie sceptical, who posts at Liestoppers Meeting posted part or all of four of those news stories. I’ve included here some text sceptical snipped. I've also included here the full text of a Mar. 18 Durham Herald Sun story not included in sceptical’s comment. But what follows is otherwise the result of sceptical’s care and effort for which we can all say, "Thanks." SATURDAY MARCH 18: N&O and H-S publish first articles about the case: The N&O's story ran with - - - Woman reports sexual assault Police were investigating a report of a rape on Buchanan Boulevard near the Duke University campus Friday. .. A young woman told police she visited 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. about 11:30 p.m. Monday and was assaulted by three men, according to police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb... Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator B.W. Himan at 560-4582, ext. 229 The Herald Sun's story ran with - - - Woman says 3 men raped her Police are investigating the rape of a young woman by three males at 610 N. Buchanan St. on Tuesday. The woman told police that she arrived at the house for a party on Monday night and did not leave the house until after midnight Tuesday. Police are asking any potential witnesses to call Investigator Himan at 560-4582 or CrimeStoppers at 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for tips leading to an arrest and callers do not have to identify themselves. Compiled by staff writer BriAnne Dopart, bdopart@heraldsun.com; 419-6684. SUNDAY MARCH 19: Second N&0 article on the case: Alleged rape was at party, police said Police offered more details Saturday in the investigation of a young woman's report she was raped by three men at a party Monday near the Duke University campus. The woman told police early Tuesday morning that she had gone to a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. about 11:30 p.m. the night before for a party, said Sgt. Mark Gottlieb. While at the party, she was raped by three men, she reported to police. Gottlieb described the party as a mix of college students and non-students. In total, there were about 30 people there at the time, he said. "It was an act where alcohol was involved," Gottlieb said. (snip) MONDAY MARCH 20: The Duke Chronicle publishes its first article on the case: Off-East house site of reported rape By: Staff Reports Issue date: 3/20/06 Section: News Last update: 3/20/06 at 6:23 AM EST Durham Police Department is investigating an alleged rape of a young woman by three males at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. over Spring Break. Duke recently purchased the rented residence from a local landlord. The alleged assault was reported early in the morning of Tuesday, March 14. The young woman arrived at the house for a party at around 11:30 p.m. Monday, March 13 and reportedly left after midnight, Sgt. M.D. Gottlieb of Durham Police District 2 Investigations wrote in an e-mail to a community listserv. He encouraged individuals in the area at the time to report to DPD if they "saw or heard anything unusual." Gottlieb could not be reached for comment. The house at 610 N. Buchanan is one of 12 in the Trinity Park neighborhood that Duke purchased from Trinity Properties, a local real estate firm, in early March. The University bought, in total, 15 properties near East Campus for approximately $3.7 million. The purchased homes are mostly student-occupied, and many are the frequent subjects of noise, trash and partying complaints filed by Trinity Park residents. Duke plans to turn the houses into single-occupancy residences. TUESDAY,= MARCH 21: The Duke Chronicle publishes its second article on the case: Suspects in alleged rape unidentified One week after a young woman was allegedly raped at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., the Durham Police Department is still investigating the situation, saying "the suspects have not been clearly identified." The house, which was recently purchased by University subsidiary Durham Realty, was the site of a party that involved both Duke students and non-students, said Sgt. M.D. Gottlieb of Durham Police District 2 Investigations. Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said the University will not take action until the police department's investigation is finished. "From what I understand, the situation is under investigation by the Durham Police Department, and we will await that investigation," she said. Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, added that the University would take appropriate measures, pending the police investigation. Gottlieb said any man that attended the party March 13 would be a viable suspect but refused to go into further detail. The residents of the house have been cooperative with DPD in locating any suspects, he added. The residence was one of 15 properties-three lots and 12 houses-Duke bought from Trinity Properties, a local real estate firm, earlier this month. The University paid approximately $3.7 million in the deal. The houses, located in the Trinity Park neighborhood near East Campus, have mostly been rented by students in the past, but Duke hopes to turn them into single-occupancy residences in the future. Many local residents in the Trinity Park area have long complained about noise and litter associated with parties at several of the houses. *** END OF SECOND CHRONICLE STORY ******* Sceptical ended the comment with - - - It should be noted that none of the early newspaper reports stated that the 610 N. Buchanan tenants were lacrosse team members or that the accuser was black. However, John is correct in inferring that Nifong, who regularly read the newspapers, is likely to have seen one of these articles between March 18 and 21. This argument is in addition to the one that I have made that Nifong was likley involved in the March 22 deal between Kim (Roberts) Pittman and Durham PD officers Gottlieb and Himan for changes in her statement in exchange for staying out of jail for parole violations. Posted by JWM at 9:46 PM 0 comments |
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| Quasimodo | Jul 2 2009, 07:24 AM Post #12 |
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A blue wall of silence? Is Duke calling for everyone associated with Duke to cooperate? Is Crimestoppers or the DPD calling upon everyone to cooperate? |
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| Quasimodo | Jul 2 2009, 07:29 AM Post #13 |
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Is Duke embarrassed by its official conduct during the lax case? (John Burness : "Apologize? For what?") Is Duke embarrassed by the actions of the gang of 88? Are the alumni embarrassed by the actions of the above? |
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| Quasimodo | Jul 2 2009, 07:38 AM Post #14 |
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But Duke doesn't do enough for Durham; it should also be taxed; its students contribute nothing as they are only part time residents; and the University doesn't have enough clout to stand up for its students when they are targeted by the DPD (and citied for alcohol violations more than 30 times as often as NCCU students); but, after all, they are outsiders and not part of the community; etc. etc. 
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| Quasimodo | Jul 2 2009, 05:53 PM Post #15 |
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How the LAPD is handling the biggest case in years (compare this with how the DPD handled its biggest case ever) : Los Angeles police under scrutiny in Jackson death (snip) Which people are being interviewed by police is unclear because the LAPD has said virtually nothing about the probe. "I am not going to make any comments on the investigation," Commander Patrick Gannon, the designated police spokesman on the Jackson case, said by e-mail Thursday. Any evidence would be turned over to the district attorney's office, which has final say on criminal charges. (Imagine: worldwide coverage, and the police are saying nothing... and the DA is probably saying nothing, also...) |
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