| Blog and Media Roundup - Saturday, July 27, 2013; News Roundup | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 27 2013, 04:52 AM (150 Views) | |
| abb | Jul 27 2013, 04:52 AM Post #1 |
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http://dukecheck.com/?p=14905 Posted on July 27, 2013 by DukeCheck Developing. A Deputy will post on this, probably by Saturday afternoon. This time, the crime occurred in full day light. Not under the cover of darkness, nor the dimness of dusk. An undergraduate female entering Duke Gardens alone from the Central Campus Lewis Street entrance was accosted by two young, armed male thugs, who stole some personal possessions from her. She was not injured. The brazen crime at 12:55 PM Thursday sent shivers through the campus, as a similar stick-up occurred just ten days earlier at another entrance to the Gardens. Other major crimes have occurred elsewhere on campus. This time, finally, there was a response from the highest perches in Allen Building. Unfortunately, this turns out to be little more than a PR gesture — a news release that was issued on Friday. The only step outlined that could have possibly impacted upon these two crimes is an order to Buildings and Maintenance: cut back the bushes and shrubs on Central Campus, presumably to make it harder for criminals to lurk. In our view, this is capitulation, surrendering the landscaping of our beautiful campus to the lowest element in society. |
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| abb | Jul 27 2013, 04:53 AM Post #2 |
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http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/07/26/another-armed-robbery-reported-near-duke-gardens Another armed robbery reported near Duke Gardens By Georgia Parke | July 26, 2013 Another armed robbery occurred near Duke Gardens on Thursday, the second incident to happen there within ten days. A Duke Alert notified the student body and Duke community of the incident, which occurred at 12:55 p.m. Thursday near the Lewis Street entrance to the gardens. The victim, an undergraduate student, was not injured, but had items stolen, Duke Police Chief John Dailey said. One of two suspects is described as having a medium complexion and a medium build, about 5’11” tall and 17 to 20 years old. He was wearing black pants and a black shirt at the time of the robbery and carried a knife. The other suspect had a dark complexion, a thin build and was about 5’8” tall and between 17 and 20 years old. He was also wearing black pants and a black shirt as well as carrying a silver handgun. Dailey noted that a connection has not been found between this robbery and the similar one that occurred in Duke Gardens on July 15. The two robberies both happened in daylight and in the same location. “The campus is safe. It is unusual for us to have this many robberies on campus, much less during the daytime,” he said. “I know it is concerning.” Dailey said that security on campus has been increased to parallel the increase of armed incidents. The area that the robbery happened in, he said, was being patrolled on July 15, and over the past week a number of additional police officers had been added to the patrol area. “We had police there very quickly after it occurred, Durham Police was there very quickly,” Dailey said. “Unfortunately, Duke is a big place.” The number of police officers patrolling on campus does not change from the school year to the summer sessions, Dailey said, adding that he has had staff on overtime and will continue that into the fall. Some of these police officers are obvious to passersby and others are more concealed, he noted. Duke Police has released sketches of the two suspects from the July 15 incident, after working with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office to develop them. |
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| abb | Jul 27 2013, 04:55 AM Post #3 |
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Tillis pushed several major political contributors for UNC board, documents reveal Published: July 26, 2013 Updated 5 hours ago By Joseph Neff and J. Andrew Curliss — jneff@newsobserver.com, acurliss@newsobserver.com When his fellow Republicans questioned why House Speaker Thom Tillis backed a Democrat to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in March, the speaker had a simple reason: R. Doyle Parrish had raised a lot of money. “I would estimate he is directly responsible for more than $100,000.00 in financial support through personal contributions to my campaign committee and other candidates and through the Hospitality Alliance,” Tillis wrote in a March 21 email to House leaders. Tillis also strongly supported G.A. Sywassink for the board, even after the Republican caucus rejected Sywassink because he lives in South Carolina. The House narrowly elected Sywassink after Tillis circulated a list of his preferred candidates that included Sywassink. Sywassink, owner of a Charlotte freight company, had given $7,500 to Tillis’ campaign for the state House. In June, Sywassink gave $25,000 and Parrish gave $20,000 to the super PAC supporting Tillis’ bid for the U.S. Senate next year. Tillis was not available for comment Friday, an aide said. Parrish, of Raleigh, is the president of Summit Hospitality Group, which manages 13 Marriott and Hilton hotels as well as the Dunhill Hotel in Uptown Charlotte. According to his company website, Parrish sits on the board of the Hospitality Alliance of North Carolina, a nonprofit trade association for hotels. Parrish could not be reached for comment. Sywassink has previously said his contributions show his support for Tillis and are not connected to the appointment. Michaux: It’s ‘pay for play’ Democratic opponents said that Tillis was trading appointments for campaign contributions, a charge frequently leveled by Republicans when Democrats controlled the General Assembly and the Executive Mansion. “It sure sounds like a pay for play to me,” Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat, said. “It seems pretty blatant.” Jordan Shaw, Tillis’ spokesman, said Tillis was merely surrounding himself with supporters who share his vision. Shaw said the Board of Governors’ appointments took place in a rigorous and bipartisan fashion. Shaw’s previous job was as spokesman for the N.C. Republican Party. When Democrats were in power, Shaw and former Republican Party chairman Tom Fetzer excoriated Democrats such as former Speaker Jim Black and former governors Mike Easley and Bev Perdue, who they said put North Carolina government up for sale to the highest bidder. Shaw said Republicans don’t. “That is not how we do business,” Shaw said. A speaker’s slate A seat on the UNC Board of Governors is one of the most prestigious and sought-after appointments in North Carolina business and political circles. The board oversees the 17-campus system and is stocked with business and political heavyweights. The House Republican caucus met privately on March 20 to discuss which candidates to back for the eight House appointments. Republicans and Democrats had nominated 16 people for the 8 spots. Because Republicans have a strong majority, they were in position to win any vote if they stuck together. The Republicans decided to consider only Republicans, according to Majority Leader Edgar Starnes, a Caldwell County Republican. After the candidates addressed the caucus, the Republican House members held several rounds of votes. By a process of elimination, the caucus settled on a list of 10 candidates, Starnes said. Starnes emailed the list to the GOP caucus and asked the members to vote for any 8 of the 10 candidates, an action that would decide the GOP slate for the vote of the full House. Parrish received the least votes of the ten candidates. Between the caucus and the vote, Tillis gave all Republicans a list of six “Speaker’s Recommended Candidates.” It included the top three vote-getters – Rodney Hood, Henry Hinton and Champ Mitchell. Tillis also recommended Parrish; Laura Wiley, who was the sixth-highest vote-getter, and G.A. Sywassink. Four of the six candidates had given money to Tillis’ campaigns, and Wiley’s family is a longtime donor to GOP campaigns. The caucus had rejected Sywassink because he lives in Hilton Head, S.C. “He was always toward the bottom,” Starnes said. “The biggest concern was that he lived out of state.” When the full House voted, Sywassink squeaked onto the Board of Governors, finishing eighth with a one-vote margin. Parrish had the fifth-most votes. ‘A strong supporter’ In reporting the results, The News & Observer noted that Parrish was the only Democrat elected by either chamber. Some House Republicans complained that they had unwittingly voted for a Democrat. After reading the N&O report, Tillis responded with the email to his leadership team. He said he was embarrassed that he had led the caucus to believe Parrish was a Republican and that he did not know Parrish’s party affiliation. Tillis said he would have still sponsored him regardless. “I intend to publicly apologize to the caucus on Tuesday,” he wrote. “If the caucus feels strongly and is willing to assert their will through a voted caucus position, I will ask Doyle to resign his position if you all agree that is the best course.” In defending Parrish, Tillis referred to Parrish’s “open and substantial support in 2010” and the $100,000 he raised. “… He has been a strong supporter since the first time we met when it was not certain that we would win a majority,” Tillis wrote. “He has personally sponsored events for me and/or the caucus in Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington.” The email went on to discuss the conservative politics of Parrish’s wife, a Republican. It does not say anything about Parrish’s positions on higher education. Bob Hall is director of Democracy North Carolina, a campaign finance watchdog group that has investigated fundraising irregularities of both major political parties. He found Tillis’ defense of Parrish to be troubling. “This reveals how preoccupied Tillis is with raising money and that appears to be a major qualification for someone to get appointed,” said Hall, who advocates for open elections and campaign finance reform. “The reason given isn’t that he’s got a commitment to the university or has a background in education policy.” Curliss: 919-829-4840 Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/26/3061081/tillis-pushed-several-major-political.html#storylink=cpy |
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| abb | Jul 27 2013, 05:01 AM Post #4 |
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/acc/2013/07/25/north-carolina-chancellor-carol-folt-roy-williams-bubba-cunningham-pj-hairston/2587535/ New UNC chancellor 'fully informed' on NCAA issues 4:28 p.m. EDT July 25, 2013 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The new chancellor at the University of North Carolina said her transition from Dartmouth has been a smooth one. Carol Folt spoke for about 25 minutes Thursday during her first board of trustees meeting at the school. "The pride that people feel here about being the university of the people, that already moves me every time I hear somebody say it, because it's so real for so many people," Folt said. Folt took over this month after the resignation of Holden Thorp, who had been chancellor since 2008. He resigned last year after his leadership was marred by a string of scandals involving academic fraud, improper travel spending by fundraisers, and special treatment for athletes. "Carolina aspires to have the highest standards," Folt said. "Everybody wants that culture of aspiring and keeping high standards to be the culture that defines us today." She spent three decades at Dartmouth before she was hired by UNC in April. Her formal installation ceremony is scheduled Oct. 12. Speaking to reporters during a break in the meeting, she said it's her "obligation and interest" to keep informed of potential NCAA issues at the school. Folt said she has been "fully informed" and has talked "quite a bit with Bubba" Cunningham, UNC's athletics director, and basketball coach Roy Williams. Cunningham has said the school is gathering information on potential improper conduct by members of the basketball team. Williams issued a statement saying leading scorer P.J. Hairston will face "serious consequences" but that he will wait "until the process is complete" before deciding on the punishment. Hairston was arrested last month on charges — that were dropped this week — of misdemeanor marijuana possession and driving without a license during a traffic stop in Durham, N.C., while driving a rented car linked to a convicted felon. EARLIER: Charges against P.J. Hairston dropped PARKING PROBLEM: Campus parking tickets tied to "Fats" Thomas The school has been in frequent contact with the NCAA for much of the past three years following the start of an investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct that led to sanctions against the football program in 2012. That included regarding the school's investigation into whether NBA agent Rodney Blackstock has improper ties to Hairston or any other UNC athlete. The school also ordered a company that makes designer mouth guards to stop using senior guard Leslie McDonald to promote its brand. Until recently, McDonald had been listed on Iceberg Guards' website as a user of its products. It's unclear whether NCAA investigators will return to campus. "I think (NCAA issues) are an area that, as chancellor, it's my obligation and interest to understand what's going on, but I also have wonderful people in place that really have the knowledge and the experience to help me learn, but also to deal with this in a way that makes sense for our students and our institution," she said. The statements from Cunningham and Williams, she said, "have been very good in this regard." |
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11:41 AM Jul 13