2002: New Year, Same Concerns

But in some ways, North Carolina is having problems with that last step.

Age-old issues have slowly crept their way back into everyday conversations.

The phrases "tuition increase" and "budget shortfall" are once again sending shivers down the spines of college students and state officials.

Let's start with tuition, shall we?

Months after state legislators gave the final "OK" for a bump in tuition fees across the UNC system, campus officials are hoping to raise the bill even further.

One by one, UNC-system campuses are making their own demands for tuition increases prompting protest from students.

Yet in a minor victory for students, a newly released study by the Lumina Foundation for Education revealed something that we have known all along: College is becoming less affordable for students.

The study examined colleges nationwide using data about college expenses, personal resources and financial aid to determine affordability.

In all, 29 percent of North Carolina's public and private institutions were found to be unaffordable for students.

Of the UNC system's 16 campuses, only three were deemed financially accessible to all students, according to the report.

Although it is impossible to tell what impact, if any, the report might have on future tuition talks, the findings certainly add some spice to the debate.

In other news, it appears that streamlining state agencies and a bump in taxes have had little impact on boosting the state's economy.

Several N.C. economists are once again predicting a budget shortfall for fiscal year 2002-03.

Apparently, tax revenue is not coming in the way legislators had anticipated, putting a strain on the state's budget.

And officials announced Thursday that the state's general fund fell short by $32.4 million last year.

Still, economists say they will not fully know the extent of any shortfall until corporations file their income taxes at the end of the month.

But rest assured dear friends, not everything is the same-old, same-old in the state.

Officials from the Albemarle-Pamlico Economic Development Corporation announced Wednesday that it was jump-starting plans to provide high-speed Internet access to residents in rural areas of the state.

The Internet service would be provided through a fiber-optic cable attached to a natural gas pipeline and would span across 14 counties from the Virginia and South Carolina borders.

According to APEC, the region could be wired as soon as 2004.

On the business and environmental fronts, North Carolina could soon become the first state in the nation to allow residents to buy blocks of solar power and other renewable energy sources from their electric company.

Although officials will not release complete details of the initiative until the summer, the voluntary program could pump millions of dollars into the state budget while at the same time reducing environmental wastes from hog farms and lagoons.

Finally, this year also brings back politicians' favorite pastime: elections.

This fall, incumbents and wannabe politicos will hit the campaign trail vying for spots in the state and national legislatures.

While it is unlikely that any of this year's races will compare to the never-ending saga that was Bush-Gore 2000, none should be a sleeper either.

Newly created districts and the slow exodus of veteran state legislators from their posts should provide lots of excitement in the fall.

And in what likely will be the most closely watched race, Salisbury native Elizabeth Dole will try to become North Carolina's first female Senator in the race to succeed the retiring Jesse Helms.

So while there are some bumps in the road, things might not be as bad as it seems in North Carolina.

And who knows? Perhaps in a year, tuition hikes and budget shortfalls might merely be things of the past.

Columnist April Bethea can be reached at adbethea@email.unc.edu.