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(09/16/08 4:00am)
Community members who want Carrboro to provide municipal identification cards to undocumented residents are looking into the types of identification that local service providers require.For those without valid Social Security cards or driver's licenses access to many services is limited.Starting this week UNC senior Drew Felts will be interviewing business members of the Comité de Asuntos Latinos de Orange" a Latino rights group comprising several area businesses and social service organizations.The study is composed of a series of questions that attempts to get an idea of what identification information local companies need to provide services for residents. ""CALDO had interest in trying to see what other kinds of programs out there are available to try to provide undocumented Hispanic immigrants with some form of documentation"" Felts said.UNC professor Darcy Lear, a Comité member who is working with Felts, said the group is looking at a municipal ID program already in place elsewhere as part of its research.We're looking at the New Haven" Conn." municipal ID program to have a model of a municipality that isn't hostile toward the hardworking immigrants in the community.""New Haven made municipal IDs available in 2007 to local residents" including undocumented immigrants so they can access services.The town offers identification cards with a debit feature that also give residents who don't qualify for driver's licenses access to public libraries parks and recreational sites. Jacqueline James a New Haven alderman said one major goal of the program is to make illegal residents feel safe using community resources" such as police and banking services.""As a city" we are in support of addressing immigration issues and laws and actually trying to be a part of something positive and affecting some level of change" James said.Victor Melendez, executive director of El Centro Latino, said any type of identification card for undocumented immigrants would help. He also said a municipal ID would be limited in its scope.It's a very limited type of ID and doesn't go beyond those boundaries"" he said. It's very limited to the residents of that municipality.""Both Lear and Felts stressed that the study into the ID requirements is in the initial stages.""We just want to find out if there is a need for a municipal ID (locally)" Lear said. If people feel like ‘I can't go get treatment for my tuberculosis because the sheriff is going to access my records"' you have major risks on your hands.""Felts will start interviewing businesses this week" but any potential policy is far down the road.Questions range from the acceptance of certain IDs to whether the organization has noticed problems resulting from a lack of certain IDs.Any action from Carrboro could be a long time coming" Felts said.Carrboro Alderman John Herrera said Carrboro likely would welcome ""anything that facilitates access of resources."" But he said the town would have to look at the costs and benefits of a program that would benefit ""a few people that already have access to our services.""And although the potential impact of a move to municipal IDs is unclear"" Melendez said the limited move could help residents with services like opening bank accounts.""Any identification will definitely help in a positive way because it gives people ways to receive services and the different entities of the city.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/16/08 4:00am)
The Chapel Hill Town Council will resume discussion today of a proposal to convert a popular student apartment complex into a new residential housing community.The public hearing is to discuss zoning issues surrounding a proposed project that would require the demolition of the Town House Apartments on Hillsborough Street. No action will be taken at today's meeting.Ram Development Co. would convert the student-housing complex into a residential community with 15 percent of the homes designated as affordable housing options.While the project would create new affordable housing in accordance with city regulations" it would mean the loss of the popular student housing option.""It's so hard to find good student housing"" said Rob Sayre-McCord, a senior who lives in the complex. A lot of Chapel Hill's population is under the poverty line"" and I understand if maybe they don't think this is the best use of space.""But it's a really nice complex" all things considered" and it'd be a shame if they tore down affordable student housing.""A representative from Town House declined to comment. Some students who reside at the 111-unit complex said they hope a new development will fill the void if Town House goes.""It's nice to have a place close to campus that's cheap"" said senior Claire Thomson, who lives at Town House. It would be nice if they could have something equally affordable equidistant from campus.""City officials and developers said the new project would bring positive change to downtown Chapel Hill.""One of the goals is to get more people living downtown so that it doesn't just shut down at 5 o'clock"" said George Cianciolo, chairman of the Chapel Hill planning board. He said he thinks that increased foot traffic could result in new businesses.Jon Keener, a developer at Ram Development Co., which is in charge of the project, said he foresees similar positive results.It really provides some downtown living to revitalize the commercial districts and redevelop a site that's fallen on hard times" he said.Town House itself is another reason Keener finds the development necessary.It's obsolete beyond its life cycle" he said. We're really developing a project that will increase the tax base and provide some quality modern housing that's close to downtown and transit.""Developers began gathering ideas for a new project at the Town House site about two and a half years ago and now must obtain the council's approval.The development has a limited amount of parking spaces which developers and townspeople think will encourage the use of alternative methods of transportation.""If you provide a lot of parking spaces" you create a lot of traffic" Cianciolo said. The complex is located on two major bus routes and is within walking distance of Franklin Street.Despite the mixed response to the proposed development, Keener remains optimistic that locals will embrace the change eventually.Will it be met with some resistance? We believe it will" but it's such a great" unique site that we believe we can overcome that.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/10/08 4:00am)
When people hear about sex trafficking" they rarely think about stopping it in the Triangle. Local activists hope to change that.""It's such a hidden problem"" said Christina Riordan, executive director of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. Often people think sex trafficking happens in other countries or somewhere else; people might be aware of it" but they may not know it's occurring in their community.The Rape Crisis Center hosted its annual general meeting Tuesday focusing on human sex trafficking and its presence in the nation and possibly the community.A panel of four human sex trafficking experts addressed the issue before a small audience" hoping to raise awareness and educate citizens on a problem that often goes unnoticed. ""We are not fully aware of how it manifests and the true impact that it's having on our community unless we become educated on it"" said Sabrina Garcia, domestic violence and sexual assault specialist for the Chapel Hill Police Department and member of the panel.Dana Vaughn-Mgunda, human trafficking training coordinator for the Carolina Women's Center at UNC who also spoke at the meeting, said ignorance of the issue allows it to continue to happen.Though the panelists think sex trafficking is happening in the area, they said it is difficult to determine how frequently it occurs, especially on a local level.It's difficult to categorize and identify sex trafficking"" Garcia said. Aspects of it have always been here.""As to the frequency and depth of its presence"" I truly believe that we don't have a good understanding of its impact here.""I think it can present itself in different ways" she said.Riordan said victims of sex trafficking come from many different backgrounds and can be male or female.People who are paying for sex trafficking make the issue worse. So many people are responsible on the demand side it effects the industry in a way that so many Americans especially vulnerable people get caught up in sex trafficking said Vaughn-Mgunda.The crisis center wants to be able to help victims of sex trafficking in the area. It's really important that they get the support and help they need"' Riordan said. ""It could be shelter" counseling" or helping them with immigration issues.""Vaughn-Mgunda wants to dispel the myth that victims of sex trafficking are only in large cities or faraway states and bring the issue to local citizens' attention.""They're not just living out in New York City and L.A."" she said. It's happening right here in North Carolina.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/26/08 4:00am)
In Meg Lawrence's classroom, children speak Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai and Telugu daily.
"The key word in teaching is differentiation: Teaching has to be differentiated for different kinds of learners," said Lawrence, one of two English as a Second Language teachers at Chapel Hill's Seawell Elementary School.
With students from countries across the globe speaking what she said is about 60 different languages, Lawrence has a lot of differentiating to do.
Lawrence said teaching children from so many different backgrounds can be challenging.
Meeting the standards of No Child Left Behind with students of limited English proficiency and dealing with language barriers often make the jobs of ESL teachers difficult.
Where most teachers are concerned solely with academic performance, Lawrence has to address communication issues as well.
Lawrence speaks some Spanish and Donna Kauffman, Seawell's other ESL teacher, speaks some German, but they instruct the classes in English.
While many students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools system speak multiple languages, the students who use ESL services lack proficiency in English.
"There are students that receive ESL services and then those who speak anther language and may not be receiving ESL programs," said Jose Nambo, ESL and dual language coordinator for CHCCS.
In order to accommodate the special needs, the school system uses contract translators and interpreters to assist ESL teachers.
ESL teachers only work with students thirty minutes to one hour in a separate setting each day, Nambo said.
Lawrence said UNC contributes to the diversity of Seawell's ESL program, as the University brings in the children of students and visiting professors.
In the past 10 years, Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools have seen an 800-percent increase in the amount of students who are not English-proficient, according to the system's Web site. The schools returned Monday and the need for ESL education is expected to continue to increase.
Nambo said there are 1,104 students participating in ESL programs within the school system this year.
"I think the main difference has been our populations have changed," Lawrence said. "We have lots more Latino children in the district."
She said Seawell's diverse ESL program is an asset to the community.
"We hope that parents and teachers in the community are aware of those differences and respect them," Lawrence said. "I hope they see it as part of our learning community and embrace this as an opportunity to learn about the world."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/19/08 4:00am)
A downtown Chapel Hill parking deck could someday house Kidzu Children's Museum.
A study, recommended by the Chapel Hill Town Council and presented to a committee formed by Mayor Kevin Foy, indicated that building an addition atop East Rosemary Street's Wallace Deck could provide a permanent facility for the Franklin Street museum.
"The mayor's committee saw the first draft of our report on the structural soundness and feasibility of the Wallace Deck as a site for Kidzu and gave a very positive response," Kidzu Executive Director Cathy Maris said.
She said a one- to two-story structure built atop the deck could house the museum in the future, providing space for more exhibits.
The Franklin Street spot was intended as a temporary location when Kidzu opened in March 2006, and Maris said the nonprofit is on the lookout for a larger home.
"Moving has always been a part of our plan," she said. "We were going to start in a small space, establish ourselves in the community and help people understand how important a children's museum is."
She said an anonymous donor has offered Kidzu free space in Carrboro, but she wants to keep the museum close to UNC due to partnerships with campus organizations and local businesses.
Maris said children's museums often locate in donated space.
Carlo Robustelli, Foy's aide, said the museum would be responsible for the cost of building an addition to Wallace Deck. He said both the mayor and the committee that received Kidzu's study hope to keep the museum downtown.
Dwight Bassett, interim director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, said Kidzu is a vital part of the downtown economy.
"I think it's a very important component of continuing to revitalize downtown Chapel Hill," he said, adding that the partnership will work with Kidzu to find a home in town.
"In my viewpoint, Kidzu is one of those economic engines in that it draws parents and children and visitors to that destination."
Assistant City Editor Emily Stephenson contributed reporting.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.