Hard economic times and bleak chances for a pay raise have not dampened the spirit of Employee Forum leader Tommy Griffin. Despite Griffin's semester-long fight to include staff salaries in tuition discussions, a recent decision by the UNC-system Board of Governors to put a moratorium on tuition increases for the 2003-04 year has seemed to negate much of that work.
The UNC-system Board of Governors' decision Friday to pass a one-year moratorium on tuition increases leaves campus officials, who approved a tuition hike proposal in December, waiting on word from the state legislature. Meanwhile, UNC-Chapel Hill's tuition proposal remains in limbo. Despite a unanimous recommendation from the BOG to freeze rising tuition costs for a year after increases in each of the past three years, UNC-CH officials think the N.C. General Assembly might decide to pass a systemwide tuition hike anyway.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners discussed a plan Monday for regulating the placement of telecommunications towers throughout the county. A presentation by Craig Benedict, Orange County's planning director, outlined the ways in which a Master Telecommunications Plan would aid the county. Board members initially were supportive of the proposal and voted to refer it to the Orange County Planning Board for further analysis. "(The telecommunications plan) is already a regular occurrence throughout North Carolina and other states," Benedict said.
Buyers in search of new homes in Orange County are facing the highest prices in the county's history. According to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises, a Rocky Mount firm that analyzes land transfer records, the average price of new homes in Orange County swelled well beyond the $300,000 mark in the past year. The price of new homes jumped 13 percent, from $289,740 last year to $327,360 this year. The numbers coincide with a drop in new homes sold from 643 to 596 over the past year.
A Marriott Residence Inn project seeking a home in Chapel Hill suffered a serious setback at Monday's Town Council meeting. Gene Singleton of the Summit Hospitality Group met considerable resistance from council members during his presentation of hotel building plans at the meeting. Eventually, the council agreed that further consideration of the proposal would be postponed until January.
Chapel Hill residents will have an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the potential expansion of Weaver Dairy Road in a public hearing today. In response to traffic problems on Weaver Dairy Road, the Chapel Hill Town Council voted 8-1 in September to send a proposal to the N.C. Department of Transportation to make the road three lanes along its entire length.
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority voted Thursday to eliminate all water restrictions for Chapel Hill and Carrboro in the wake of improving drought conditions. A proposal to downgrade restrictions only from Stage 2 to Stage 1 was defeated by a majority decision. All of the board members except one, Mark Marcoplos, agreed that dropping the restrictions entirely would be in the area's best interest at this time. Just over a month ago, the University Lake and Cane Creek Reservoir were severely below full capacity in the midst of what many have called the worst drought in 75 years.
Crime rates in the first quarter of the 2002-03 fiscal year are significantly lower than those of last year at this time, but local officials will not yet attribute the drop to crime prevention efforts. According to a report submitted by Chapel Hill Police Chief Gregg Jarvies at Monday's Town Council meeting, major crimes reported in the first quarter of the 2002-03 fiscal year, which runs from July to September, are down 31 percent from the same period last year.
A branch of the Latino Credit Union plans to open in Raleigh next month, but there are no plans for another branch in the Chapel Hill or Carrboro area. Luis Pastor of the Latino Credit Union said there is a greater need for new openings in Winston-Salem and Greenville. The Latino Credit Union was launched in Durham in 2000 in response to a wave of robberies targeting Latinos who generally carried their cash or stored it at home.
