Maggie Kiselick

News

Regional rail project wages on

By Maggie Kiselick | April 27

Despite no assurance of federal funding, the Triangle Transit Authority signed two agreements with Norfolk Southern railroad on Monday, acquiring access to rail corridors necessary for a proposed 28-mile rail transit system. The TTA, a regional public-transportation provider, has been working to implement the 12-station system but faced setbacks earlier this year when the Federal Transit Authority declined funding for the project. Brad Schulz, spokesman for TTA, said the organization will meet with the FTA in the next few months to discuss the project.

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NCLB policy lets students slip through

By Maggie Kiselick | April 20

N.C. officials failed to report the scores of 53,074 students broken down by racial group to the federal government, according to an Associated Press review of the 2003-04 school year. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, public schools are required to report student test scores by categories such as race, income and migrant status. Each state determines how many students will be placed into a subgroup. For North Carolina, that number is set at 40. If there aren't enough students fill a subgroup, their scores are not reported at the federal level.

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Job market seeing rosy conditions

By Maggie Kiselick | April 12

When UNC seniors graduate next month, they will face tougher job search competition, but their efforts will be rewarded with higher starting salaries, according to a report released Thursday. Andrea Koncz, employment information manager with the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which conducted the survey, said she has noticed an upward trend for about three years.

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Businesses hail lottery sales, customer service

By Maggie Kiselick | April 10

More than a week after the start of the N.C. lottery, many retailers say the much-disputed games have played out in their favor. Though Kerr Drug, on Franklin Street, reported only minor problems on the first day of ticket sales, owner James Malone said the lottery headquarters has been very responsive to any problems. "The questions I've asked . they've been more than willing to answer," he said.

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Educational standards narrow students' horizons

By Maggie Kiselick | March 30

Many school districts across the nation have begun to offer low-performing students just two choices when scheduling their classes: reading and math. According to a survey released Tuesday by the Center on Education Policy, a national nonpartisan think tank, 71 percent of surveyed school districts in the U.S. have reduced the instructional time spent on subjects such as history and music to improve tests scores. This comes as no surprise to UNC psychology professor Lynne Vernon-Feagans, who said schools are only trying to keep up with the standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

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Conference rich with poverty ideas

By Maggie Kiselick | March 24

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the growing income gap between the upper and lower classes, the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity began a two-day conference Thursday to examine the state of America's poor. The conference, titled "Challenging the Two Americas: New Policies to Fight Poverty," provided an opportunity for national business leaders, university professors and interested students to hear expert panelists speak on what they say is a major national problem.

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N.C. catches help fighting flu

By Maggie Kiselick | March 22

RALEIGH - Amid growing concerns about the threat of a possible flu pandemic, North Carolina is preparing aggressively. In a Pandemic Flu Summit held Tuesday, public health, law enforcement, business and community leaders discussed the state's plan for a potential outbreak. Raleigh was one stop on a nationwide tour as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' campaign to inform the country of the growing pandemic threat. "It's all about early detection and rapid response," said state Health Director Leah Devlin. "We're not waiting on a disaster."

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NCSSM could join UNC-system ranks

By Maggie Kiselick | February 27

As part of its mission to increase math and science technology education, the 16-school UNC system might add a 17th. With this plan, the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, an affiliate of the system, would become an actual constituent. "We've been looking for some time to make that relationship more effective and more productive," said Leslie Winner, vice president and general counsel of the system.

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Church directory request draws questions

By Maggie Kiselick | February 22

For the third year in a row, the N.C. Republican Party asked its members to send in their church directories, inciting protest from religious and political leaders alike. But Bill Peaslee, chief of staff for the N.C. GOP, said that it's not doing anything wrong, and that the move was made to extend the party base in North Carolina. "Every political party appeals to its base constituencies, and one of the base constituencies are people of faith," he said. "Studies have shown that people that attend church one or more times a week tend to vote Republican."

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Law might pull plug on public access TV

By Maggie Kiselick | February 20

The benefits of public access stations might be too remote for some to notice, but the stations might soon be off the air permanently. Most town cable service providers allocate space for public access channels, which broadcast municipal government meetings and serve educational purposes. But pending federal legislation could allow telephone companies to avoid funding local public access stations, reducing the barriers companies face in entering the cable market.