Margaux Escutin

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Raleigh Council Considers Limiting Unrelated Roommates

By Margaux Escutin | January 22

RALEIGH -- The Raleigh City Council chamber was filled to capacity Tuesday night as concerned citizens voiced opinions about the council's proposal to allow no more than two unrelated people to live under the same roof. The council referred the issue to city staff for further consideration. The Chapel Hill Town Council finalized a similar draft of a land-use management ordinance in November, which will be up for approval at the council's Monday meeting. Chapel Hill's ordinance would allow for only two unrelated people per residence or four in a duplex.

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Economy, War Dominate Price's Talk With Locals

By Margaux Escutin | January 15

An audience of mostly older women crowded into a room in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building at UNC to hear U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., address the failing economy, the pending war on Iraq, education and health care. Price told listeners, some of whom were spilling out into the hallway, that he wants to turn the economy around and encourage economic growth in the Triangle and nationally. "We were sworn in one day and ... began fighting over unemployment and economic (struggles)," he said, describing the atmosphere of the 108th U.S. Congress, which started Jan. 7.

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Proposed Bill Would Restore Draft

By Margaux Escutin | January 10

In the event of war with Iraq, many male and -- for the first time -- female U.S. citizens and permanent residents could be drafted into the military under a bill introduced Tuesday into the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., proposed a draft bill that would obligate those between the ages of 18 and 26, including college students, to perform two years of either military or civilian service promoting national or homeland security.

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Supreme Court to Examine Reading of Miranda Rights

By Margaux Escutin | December 4

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether police are constitutionally allowed to ask arrestees questions without reading them their Miranda rights -- a hearing whose verdict could eliminate accusations of unfair treatment of arrestees. The case was spurred by an excessive force civil suit filed by Oliverio Martinez, a man blinded and paralyzed Nov. 28, 1997, by a police shooting in Oxnard, Calif., about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

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Agencies Receive Fiscal Warning

By Margaux Escutin | November 27

Gov. Mike Easley sent out a memo Monday reprimanding state agencies for not handling theft and misspending properly after more than $800,000 was lost due to mismanagement in 2002. "That's a heck of a lot of money, especially in these difficult budget times," said Ernie Seneca, Easley's spokesman. The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported Sunday that state agencies have lost millions of dollars due to theft and misuse of state property. By state law, N.C. agencies must report thefts, damages and misuse of state property, an obligation that some say has not been met.

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State Petitions Court to Drop Revenue Lawsuit

By Margaux Escutin | November 20

The state moved Monday to dismiss a suit brought by N.C. municipalities over funds withheld by the governor because of the state's budget shortfall last fiscal year. Twenty-four cities and counties sued N.C. Secretary of Revenue Norris Tolson, claiming that the state illegally withheld money appropriated to them by the N.C. General Assembly. Gov. Mike Easley made the decision to block the money from the cities and counties, but Tolson was sued because he was ultimately responsible for withholding the funds.

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N.C. Schools Risk Failing Standards

By Margaux Escutin | November 13

Seventy percent of N.C. public schools could fail to meet new federal standards that hold schools accountable for the academic success of student subgroups. If one subgroup, such as minority students or students from low-income families, does not meet target test scores, then the entire school fails. The legislation, titled the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, measures improvement while the old program, ABCs of Public Education, shows overall accountability.

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Protesters March, Rally Against War With Iraq

By Margaux Escutin | October 28

In what is being hailed as the largest anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C., since the Vietnam War, about 100,000 marchers packed the streets of the nation's capital Saturday as they protested potential war in Iraq. The 2-mile march started on Constitutional Avenue, where people listened to notable figures -- such as actress Susan Sarandon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson -- speak against war in Iraq for hours before they proceeded down the street.

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Overdose Deaths on the Rise in N.C.; CDC Steps In to Study

By Margaux Escutin | October 7

A recent N.C. Department of Heath and Human Services study found that accidental drug overdoses in the state have doubled over the past five years. "The study focused on unintentional drug overdoses, and the number increased by 110 percent," said Kay Sanford, the study's primary investigator and a department epidemiologist. In 2001, the accidental overdose rate rose to 7.73 per 100,000 people from 1999's rate of 5.54 per 100,000. Most of North Carolina's unintentional drug-related deaths were from prescription narcotics, methadone in particular, Sanford said.

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SuperTarget Might Open in South Square Mall

By Margaux Escutin | September 26

If approved, a new SuperTarget will be located at the site of the now vacant South Square Mall in Durham, but officials are not sure when construction might begin. The last store at South Square, Radio Shack, left the mall Sept. 13. The only obstacles barring construction of the new Target are approval of a site plan and hiring of appropriate contracting companies. Dick Hails, assistant director of the Durham Planning Department, said the site plan for the new Target was turned in several weeks ago. "We've been wanting to get Target in south Durham for 10 years," he said.