Triangulator

A victory for scooters at UNC

Matthew McGibney · 23 Jul 2009, 2:42 PM · Comment

Following a closed-session meeting of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, the university has dramatically changed its scooter regulations. However, some scooter owners have criticized the transparency of the decision, and argue it doesn’t go far enough in encouraging students and faculty to ride the fuel-efficient vehicles. (See the June 24, 2009 Indy story, “Scooter outrage could change UNC policy.”)

The old policy would have charged between $174 and $371 for a scooter permit, depending on whether the owner is an employee, faculty member or a student. Following the Board of Trustee’s decision, UNC will charge a flat fee of $24 for all scooter permits next year, and appears willing to find secure parking spots for scooters on campus.

Steven Gordon was one of the dozen scooter owners who showed up at the Carolina Inn on Wednesday night, while the Board discussed the scooter policy change behind closed doors. Though they were not allowed inside, Gordon and others spoke afterward with Chancellor Holden Thorp.

Thorp explained the policy change to the owners, and assured them that there would be enough parking on campus for scooters. Thorp provided a map of possible parking spots for motorcycles and scooters, though Gordon called the map “outdated” and criticized UNC for not involving scooter owners in the decision.

“It’s just interesting how if this is the typical way they deal with policy at UNC, maybe it’s not intentional, but they sneak things through with a minimum amount of public input,” Gordon said. “As far as we know, no scooter rider in the community was contacted before this was voted on.”

However, at a separate meeting Thursday morning, board members invited scooter owner Brian Moynihan to speak on behalf of the community. Moynihan laid out four policy demands: a fixed fee of $24 (the price could raise as early as next year, as the new policy is currently written), an increased number of scooter parking spaces, the ability for scooters to park at bike racks, and the notification of scooter owners before the board makes any further changes.

While there was no change in the final ordinance, Moynihan said he still felt progress had been made.

“Overall, it was positive,” he said. “We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we did get lasting recognition that we’re here and have concerns, and that we need to be involved in the process in the long term.”

Chapel Hill, education, environment Holden Thorp, scooters, UNC-Chapel Hill

Groups protest Racial Justice Act amendment

Matthew McGibney · 21 May 2009, 12:08 PM · Comment

This morning, Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ), N.C. Coalition for a Moratorium, the N.C. NAACP and others gathered to call for the removal of an amendment to the state’s Racial Justice Act that would effectively restart executions in the state. The groups highlighted the popular support across the state for a racial justice bill, and advocated a “clean” bill without the death penalty amendment.

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) introduced the offending amendment, which would resolve several legal hurdles to the resumption of executions. The demonstrators’ press release hkonj-press-release ,which was delivered in front of the General Assembly building, called the addition “unconscionable,” as the Racial Justice Act was meant to correct flaws in the execution process.

The Racial Justice Act would allow the challenge of death penalty cases in which race was thought to have been a factor. A UNC study found that defendants were 3.5 times as likely to get the death penalty if the victim was white. Since the beginning of the death penalty moratorium in North Carolina, three African-American men have been exonerated. In all those cases, at least one of the victims was white.

Rev. Dr. William Barber, president of the N.C. NAACP, spoke about the contrasting experiences of the Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, who were later exonerated before trial, and the death row inmates,  who were eventually found not guilty. While the Duke players spent a short time in jail, the African-American men served combined 41 years on death row. 

“It’s not a crying shame,” said Rev. Dr. Barber. “It’s a damn shame.”

Sarah Preston, lobbyist for the N.C. ACLU, noted that her group and the NAACP oppose the death penalty on principle. But if there were going to be executions, she said she wanted the system to be color-blind and as fair as possible

“We don’t want to restart executions until the effects of the bill are in place,” Preston said.

North Carolina, politics death penalty, NAACP, NC Coalition for a Moratorium, NC Racial Justice Act, Phil Berger