Serving UNC students and the University community since 1893 Volume 120, Issue 56 dailytarheel.com Thursday, August 23, 2012 Davis to A promise, emptied release phone records A judge has ordered Butch Davis to release business- related phone records. By Nicole Comparato University Editor Superior Court Judge Howard Manning issued a court order Wednesday that requires former UNC head football coach Butch Davis to release some of his cell- phone records within 30 days. In a pair of rulings this month in the ongoing lawsuit led by a coali- tion of media groups, including The Daily Tar Heel, Manning granted a protective order for Davis’ personal phone records unrelated to his head DTH/KATIE SWEENEY coaching duties, suggesting that David Caldwell loads up a Rogers Road community center sign into his truck. The center was closed due to fire and safety code violations. media groups might be given access to the other records. “It’s certainly a significant rul- Rogers Road neighborhood loses community center ing by Judge Manning that public officials cannot avoid the require- By Chelsey Dulaney But as local governments struggle to and dozens of community members ment of the public records law by City Editor reach a decision on how they will support showed their support for the Rogers choosing different equipment,” said the historically black and low-income Road community. Amanda Martin, an attorney repre- It took the Rogers Road neighborhood community that has housed the county’s The task force struggled to reach a senting the coalition. almost 40 years to open a community cen- landfill since 1972, residents of Rogers consensus on how they would fund the “Whether personal cellphone ter — and only eight hours to empty it. Road grow tired of waiting. community center and sewer access. or email, public officials are still On Tuesday, David Caldwell loaded up And the suggested cost-sharing methods accountable under public records the last of the chairs, folded tables and A heated meeting — determined by population or waste law for official business.” signs that filled the small one-story com- contribution — caught concern from Martin said Davis has agreed to munity house into his truck and closed In 1972, Campbell said the Orange some Chapel Hill and Carrboro represen- turn over all work-related phone the door on the last two years. County Board of Commissioners made tatives. records, but will either release solely Basketball goals were moved to stor- a deal with the residents of Rogers They feel they will be paying twice, the names, or solely the phone num- age, pictures were taken off the walls and Road — if the neighborhood housed the since they already pay taxes to the county. bers, at the plaintiff’s discretion. books were packed away — indefinitely. landfill for 10 years, they promised them Commissioner Valerie Foushee said The choice of format will be made The community center — located in a services like sidewalks and a recreation she just wants to see something done for by the plaintiff coalition, which is 70-year-old house off Purefoy Drive — center. the neighborhood. made up by The (Raleigh) News & was shut down Aug. 11 for violating fire But the landfill’s closing was delayed “I think the county at large has ben- Observer, The Charlotte Observer, and safety codes. after the 10 years passed, and then again, efited from what is a lack of quality of the DTH and five other news out- According to a memo from Chapel and again. life for these folks,” Foushee said. “I think lets. Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil, In February, the board set a landfill it should be easy enough for us folks to The media outlets sued for Davis’ the Rogers-Eubank Neighborhood closing date of June 2013. They also come together and remedy a situation records in October of last year, Association didn’t apply for a permit to pledged money for a remediation fund that has gone on for 40 years.” claiming work-related calls made use the house as a community center that would help give the residents of Residents of the neighborhood have on Davis’ personal phone are public when they opened it two years ago. The Rogers Road access to sewer hook-ups complained of health problems, a smell record. house also didn’t have necessary emer- and a community center. and water contamination as a result of Martin added that since Davis gency exits, smoke detectors and an At a meeting Wednesday, the Rogers- the landfill. has already revealed his plans, it evacuation plan. Eubanks Task Force — made up of rep- “What I think needs to happen is that appears unlikely that his attorneys Rev. Robert Campbell, president of resentatives from Chapel Hill, Carrboro we need to stop putting barriers and just will appeal the order. RENA, said they intended to use the and Orange County — discussed the two get it done,” Foushee said. A ruling earlier this month com- house as a community center for five years unmet promises. pelled the University to release until they could open a permanent center. The meeting was standing room only, SEE ROGERS ROAD, PAGE 4 certain records related to the NCAA football investigation to the media SEE DAVIS, PAGE 4 Council votes to Academic Plan focuses on students year will be student driven. Ammerman said the University Administrators will be He said the committee plans to will have to prioritize the plan. appeal towing ban implementing the 2011 create more bachelor’s to master’s “Just because the budget may be degree programs that can be earned tight, that doesn’t mean everything the towing ordinance could have a plan during the fall. in four or five years of combined shuts down,” she said. The Chapel Hill Town large impact on many other cities study, such as the one in the School Despite budget cuts that have Council will also appeal a throughout the state. By Caitlin McCabe of Information and Library Sciences. threatened the plan’s funding, “This order has such broad, far- Senior Writer Strauss said there will also be a Carney said much of the 13.5 per- ban on cellphone usage. reaching effects that go way beyond focus on developing direct-entry cent tuition increase approved the borders of Chapel Hill,” he said. Bruce Carney is tired of seeing undergraduate to professional in February has been devoted to By Daniel Schere “What is the town’s authority students suffer. school matriculation — an initia- student-related issues — many of Staff Writer when it comes to towing? After months of grappling with tive that will allow highly qualified which are included in the plan. “What is the state’s authority in the ramifications of unprecedented undergraduate students to enroll in As a result of this funding, students The Chapel Hill Town Council giving us the authority to regulate budget cuts, the executive vice UNC graduate programs. have seen an increased number of voted Wednesday to appeal a court towing?” chancellor and provost said he is “We’ll be putting a lot of energy first-year seminar courses, twice as decision blocking its towing ordi- In May, George King, owner of confident faculty and administra- toward this because we’ll be attract- many admitted undergraduates into nance — furthering a three-month George’s Towing & Recovery, success- tors will finally implement the ing students to graduate programs the Honors Program and a set of new legal battle about towing practices in fully sued the town, stating that both solution the University needs — the who might not have considered team-taught interdisciplinary courses the town. ordinances were unconstitutional. 2011 Academic Plan. Carolina as a first choice,” he said. as part of the plan, Strauss said. The council unanimously voted The council passed the ordinance The plan, only the second of its Alice Ammerman, the Academic But faculty also benefit from the to appeal the Aug. 2 ban, which pre- in February in response to a rising kind in the University’s history, Plan steering committee’s co- committee’s work — including the vents Chapel Hill from regulating number of complaints of aggressive proposes six themes involving more chairwoman, said she will examine reinstatement of the spousal hiring towing practices. towing policies. Many said they were than 80 recommendations — rang- the possibility of relaxing academic program and an addition of faculty The council will officially take the unfairly towed after parking at a busi- ing from increasing access to classes regulations, such as those related to with international experience. ban to the N.C. Court of Appeals in a ness’s lot and walking off of it, which is to expanding UNC’s global presence. double majors and course require- “I’m pleased to see how much few days, Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt illegal in some downtown lots. If implemented, the plan would ments. has been accomplished in such a said. If the court rules in the coun- The ordinance limited towing fees serve as an academic road map for The feasibility of financing the short time,” Strauss said. “But it’s cil’s favor, the ordinance will be to $125, required towing companies the next 10 years. plan — which Carney anticipated important to remember that this reinstated. to accept credit cards and ensured Although only days into the would cost at least $40 million is a 10-year plan, and things aren’t The council also voted 6-3 to adequate signage alerted customers semester, the plan’s steering com- when he proposed it to the Board of going to happen quickly.” appeal a injunction on a controver- of the walk-off policy.