Lorie Clark was an enthusiastic supporter of Moses Carey who lost to Ellie Kinnaird in the state Senate race. She and Obama poll worker Julia Tarr camped out all day Tuesday at the OWASA precinct. Photo by Kirk Ross.

Going into Tuesday, higher registration numbers were already indicating a heavy turnout for Election Day, when Orange County voters would cast their ballots for everything from a tax referendum to the next president. The early vote total swelled as well, nearly reaching 18,000 votes by the close of business on Saturday, meaning that 18 percent of those registered voted prior to Election Day, a total close to the average total turnout in a typical primary year. By the time Tuesday’s votes were added in, more than 46,190 had voted in the county, putting turnout at an estimated 48 percent.
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by Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Determined to keep their perfect score in defeating counties’ efforts to adopt a real estate transfer tax, the North Carolina real estate and construction interests, led by the North Carolina Association of Realtors and the North Carolina Homebuilders, have pumped more than $205,000 in cash and in-kind contributions into defeating the initiative in Orange County.

The figures, filed on Monday — the deadline for campaign finance reports for the first quarter and the final weeks leading up to the election — show that the state organizations that have helped organize and fund county-based groups to fight the tax represent the bulk of funding for Citizens for a Better Orange County, which was set up in February to fight the tax.
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by Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Six months ago, the race for North Carolina Senate District 23, which is comprised of Orange and Person counties, was shaping up as a much different kind of contest than the one on the ballot today.

A field of three — Carrboro Alderman John Herrera and two Orange County commissioners, Moses Carey and Mike Nelson — were preparing for at least a three-way contest to fill the seat vacated by a retiring six-term incumbent, Ellie Kinnaird.

But when Kinnaird, who had long hoped a woman would be in the field vying to replace her, decided not to retire and to go for another term, the field of candidates changed rapidly.

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Nothing’s confirmed, but town is readying for a major rally and rock show May 2 at Town Commons

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

No official confirmation yet, but Carrboro officials are planning for one of the largest crowds in town history after the board of aldermen greenlighted a request by the Barack Obama campaign to hold a major event Friday afternoon, May 2 at the Town Commons.

Town Manager Steve Stewart said the event, a concert and rally for the Illinois senator and leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, would be unprecedented since it will happen during business hours, while typically large events at Town Commons are held on weekends. The Obama campaign asked for the time slot, he said, because they want to be able to encourage attendees to take advantage of the early-voting site nearby at Town Hall.

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Voters tune into new registration rules, new county commissioner districts and contested races from the top of the ticket to a local tax referendum

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

With news reports along the presidential campaign trail now including datelines like Raleigh, Greensboro and the UNC campus, this spring’s primary season is heating up.

Set late in the season, North Carolina’s presidential primary is rarely a factor in deciding the presidential candidate of either party. This year, though, it may have a significant impact on the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In turn, that race is most certainly going to have an impact on local turnout.

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A reminder that regular registration is coming to a close, the early voting period is about to begin and there’s a complicated election ahead. Oh, and our Democratic presidential primary counts this year.
We’ll have a look at these and the races in this week’s Citizen.
Registration deadlines and other info and links after the jump and on our Elections & Politics site. More »

New homes, apartments may be required to have sprinklers, fire alarms

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Town building rules would have to be changed if Carrboro, the most densely packed municipality in North Carolina, wants to reduce the threat of property loss and injuries from fire.

That’s the conclusion in a report to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen delivered Tuesday night. In a meeting at Town Hall, Fire Chief Travis Crabtree outlined a number of ways the town can improve fire safety including new home and apartment construction requirements.

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Freshmen Julie Ivey (left) and Caitlin Hughes at last week’s candlelight vigil for Eve Carson.

By Kirk Ross & Emily Burns
Staff Writers

In the recorded history of this community, few stories have been sadder.

With barely a week having passed since the murder of Student Body President Eve Marie Carson, emotions are still raw; and as campus gears up after its spring break, there will be time again on Tuesday to remember a bright and personable student leader whose life ended violently near the intersection of Hillcrest Drive and Hillcrest Circle in the early-morning hours of Wednesday, March 5.

Police said Carson, an Athens, Georgia native who came to Carolina as a Morehead-Cain scholar, was shot multiple times, including at least once in the head. Days into the investigation, police released photos of two “persons of interest” seen using Carson’s ATM card and driving what appears to be her 2005 Toyota Highlander.

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Chapel Hill Police released the following statement at 4:35 p.m. today (Wednesday):

Early this morning the Chapel Hill Police Department received information that the individual appearing in the convenience store photograph was possibly in a residence in Durham. Chapel Hill Police Investigators then notified the Durham Police authorities and surveillance of this location was established. At approximately 5:00am, Demario James Atwater (21) was taken into police custody after he was observed exiting the residence. Warrants have been served on Atwater charging him with 1st Degree Murder in the death of Eve Carson.

The Chapel Hill Police Department has also obtained warrants for Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr. (17), who we believe to be the driver pictured in the first ATM photograph. Lovett has also been charged with 1st Degree Murder in the death of Eve Carson. Lovett remains at large and we need your help in locating this individual. Lovett is described as B/M, height 507, weight 150. We have included the most recent photograph of Lovett in our press release and anyone with information concerning his whereabouts is urged to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at (919) 942-7515. Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr. should be considered armed and dangerous.

Updates to come.

Chapel Hill Police investigators held a news conference at 11 a.m. today (Saturday) to announce that they had surveillance photos of a “person of interest” driving murdered UNC Student Body President Eve Carson’s SUV. The individual in the photos was using Carson’s ATM card and appears to be driving her blue 2005 Toyota Highlander. He is seen wearing a Houston Astros baseball cap.
UPDATE: Monday 11:23 a.m. Police are trying to enhance the photo to get a better look at a second male in the backseat of the vehicle. From the CHPD release: More »

Local realtors and homebuilders agree that they’re getting at least a taste of what their counterparts in much more troubled locales are experiencing, but thoughts about the degree of the slowdown and how long it will last are much more varied.

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A quick Web update:

The last day of filing season for the May 6 primaries and school board election saw a number of races turn from non-competitive to contested.
Among the filings:
• Neloa Jones and Mary Wolff joined Bernadette Pelissier in the Democratic primary for the lone at-large county commissioner seat.
• Wolff’s husband, Kevin, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chapel Hill last year, filed for the Republican primary for the at-large commissioner seat. He is uncontested in that race.
• The Orange County Schools Board of Education election now has six candidates vying for three seats. They are Stephen H. Halkiotis, Tony McKnight, Jeff Michalski, Eddie M. Eubanks and Al Hartkopf and Stan Morris.
More information is at the Orange County Board of Elections site.

By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to put a land transfer tax on the May ballot.

Voters will decide whether property sellers will pay a 0.4 percent land transfer tax. If the measure passes, the county could begin collecting funds during the 2008-09 fiscal year.

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By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board Chair Pam Hemminger and Orange County Planning Board member Bernadette Pelissier say they plan to file soon for the May Democratic primary for Orange County commissioner. They’ll join incumbent commissioner Valerie Foushee who has indicated previously she’ll seek another term.

Filing season starts Monday at noon and Hemminger, who sought a seat on the board in 2004, said she plans to get started early. She said she wants to run because of her concern for how the county will handle growth.

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The February issue of The Citizen’s MILL, our arts, music and literature, publication is out this week. Featured stories include:

• Finding Pauli Murray;
• Written in Stone — reflections on black history
• Hidden Voices’ Because We’re Still Here — a local black history project;
• Bayard Rustin illustration and narrative by Phil Blank;

Plus arts, music, literary and theater calendars and our MILL29 look at the month’s featured events.