RALEIGH — After months of controversy surrounding his tenure as chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, John Fennebresque announced today that he will quit his post. The board’s vice chairman, Asheville attorney W. Louis “Lou” Bissette Jr., will assume the chairmanship until the board can elect a new leader. Fennebresque’s board seat will not be filled until the N.C. Senate elects a successor to serve the remainder of his term.
CHAPEL HILL — Following a controversial search process spanning several months, the UNC Board of Governors on Friday unanimously selected Margaret Spellings, former secretary of education in the George W. Bush Administration, as UNC’s new president. She will receive an annual salary of $775,000 along with a benefit package. Outgoing President Tom Ross makes $600,000 annually plus benefits.
RALEIGH — UNC Board of Governors Chairman John Fennebresque and Margaret Spellings, the top candidate to become UNC system president, left a recent “emergency” meeting of the board to meet with Gov. Pat McCrory, a source at the meeting told Carolina Journal. Fennebresque and Spellings were in a closed session with members of the board’s selection committee when they left to meet with McCrory, several board members confirmed to CJ’s source.
RALEIGH — Today’s emergency meeting of the UNC Board of Governors, where a possible successor to outgoing president Tom Ross will be interviewed, is being called an attempt to bypass a law enacted by the General Assembly requiring more transparency in the selection process, leading several board members to call for the resignation of board chairman John Fennebresque.
RALEIGH — Airbnb and similar short-term rental services are illegal under Raleigh’s existing bed and breakfast zoning rules, said Eric Braun, chairman of the City Planning Department’s Text Change Committee, at a Sept. 15 meeting. “I think some people get mixed up and think we are regulating something that was not regulated. Well, it’s not legal — so we are trying to legalize it.”
RALEIGH — Under the provision passed Tuesday, restaurants must stop serving patrons on sidewalks at midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It also establishes a maximum capacity rule of 15 square feet per person for outdoor dining areas and requires outdoor areas where alcohol is served to be “delineated by clearly visible barriers,” separating them from public sidewalks.
RALEIGH — After nearly two months of debate over appropriate late-night noise and pedestrian traffic levels in downtown Raleigh, bar and restaurant owners await the city council’s Aug. 4 vote on an outdoor dining proposal that would place curfews and seating limits on sidewalk patio areas. An earlier council proposal would have prohibited bars from establishing patios for patrons and allowed only restaurants to have sidewalk seating.
RALEIGH — Pedestrian safety and traffic issues brought to the city’s attention in mid-May spurred a June 1 proposal to revise the Private Use of Public Spaces handbook. The proposed change initially would have banned outdoor dining for establishments that make less than 30 percent of their revenue from food. Protests ensued from owners of several downtown pubs — many of whom felt the changes were sprung on them with little notice.
RALEIGH — Recent controversies surrounding alleged overcrowding, lack of pedestrian access, and excessive “vibrancy” along Fayetteville Street came before the council’s June 1 meeting, when members proposed banning sidewalk patio dining permits to establishments that make less than 30 percent of their sales from food. The change would threaten the ability of some downtown pubs to stay in business.
RALEIGH — Amid the uncertainty of state budget negotiations, one fact still holds: North Carolina’s corporate tax rates will continue to drop, and those cuts will improve the state's standing in an index from the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., ranking state business climates. Once the rates triggered by strong revenue growth take effect, the Tar Heel State will rank 14th nationally, up from 44th in 2012.
RALEIGH — While last-minute filers across the country rush to a post office or computer terminal to file their 2014 income tax returns, North Carolinians are within 24 hours of reaching an important date for this year — Tax Freedom Day. That's the theoretical date that average taxpayers stop paying the government and start keeping their own earnings.
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