Raising water rates considered for NC

As the severe drought continues in North Carolina, a proposal is being considered to raise water rates for some areas to encourage more conservation. No doubt Raleigh's Mayor Meeker and those considering this idea can afford to pay higher rates and have the means that this would not be a significant burden added to their living expenses.

A problem comes about if yet another cost increase is added to the expenses of a large portion of the population with lower incomes or living on a fixed income after retirement and feel the impact of every increase that comes along. Yes, a rate hike during times when the water supply is decreasing should encourage greater conservation but there is no evidence this will actually produce the desired results of a substantial decrease in overall water consumption in the region. It is more likely this will become a way to squeeze more money out of the general population and add to the revenues of the municipalities that impose the increase.

A more realistic approach would be to penalize those that continue to water grass for the sake of having a green lawn and continue to use excessive amounts of water beyond what is needed for health and living purposes and reasonable watering needs. Some local homeowner associations are threatening homeowners and reported to be fining them when they don't water lawns and keep them green. To date fines for watering during dry conditions are for the most part not being given out. Sprinklers are routinely seen spreading water on grass and plants around shopping centers, institutional sites and large homes in wealthy neighborhoods.

It is a known fact that lawns simply go dormant when not watered and will return to a green state when enough natural water is available. Cars do not need to be washed during dry times and yet there are lots of pricey automobiles seen along roads every day that have obviously been washed. Let's devise a plan that will actually reduce water consumption in these and other situations that can make a dent in water consumption and let our citizens have water at a reasonable rate without gouging them on top of other cost increases already forced on them.

NBC17 Online
January 17, 2008
By - Ken Luallen

Raleigh City Council to discuss water rate increase

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Raleigh's mayor turned water conservation into a financial issue Monday, unveiling a proposed 50 percent increase in the price of water sold to the city's customers. The City Council plans to discuss the matter today.

"If the crisis gets much worse I think we are all bound to suck it up," Poole said. He is a homeowner willing to accept the higher fees if it ensures Raleigh's water supply will last beyond its current 120 day mark.

Mayor Charles Meeker proposed the rate increase as a way to prepare the city for a potentially dry summer with less than half its normal water supply in Falls Lake. For a typical home with moderate to heavy water use, the current bill for 6,000 gallons used per month is $356.14. Under Meeker's proposal that would increase to $535.76 per month, about $15 more per month.

"What this is designed to do... is to get practices in place that will get us through this summer and through next fall by reducing our amount of consumption so we're where we want to be come May first when the warm weather starts," Meeker said.

Raleigh City Manager Russell Allen believes citizens can easily absorb the higher cost.

"If you look at our water and sewer bills they're not significant components of people's budgets so this percentage with a reduction really should not have large impacts on a household budget," Allen said.

City Council must first approve the proposal, which would take effect March 1 and appear on customers' bills May 1. Meeker said the surcharge could be avoided if it rains significantly before March 1. The surcharge could be lessened or removed by City Council if the drought eases during the summer.

Meeker also called on all citizens to install low flow shower and faucet heads as well as outdoor rain barrels to ease the burden of the proposed higher water cost.

Cary-based Lowe's Home Improvement salesman Jemitrus Harris said the cost of new shower heads should be seen as an investment.

"You're looking at $35 per bathroom and that pays for itself over time," Harris said.

Raleigh City Council is expected to be presented with Meeker's plan at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday afternoon. Read viewer responses online...

Sign of the times - re-elect nobody

Running for elected offices these days requires candidates to deal with a lot of public hostility toward government and elected officials. This sign was placed along area roads along with those of candidates running for Cary and Wake County offices in October 2oo7 and encouraged voters to not re-elect anyone already on the Cary council.

This sentiment is becoming a factor anyone running for public office must consider and may bring significant change in local, state and national government, even for some that have worked hard to serve the public faithfully. Now, more than ever, candidates need to listen to constituents and tune campaigns to provide a choice voters will believe and make at the polls.

Much of the public is so unhappy with all levels of government and how things have been handled by the Bush administration that the handwriting is on the wall for anyone in office that has supported the current administration. The possibility for a tidal wave of change in government is looming and the elections in 2007 and 2008 will bring a complete change in who leads and makes decisions for the foreseeable future in local and national government organizations.

Wii is great for rehabilitation

Not only is the Wii game system a great source for entertainment but it is becoming a therapeutic aid helping with patient rehabilitation. WakeMed hospitals in North Carolina has begun to use the Wii to help with patient therapy. "Patients become vested in it, and when they're vested it has a lot more meaning," says Karen Ambrose, a physical therapist at the hospital. "If you can get them to want to do it," she says of the often grueling process of physical rehabilitation, "they'll do it."

One of the problems in getting rehab patients to become more involved in recovery is getting them to buy in to physical therapy. After that they can move forward in their recovery process.

According to the recent News and Observer report, the first hospital thought to have used the Wii for rehab is the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. But WakeMed's Recreational Therapy Department heard about it from their person that delivers wheelchairs - he mentioned that "he had a Wii and thought the movement aspect might translate well to rehab".

News and Observer
July 12, 2007
Joe Miller, Staff Writer

The therapeutic Wii
Nintendo game system helps patients rehabilitate after injury or illness

It took a car accident and the onset of Parkinson's disease, but 68-year-old Nathan Woodlief may finally have a chance at beating his grandson at video games.
"He laughs at me," Woodlief says of the response his woeful performance elicits.

Junior may not be laughing, though, when Gramps returns from the hospital empowered by the device that nursed him back to health: the Nintendo Wii.

Wii? Oui.

The video game that couldn't stay on store shelves at Christmas is fast earning a second life as a useful tool in helping victims of debilitating diseases and accidents get back on their feet. Read more...

Wake County Schools - Handling the Growth

While much of the debate this year has been on whether to move to year-round schools and require compliance by all parents and students, the Wake County School Board doesn't seem to be considering all the options. Perhaps this reflects the likelihood that most, if not all, of the school board members are from private or business environments where solutions are brought about by throwing more money at problems without being creative to find alternative solutions.

Here are a couple of possibilities the county might consider that could make a big difference in using existing schools and resources that haven't seen the light of day in public discussions.

In the world of manufacturing, factory sites have long been operated in multiple shift arrangements in order to get more out of fixed assets and resources. Many operate on two or three shift arrangements to use the existing facilities and investment without building more brick and mortar structures. This has always been an alternative when production demands grow and simply adding more manpower and using good management allows companies to be much more productive and spread costs over more product. It may not suit all families for schools to operate on two shifts but such an arrangement would certainly allow the physical resources to be more effectively used by adding more teachers and staff and scheduling sessions to allow students be accommodated when parents might work on corresponding shifts in businesses, etc. Many businesses operate with two shifts and surely the second shift parents would consider having heir children attend school on the same shift when they work.

Another area where costs could be addressed would be to eliminate busing students all over the county simply to achieve racial and socio-economic balance. The cost to provide cross county busing to provide "better education for all" is a worn out idea and costs the county and state a fortune in additional fuel and driver costs and there is also a possibility that the number of buses needed might even be reduced if this wasteful process were eliminated. Students might even be able to get up at reasonable times and have more time with their families. Cross county busing gets much more costly each time the cost of fuel increases and this problem will not go away in our lifetime.

Perhaps if more citizens were participating in producing creative solutions for schools and growth there would be more cost effective ways to provide more capacity and handle some of the growth. As this issue grows to affect more areas in the state no doubt there will be more ideas generated and solutions found.

JP

NC Wake County Deed Website

North Carolina's Wake County has moved to the front in online deed information storage at the Register of Deeds website. Deed information dating back to 1900 can be searched from anywhere by realtors, lawyers and citizens.

News and Observer
May 28, 2007
Jack Hagel, Staff Writer

Deed info online
Documents relating to deeds from 1900 can be searched more easily

Wake County recently became one of the state's first to store all documents filed with its register of deeds dating to 1900 in a searchable online database. You can search them at http://web.co.wake.nc.us/rdeeds/.

In most other counties, online records don't go back that far. Mecklenburg, the state's most-populous county, has online documents dating only to 1990. Read more...

New direction for Dix

In the latest attempt to save the Dix land near downtown Raleigh the city has offered $10.5 million for the campus so it can be turned to a destination location for the area. This is perhaps the best chance for saving a large parcel near the city that could be used as a great recreation area.

This is a rare and perhaps the last opportunity for Raleigh to save a large tract of land near the heart of downtown. For this to become a reality the Governor would need to encourage the Legislature to approve the plan during the 2007 session and allow the land to be sold to the city.

Your support and encouragement could make the difference in getting this approved so the land won't be lost to development interests. Contact your state representatives and let them and the Governor know you want this to be approved. Go to the Member Lookup section of the Legislative website to find your representative and let them know you want the site preserved under this plan or contact the Governor's office.

News and Observer
june 14, 2007
David Bracken, Staff Writer

City offers $10.5 million for Dix

RALEIGH - The city of Raleigh is offering $10.5 million to purchase the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus from the state, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker said today.

Meeker said the city wants the property to be appraised as parkland to determine its worth. He estimated the 306-acre site, which overlooks the central business district, is worth $10.5 million as parkland.

State legislators would have to approve the sale of the campus and 150-year-old state psychiatric hospital, which is scheduled to close by late November.

Meeker said the city is asking the state to sell all the Dix property for use as a destination park. The city also wants the historic buildings on the site to be restored and used only in ways that are compatible with an urban park.

The state Department of Health and Human Services would be able to keep existing office employees on the site for three to five years without paying rent, under the city's proposal.

Joining Meeker at today's press conference were representatives of three advocacy groups: Friends of Dorothea Dix Park, Dix Visionaries and Dix 306, who hope to form a public-private partnership to develop the park.

Gregory Poole Jr., president of Dix Visionaries, said his group plans to raise more than $7 million from private donors to go toward the development of the park.

The group also announced that its members are sending a letter to Gov. Michael Easley to ask him to encourage the General Assembly to approve the sale of the property during this session.

They also are seeking Easley's assistance in creating a land conservancy to help plan and develop the park.

Staff writer David Bracken can be reached at (919) 829-4548 or david.bracken@newsobserver.com. Read the original article...

Nuclear power in North Carolina

The debate goes on regarding whether to use more nuclear generated power or coal generation. But another concern is emerging about how to keep nuclear plants safe as spent fuel accumulates.

A News and Observer publication discusses an "emerging issue" regarding accumulation of radioactive waste at the Shearon Harris plant in southern Wake County...

News and Observer
April 15, 2007
John Murawski, Staff Writer

Nuclear foes see danger in waste
Harris plant starts relicensing process

The Shearon Harris nuclear plant has long drawn scrutiny over the safety of atomic power. But safety concerns are shifting to an emerging issue: the buildup of radioactive waste at the site in volumes never anticipated when the plant began operating 20 years ago.

Longtime nuclear critics plan to highlight the nuclear waste quandary during a two-year safety review as Progress Energy seeks to extend the Shearon Harris operating license into the middle of the century. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold the first public meeting on the Shearon Harris relicensing on Wednesday in Apex.

The nuclear waste issue is gaining momentum nationwide amid growing concerns that nuclear plants are potential targets for terrorism and sabotage. With no long-term solution in sight for disposing of nuclear waste, many nuclear plants are storing three times as much waste as the temporary pools were originally expected to hold. Unlike the nuclear reactors themselves, the storage sites usually are not heavily fortified against attack. Read more...

UnitedHealthcare puts more NC clients at disadvantage

UnitedHealth care again makes it harder for thousands of North Carolina clients to get to doctors so it can improve its profit margin. As many as 100,000 clients of UnitedHealthcare will no longer be able to use doctors at Wake Radiology in addition to losing access to WakeMed hospitals.

UHC recently broke off negotiations with WakeMed in a dispute over how much would be paid for medical charges leaving clients struggling to find other resources for hospital services. The insurance company claims WakeMed charges too much and refused to agree to new contract terms. Now the carrier is dropping more problems on its clients while again claiming Wake Radiology also charges too much.

Unfortunately all this big business squabbling leaves customers struggling, many with no alternatives, while UHC goes on its merry way. A news report in the News and Observer gives more details on what the insurer is doing...

News and Observer
April 4, 2007
Anne Krishnan, Staff Writer

Insurer to end another contract
United will drop Wake Radiology

UnitedHealthcare has split with another large Wake County health-care provider, a move the insurer says will allow it to lower premiums for local employers and workers.

United plans to terminate its contract with Wake Radiology May 1. But even as that change threatens to disrupt care for thousands of local patients, officials with the insurer have re-opened negotiations with WakeMed, which United terminated March 1 amid a dispute over rates. Read more...

Profiting from the taxpayers pocket

SAS leader Jim Goodnight says he will give profits made on a Wake County land sale back to taxpayers. Many think the land sale hints that there was "insider knowledge" that the Wake County school board would buy the land for a new school on the site. Interestingly enough Goodnight publicly advocated supporting the record $970 million school construction bond issue approved by voters in November and even asked all of his company employees to support the bond issue.

So... just how do you give profits back to taxpayers? In reality none of us will ever get a cent from Mr. Goodnight if he pulls this off. He might make a donation to some community cause or build another soccer field or take some other step to get a big tax break but taxpayers won't get anything.

Read the complete article...

News and Observer
February 23, 2007
Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer

Goodnight plans to donate profit
Any profit from a land sale to Wake schools would go to taxpayers

RALEIGH - Software mogul Jim Goodnight will return to taxpayers whatever profit he might gain from a proposed $8.7 million land deal with Wake County, according to his development partner.

Tim Smith, president of Preston Development Co., said Thursday that Goodnight had no direct knowledge of the proposed sale of 108.4 acres of land off Humie Olive Road in Apex for a new high school and middle school.

Apex Olive LLC, a company in which Goodnight is a financial backer, bought the land April 28 for $3.25 million. The current county tax value of the undeveloped tract, which had previously been owned by a local family for decades, is $794,180.

The Wake County school board voted Feb. 6 to buy the land for $8.7 million -- a 168 percent jump from what was paid for the tract just 10 months ago. The purchase will not be final until it is approved by the Wake County Board of Commissioners, which is expected to take up the issue in April. Read more...