State
Government News
 Record
number filing their taxes electronically
The
tax filing deadline is barely two weeks away and already is
appears that more North Carolinians are filing their taxes
electronically. The state Department of Revenue said that,
as of Thursday, it had received 885,386 individual income tax
forms filed electronically. That amount exceeds the 710,349
returns filed electronically at this time last year. In the
nine years North Carolina has participated in the
Federal/State Electronic Filing Program, the state has
consistently ranked at or near the top nationally in the
number of individual income tax returns that are filed
electronically. This year, the Department expects to receive
one million electronically filed individual income tax
returns. Filing electronically allows taxpayers to receive
their refunds faster, usually within four weeks after the department
receives the return. Returns that are filed electronically are
typically more accurate, since they are checked by computer
before they are filed. Under the joint Federal/State
Electronic Filing Program, taxpayers must file both their
federal and state income tax returns at the same time.
For more information about electronic filing, taxpayers should
visit the Department's website at http://www.dor.state.nc.us
for a list of authorized electronic filers and for a list of
approved software packages.
984 is
Triangle's new "overlay" area code
The
new "overlay" area code for the Triangle will be 984
-- the number assigned by the North American Numbering Plan
Administrator. The new area code will go into effect sometime
next year when mandatory 10-digit dialing begins in the
Triangle. The Charlotte area already is under the 10-digit
calling system. The Utilities Commission has held hearings on
a similar plan for the 336 area code in the Triad.
Book
distributor settles price-fixing suit, gives $665,000 to schools
Schools
and libraries across North Carolina will receive checks this
week totaling $665,000 to buy books and other educational tools
as part of a settlement distribution, the state Attorney General
Roy Cooper said Monday.
Settlement checks ranging in amount from a few hundred dollars
to more than a hundred thousand will be mailed to 168 schools,
local libraries, universities and school boards across the
state.
The settlement between Baker
& Taylor book distributors, which is based on Charlotte, and
the Attorney General's office was reached after an investigation
into the way the company represented the costs and discounts of
books. The Attorney General's
office began investigating the book distributing company in 1998
after learning of allegations in a “whistleblower” lawsuit
in California. The investigation found that the company had
promised discounts it failed to deliver and that it misled
customers who inquired about bill discrepancies.
As a result, the Attorney
General's consumer protection division led a combined effort of
17 states in that lawsuit. The states alleged that the
booksellers unfairly charged schools and libraries higher prices
for books that were to have been discounted.
Baker & Taylor and W.R.
Grace and Co., which had owned Baker & Taylor prior to 1992,
agreed to settle the case with all 17 states late last year for
$8.5 million.
Also as part of the
agreement, Baker & Taylor agreed to properly disclose its
rates to customers and to abide by the terms of the contracts it
holds with schools, libraries and other customers.
 Six hope to be named Teacher of
the Year
Six regional Teachers of the Year
have been selected to vie for the title of
2001-02 North Carolina Teacher of the Year. The
winner will succeed the 2000-01 Teacher of the
Year Laura Bilbro-Berry, a second grade teacher
at John C. Tayloe Elementary in Beaufort County.
The winner will be announced May 1 and receives a
one-time stipend of $7,500, a personal automobile
(thanks to the North Carolina Automobile Dealers
Association), and a trip to the national
conference. In addition to being a full-time
ambassador for education, the state Teacher of
the Year also serves a two-year term as advisor
to the State Board of Education. The Teacher of
the Year Program is sponsored by the Public
Schools of North Carolina and the North Carolina
Automobile Dealers Association. This year for the
first time, charter school teachers were included
in the selection process. The following regional
winners will travel to Raleigh in April where
they will be interviewed by a blue ribbon panel
appointed by State Superintendent Mike Ward:
Southeast Region: Judy Dietz, English teacher,
Topsail High, Pender County Schools;
Northeast Region: Yang Li, kindergarten teacher,
T.S. Cooper Elementary, Gates County Schools;
Central Region: Julia Dermody, fourth and fifth
grade teacher, Mary Scroggs Elementary, Chapel
Hill-Carrboro Schools;
Southwest Region: Virginia Lee, mathematics
teacher, Piedmont High, Union County Schools;
Northwest Region: Carmen Wilson, mathematics
teacher, Ashe County High, Ashe County Schools;
West Region: Marsha Cameron, third grade teacher,
Cullowhee Valley School, Jackson County
Schools.
DOT
plans hearing on replacing two bridges
The state Department of
Transportation will hold a citizens informational
workshop for the proposed replacement of two
bridges over Mingo Swamp on N.C. 55 in Harnett
and Sampson counties. The meeting will be held on
Thursday, April 5, 2001, from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. in
the Mingo Baptist Church fellowship hall, 1465
Mingo Church Rd., Dunn. Representatives from
NCDOT will be available to answer questions and
receive comments from the public about the
proposed replacements. For more information,
contact Drew Joyner at (919) 733-7844, ext. 269.
State
agency issues permits to three asphalt plants
The
N.C. Division of Air Quality (DAQ) recently approved a permit
modification for a Watauga County asphalt plant
and issued permits for two new asphalt plants in McDowell and
Cherokee counties. The agency issued a
revised air quality permit to Maymead Materials Inc., allowing
the company to install a new, larger fabric bag-filter for its
hot mix asphalt plant on Highway 105 in Boone. Under the new
permit, the plant's allowable production rate would drop from
685,000 tons/year to 220,000 tons/year. Actual production
levels are expected to be lower than the allowable rate.
Meanwhile, DAQ issued the air quality permit to Smith and Sons
Paving Co., which plans to build a new hot mix asphalt plant
on U.S. Highway 221 North in the Woodlawn Community near
Marion. Under the permit, the plant can produce up to 200,000
tons of asphalt per year, but actual production levels are
expected to be lower than that amount. The
DAQ issued the air quality permit to APAC Tennessee Inc.,
Harrison Construction Division, which plans to build a new hot
mix asphalt plant on Marrs Top Road west of Murphy. Under
the new permit, the plant can produce up to 180,000 tons of
asphalt per year -- although actual production levels are
expected to be lower than that amount. To
obtain the air quality permits, all three companies were
required to demonstrate that they could comply with state
rules for controlling particulates (dust), sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, nuisance odors and toxic air pollution.
DHHS
survey finds 27% of children suffer from asthma
The
state Department of Health and Human Services this week
released data from a childhood asthma study which it said
confirms that asthma is worse than the agency thought. The
study, conducted by the UNC School of Public Health, shows that 27 percent of
children at two
grade levels reported having asthma-like symptoms. The
survey was conducted in 499 (88%) of the public middle schools
across the state. Nearly 129,000 7th and 8th
graders from 99 counties completed the medical survey during
the 1999-2000 school year. The results confirm earlier
data indicating that the prevalence of childhood asthma and
asthma-like symptoms is very high in North Carolina. "Not only
does this survey provide an accurate picture of the prevalence
of child asthma, it tells us that many of our children face a
major barrier to learning," Gov. Mike Easley said.
"It is very difficult to excel in school if you are
constantly battling an undiagnosed or poorly managed illness." Almost half of the children with
asthma and a third with wheezing reported sleep disturbances.
These children also limit their activities - such as sports,
chorus, and other social interactions with friends - because
of their breathing problems. They also are 37 times more
likely to miss school than their peers without asthma
symptoms. Based on Medicaid reimbursement rates, health
experts estimate that costs for emergency room and hospital
care for these 7th and 8th graders may be as much as $15.4
million over a one-year period, excluding
physician visits, prescription costs or higher reimbursement
rates of private insurers. When
added with the costs associated with children in other age
groups, North Carolina and its families are spending an
estimated $100 million annually for asthma-related
consequences and services for children, the study concluded.
Wake
hospitals vie to offer additional MRI services
The
two largest hospitals in Wake County -- WakeMed and Rex
Hospital -- have filed competing applications to acquire
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. A medical
facilities plan developed earlier by the state says only one
MRI scanner is needed in Wake County and the surrounding
region. A public hearing for these projects will be held by
the Certificate of Need Section of the N. C. Division of
Facility Services at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18 in Room
201 of the Council Building on the campus of Dorothea Dix
Hospital in Raleigh. WakeMed proposes to acquire a second MRI
scanner to at a projected cost of $4.8 million. Rex Hospital
proposes to acquire a third MRI scanner at a projected cost of
$3 million. Meanwhile, several hospitals have filed
applications with the Certificate of Need Section of the state
Department of Health and Human Services to begin expansions or
modernizations, including:
Johnston Memorial Hospital,
based on Smithfield, intends to develop one outpatient
operating room at a satellite site in Clayton. A
public hearing for this project will be held at 1:30 p.m. on
Thursday, April 12, at the Clayton Town Hall. The $1.4-million
proposal includes upfitting 9,500 square feet of space on the
first floor of a new medical office building under development
on U.S. Highway 70 West in Clayton.
J. Arthur Dosher Memorial
Hospital wants to renovate and modernize several hospital
departments at an estimated cost of $16.8 million. A
public hearing for this project will be held at 1 p.m. on
April 10 in the Multi-Purpose of Brunswick Community College
in Supply. The proposal includes renovation of the surgical
service, emergency department, radiology/imaging, pharmacy,
cardiopulmonary, patient registration, physical therapy,
patient lobby/waiting areas, and hospital administrative
areas. The last major renovation of the hospital was in 1980.
Craven Regional Medical
Center plans a $22.8-million, two-phase project consists of
renovation of the existing facility, construction of a 3rd and
4th floors for a new intensive care unit (ICU) and a new
oncology unit in Phase I. The hospital proposes to relocate
administration to a building to be constructed between the
Annex and the Area Health Education Center. In Phase II, the
hospital will consolidate outpatient services by relocating
several services and expanding them into the current
administration area. A public hearing for these projects will
be held at 2:30 p.m. on April 12 at the Craven County Public
Library Auditorium in New Bern.
Columbus County Hospital
Inc. plans a $6.2-million renovation of the third floor
maternity inpatient unit, in addition to the radiology,
laboratory, outpatient rehabilitation and ancillary and
support departments on the first floor. A
public hearing for this project will be held at 1 p.m. on
Monday, April 16, at Southeastern Community College in
Whiteville.
Carteret General Hospital
proposes a $7.6-million 27,000 square foot expansion to add 34
private rooms in a new third floor. Currently, Carteret
operates with 47 beds in private rooms and 70 beds in
semi-private rooms. With the approval of this proposal, the
hospital would operate 81 beds in private rooms and 36 beds in
semi-private rooms. A public hearing for this project will be
held at 1 p.m. on April 18 at Carteret Community College in
Morehead City.
Albemarle Hospital
proposes a $27.2-million construction and renovation project
will replace 34 acute care beds on the third floor, renovate
the surgical suite, adding an inpatient surgery operating
room, and expand and modernize the kitchen, dining room, and
other support spaces. The second cardiac catheterization lab
will cost $2.5 million. A
public hearing for these projects will be held on Wednesday,
April 11, at 1 p.m. in the Pasquotank County Courthouse in
Elizabeth City.
Pitt County Memorial
Hospital proposes a $6.7-million renovation of space in and
near the existing surgical suite and the addition of three
inpatient surgery operating rooms. The hospital also proposes
to acquire a $2.9-million positron emission tomography scanner
(PET). A PET scanner uses a computer and radiation detectors
to analyze body functions in response to radioactive tracers
to diagnose certain cancers and brain impairments. A public
hearing for these projects will be held on Thursday, April 12,
at 10 a.m. at Pitt County Community College.
Free car
safety checks scheduled
The
Independent Garage Owners Association is teaming up with the
State Energy Office, a division of the N.C. Department of
Administration, to perform free automobile safety checks at
malls in Raleigh, Charlotte and other places over the coming
weeks. The first such clinic will be Qualified
automotive technicians will conduct the free tests. During the
tests, which take about 15 minutes to complete, technicians
will check tire pressure and wear, hoses, belts, air filters,
oil and transmission fluid levels, engine performance, and
emissions. All participants
will receive written copies of the inspection results
including recommended cost-efficient repairs and maintenance
procedures to improve the overall operating condition of each
vehicle. In addition, motorists will receive a package of
information on vehicle energy efficiency and a tire pressure
gauge. The clinics are
conducted by members of the Independent Garage Owners of North
Carolina trade association. The association's 700 members
represent all types of automotive service and repair
facilities. It is the largest automotive service trade
association in the state.
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