Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday, January 22, 2005

Two weeks ago, I wrote of the importance of valuing, using and protecting our local water supply. Although the OWASA system provides an abundance of fresh, high-quality water, its vulnerability was apparent during the drought of 2002 when water supplies fell to a harrowing 30 percent of reservoir capacity.

Spurred in part by that experience, OWASA and UNC last year began planning for a water reuse system to meet a significant part of the university's nonpotable water needs. This will involve the reclamation and reuse of highly treated wastewater from the Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant. Much of that water will be channeled toward the university's chiller plants and perhaps ultimately to the cogeneration plant.

When the project comes online in 2007, it will initially reduce water demand by 10 percent. At build-out, the reduction will be 15 percent. This is equivalent to expanding the water supply that much.

Guest Post by Paul Jones, cross-posted at The Real Paul Jones

Former governor of Mississippi William F. Winter recently reminded the Seminar for Southern Legislators that 1970 was a watershed year. "[A] remarkable group of so-called New South governors had been elected across the South. Running on platforms promoting racial equity, educational quality and economic development, they brought a new tone to the political arena which had been dominated for so long by the one issue of race. Their names would soon be known across the nation - names like Jimmy Carter of Georgia, Reubin Askew of Florida, Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, John West of South Carolina, and Linwood Holton of Virginia."

But Tim Tyson, who was only 10 years old at the time and living not far from Chapel Hill in Oxford NC, saw a different world. The murder of black veteran Henry Marrow sparked riots and burnings and marches, showing that racial equality was far from a done deal.

Guest Post by Jean Bolduc

As of this writing, I have yet to receive my actual letter of termination from the Herald-Sun (how appropriate - not by email or fax, it will come through the slogging U.S. mail). I do trust in the conveyance of my editor, Neil Offen, that it is on the way and that its contents are as he represented them to me - that my services are no longer required.

All the blah, blah, blah about the Herald-Sun's Editor (Bob Ashley) and his shifting explanations about my exit are available on my ever-so-controversial blog. Please do stay tuned to see what the soap opera will deliver next, but I wanted to use this space just to say thanks.