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Did party figure in incident?

UNC-Chapel Hill has the reputation of being a great party school. But too much fun isn't necessarily a good thing.

The death of student Courtland Smith, fatally wounded by an Archdale police officer after his car was stopped Aug. 23 along I-85, raises questions about a party at his fraternity house that he attended earlier that night.

Chancellor Holden Thorp has launched an investigation into whether university or Delta Kappa Epsilon rules were violated. Smith was chapter president.

To no one's surprise, alcohol was served at the back-to-school shindig.

In a rambling conversation with a police dispatcher, Smith said he'd been drinking. How that may have entered into the equation isn't known yet, pending completion of an SBI investigation. But both his parents and fellow students said his odd behavior was way out of character.

While students may chafe at the scrutiny, the university bears a responsibility for behavior both on and off campus. Teenagers away from home, many for the first time, may not know where to draw the partying line.

And failing to make the right choices can have unacceptable, even deadly consequences.

Jobless benefits limits

With record high unemployment, the state must closely scrutinize who qualifies for benefits.

To add some clarity, the state Supreme Court has ruled that employees who accept early retirement packages offered by employers as part of company-wide downsizing are ineligible.

However, there is an important exception. Those who take buyouts linked to layoffs can get them.

Granted, it often is a gray area as lines sometimes overlap. For example, workers may see the handwriting on the wall rather than getting an "either/or" choice from the boss. Fortunately, there's still an ESC appeals process for those who feel wronged.

But if an employee voluntarily leaves a job, it will be difficult to make a case that he or she is entitled to unemployment benefits, the same as someone who has been laid off.

That's particularly true at a time when North Carolina, like most states, struggles with meeting the mounting demand for benefits. Without a federal bailout, many just couldn't keep up.

Downtown throwdown

They tried to hold a public meeting on the new downtown design guide recently and a town hall meeting on health care broke out.

Or so it seemed, by most accounts.

The proposed guide would provide rules and guidelines for new construction downtown with an emphasis on making the center city more appealing to pedestrians.

Some people find the guide too thick and its rules too nitpicky and overbearing. In some cases, they're right. But their outright hostility was hardly constructive.

This issue calls for a civil dialogue, not a backyard brawl.

An artful departure

In a surprise move, Jeanie Duncan will step down as a United Arts Council president, effective Nov. 30.

She will leave behind an organization that retired a deficit ahead of schedule and raised nearly $9.5 million on her watch.

She helped push such initiatives as public art in Greensboro and relentlessly advocated for the arts, not only as a cultural asset but as an economic driver.

And under her leadership the council sought to reach more diverse audiences and to expand the footprint of the performing arts throughout the community.

She should take a bow.