THE DAILY ATHENAEUM “Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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FRIDAY MARCH 26, 2010
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VOLUME 123, ISSUE 129
City to submit Google application today BY SAMANTHA COSSICK STAFF WRITER
Morgantown will submit its application for Google’s experimental ultra high-speed Internet network today. There are two basic parts to the application, said Mayor Bill Byrne. “One is a technical part where Google asks a lot about what kind of Internet we have in our town,” Byrne said. “The other part asks us what is Morgantown doing,
what has it done and what does it plan to do in the future using the ultra high-speed Internet connection.” The city partnered with West Virginia University, the Monongalia County Board of Education and the Chamber of Commerce to vie for the network, said City Manager Dan Boroff. The city is looking to put together the “very best application” and even hired a firm that specializes in packaging information, Boroff said.
Between hiring the firm, advertising, building a Web site and special promotions, the city has spent about $20,000 to $30,000 on the campaign and will split the cost with WVU, Boroff said. Boroff said the price was the “tiniest fraction” of the benefits they would derive from the Google network. The “We Want a Gig” Web site includes testimonials from people such as WVU President James P. Clements, Board of Governors member and Morgantown busi-
nessman Ray Lane, other business people in the area and students, Byrne said. Byrne said they are highlighting the community in the application, focusing on aspects like education and health care. Officials hope the partnership between the city and University will help strengthen the application. “We are supporting the effort. WVU is an integral part of the city,” said Mridul Gautum, interim associate vice president for
Research and Economic Development. “We are providing ways that the city and WVU can work together and offer more opportunities with citizens.” The University has helped the city with ideas and writing proposals as well as providing data, Gautum said. “Being a land-grant University, the land-grant and outreach service is our mission,” Gautum said. “It takes us beyond just a city providing Internet service to homes.
“Google’s ultra high speed Internet would let students in all grade levels take virtual field trips and no longer be “bound by four walls of the classroom,” Gautum said. It would also allow health care to reach remote parts of the state, he said. “If you are old, and you cannot get to the hospital, you can actually get monitored in your home,” Gautum said.
see GOOGLE on PAGE 2
Experts see job, population growth
WEST VIRGINIA 69 | WASHINGTON 56
WVU IS ELITE
BY DEVON UNGER STAFF WRITER
Experts at West Virginia University have predicted job growth in Morgantown will rebound after slow gains in 2009. George Hammond, associate director of the WVU Bureau of Business & Economic Research, believes Morgantown will surpass state and national averages in job growth for 2010 according to a WVU press release. “The Morgantown Metropolitan area came through the global downturn in really pretty good shape,” Hammond said in the release. “The local economy added about 400 jobs in 2009.” Last year, jobs in Morgantown grew 0.7 percent rate despite job losses by both the state and the nation. This figure is below West Virginia’s 2008 growth of 2.2 percent. Hammond expects job growth to rise closer to 2 per-
cent in 2010 even if it does not reach the scope of growth in 2008. Morgantown Mayor Bill Byrne attributed this growth to a few reasons. “I think because of the mix of employment in the area, we are resistant to some problems,” Byrne said. Education, health care and government make up a large base of Morgantown’s economy, which are not prone to recession, he said. Byrne said Morgantown’s unemployment is still higher than it has been in the past rising from 2.9 percent in 2008 to 5.1 percent in 2009. The current figure, close to 6 percent, is still below the state and national rates of 7.9 and 9.3 percent, respectively. The expected job growth coincides with a 1.7 percent pop-
see GROWTH on PAGE 2
Litter officers to help stop city trash issues BY SAMANTHA COSSICK STAFF WRITER
AP
West Virginia’s Kevin Jones hugs teammate Da’Sean Butler during the second half of a semifinal against Washington in the East Regional of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday in Syracuse, N.Y. Jones scored 18 points as West Virginia won 69-56.
WVU makes secondhalf comeback to advance to Elite Eight After being down two coming out of halftime, West Virginia used a strong second half to move on to the Elite Eight. The two-seed Mountaineers defeated 11-seed Washington 69-56 in the Sweet 16 to advance to the final eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time since 2005. The Mountaineers outscored the Huskies 42-27 in the second half and its top-three scorers, Da’Sean Butler, Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks combined for 44 points to grab the win. Jones led WVU with 18 points. West Virginia outrebounded Washington by 20 and held Husky star Quincy Pondexter to seven points – 13 below his average. It is the first time in school history the men’s basketball team has recorded 30 wins in a season. The win over Washington moved this year’s squad past the 1959 team that won 29 games and made it to the national title game before losing to Cal.
FOR MORE SEE SPORTS PAGE 10
Morgantown now has a new way to combat litter around the city. Based on new state legislation, City Council passed an ordinance allowing it to create litter officers, said Mayor Bill Byrne. “In the past, those types of officers had to be policemen. Now we can take other city officials and give them authority,” Byrne said. “We’re not changing the litter laws. The problems has always been enforcing it. We think this will help.” In the past the city was unable to focus on litter because police officers were busy with other assignments, said City Manager Dan Boroff. Byrne said the city will look at
using Parking Authority personnel to issue citations for litter while checking parking meters. The city is working on a special training program for Parking Authority personnel and other city code officials, Boroff said. Boroff said hopefully later this year the addition will be in place. Currently there are two key litter laws in the city, Boroff said. The first is if someone is caught throwing litter onto the ground, they can be written a citation, which they must either pay in a fine or contest in court, he said. The second is property owners can be held directly responsible for the litter on their property, he said.
see LITTER on PAGE 2
BARKING FOR BLOOD
AP
Washington’s Elston Turner tries control the ball as West Virginia’s Cam Thoroughman, left, and Kevin Jones defend during the first half of a semifinal in the East Regional of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday. LEANN ARTHUR/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Students dressed in a blood drop costume and dog costume dance outside the Mountainlair Thursday to promote a campus blood drive.
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HOT TUB TIME TRAVEL
THE DA HAS A NEW MOBILE WEB SITE
INSIDE
A self-aware stupid comedy or a failed attempt to rewrite history? A&E PAGE 3
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IN PRINT AND ONLINE Check out all the action from Thursday night’s win over Washington on page 10. Also be sure to check out our Web site for a photo gallery and comment on today’s articles and recaps.
WVU KEEPS ON TRUCKIN’ Fans worried as Truck Bryant had to call an early season as the result of an injured foot, but that didn’t stop the Mountaineers Thursday night in Syracuse, New York. SPORTS PAGE 10