The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • B1

AVID ENCONI STAFF WRITER CHAPEL HILL I ever there was going to be a night when Bruce Springsteen mailed it in, Sunday probably would have been it. He was playing in a stadium with a lot of fans disguised as empty seats, without a day off from a draining show the previous night in Washington. A lesser mortal probably would have looked to get through the evening with a minimum of exertion. But that would be assuming that Springsteen looks at music as a job rather than a calling. So he rocked Kenan Stadium with his usual marathon extravaganza, a 26- song set that clocked in at just under three hours.

It has been 20 years since Kenan played host to a rock concert, and this was extravagant enough to take care of another two decades if it comes to that. Springsteen began the show on a solemn note with country singer Johnny Walk the in honor of Man In who died Friday (Wednesday in Toronto, he did the same for wish you could be like him. But you tonight, only one big man on BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, IN INTRODUCING SAXOPHONIST CLARENCE CLEMMONS 102030405060708090 102030405060708090 1B, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 MICHELLE x3637 EDITION FILM2 Schools in sales mode I used to be that, sometime in January or February, the school system dropped the bomb. The annual student reassignments. Administrators and school board members would duck and cover, waiting for the initial fallout to subside.

Then they addressed the most egregious faults in the plan, appeased the most vocal criticsand tried to move on. Oh, how times have changed. On Wednesday night, I walked into Athens Drive High School to find a school system in full sales mode. It was the third meeting in the first round of information sessions to be held this fall to prepare parents for the reassignments ahead. Other meetings will be held in October and November.

In the Athens auditorium, reassignment guru Ramey Beavers, microphone in hand, offered jovial commentary to accompany his visual presentation, which attempted to explain why reassignments are sometimes necessary. need to take notes, he said. entire PowerPoint presentation is on the A year and a half after coming under heavy attack for theirpoor treatment of families and even poorer salesmanship, the Wake school system and school board are getting smarter. established a special e-mail address for questions and concerns even set up a hot line for reassignment issues (501-7998). Much of the credit, ironically, goes to Assignment By Choice.

The group formed following the reassignment debacle of 2002, when hundreds of parents in western Wake County found their childrenbeing shiftedand their school system far too remote. ABC has come under fire rightly this year, for racist chatteron its Web site (exposed by Cash Michaels of The Carolinian and now cleaned up). But ABC has lasted longer than virtually any other grassroots parent organization; it has incorporated, formed a political action committeeand endorsed candidates in the current school board race. Obviously, it has touched a nerve in a school system that hasbeen fighting a statewide resegregation tide to keep its schools diverse. But what is remarkable here is that the school system has taken the thorn in its side and used it to spur a real change in attitude and approach.

This fall, the system will be studying solutions to several of the concerns raised by reassignment critics. In a brilliant stroke, the administration got vice president to serve on the bond referendum steering committee. And, of course, there are all these information sessions. As a result, it appears ABC is losing some of its steam, tempering its rhetoric and coming to the table. harder to tear into a school system that is doing its darnedest to listenand change.

Let me be your mouthpiece: going to be one of the folks questioning Raleigh mayoral candidates Charles Meeker and John Odom at a debate Sunday. If you have any questions like to see asked, send them my way. include the best. Ruth Sheehan can be reached at 829-4828 or BT HE EWS BSERVER MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 Ruth Sheehan For the latest news updates from around the Triangle and state, go to www.newsobserver.com/news INDEX Capitol N.C.. 5B Calendar.

2B Obituaries. 6B On Campus. 3B Weather. 12B City State FINAL EDITION Commercial real estate: Landowners wait for highest bid. PAGE 10B Pillowtex: With the company in bankruptcy, residents of company-owned homes worry about the future.

PAGE 5B Under the Dome: A federal law allows the state to cut State Capitol Police overtime pay. PAGE 5B Small schools seek new degrees of distinction INDY EORGE STAFF WRITER Peace College administrators entered a steep learning curve and a fast footrace in 1995 when they switched from a two-year institution to one that offers degrees. They started with just five majors. knew we would have to increase that number at a reasonably fast pace in order to grow the enrollment and become a high-quality baccalaureate Associate Dean Korrel Kanoy said. That growth is continuing this semester.

Peace is among the small colleges launching new majors: everything from a liberal arts degrees steeped in science to a major with enough biology, chemistry and physics to upstage the TV hype. Most schools reinventing the wheel with their new majors. Instead, they are repackaging courses and expertise on campus and creating degree tracks that they hope will keep students interested and boost enrollment. a real important thing for small colleges to do to draw on existing strengths, while also adding variety and depth to the Kanoy said. At Peace, students can choose from two new majors child development, and politics and public affairs.

The Raleigh college welcomed 700 students this semester and now offers 13 majors up eight majors in eight years. Schools of similar size to Peace have about 20 majors, said Kanoy, also a psychology professor who helped design the child development major. Peace depended on student interest and market demand to determine its newest degrees. So did St. College, with its new criminal justice degree in forensic science, and Meredith College, with its new liberal arts degree in environmental studies.

done is make it easier ON CAMPUS YOUR Beloit College has a quick quiz to help professors get into their young heads. 3B SEE CAMPUS, PAGE 3B Wreck kills brother is jailed A Wendell man is accused of drunken driving and could face more charges in a Raleigh crash. condition worsens INDY EORGE STAFF WRITER A motorist shot by a Raleigh police officer Saturday was listed in critical condition at WakeMed on Sunday, and a day after the shooting, officials said little about how a man driving a stolen car ended up critically wounded by police. Police identified the manSunday as 30-year-old James Earl Davis, who had been released from state prison in January with a long criminal record and recently was charged as a habitual felon. He underwent surgery at WakeMed on Saturday and had been listed in sta- ble condition, a police statementsaid.

On Sunday, a hospital spokeswoman said he was listed in critical condition. Officer J.R. Reyes suspected Davis was driving a stolen Saturn on Saturday afternoon. The two struggled, and Reyes fired shots at 2:40 p.m. in the 500 block of Alston Street, just east of downtown Raleigh.

Neighbors said they heard four shots, though police have not said how many times Reyes discharged his gun or how many shots hit Davis. The statement released by police Saturday said Reyes was not injured. Deputy Chief Clarence E. Lewis of the Raleigh Police Department offered few additional detailsSunday. Lewis did say that Reyes has not been involved in anything similar in his five years with the department.

Reyes is as- signed to the field operations division and has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an administrative investigation by the department. The State Bureau of Investigation is continuing a criminal probe. Lewis could not say whether Reyes has had any citizen complaints filed against him. Davis has not been charged because he remains in the hospital, Lewis said, but will face a possession of stolen vehicle charge. last known address was 217Waldrop a cinderblock duplex of rental apartments in Southeast Raleigh.

The owners of the home could not be reached for comment late Sunday. Davis have a listed telephone number. INDY EORGE STAFF WRITER A Wendell family mourned the death of one son this weekend while another sat in jail accused of drunkendriving, possibly facing more charges in his death. Bryan Lee Easters crashed his 1993 Toy- otaabout 2:30 a.m. Saturday near New Bern Avenue.

The accident killed his passenger and older brother Johnny Laxton Easters III. were traveling westbound on Highway 64 when they ran off the road and struck a cement median that turned the vehicle Raleigh police Lt. Octavious Benifield said. Bryan Easters was wearing a seat belt, but authorities did not know whetherJohnny Easters was restrained. Bryan Easters, 27, of 25 N.

Buffalo St.in Wendellwas arrested Saturday and charged with driving while impaired. His blood-alcohol level registered at 0.19 more than twice the legal limit for driving when he was tested shortly after the wreck. He was ordered to surrender his license and remained in the Wake County jail in lieu bail late Sunday. He could face an additional charge of death by motor vehicle. will be determined by the district Benifield said.

Family members in Wendell said by telephone Sunday afternoon that they were too distraught to talk about the death or the case. Johnny Easters III, of 25 N. Buffalo was a 1992 graduate of East Wake High School and worked at Knightdale Seafood, his obituary said. He is survived by his parents, John and Judith Easters of Wendell, two brothers, a niece and his paternal grandmother. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9p.m.

todayat Strickland Funeral Home, 211W. Third St. in Wendell. A graveside funeral service begins at 11a.m. Tuesdayat Greenmount Cemetery in Wendell.

Staff writer Cindy George can be reached at 829-4656 or Rules on signs confuse pols ARGIE ISHMAN STAFF WRITER Chapel Hill Town Council member Dorothy Verkerk and her husband read through all the political sign rules, totaling one page. Instead, they have made up their own: Avoid rock-hard dirt, medians that distract motorists and flower beds where signs get lost in a crowd. Joost Verkerk, who plans to start a business, goes there and puts them his wife confesses. just sort of do But with campaign signs popping up like daisies before the Oct. 7 voting, zoning officials say rules limiting when, whereand how SEE SIGNS, PAGE 7B SEE MOTORIST, PAGE 4B Man shot by police on Raleigh street SPRINGSTEEN RISES TO THE OCCASION The Boss and his Street Band prove they can still rock Bruce Springsteen and The Street Band perform at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, their only appearance in North Carolina for The Rising tour.

STAFF PHOTOS BY ETHAN HYMAN Tony Callaman of Charleston, S.C., tries to sell an extra ticket before the show. Thousands flocked to the concert, some from as far away as Milwaukee. SEE BOSS, PAGE 4B.