Jesse Helms and the zoo

North Carolina has a wonderful zoo, in Asheboro. My next door neighbor was there last week and reported that, despite an active donor group, some of the exhibits are being closed because the NC government isn't providing adequate funding.

This isn't the first time there's been a challenge in getting money for the zoo. When the initial appropriation was being discussed some years ago, the late Jesse Helms (he became "late" today) delivered what is probably his most famous quote: "Why build a zoo when we can just put up a fence around Chapel Hill?"

For a quick look at Chapel Hill, which has more Ph.D's per capital than anywhere else in the US, look at this article from the New York Times.