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- <text id=90TT1849>
- <title>
- July 16, 1990: American Notes:North Carolina
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1990
- July 16, 1990 Twentysomething
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- NATION, Page 28
- American Notes
- NORTH CAROLINA
- The Price of Vanity
- </hdr>
- <body>
- <p> Nothing could be finer than to drive in North Carolina when
- the roadsides are gaudy with black-eyed Susans, wildflowers and
- dogwoods. Such spectacles have become more common during the
- past five years because of a beautification program launched
- by the state. The area in bloom has exploded from twelve acres
- in 1985 to about 1,200 now. But money problems may keep the
- program from blossoming much more.
- </p>
- <p> Fees for vanity license tags support the program, but last
- year the state legislature decided to hike the charge from $30
- to $40. Orders for the plates plummeted from 60,354 between
- October 1988 and June 1989 to 31,122 in the comparable period
- that just ended. As a result, only 280 new acres of roadside
- will be planted this year, vs. 350 acres added in 1989. What
- price vanity?
- </p>
-
- </body>
- </article>
- </text>
-
-