Andea Bazán has been elected chairwoman of the board of the National Council of La Raza.

A longtime advocate for Hispanic issues in North Carolina, Bazán will now work at a national level in the new position at the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States. She succeeds the publisher of the country's largest Spanish-language daily paper.

"Being elected to serve as NCLR's Board Chair is truly a proud moment for me, both personally and professionally," she said in a statement.

Bazan is currently president of the Triangle Community Foundation, a charity in Durham. Previously, she was a co-founder and executive director of El Pueblo, a statewide advocacy and public policy group on Hispanic affairs.

She has master's degrees in social work and public health from UNC-Chapel Hill and has served on the board of La Raza since 2002, most recently as vice chairwoman.

A new ad campaign calls for higher taxes, but not in so many words.

Television spots for the Partnership for North Carolina's Future note that the state is undergoing a population boom that is causing congestion and sprawl and draining natural resources.

It ends with this vague call to action:

"Contact your legislators now. Urge them to make needed investments in North Carolina's future before it's too late."

The group's Web site is more specific. It calls for giving more counties the option to tax real estate sales; spending $4.2 billion on bonds for schools, conservation, clean water and affordable housing; and increasing a highway use tax.

The partnership includes state associations for school boards, county commissioners and city leaders; advocates for affordable housing and land conservation; and a lobbying group for transportation.