April 30, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina 
people and programs cited recently in the media:

Experts divided on SARS' prevalence 
Knight-Ridder News Service 
International health experts are grappling with a life-and-death question: Can the rest 
of the world breathe easily if SARS is controlled everywhere but mainland China? ... 
As long as they're vigilant about travel from China to the rest of the world, the rest of 
the world is safe from SARS," said Bill Roper, a former CDC director who's now 
dean at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Public 
Health. 
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/04/30/build/health/32-sars.inc

'Shade' tells how elms grew into icons (Book Review)
The Boston Globe 
You would have to look well beyond New England to find a town of any 
consequence, or pretension, that does not have an Elm Street -- or some variant. ...
The story of the rise and fall of the tree that virtually defined New England well into 
the last century is told with authority and charm by Thomas J. Campanella in 
"Republic of Shade.'' The elms, as Campanella, formerly a lecturer at MIT and now
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, puts it, were ''a fragment of 
wild nature planted curbside from coast to coast.'' 
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/120/living/_Shade_tells_how_elms_grew_into_icons+.shtml

National News Note

Ralph Baric, associate professor in the departments of epidemiology and 
microbiology and immunology in the schools of public health and medicine, 
has granted an interview on SARS to National Public Radio for a segment expected 
to air Thursday on "All Things Considered." Baric has also recently been interviewed 
by reporters from The Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Los Angeles Times.

State and Local Coverage

Study tests spina bifida surgery 
News and Observer
A national study has been launched to explore whether a type of surgery that involves 
operating on a fetus in the womb can reduce brain damage in babies born with spina 
bifida. ... The five-year trial is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and 
Human Development, and it is designed to ease controversy over the fetal surgery, 
which has been criticized as too risky for both the mother and fetus. UNC Hospitals 
offered the surgery for a little more than a year but discontinued it as the trial was 
being planned. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2501187p-2324422c.html

UNC-CH cancels Beijing trip 
News and Observer
UNC-Chapel Hill has canceled its summer study program in Beijing because of the 
SARS epidemic, joining other universities that don't want to take any chances with 
the contagious disease. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2501019p-2324385c.html

UNC pulls plug on mandatory swim tests 
The Herald-Sun
UNC has sunk the swim test. Long a requirement for all Carolina students, the swim 
test disappeared from the curriculum thanks to a sweeping series of revisions 
approved recently by UNC’s Faculty Council. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-347345.html

Professor wins Jefferson Award 
The Herald-Sun
Longtime UNC professor Joseph Ferrell has won the 2003 Thomas Jefferson 
Award. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-347351.html

UNC or Georgia: which is oldest U.? (Question and Answer)
Charlotte Observer
Q. Both UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Georgia claim to be the oldest public 
university in the United States. Which actually is? -- Alan Bodman, Charlotte. 
A. Oh no, Alan, I think you're mistaken. Duke is much older.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/5748432.htm

Researchers Say Inactive Fault Located In Wake County
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
The western part of North Carolina is occasionally home to small quakes and tremors 
from other states, but researchers said there is a fault that cuts right through Wake 
County. Geologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study
earthquakes all over the world, but local researchers spend most of their time outside 
of North Carolina because there is so little activity.
http://www.wral.com/news/2167246/detail.html

Experts Caution Against Sun Exposure, Tanning Beds 
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
As swimsuit season approaches, tanning salons are beginning to fill up. ... Dr. 
Nancy Thomas, a dermatologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill, said she sees damage done by too much sun exposure every day. 
http://www.wral.com/health/2165935/detail.html

Wilson family left its stamp on Chapel Hill 
Chapel Hill News
Thomas James Wilson (1833-1904) and members of subsequent family generations 
occupied prominent places in the annals of Chapel Hill. ... Hired a year later as a 
UNC faculty member in classics, he took on the additional assignment of university 
registrar in 1908. In 1915 he gave up teaching in favor of full-time administration. 
He was made dean of admissions 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2499285p-2322825c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Senate initially approves budget
Charlotte Observer
The N.C. Senate gave initial approval to a $15.1 billion spending plan Tuesday despite 
opposition from Republicans who say the plan breaks promises to voters by delaying 
tax cuts that were supposed to go on the books in July. ... tax cut for high-income 
earners would be delayed, students in the University of North Carolina system 
would get a 5 percent tuition increase, and state residents would pay 3.2 percent 
more tuition to attend community colleges.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5748517.htm

Senate favors taxes to avoid service cuts 
News and Observer
The state Senate gave a preliminary nod Tuesday to a $15.1 billion spending plan 
that collects more taxes and digs into fewer programs than its House counterpart. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/2501124p-2324455c.html

Intergovernment limbo snags South Columbia work 
The Herald-Sun
Long-sought improvements to South Columbia Street are stuck in intergovernmental 
limbo, with the state’s top transportation official saying he’s still waiting for the town 
and the university to make a "joint recommendation." UNC Chancellor James 
Moeser and Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy say they’ve been talking about the issue 
and have some hope for a solution
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-347349.html

Chapel Hill grows cold to Apple Chill 
News and Observer
After a night of snarled traffic, unruly crowds, loud motorcycles and souped-up cars 
Sunday, some Chapel Hill residents are once again calling for an end to Apple Chill
and the unsanctioned cruising event that follows the street fair. ... This year, several 
students at UNC-Chapel Hill lodged complaints about the events. "It boggles my 
mind that an event of this magnitude would be scheduled on the day before students 
begin exams," Brian Carroll wrote in e-mail to Mayor Kevin Foy.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2501009p-2324348c.html 

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, 
please call Cathleen Keyser or Mike McFarland at News Services, 
(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu