April 8, 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:

Fighting in civvies: Didn't we do that?
The Chicago Tribune
The Pentagon has taken pains to convince the American public that the Iraqi
military has been violating the laws of armed conflict. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld has decried the Iraqis' "brutality and disregard for the laws
of war" and presented a laundry list of "acts of treachery on the battlefield" that
the Iraqi forces have engaged in thus far. ... "The fact is, these guerrilla bands
on both sides would not have wanted uniforms," said Don Higginbotham, a
professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0304080153apr08,1,764285.story
(Note: The Chicago Tribune requires free registration to access articles.)

Cities Getting in Step With New Crosswalk Trend
The Los Angeles Times
For decades, painted crosswalks have been disappearing from streets all
over the country. Cities purposely paved them over or let them fade away,
ever since a 1970 San Diego study found that having visible lines can lull
pedestrians into a false sense of security and increase accidents. ... A 2000
survey of 30 communities by the Tustin transportation-safety consulting firm
Katz, Okitzu & Associates found that lighted crosswalks appear to reduce
accidents by 80%.  "What we don't know very much about is whether they're
appropriate" for high-speed roads, said Charles Zegeer, director of the
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center at the University of
North Carolina.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wheel8apr08,1,5600432.story
(Note: The Los Angeles Times requires free registration to access articles.)

A Forgotten Friendship
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)
Elizabeth Hobbs was born a slave in 1818, the same year Mary Todd was
born into a slave-owning family ... "In the last 30 years, there's been a
tremendously popular movement of writing about women of color," says
William L. Andrews, an English professor at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill who has taught from Keckly's book and, as an
editor of the "Norton Anthology of African American Literature," plans to
include "a significant portion" of it in the next edition.
http://www.newsday.com/features/ny-p2cover3210336apr08.story

Fighting cancer where it lives
Boston Globe
There's a revolution brewing in the diagnosis of cancer that could dramatically
change how doctors figure out which tumors are truly life-threatening -- and
need chemotherapy -- and which are not.  .. Several years ago, Charles
Perou, now assistant professor of genetics at the University of North
Carolina, with David Botstein and Pat Brown of Stanford University, identified
a set of 450 genes that can predict progression of disease in breast cancer.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/098/science/Fighting_cancer_where_it_lives+.shtml

Mission: Bearers of the unthinkable
St. Petersburg Times
It would have been a beautiful day for a drive in the country but for the
nightmare that waited at the end of the road. ... Margaret Miles, a professor
at the University of North Carolina School of Nursing and a specialist in grief
counseling, said the most important thing a notification officer can do is listen.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/04/05/TampaBay/Mission__Bearers_of_t.shtml

Helena heart-attack study gets worldwide attention (Commentary)
Helena Independent Record (Mont.)
In the ebb and flow of news surrounding the ongoing debate over secondhand
smoke in Helena, last week was particularly busy. ... The Wall Street Journal
wrote its own story about the heart attack findings. The Journal noted that a
larger study is needed but quoted a University of North Carolina cardiologist
as saying "this is a strong piece of evidence of the need to avoid the dangers
of secondhand smoke."
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2003/04/06/opinions/a05040603_01.txt

Regional Coverage

UNC spot to have centennial birthday
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Students, professors and Chapel Hill, N.C., visitors have long learned to
appreciate various seasons of nature with strolls through Coker Arboretum. 
The quiet tree-filled spot in the middle of the large, bustling campus at The
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill celebrates its 100th anniversary
this month.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/living/5572181.htm
(Note: For more information, click here.)

State and Local Coverage

Ellison, Winston are appointed to UNC’s Board of Trustees
The Herald-Sun
UNC’s Board of Trustees has two new members. Gov. Michael Easley has
appointed John G.B. Ellison Jr. of Greensboro and Robert W. Winston of
Raleigh to the board.
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-339668.html

Judaism studies at UNC broaden
The Herald-Sun
UNC has created a new research and teaching center for Jewish studies, which
will coordinate a new academic minor in that discipline.
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-339666.html

These streets aren't made for walking
Independent Weekly
A woman takes her child by the hand and proceeds to cross seven lanes of
traffic. ... Physical activity has been "engineered out of daily life," says Rich
Killingsworth, director of Active Living by Design, a joint endeavor of The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the UNC School of Public Health.
http://www.indyweek.com/durham/current/cover.html

3-year pact is UNC first
News and Observer
Rosemary DePaolo will be the first woman to lead UNC-Wilmington, but her
appointment is historic in another way: She is the first UNC chancellor to receive
a multiyear contract. ... Others say such deals move educational institutions one
step closer to the corporate world.  "It is just more corporatization, which I do
not greet with open arms," said Sue Estroff, chairwoman of the Faculty Council
at UNC-Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2420346p-2252747c.html

Heeding the politics of liberation (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer
It's time the media investigate and try to undo a major problem in American
foreign policy and the American public's general approval of it.
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2417749p-2250376c.html
(Note: W.T. Generous Jr. is an adjunct associate professor at UNC-
Chapel Hill.)

Speakers state cases on partner benefits
News and Observer
With her 7-week-old daughter in her arms, county employee Aviva Sira Starr
told Durham County commissioners Monday why she should be able to provide
insurance for her female partner. ... Although supporters of domestic partner
benefits have criticized his legal interpretation, Kitchen said Monday that he
stands by it. Before making the decision, Kitchen said, he had several
conversations with legal experts, including at the Institute of Government at
UNC-Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2420355p-2252852c.html

Potter patriarch played role in crafting art form
Charlotte Observer
Melvin Lee "M.L." Owens, descendant and patriarch of a renowned family of
rural N.C. potters, died Saturday. He was 85.  ... During Owens' childhood,
the market for clay pickle jars and salt-glazed urns dried up, falling victim to
the new mass markets in glassware and metal, said Charles Zug, author of
"Turners & Burners: The Folk Potters of North Carolina." "It's when pottery
went from utilitarian to more artistic forms of pottery. And of course M.L. was
in the middle of all that," said Zug, a retired professor of English and folklore
at UNC Chapel Hill.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5575666.htm

Rolling nest eggs on the Net
Charlotte Observer
There are few people who would venture to start a technology company these
days after the industry's fall from grace just a few years ago. ... It's asking a
financial service company to compete for business by laying itself alongside
others," said Howard Aldrich, professor of sociology and adjunct professor
of business at the UNC Chapel Hill.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/business/5570073.htm

At auto fair or dinner, she makes hearts race
Charlotte Observer
Sonic Automotive Chairman Bruton Smith knows how to keep good company.
 ... The venture capital environment will get uglier this year as institutional investors
seethe results of funds they invested in just prior to the tech crash in 2001.  ...
"Not only were stupid investments made, but there were egregious charges and
expenses," said Mark Yusko of UNC Management Co., which advises UNC
Chapel Hill on where to invest venture capital.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/5575711.htm

Baddour acted to save `Carolina experience' (Letter to the Editor)
Charlotte Observer
Thankfully, Dick Baddour chose neither to shoot the messengers, no matter their
ages, nor to justify adult behavior that led to demoralized learners and nearly
double-digit defections.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/5582885.htm
(Note: Russell Carter is a trustee at UNC Chapel Hill.  The Charlotte Observer
publishes all letters to the editor on the same web page.  To view this letter, go
to the above url and scroll down the page)

Star Search scans for 'it'
News and Observer
In a crowd of hundreds of hopefuls outside the Star Search auditions Friday at
the Carolina Inn, 18-year-old Shannon Williams of Fayetteville was a standout.
 ... The Star Search Express -- a tour bus of talent scouts -- made a pit stop at
UNC as part of a five-city college tour to find contestants for the resurrected,
televised talent show.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2411624p-2245145c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Budget could be approved by end of June
Chapel Hill News
House budget writers are scheduled to meet over the weekend to try to nail
down the framework for the state’s biennial spending plan.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2412831p-2246307c.html

Impasse persists over South Columbia Street
Chapel Hill News
State Department of Transportation officials reiterated their position last week
that improvements to South Columbia Street remain on hold until
representatives of the town and university can agree on a design for the project.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2412835p-2246308c.html

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(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu