April 14, 2005

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Secrets behind 'The Da Vinci Code'
Dateline NBC-TV
Inside the Louvre Museum, under the mysterious gaze of the Mona Lisa, a museum curator is gunned down. In his dying moments, he leaves behind a bizarre trail of clues, some written in his own blood. The gunman is a towering albino monk, but police suspect the murderer is a Harvard professor of religious symbols and art.
Note: Bart Ehrman, chairman of the religious studies department, was featured in this story.

Surveys: Young adults search spiritually
The Associate Press (National)
For some young adults, spirituality goes hand in hand with religious practice.....Previous research by Chris Smith, a University of North Carolina sociologist and adviser to the UCLA study, found 13-17 year-olds are highly conventional in their religious practices, following how they were raised.

Edwards Strives to Stay In the Public Eye
The Wall Street Journal
By John Edwards's standards, it has been a good week....Mr. Edwards heads the new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Subscription required.

Edwards says ending poverty biggest issue facing country
The Associated Press (National)
Ending poverty is perhaps the single largest issue facing the nation, former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said Wednesday....Last month he became head of the University of North Carolina law school's new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Regional Coverage

Minding one's manners in a civilized society
Baltimore Messenger
From a slice of leftover pizza stolen from the refrigerator to unshared credit for collaborative work, most employees have experienced some form of incivility in the workplace....According to a University of North Carolina study on incivility in the workplace, 46 percent of employees who had been victimized at work contemplated changing jobs and 12 percent actually changed jobs, Forni said.

State & Local Coverage

College students face DESTINY
The Daily News (Jacksonville)
Carteret Community College student Alicia McCready walked away from a recent science class with more than just a lesson in biology....Giving students across North Carolina hands-on access to cutting-edge science technology and learning opportunities is the mission of DESTINY, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's traveling science learning program.

Athletes are warned to avoid water intoxification
News 14 (Time Warner, Charlotte)
The hot weather will be here soon and that means people taking part in heavy exercise should be more careful about what goes into their bodies...."One way to ward it off is during the event to eat salty foods, pretzels are a great source of sodium, and make sure you are taking in an electrolyte drink, a sports drink...not to stay away from water...but just make sure you are taking water in with an electrolyte drink or a sodium dense food," Joe Deblasio of the UNC Wellness Center explained.

Town beckons hi-tech business
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Last year the town of Carrboro gave Gary Duncan, a research scientist at UNC-Chapel Hill, money from its revolving loan program to launch a small high-tech business in town.

Manufacturers turn to future
The Charlotte Observer
After seeing thousands of jobs lost to cheaper labor in China, manufacturers vowed Wednesday at an industry conference to quit whining about their beleaguered industry and move on...."Manufacturing still matters," said Michael Luger, director of the Carolina Center for Competitive Economies at UNC Chapel Hill.

N.C. won't 'stumble into' jobs, speaker says
The Winston-Salem Journal
North Carolina's battered manufacturing sector has a fighting chance of beating global competition, but only if it ratchets up its commitment to education, technology and innovation, speakers at a statewide summit said yesterday.....Michael Luger, the director of the Carolina Center for Competitive Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that there is a concern that some economic developers are writing manufacturing off as noncompetitive in the global environment.

Tiger tactics three-pronged
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Ireland didn't just gradually develop into one of the world's fastest-growing economies; it seemingly roared onto the world stage during the 1990s. Hence its nickname: the Celtic Tiger.....Bruton was brought to the Triangle by the Center for European Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

UNC sit-it over cafeteria worker ends
The Chapel Hill Herald
A brief sit-in at UNC's South Building concluded late Wednesday morning when university Chancellor James Moeser met with a small group of student activists concerned with the treatment of a suspended cafeteria worker.

In Franken class, Republicans get F's
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The course: Liberalism 101. The professor: Syndicated radio host Al Franken. The students: a mish-mosh of UNC students and middle-aged lefties attending to cheer on their talk-radio hero.

A lefty wings it
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Minutes before his radio show started, Al Franken warmed up the Chapel Hill audience Wednesday like the seasoned showbiz pro he is. He pandered.

Issues & Trends

Intense Competition for Top Students Is Threatening Financial Aid Based on Need
The New York Times
Consider the awkward decision confronting the admissions director of a highly selective university that is trying to move forward in the academic pecking order (one of, say, 50 institutions that would have landed in the top 10 this year, except for various flaws in the rankings formula).
Registration required..

Research Worth Fighting For (Opinion and Editorial Column)
The New York Times
Of the Pentagon's $419.3 billion budget request for next year, only about $10.5 billion - 2 percent - will go toward basic research, applied research and advanced technology development. This represents a 20 percent reduction from last year, a drastic cutback that threatens the long-term security of the nation. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should reconsider this request, and if he does not, Congress should restore the cut.
Registration required.

Park items eclipse funds by $900K
The Chapel Hill Herald
It would take at least $900,000 more than the town currently has to build all the features planned for the Southern Community Park off U.S. 15-501 South, says the town manager and park planners....The chairman of the Parks and Recreation Authority that rules on those grants is Jonathan Howes, a former Chapel Hill mayor who now is special assistant to UNC Chancellor James Moeser.

Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.