August 6, 2002

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

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

Long Island Study Sees No Cancer Tie to Pesticides
The New York Times
A long-awaited federal study on possible links between pollution and high rates of 
breast cancer on Long Island has failed to show any connection between the disease 
and pesticides that were once widely used on the island. It also found only a very 
slight correlation between cancer rates and exposure to other pollutants, like car 
exhaust and cigarette smoke... Marilie D. Gammon, a University of North Carolina 
epidemiology professor and the study's lead author, said the 50-percent increase 
was too modest to declare a clear causal link. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/nyregion/06CANC.html
(Note: This coverage resulted from a UNC news release and related media relations 
efforts involving News Services, the School of Public Health and the National 
Cancer Institute. Other coverage known to date includes Newsday
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-licanc062811887aug06.story?coll=ny%2Dtop%2Dspan%2Dheadlines, 
The San Francisco Chronicle 
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/06/MN202963.DTL, 
WCBS-TV (New York metropolitan area CBS-TV affiliate) 
http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/StoryFolder/story_1879157395_html, 
WNBC-TV (New York metropolitan area NBC-TV affiliate) 
http://www.wnbc.com/health/1596154/detail.html. A National Associated Press 
story also appeared this morning on the Web sites of The Wall Street Journal 
and The Los Angeles Times.)

Deadly or Dull? Uproar Over a Microbe
The New York Times
Pfiesteria piscicida, the microbe with a fearsome reputation for killing fish and 
endangering human health, may not be a villain after all, some researchers say... 
Dr. Litaker, a molecular biologist, set about developing chemical probes that bound 
specifically to the genetic material of pfiesteria.... Dr. Daniel Baden, an expert on 
marine toxins at the University of North Carolina, said that in all the years people 
had worked on pfiesteria no one had yet isolated a specific toxin from it, a task that 
should not be difficult if its toxin resembled those produced by the six known classes 
of toxic dinoflagellates. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/06/science/life/06BUG.html
(Note: Dr. Wayne Litaker is a member of the Program in Molecular Biology and 
Biotechnology at the UNC School of Medicine. Litaker and his research was the 
subject of a UNC News Services release. Other coverage mentioning Litaker includes
The Times Dispatch (Virginia) . The New York Times requires free registration to
access articles.)

A New Ring Cycle 
The Washington Post
A new birth control device that fits in the vagina and emits lower levels of estrogen 
and progestin than are contained in oral contraceptives could make birth control easier 
and more effective for many women, experts say... "This is an exciting new option 
that addresses contraception's most dominant problem: remembering to take a pill 
every day," said David Grimes, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the 
University of North Carolina. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47561-2002Aug5.html

Regional Coverage

PRO FOOTBALL: A puzzling increase in heatstroke (Commentary)
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Suddenly, the sun is a football player's nastiest opponent. Last summer, the deaths 
of an NFL player and two college players were attributed to heatstroke. Just the 
other day, four players from the Rockdale County High School team were hospitalized 
for dehydration and heat exhaustion... According to the National Center for 
Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, there 
were more than three times as many heatstroke deaths from 1995 through last year 
as in the previous decade. 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/today/sports_d3f42697855641b00028.html

Study shows teacher pay rising; La. still lags 
Baton Rouge Advocate (Louisiana)
Teacher pay is rising in the South faster than the rest of the nation, but Louisiana 
still lags behind most of its neighbors, a new study says. The study was done by 
the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life, a research group
at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/080302/sch_raise001.shtml

California is overdoing the adversity advantage (Opinion-Editorial Column)
St. Petersburg Times
Did the admissions officers feel sorry for me? After submitting with my college 
application an essay that described the personal impact of a friend's suicide during
my senior year of high school, part of me still wonders just what kind of first 
impression I must have made on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
It wasn't that I lacked good grades and test scores... UNC hadn't sought to 
stock its incoming freshman class with underprivileged youths...
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/08/04/Perspective/California_is_overdoi.shtml
(Note: Harmony Johnson is the 2002 Pittman Scholar at UNC.)

State and Local Coverage

System gives blind student a sense of geography
Jason Morris sits at a computer with a screen displaying a map of the British Isles 
during Roman times... Nevertheless, with the assistance of a handful of undergraduate 
students in computer science at UNC-Chapel Hill, Morris is able to sense what life 
on the British Isles might have been like when the Romans were in power from 50 B.C. 
to 400 A.D.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1612580p-1640305c.html

Man is eager to help his country
The Charlotte Observer
A year ago, Adib Farhadi taught business classes part-time at Pitt Community College in 
Greenville, N.C. Today, he helps recruit American companies to Afghanistan, preaching 
capitalism in a country more accustomed to communism... Some observers question how 
successful the effort will be. Afghans will need to assume the brunt of the burden, and the 
country has failed to produce many high-quality, low-cost items to help stabilize an 
economy, said Peter Brews, an international management professor at UNC Chapel Hill.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/3800557.htm

Tax break weekend drives up UNC sales 
The past weekend’s tax-free shopping bonanza proved a boon for UNC’s book 
and computer sellers, which reported a healthy spike in sales from students grabbing 
the additional savings... "The big winner was in textbooks, which was about nine 
times what we did at this time last year," said John Jones, who manages UNC’s 
Student Stores, the campus bookstore. "It was a chance for students to get their 
textbooks without tax." 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-254372.html

Dog Days at Carolina
You don't have to spend much time in Chapel Hill before you realize that this town is
full of dogs. They're riding shotgun -- heads out the window, tongues flapping -- in posh 
SUVs on Franklin Street as well as pickups in Calvander. They're snagging Frisbees on 
McCorkle Place and begging for snacks in the nightspots... Shortly after Chancellor 
James Moeser and his wife, Susan, landed at Carolina in 1999, the couple decided to 
fulfill a longtime wish. So they started searching for a dog.
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/08/04/town00.html

Mental health reform will require support, funding (Opinion-Editorial Column)
We applaud the front-page coverage given to the crisis faced by the local mental health 
system ("Mental health program wrestles with reform," July 10). One aspect of the current 
mental health reform plan continues a process known as deinstitutionalization -- the shift 
from hospital-based services to more community-based services...
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/08/04/opinion02.html
(Note: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Scott Stroup and Dan Bradford work in the department 
of psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine.)

Sunday Buzz: Teeter coming to N.C. 751
Splitting duties: Richard "Stick" Williams is proof that the best things sometimes happen at
the most inopportune time. Williams, who in January started serving as the chairman of the 
Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce's board, got a promotion at his long-time employer, 
Duke Energy Corp., that moved him to Charlotte in June... Williams, who lived in Chapel 
Hill with his family, has been in the Triangle 12 years. The family is gearing up for a move to 
Charlotte in the fall. He also serves as vice chairman of the UNC Board of Trustees. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0396809771
(Note: The Chapel Hill Herald required free registration to access archives.)

Johnson & Johnson
When Will Johnson walked into the basketball office at the Smith Center that August day, 
when he saw his parents had driven all the way from their home in Hickory, when his eyes 
met theirs, he managed one thought: My brother is dead... Daniel is entering his second 
year of law school, his third of walking with prostheses. Will is entering his final year of 
both books and basketball as one of only two senior players who will try to help UNC
recover from its worst season ever.
http://sports.newsobserver.com/sports/college/story/1608811p-1635791c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Under the Dome: Grant money tempting 
N.C. State University uses a simple formula in reimbursing its library for its role in supporting 
sponsored research. The library provides about 4 percent of the support. Therefore, it gets 
the same percentage of grant money that's designated for indirect costs, commonly known 
as overhead receipts.
http://newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1614507p-1642247c.html

House plan offers raise, retirement 
House budget writers offered a preview Monday of their proposed $14.3 billion budget 
plan that would give only teachers a pay raise but offer other state workers an early 
retirement package and two bonus weeks of paid vacation.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1614504p-1642221c.html

Lee takes campaign to UNC Hospitals
Diners at the UNC medical school's Grapevine cafeteria got to mix politics with their pasta 
primavera on Friday when state Sen. Howard Lee showed up to hunt for a few votes. The 
Orange County Democrat made no secret of the fact he might need everyone he can find to 
come out on top in his race with fellow Sen. Ellie Kinnaird for the party nomination in 
District 23. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0396809734
(Note: The Chapel Hill Herald required free registration to access archives.)

Town, UNC eye Estes Drive facility 
Town leaders have urged UNC to hold off on seeking construction permits for a campus 
maintenance shop on the south side of Estes Drive Extension until they’ve done more to 
blunt potential opposition. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-254378.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