August 4, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Economy slows as spending falters
The Baltimore Sun
The U.S. economy unexpectedly slammed on the brakes in the spring, growing at an annual rate of just 3 percent, largely because of a sharp drop in consumer spending, the U.S. Department of Commerce said yesterday...."It's typical that voters vote their pocketbooks, and they vote their pocketbooks in relation to what's happening now, which means July, August and September are very critical," said James F. Smith, a finance professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.

Pickers' pickups
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The typical bluegrass jam session starts out like a formulaic joke....From its birth, bluegrass "was a revivalist movement," says Robert Cantwell, a professor of English and American studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Beguiled by the Brontes (Book review)
The World and I
Lucasta Miller's encyclopedic account of works inspired by the Brontës' books and lives is also a narrative of revelation through readers' reactions through the ages....Daphne Athas is a novelist and essayist who received the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Mentor Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she teaches.

Regional Coverage

UK rural journalism institute gets grants
Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
The University of Kentucky's Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation....UK, Eastern Kentucky University, Washington and Lee University, West Virginia University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are among several universities working together to aid rural journalism.

State & Local Coverage

Don't rely only on drugs to lower your cholesterol (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
On a recent visit to my sister's farm in Montana, I witnessed a scene that no doubt plays out regularly all over America...."It's very important that Americans understand the value and necessity of adhering to a good diet," said Dr. Sidney Smith, an author of the report, professor of medicine at UNC Chapel Hill and former president of the American Heart Association.

Pamlico's Jones trades hoops for lab coats
New Bern Sun Journal
Pamlico's Chelsea Jones is known for her stellar performance on the basketball court with her team-leading 13 points per game, but this summer she traded in her Hurricanes jersey for a lab coat....Jones recently completed the Research Apprenticeship Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine -- a program that accepted just 25 out of 160 applicants.

'Tough Poems, Lined With Tenderness' (Book Review)
Southern Pine Pilot
Jane Mayhall's name is not a household word. Will probably never be. She's a quiet discovery, a poet's poet....Ruth Moose teaches creative writing at UNC Chapel Hill.

Dig finds evidence of Spanish fort
The News & Observer
In a fallow farm field in the Appalachian foothills, archaeologists are rewriting the history of early European settlement in North Carolina....Moore runs excavation at the site with archaeologists Robin Beck of Southern Illinois University and Chris Rodning of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Legend of a suite ghost: Carolina Inn on travel site's haunted hotel list
The Chapel Hill Herald
You get into town, check into the Carolina Inn, grab your bags and head for your posh suite on the second floor...."He loved the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill and the inn," Frank Jacocks said.

Rohr pushes to eliminate primary elections in Lenoir
The Charlotte Observer
Lenoir City Council members are expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal to change the way voters elect the mayor and council....Effective or not, most N.C. cities and towns use the nonpartisan plurality method because "it's simpler, cheaper and easier for people to understand," said Robert Joyce, a professor of Public Law and Government at UNC Chapel Hill and an expert on N.C. election law.

Board OKs Cochran's resignation
Washington Daily News (NC)
The Beaufort County commissioners voted promptly, and unanimously, Friday afternoon to accept the resignation of Republican Commissioner Carol Cochran effective Aug. 2....Spruill said he and County Attorney Billy Mayo consulted the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in an attempt to clarify certain points of procedure.

Rose Post column: Letters detail drama, emotion of 1944 blast (Commentary)
Salisbury Post
"I think he was watching," says Pat Rendleman. "I really do."...But that's about as far as it went until last Christmas when Patsy Rendleman handed her son, Dr. Dick Rendleman, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, some letters she'd found in a trunk in the attic.

Why did Brandy lie about marriage?
The News & Observer
It happened so suddenly. Two years ago, R&B singing star Brandy announced she had secretly married music producer Robert Smith in July 2001....John Covach, a UNC-Chapel Hill professor knowledgeable of the entertainment industry, said many would attempt to justify Brandy's actions and say that pregnancy outside of marriage is not a bad-girl behavior and abortion would have been worse.

Issues & Trends

Suit targets NCCU mold
The News & Observer
The mold is gone from two dorms at N.C. Central University, but the fight over who should pay for the $7 million cleanup has moved to the courthouse.

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/newsserv/clipsindex.htm.

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