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August 17, 2005
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Tap - Water Chemicals May Pose Little Pregnancy Risk
Reuters International Wire Service
Although some studies have suggested that certain chemical byproducts in tap water raise a woman’s risk of miscarriage, new research suggests that the threat is small, if it exists at all. ...Still, the findings should be reassuring to pregnant women worried about the safety of their tap water, according to lead researcher Dr. David A. Savitz of the University of North Carolina School of Public Health in Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jul05/savitz3072905.htmNational Coverage
Nominee Roberts Gets a Little Help through the Senate
"Morning Edition," National Public Radio
Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was featured on today's (Aug. 17) "Morning Edition." Supreme Court nominee John Roberts continues to meet with senators and prepare for his televised hearings, scheduled to begin on Sept. 6. A focus on consensus could smooth the nomination of a conservative judge to the next High Court vacancy. Host Juan Williams and Gerhardt discuss the battle over Judge Roberts.
UNC Tip Sheet: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/nomination071905.htmThe Public's Business: Robert Reich on guns
"Marketplace Morning Report," American Public Media
An Oklahoma law allows people to keep guns in their cars on company premises. It's causing conflicts between companies that want the law changed and the NRA; Robert Reich says this is a golden opportunity for the feds to step in. In today's (Aug. 17) edition of Marketplace, Reich cited the UNC research in a piece praising the efforts of some companies to rid guns from the workplace; the need for all to take note in order to keep their workers safe. Marketplace, the only daily national business news program originating from the West Coast, airs on public radios across the nation, including WUNC-FM, 91.5.Community venture investing
"Marketplace Morning Report," American Public Media
Bob Adler, professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill, was featured on Monday's edition of "Marketplace Morning Report." A growing number of companies are taking care of their workers, paying attention to the environment, and managing to turn a profit, all at the same time — with the help of a little venture capital. Host Lorne Matalon and guests discuss new kinds of venture capital firms. Marketplace, the only daily national business news program originating from the West Coast, airs on public radios across the nation, including WUNC-FM, 91.5.
Colleges crow, cringe over ratings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 1997, Emory University made a meteoric rise in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities, jumping from 19th in the nation to ninth. ...UGA President Michael Adams often boasts of his school's ranking, among such nationally competitive universities as the University of North Carolina, the University of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania State University.
Regional Coverage
Stroke diagnosis in three quick, easy questions
Los Angeles Daily News
A three-part test of stroke symptoms that makes the Internet rounds periodically is so elegant in its simplicity that it's a relief to know it has some scientific validity. ...The three-part FAST (Face-Arm-Speech Test) was developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and presented at the International Stroke Conference in 2003.
State & Local Coverage
News You Can Use
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Phil Meyer, professor of journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was featured on today's (Aug. 17) edition of "The State of Things." In 1980, the Triangle was served by five daily newspapers. Today, there are two, and they have very different editorial and publishing strategies. Host Melinda Penkava and guests look at the changing newspaper habits of North Carolinians and at the competition between the Durham Herald-Sun and the Raleigh News & Observer. "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 6 a.m. on Saturdays.
Not this fall for 'super precincts'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The "super precincts" pilot program for the Chapel Hill Township has no chance of being implemented for the November election, the director of the Orange County Board of Elections said Tuesday. ...The program would also let UNC-Chapel Hill students use a voting center convenient to campus. Students are divided into several precincts, and student leaders say some have had trouble traveling to polls off campus.
Town to get update on redo of parking areas
The Chapel Hill Herald
Another show-and-tell session is set for Thursday on plans for transforming downtown parking lot 5 and the Wallace parking deck into residential and retail space. ...Verkerk, a professor of art history at UNC Chapel Hill, laughed and said that, if a group of about 20 artists and art historians were able to agree on a design for the art history department's Web site, then surely the town and Ram would be able to agree on a design for the development.
Safety of nonstick cookware unresolved (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
After more than two years of study by the federal government, questions concerning the safety of nonstick cookware remain unresolved. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
Local athletes give new event a Tri
The Chapel Hill News
"Pain is temporary," six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said. "If I quit, however, it lasts forever." Indeed, it would seem that those who finished the inaugural UNC Wellness Super Sprint Triathlon last Sunday had a short memory where pain was concerned.
Issues & Trends
UNC's next president (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
The statement below from Brad Wilson, who's leading the search for a successor to Molly Broad as president of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system, is sensible and straightforward.
Related Link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/opinion/12401598.htmUNC presidential search to be careful and open (Letter to the editor)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Recent coverage and commentary about the University of North Carolina presidential search require that I offer some supplemental information about the search process. Brad Wilson, chair of the UNC Presidential Search Committee.
Bad bet for state (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The North Carolina legislature faces an ongoing annual structural deficit approaching $2 billion by 2010, according to the General Assembly's Fiscal Research Division. ...If the Democratic leaders in Raleigh truly wanted to provide more funding for education, how about addressing the Fiscal Research Division's analysis that 35 percent of the personnel in the public school system are non-classroom administrative-overhead personnel and 45 percent in the UNC system.
Raise Minimum Wage (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
The state House rightly voted last week to raise the minimum wage. For several reasons, the Senate should now follow suit. ...Critics of raising the wage point out that many minimum-wage workers are students living in their parents' homes. That's true, but many of those students are also working to save for college tuition, which the legislature and University of North Carolina system officials have not been shy about raising since 1997.
'Beast' tears into Pillowtex's Plant 1
The Charlotte Observer
An 82 1/2-ton demolition machine, nicknamed "The Beast," rumbled up to a corner of a former Pillowtex mill Tuesday morning. ...Murdock, owner of Dole Food Co., hasn't revealed his plans, which the city estimated will top $500 million. UNC system officials have said the project includes a biotech complex.
Related Link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/12400971.htmUNCC students must have health insurance
The Charlotte Observer
UNC Charlotte students have until Friday to show they're covered by health insurance or be automatically enrolled in a campus-approved plan. ...Eight UNC-system campuses have formed a consortium with health-care provider Pearce & Pearce Inc. to offer the insurance plan at a discounted rate. UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University aren't part of the consortium and don't require their students to have insurance.
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.
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