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Dec. 19, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Concern grows over pollution from jets
USA Today
Aviation and the environment are on a collision course. ...University of North Carolina professor John Kasarda, who consulted in the design of airports in Detroit, Bangkok, Brazil and the Philippines, says a new approach to airport design could reduce emissions.
Waiting for land on the fringes
McClatchy Newspapers
The gritty flip side of Brazil's remarkable agricultural expansion can be glimpsed along a dirt road at the far end of Rio de Janeiro state. ...The 22-year-old MST has become the most organized of the groups that fight for land reform, says Wendy Wolford, a University of North Carolina geography professor who lived among MST members for a year.
Regional Coverage
Personal rituals greet new year
The Associated Press (Regional)
Moments before the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, Lara Turgay and her sister will run to the bathroom with new red underwear in hand, just as they've done most years since they were teenagers in Turkey. ...Across the South, black-eyed peas are a New Year's staple. "Each pea has an eye in it and there's a sense of looking into the future and bringing good luck to people who eat them," explained William Ferris, a professor at the University of North Carolina and coeditor of the "Encyclopedia of Southern Culture."
System assures parents their kids are handled with care
The Stockton Record (Calif.)
The first child dropped off at Angela Constantino's home day-care center arrives at 4:30 each morning. ..."These scales try to look under the surface," said Thelma Harms, a scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Campaign to teach youngsters how to eat healthy
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Preschoolers are the newest target in efforts to slim down Greater Cincinnati. ...The nutrition council's new project, dubbed the Cincinnati Nutrition Network for the First 5, will incorporate a model developed at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for child-care centers.
TEA clears schools in testing investigation
Midland Reporter-Telegram (Texas)
Three Big Spring schools were among 592 cleared after investigations into possible testing irregularities, Texas Education Agency announced. ...Greg Cizek, a professor of educational measurement and evaluation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of "Cheating on Tests: How to Do It, Detect It and Prevent It," who also served as an advisor to the task force, said Texas already has one of the most comprehensive test security systems in the country and recommendations being discussed by the task force will further improve the system.
State and Local Coverage
UNC receives remarkable gift from Kenans (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
During the period of time that UNC's Memorial Hall was under renovation, many of the concerts and touring performances normally scheduled for Memorial were held in the university's Hill Hall auditorium. It was, frankly, not a good coupling.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/kenan121506.htmUNC Center for African Studies aims high
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC Chapel Hill is pushing hard to make sure that each department is world class. One more section has gotten the money to see the dream realized.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/afstudies121406.htmLaw enforcement and illegal immigration
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
UNC law professor Deborah Weissma was featured on today's (Dec. 19) edition of "The State of Things" discussing the role and expectations of police officers in matters of federal immigration violations. Police officers in certain North Carolina counties are being trained on how to enforce federal immigration laws, but is the burden of arresting and detaining illegal immigrants too much to bear for local law enforcement?
Blunt threat now a credible option (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It is tempting to agree with those who argue that our departure from Iraq is necessary to change the political dynamic in that country and to relieve the burden of war on our nation. ...David Schanzer is director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Hopes huge for film so little
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The decidedly casual film premiere at Chapel Hill's Varsity Theatre was no Hollywood gala opening, no big splash at Cannes. But to Jacob Hatley, the Sunday showing of "China" -- the short film the UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus wrote and directed -- might as well have been.
In the holiday spirits
The Robesonian (Lumberton)
For most people, the holidays are a time of joy. ...According to the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, 6.7 percent of road accidents in Robeson County between 2000 and 2005 involved alcohol, while the state's rate was 5.5 percent.
Hoops practice madness (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
That perennial national scold, the NCAA, is in a dither because some women's basketball teams scrimmage against men in preparation for their games. ...Two teams who use men in their practices must be doing something right. Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill both practice against men, and both have top programs in women's collegiate basketball.
Issues and Trends
A winning coach is worth a big contract (Letter to the editor)
The Charlotte Observer
The writer teaches economics and finance at Pfeiffer University. In response to "Who runs UNC? Athletics or academics?" (Nov. 16 Viewpoint): If new football coach Butch Davis leads the Tar Heels to conference championships, national rankings in the polls and several bowl appearances, then his $1.8 million contract is a bargain for UNC.
Asking too much of N.C. universities? (Letters to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...The Pope Center's goal is to improve higher education, and when we see programs that waste students' time and taxpayers' money, we say so. But since it originated in 1996, the center has issued at least 25 formal studies, plus many articles, that have contributed to better public knowledge of the UNC system. ...
K-ville discrimination (Letters to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Regarding the Dec. 12 article "UNC outrage spurs Duke rebuke": I wish I was smart enough to go to Duke, because apparently it is the student government's policy to outlaw that which it finds uncomfortable.
Growth: How will health care keep up?
The Independent Tribune
With the influx of new residents, every facet of life in Cabarrus County and the surrounding area will be affected. ...When Kannapolis received the results of the market study on the impact of the North Carolina Research Campus in October, quality-of-life issues were at the forefront.
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.
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