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Dec. 21, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Public colleges pay price for recognition
United Press International
Public universities in the United States, hoping for national standing, are chasing more affluent students at the expense of the more needy, officials said. ...To address this issue, public universities have started programs to help low-income students, the Times said. At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, for example, a program guarantees qualifying students enough aid to graduate debt-free.
Legal hallucinogen concerns police
The Star Phoenix (Canada)
Saskatoon police are concerned about a legal hallucinogen sold in hemp stores and on the Internet, but local users defend the powerful herbal psychedelic as a mind-altering but safe trip. ...Dr. Bryan Roth, director of the psychoactive drug screening program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, says Salvinorin A, Salvia's active hallucinogenic compound, is unique and activates a different brain receptor than other drugs, such as LSD.
National Coverage
Blood test no better at finding heart risk
The Associated Press (National)
New blood tests that doctors hoped would more accurately predict which patients are headed for a heart attack or stroke are not more accurate than cholesterol levels, blood-pressure and other conventional measurements, a study found. ...Dr. Sidney Smith, former president of the American Heart Association and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina, noted the findings might not apply to minorities.
Regional Coverage
Delta talks deadlocked
The Cincinnati Enquirer
With Delta Air Lines in bankruptcy and trying to lower its costs, the Kenton County Airport Board isn't in the best negotiating position across the table, airline experts say. ...While the airport and Delta clearly depend heavily on each other, the bankruptcy process gives Delta leverage in the talks, said John Kasarda, a professor of management specializing in airline issues at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.Marine Captain Rye Barcott on Africa's worst slum
NewsNight (NECN-TV, Boston)
Marine Captain Rye Barcott, University of North Carolina alumni, returns to NewsNight to talk about an urban slum in Nairobi, Kenya-- one of the world's most desperate places. The slum is known as Kibera.
Study Questions Workers' Comp Ratings for Back Pain
Insurance Journal (Calif.)
A study of settlement decisions in workers' compensation claims for low back pain has found almost no relationship between the rating of the disability's severity when the claim was settlement and reported pain and disability 21 months later. ...The study shows that "administrative decisions made at the end of the workers' compensation claim process about the ability of someone to work after back injury has very little predictive validity," said Dr. Norton Hadler, a professor of medicine and microbiology/immunology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Medicine.
UNC News Releases: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec06/hadler121906.htmState and Local Coverage
Class awards two local grants
The Chapel Hill Herald
A class offered through UNC's Carolina Center for Public Service ended the 2006 fall semester by awarding grants to two local nonprofit organizations.
Why the D.A. should be off the case (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Whether the defendants in the Duke lacrosse case are guilty or innocent, Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong should disqualify himself, or be disqualified, from the case. ...Joseph Kennedy is an associate professor of Law at the UNC School of Law and a fellow at UNC's Parr Center for Ethics.
Old disease rears up; shot can prevent it
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When Debbie Quinn's newborn son developed a runny nose and a cough within weeks of his birth in June, Quinn figured he had picked up her husband's lingering cold. ..."A lot of people will try to tough it out at home," said Dr. Tom Belhorn, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at UNC Hospitals. "But if you have a persistent cough that lasts for a couple of weeks, you need to be seen by a physician."
Doctors give drug reps less time
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
They hang out in hallways, hoping to snatch just two minutes with a doctor. ...UNC Health Care and Duke University Health System both have guidelines that allow them to accept only items of minimal value from industry reps.
Moratorium stops high-rises
The Smoky Mountain News
Macon County Commissioners unanimously approved a moratorium on high-rise development Monday, giving county planning and legal staff 11 months to write an ordinance that if adopted could potentially prohibit such development for a long time to come. ...However, upon the recommendation of the Institute of Government at UNC Chapel Hill, the planning board and legal staff gained time to write an ordinance regulating high-rise development.
Firefighters Fan Holiday Spirit at Burn Center
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
Raleigh firefighters were on a critical mission Wednesday, rushing a truckload of supplies to the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
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.