February 16, 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

Effort to Curb Drinking and Driving Finds a New Focus
Los Angeles Times
Sabina Urbina turned her "nightmare that will never end" - the loss of a son and two nephews to drunk drivers - into action by founding a chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Las Cruces, N.M....The numbers were more striking in North Carolina. There, Latinos account for 5% of the population, but they represented 12% of the drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes, according to 2002 statistics from the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina.

China's bird flu claim suspect
Atlanta Journal Constitution
It has been 34 days since the first avian influenza infection was confirmed in a poultry flock in Southeast Asia...."The provinces have agendas that are not necessarily a match for Beijing's," said Dr. Myron S. Cohen, head of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, who does research in China.

Democrats focus on electability
Sacramento Bee
If Jaime Arenas followed his heart, he'd vote for John Edwards...."There is a sense that Kerry is electable because a lot of people say he is electable: that winning begets winning," said Ferrell Guillory, director of the University of North Carolina's Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life.

State & Local Coverage

Author of aid pledge understands the need (Tar Heel of the Week)
The News and Observer
As a high school student in Michigan in the early 1960s, Shirley Ort didn't have college on her mind....As UNC-Chapel Hill's director of scholarships and student aid, Ort is the architect of the Carolina Covenant, which guarantees low-income students a debt-free education if they work 10 to 12 hours a week on campus.

Ways to attract jobs is Job 1
The News & Observer
When state lawmakers return to work in May, one issue -- bringing jobs to North Carolina -- is likely to dominate all others....The General Assembly will consider all manner of ideas to spur job growth this year: new incentives to lure industries; a cancer research center at UNC-Chapel Hill to attract high-paying jobs; improvements to the state's community colleges, particularly faculty salaries, as a way to invest in worker training.

In latest plot twist, UNC opens its reading-selection process
The Herald-Sun
Kimberly Abels is giving her best sales pitch...."We should never be embarrassed or ashamed to be the focus of controversy," said UNC Chancellor James Moeser. "[People] were talking about issues and matters. That's the function of a university."

In Business (Briefs)
The News & Observer
More than 100 physicians in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine who provide patient care in UNC Hospitals are listed in The Best Doctors in America 2003-2004 database.

Race is on for `NASCAR dads'
The Charlotte Observer
Like many people, race car driver Kyle Petty doesn't have a precise definition of "NASCAR dad," one of the trendy new terms in the American political lexicon...."Nothing explains George Bush's sweep of the South and his victory in the 2000 election more than the super-majority he got among white male Southerners," said Ferrel Guillory of the project on Southern politics, media and public life at UNC Chapel Hill.

Having some fun with your work
The Charlotte Observer
As co-chair of an office committee, Nathalia Alvarez has a host of responsibilities -- organizing happy hours, deciding which movies to watch at Discovery Place and notifying co-workers of birthday luncheons....Many employers realize they shouldn't treat people like cogs in a machine, said Benson Rosen, a management professional at UNC Chapel Hill who specializes in organizational behavior.

Moving to a 'new level of production'
The Durham Herald-Sun
Like many things American, domestic furniture manufacturing could be called a victim of its own success....China's growing dominance in furniture manufacturing is the result of a number of factors beyond cheap labor, said Meenu Tewari, a University of North Carolina professor who studies North Carolina's furniture industry from an international perspective.

Sticking it to students (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer
Richard "Stick" Williams, in a Feb. 4 Point of View article, limited his defense of UNC-Chapel Hill's tuition hikes to just the most recent one....Otherwise, it might be time for the state Supreme Court, not the UNC trustees, to determine whether these repeated tuition hikes meet the spirit of the constitutional guarantee.

Outdoor drama companies to recruit at UNC
Outer Banks Sentinel
Actors, singers, dancers and theater technicians should apply soon to seek summer jobs through the nation's largest combined audition for outdoor historical dramas. Applications are due by March 11, each with a $30 nonrefundable fee.

Venus will offer a spring celestrial treat
Jacksonville Daily News
Finding somebody who can describe seeing the Transit of Venus is hard to do. The last one occurred in 1882...."Because of the rarity of the event, it's kind of an interesting phenomenon to see," said Richard McColman, program producer with the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill.

NBC's Russert to meet public in Vero Beach
Vero Beach Press Journal
One week after interviewing President Bush on NBC's "Meet the Press," journalist and political analyst Tim Russert will make a Vero Beach appearance....It will continue on March 15 with a lecture by U.S. defense and national security expert Richard Perle and April 5 with a visit from Dr. William Roper, dean of the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Benvenuti a Siena
Triangle Business Journal
One of the Triangle's most prestigious and upscale lodges, the Siena Hotel, has floated plans for a multimillion-dollar expansion....The Carolina Inn underwent a $16.5 million overhaul and expansion in 1996. The 184-room hotel is owned by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is managed by a private operator.

UNC gets $1M gift from Coates estate
Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will use a gift of nearly $1 million from the estate of Gladys Hall Coates to establish the Albert and Gladys Coates Endowment Fund, which will benefit the North Carolina Collection in the university's Wilson Library.

Issues and Trends

A Revolt of the Flagships (Editorial)
The New York Times
The United States has been sabotaging its future for decades by starving the public colleges and universities that have moved millions of Americans into the middle class. These public institutions, which grant more than three-quarters of the country's degrees, have responded by creating larger classes, cutting courses and raising tuition.

State's biotech plan encouraging to see (Editorial)
Greensboro News & Record
Nowhere is the need for jobs greater than right here in the Piedmont Triad. In just three years we've lost more than 24,300 jobs in bedrock manufacturing industries such as textiles, furniture and tobacco -- jobs that are never coming back.

Biotech: maybe your next job (Editorial)
The Wilmington Star News
North Carolinians have made their livings in a lot of ways over the centuries, and once again it's time for us to start learning new ones. Tobacco, textiles, apparel and furniture are going the way of indigo, naval stores, cotton and rice.

Biotech bet (Editorial)
The News & Observer
Why the public should invest in boosting private enterprise is a reasonable and complicated question, and North Carolina and other states are constantly wrestling with it in the ongoing effort to draw new industry, particularly high-tech, well-salaried industry. Tales of huge incentive packages in other states abound.

Nonprofit won't support tobacco-funded projects (Question and Answer)
The News & Observer
At universities where research grants are often the lifeblood of a scientist, a decision earlier this month by the American Cancer Society quickly caught the attention of local college officials.

UNC system, students urge more state funding
The Charlotte Observer
The quality of a public university education in North Carolina has been crumbling for the past several years, and now is the time to stop it.

UNC Board postpones vote on raising tuition
Fayetteville Observer
University of North Carolina Board of Governors Chairman Brad Wilson called on other members Friday to consider the facts in the debate over raising tuition in the system's 16 schools.

Students want money tracked
The News & Observer
As UNC leaders said Friday that tuition increases may be inevitable to prevent public universities from slipping, a group of students demanded a detailed accounting of how their money is spent.

Students still protest increases despite UNC board's postponed vote
The Herald-Sun
For weeks, public university students from across the state had planned to converge Friday at the UNC system's offices to protest a series of proposed tuition increases....In most cases, the requests are for $300. At UNC Chapel Hill, trustees want to add $300 to in-state tuition and $1,500 to out-of-state rates.

Council will hear public comments on possible storm water utility
The Herald-Sun
Residents will have a chance tonight to tell the Town Council their thoughts on the idea of creating a storm water utility, which the town would use to reduce problems like flooding, erosion and pollution of local waterways after heavy rains.

OWASA moves forward on campus water plan
The Chapel Hill News
Pledging to keep customers and governing boards informed as a detailed agreement is developed, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority board of directors Thursday approved a letter of understanding with UNC on a joint water-reclamation project....Carolyn Elfland, UNC's associate vice chancellor for campus services, told the OWASA board that a signed letter would bolster the university's application for a North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant.

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.