February 23, 2005

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

McDonald's Gets Healthier -- But Burgers Still Rule
The Wall Street Journal
McDonald's Corp., frequently blamed for aggravating a global obesity epidemic, plans to expand its healthier menu offerings -- but cautiously, so people remember that the Golden Arches at its core still means burgers and fries.....He said the caloric intake of young adults and teenagers in the past two decades has risen only 1%, but physical activity has declined 13% or 14%, citing an analysis of federal statistics by the University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill.
Subscription required.

Big Moms, Big Problems
The Washington Post
Tonja Schnelle's first pregnancy was progressing normally -- until she hit 32 weeks....A recent study by the University of North Carolina and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development found that 69 percent of healthy-weight women gained "excessive" amounts during their pregnancies; among overweight women, the figure was 85 percent; among the obese, 79 percent.

State & Local Note

WUNC-FM aired a story this morning on the Carolina Covenant mentor program. Shirley Ort, director of scholarship and student aid, explained that many Covenant students carry the extra burden of needing to send money home to help their families.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb05/covenant022105.html

State & Local Coverage

Textile layoffs expected to continue
The Charlotte Observer
Layoffs of North Carolina's textile and apparel workers have continued at such a rate that 2005 may be recorded as the second-worst year ever for the industry, economists say...."Layoffs have been incessant," said Patrick Conway, an economist at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Winthrop gives summer reading
The Charlotte Observer
Incoming Winthrop freshmen will have an assignment before school even starts, but it's one that administrators say will help them get adjusted to college and create an automatic springboard for discussion....Some schools have even sparked national debate for their choice of assignments, such as when UNC-Chapel Hill asked students to read Michael Sells' "Approaching the Quran," about the Muslim holy book, in 2002.

Startup halfway to raising $24M
Triangle Business Journal
Drug startup Parion Sciences has raised $12 million, about half of a targeted $24 million in third round funding, marking the company's largest fundraiser since its founding in 2001.....The company has on its executive team Dr. Richard Boucher, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor and cystic fibrosis researcher, and Sam Hopkins, a former vice president of medical affairs at Trimeris.

The tail wagging the Heels (Commentary)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The folks who run the athletics department at UNC-Chapel Hill are po' mouthin' because they don't have enough money to pay tuition for all the jocks they want to hire, er, recruit.

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.