Feb. 17, 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

Illinois Student Paper Prints Muslim Cartoons, and Reaction Is Swift
The New York Times
Since the morning the cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad were republished in the student newspaper at the University of Illinois here, response has been swift and split. ...Other student newspapers, including those at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, have published their own cartoons that comment on or refer to the controversial cartoons.

Current administration seems to relish media's anger
Knight Ridder Newspapers
To many on the outside, it looked like a mistake when Vice President Dick Cheney failed to notify the White House press corps first of his shooting accident. But in the White House, it reflected a strategy of marginalizing the press. ..."Ideally, televising the briefings should add to the transparency of the White House. But it's become less. It's how the White House can use the event to its advantage," said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Bush Administration Decides It Can't Afford Children's Study
Science Magazine
The White House wants to cancel a massive study of U.S. children's health ordered up 6 years ago by Congress. The 2007 budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), submitted to Congress earlier this month by President George W. Bush, contains no money for the effort. ...Scientists at these seven centers plan to keep working on the study's design and outreach efforts until they hear otherwise. "My hope is that things will change and the study will be mounted," says one principal investigator, demographer Barbara Entwisle of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Novel Attacks on HIV Move Closer to Reality
Science Magazine
Neither the hunt for an AIDS vaccine nor the search for a cure has made much progress lately, but at the 13th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections held here last week, researchers reported several advances that may lead to novel ways to treat and prevent HIV infection, as well as to a clearer understanding of the epidemic's origins. ...In a new study of the same design, CDC's Walid Heneine and co-workers added FTC to tenofovir (a combination drug sold commercially as Truvada) and found that all six monkeys remained protected after 14 challenges. "I think it's fantastic," said Myron Cohen of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "It's an extremely compelling piece of work that raises the ante of what we should test."

State & Local Coverage

'First School' still in discussion
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board members decided Thursday to continue talking with UNC-Chapel Hill about opening a new kind of school. The "First School" would be built on UNC land behind Seawell Elementary. It would bring in 3-year-olds and teach them through second grade, leaving Seawell Elementary serving grades three through five. Other programs could fill Seawell's empty classrooms, school board Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey said.

Younger children may leave Seawell
The Chapel Hill Herald
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board began considering Thursday the possibility of making Seawell Elementary house only grades three to five -- and sending the younger children to a school a local child development institute wants to build nearby. ...Under a proposal worked on by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, the so-called First School would enroll about 500 students in preschool through second grade in 21 classrooms. The school would be on UNC's Carolina North property, adjacent to the elementary school, which is on Seawell School Road between Estes Drive and Homestead Road.

Fire damages UNC chiller plant
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A UNC-Chapel Hill campus cooling tower caught fire Thursday afternoon, causing an undetermined amount of damage. A Chapel Hill firefighter taken to UNC Hospitals was in fair condition Thursday evening. No other injuries were reported, according to UNC's Department of Public Safety.
Related Link: http://www.wral.com/news/7126269/detail.html
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/chillerplant021706.htm

Utility work closes Chapel Hill street
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Pittsboro Street between Cameron and McCauley streets, next to the Carolina Inn on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, remained closed for emergency utility repairs Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, engineers checking a utility tunnel that runs under the road noticed some damage to the tunnel's roof. Vibration caused by heavy vehicle traffic directly above the tunnel could exacerbate the damage.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/pittsboroclosing021506.htm

Give pedestrian respect (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill Herald
As I was walking in to work this morning, I waited to cross Rosemary Street at South Columbia Street. When the signal changed, I began to cross. The pedestrian on the other side of the crosswalk did the same, and as he did, he was nearly struck by a car. ... Some of my first thought were of the recent fines implemented by the UNC Department of Public Saftey for jaywalkers. The department has attempted to address this issue with some helpful hints on its Web site.
Note: No link available.

Walk the walk (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Regarding your Feb. 14 story about UNC-Chapel Hill handing out tickets for jaywalking, many students apparently feel as if they have a right to walk out in front of traffic, cross against the light and otherwise abuse the rights given to pedestrians.

Market still keen on Hillsborough
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sitting among lime green "I [heart] My Co-op" balloons, Hillsborough residents sent up a cheer Thursday night to reassurances that the Weaver Street Market grocery cooperative still planned to open a store in Hillsborough, despite the Board of Adjustment's recent denial of plans that would bring the market to Churton Street. ...Tom Campanella, a member of the town's planning board and an assistant professor in city and regional planning at UNC-Chapel Hill, said a market in Hillsborough "would be the crown jewel of downtown revival."

Regional Partnership Head Leaving Early To Join Parton Project
The Associated Press (N.C.)
The head of a regional economic partnership will leave his job six months earlier than expected to join an effort by the brother of country singer Dolly Parton to build a proposed $129 million entertainment project in northeast North Carolina. ...The 1,500-seat Randy Parton Theater is scheduled to open in April 2007 as the centerpiece of a planned 800-acre music and entertainment district in Roanoke Rapids in Halifax County. It would host concerts of country, pop, beach and gospel music. The project could create more than 12,000 jobs over the next five years, according to a study from the University of North Carolina.

Triad gets first FM Latino station
The Greensboro News & Record
Radio listeners, it's time to say 'adios' to 94.5 The Beat. Late Thursday, the hip-hop station became the Triad's first FM Spanish-language offering. ...In 2004, Hispanics made up 7 percent of the state's population, according to a study released in January by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/economicimpact010306.htm

Tar Heel shoppers find reasons to keep buying
Business North Carolina
With energy costs, personal debt and bankruptcies rising, Tar Heel shoppers could be excused for leaving their money under their mattresses this year. But Jim Smith, a finance professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, thinks merchants will ring up more sales. "It's all functions of income and confidence." A surprisingly strong economy boosted personal incomes 3% in the state through the first nine months of 2005, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Still, Smith says, some households will have to make changes because of rising energy costs, and few economists would be surprised by volatile prices in 2006, similar to those of 2005.

Horton online (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Your Feb. 6 article ("Illiterate and enslaved, this poet persisted") about George Moses Horton brought well-deserved attention to a remarkable life. Readers who wish to experience Horton's writing first-hand should know about Documenting the American South (http://docsouth.unc.edu), a digital publishing project by the University Library at UNC-Chapel Hill. ...Judith Panitch, Director, Library Communications, University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill.

Observer photographers honored
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte Observer staff photographers won several awards and honorable mentions in the 2005 Pictures of the Year contest sponsored by the N.C. Press Photographers Association. ...Raymond Jones of UNC-Chapel Hill was named student photographer of the year, an award he also won last year. Justin Cook, also of UNC-Chapel Hill, was named runner-up. The awards were announced Sunday at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where the judging took place. This year's competition attracted 3,426 entries from 75 professional and student photographers in North Carolina.

Hi-tech red lights to smooth traffic
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Traffic in Durham could be flowing more smoothly by August if a new traffic synchronization system lives up to its promise. The system, which will be commanded from City Hall, is being installed at 320 intersections throughout the Bull City. It's safe to say that thousands of road weary motorists can hardly wait. ... An added benefit to signal synchronization is a reduction in vehicle emissions linked to asthma. Although synchronization doesn't reduce miles traveled, it does reduce emissions by allowing drivers to maintain speed, says Asad Khattack, director of the Carolina Transportation Program at UNC Chapel Hill.
Note: No link available.

Issues & Trends

Access, priorities, service
The Charlotte Observer
Don't let anybody tell you that our state is not very generous to higher education, because it is. Whether you look at the percentage of the state's budget and compare what we get to other states, or whether you look at it on a per capita basis, our state legislature is very generous to us. ...From remarks made to the UNC Board of Governors by President Erskine Bowles.

Engineering center finds its home
The Charlotte Observer
A regional economic development group has purchased the former Corning Cable Systems research building in Hickory to use as the N.C. Center for Engineering Technologies. ...By July, the center should officially be part of the University of North Carolina system: Future Forward plans to transfer ownership to UNC after completing renovations.

Praise pours in for Horton
The Chapel Hill Herald
Town Manager Cal Horton will trade council meetings and budget reviews for more time with his family on Sept. 1, after 40 years of working in local government. ..."I think it's the most important decision we're going to make for the next several years," Foy said, with major issues such as UNC's envisioned Carolina North project on the horizon.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/401158.html

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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