Feb. 1, 2007

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Study: Binge eating is No. 1 food disorder in USA
USA Today
Binge eating disorder — frequent, uncontrolled bouts of eating without purging — is the most common eating disorder in the USA, more widespread than anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, according to the first large-scale national survey on these conditions. ...Eating disorders are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, says psychologist Cynthia Bulik, a professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/geneticsanorexia022806.htm

How Hallucinogens Play Their Mind-Bending Games
Scientific American
Zeroing in on a group of cells in a high layer of the cortex, a team of researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute may finally have found the cause of the swirling textures, blurry visions and signal-crossing synesthesia brought on by hallucinogenic drugs like LSD, peyote and "'shrooms." "There's this huge body of literature about these compounds, and I think this paper begins to nail down how the heck they're working in the brain," says Bryan Roth, a pharmacologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sharing science in virtual world
McClatchy Newspapers
Offline, Bora Zivkovic is an unemployed biologist struggling with his dissertation in Chapel Hill, N.C. ... More than 150 scientists, teachers, bloggers and journalists came to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill to talk about the technology that some think has the potential to reshape the world of science and bring it to the masses.

Old? Just exactly who are you calling old?
McClatchy Newspapers
Americans are no longer headed, depressingly, into a uniform "old age." Instead, they'll encounter what are called the three divisions of aging. ..."Our conception of what is old has changed dramatically," says Victor Marshall, director of the Institute on Aging at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "If someone is acting in a very confident way, they sort of get exempted from being old."

A Hug A Day Could Save Your Life
Fox News
Everyone knows that Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day, but most people don’t know why we celebrate it in the first place. ...Some 1,700 years later, researchers at the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill would prove Valentine was right on target. Psychologist Karen Grewen conducted a study in which 100 adults with spouses or long-term partners were instructed to hold hands while viewing an enjoyable 10-minute video.

Ready, Set, Campaign: 2008 Presidential Race Starts Early
"Newshour," PBS
In the first presidential election since 1928 without a sitting president or vice president running, more than a dozen hopefuls already have lined up for the race, making for one of the longest campaign seasons ever. ...Edwards ran for vice president with Massachusetts senator John Kerry in 2004 and now runs an anti-poverty center at the University of North Carolina.

Regional Coverage

Long-term impact of concussions
KING-TV (NBC, Seattle)
The Super Bowl, the biggest football game of the year, is sure to come with some big hits and supersized plays. ... "How many have you before, of those that you had were they mild grade one concussions - were they serious, severe grade three concussions," said Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State and Local Coverage

Moeser calls again for citizens' advice
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC Chancellor James Moeser renewed his call on Wednesday for the university and the town to appoint local residents to advisory committees for campus building projects, including at least one group for Carolina North. ...But Moeser said on Wednesday he wants to move forward with the law group, and also suggested forming a citizens' committee to advise UNC on an incubator for start-up companies that is being planned for Carolina North.
Related link: http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=2810

Carolina North panel turns in its report
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
"So, how's the baby?" former Carrboro Alderman Allen Spalt asked former Chapel Hill Mayor Ken Broun on Wednesday morning. Broun was about to deliver, to UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, a nine-page report developed over the past 10 months by the Carolina North Leadership Advisory Committee, which Broun moderated.
Related link: http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news
/2007/02/01/City/Moeser.Receives.Carolina.North.Report-2690205.
shtml?sourcedomain=www.dailytarheel.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

UNC: Success and access for all can go hand in hand (Opinion-editorial column)
The Independent Weekly
An article in the Jan. 17 issue of the Independent asserted that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had lost sight of its mission and that our quest for quality was only about the rankings. It is true that we are always striving to be better, but that has nothing to do with the rankings. ...James Moeser is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

UNC Health Care: We share patients' frustration (Opinion-editorial column)
The Independent Weekly
The Jan. 17 issue of the Independent Weekly criticized UNC Health Care for its financial practices. The frustration with the cost of health care, who pays and how was evident: "[T]oday, the major problems facing UNC Hospitals and many others are the declining revenue from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance and the ever-increasing cost of operating large, geographically separated health systems, plus the growing number of patients without health insurance because of the collapse of manufacturing in North Carolina." ...Dr. William L. Roper is the chief executive officer of UNC Health Care System.

Flawed on arrival (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Americans naturally assume that the White House thoroughly examines a major new policy before wheeling it out for public consumption. ...Dr. William L. Roper, head of UNC Health Care, said in a separate meeting that he has asked the state attorney general to take action when insurance companies underpay for services.

Hospitals may drop freebies
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Mothers delivering at some local hospitals might be saying goodbye to those free diaper bags filled with goodies. ...Mary Rose Tully, UNC Hospitals' director of lactation services, said the guidelines aren't about forcing women to breast-feed but rather "removing the barriers" for women who choose to do so.'

UNC fundraiser nears target
The Daily Tar Heel
Ten million dollars might sound like a lot of money, but for the Carolina First campaign it's just pocket change. ..."Amongst those various categories, facilities doesn't draw as many people because it tends to be less attractive to the vast majority of people," said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction.

Duke gets a 'B', UNC a 'C' in sustainability report card
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
...UNC got grades of "A," "B," "C," "B," "F," "C" and "F," respectively. ...UNC was praised for hiring a variety of staff members to promote sustainability, but got a "C" in the investment category for not making statements about investing in renewable energy funds or community development loan funds.

N.C. slow to lure high-tech immigrants
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
North Carolina trails many other states when it comes to attracting highly skilled immigrants who are significant contributors to the U.S. high-technology industry, a study involving Duke University has found. ...John Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC Chapel Hill, said the number of highly educated immigrants entering the U.S. has decreased since security measures were enacted following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Krispy Kreme moving forward
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The first question posed by a shareholder at Krispy Kreme's annual meeting was a doozy: "What are the prospects of coming out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy?" ...C.L. Kendall, 79, a retiree who was a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, has no doubt that Brewster is the right executive to lead Krispy Kreme. Kendall taught Brewster when the CEO was an MBA student at Kenan-Flagler. "He was an outstanding student, outstanding guy," said Kendall, who purchased 2,000 shares of Krispy Kreme after Brewster was named CEO.

Bailey Middle attracting private school students
The Charlotte Observer
Melanie Alexander of Davidson paid close to $13,000 last year to send her daughter Kelsey to Cannon School in Concord to avoid the overcrowded Bradley Middle in Huntersville. ...Suzanne Gulledge, director of the Middle Grades Teacher Education Program at UNC Chapel Hill, said when parents look at several factors in choosing a school for their kids. Those include how attentive the school is to students and parents' accessibility to school officials.

Can board deliver on intentions?
The Charlotte Observer
The new Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners says it wants to be more open, efficient and collaborative with other governments. ..."The members really see pretty clearly the challenges the county faces," said retreat facilitator Phil Boyle, a professor at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government and president of Leading & Governing Associates Inc., a consulting firm.

Did cable deal talks break law?
The Charlotte Observer
The private meetings that local governments have been holding to negotiate the potential purchase of the area cable system may violate state law, a local government expert said. ...But David Lawrence, a local government expert with the UNC School of Government, said the group could be considered a public body under the N.C. Open Meetings Law because it includes representatives from public bodies.

Issues and Trends

Don't rubberstamp it (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
There's a saying: "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." Members of the University of North Carolina system board of governors ought to live by it when they review requests next week to hike tuition at most of the state's universities, including UNC Charlotte.

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.