Feb. 21, 2007

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

An aspirin a day...
The Associated Press (International)
Nearly all American women are in danger of heart disease or stroke and should be more aggressive about lowering their risk, including asking their doctors about daily aspirin use, the American Heart Association said Monday in new guidelines. ..."This is a really good gathering of evidence in women," after years of studies done mostly on men, said Dr. Sidney Smith, heart disease chief at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and past heart association president.

National Coverage

Business ethics and the bottom line
The Christian Science Monitor
Recent news of a New York cabbie tracking down a passenger to return a forgotten bag of diamond rings is a story that speaks to human honesty. It could find a place in ethics courses, and maybe it will - business schools are busily pushing ethics training. ..."Ethics in business schools was formerly addressed as 'don't lie, don't cheat, and don't steal,' " commented survey respondent Steve Jones, dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

New right order in court
Los Angeles Times
It has been two decades in the making, but this is the year Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court's most outspoken dissenter, could emerge as a leader of a new conservative majority among the justices. ..."Justice Scalia has had a bigger impact off the court than on it," said Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina.

Permanent waste lagoon ban urged
The Associated Press (National)
Environmentalists and neighbors of hog farms in Eastern North Carolina urged lawmakers Tuesday to permanently ban new hog waste lagoons that they say harbor contamination and breed illness. ...Steve Wing, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health, said it wouldn't reduce the pollution caused by lagoons or address other health problems at hog farms, such as respiratory illnesses of workers in buildings where pigs are confined.

Hudson's landmark 'Vogue' cover: Size doesn't matter
McClatchy Newspapers
You might want to save that next issue of Vogue. Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson is on the cover. ..."I'm hoping they are taking a health stance," says Cynthia Bulik, a University of North Carolina professor of eating disorders and director of the school's Eating Disorders Program. "I hope they are the first ones to stick their necks out and acknowledge this."

Major metropolitan areas may not be best cites for jobs, according to 'Forbes' list
Forbes.com
Oklahoma has inspired its share of songs and one memorable musical. But it's not exactly a top destination for recent college graduates looking for work. ...Raleigh, N.C., topped our list this year. The city has low unemployment, strong income and job growth, and high incomes — yet it still maintains a relatively low cost of living. Raleigh is part of the "research triangle," including Durham and Chapel Hill. Three major universities — Duke, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University — make their homes in the area.

Regional Coverage

Bartiromo high on investor options
The San Antonio Express-News
CNBC financial journalist Maria Bartiromo has some advice for Trinity University students: "Always do the right thing." ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Chris Roush, director of the Carolina Business News Initiative, has a different view. "What I have a problem with is the fact that it didn't appear that she was on the Citigroup plane for any story," he said.

Lessons in leg power
The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.)
From his office at Hilltop Elementary in Inver Grove Heights, Principal Tom Barker sees parents drop off their children a block away and wait in their cars until the kids enter the school. ...Overcoming parent concerns and making routes to school safe and enjoyable are critical, said Lauren Marchetti, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State and Local Coverage

Help's coming, but more is needed (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The Carolina Covenant is more than just a creative way to allow students from low-income families to graduate from Carolina debt-free. It is also a state and national model. The covenant guarantees that students from families whose income is significantly below the federal poverty level can graduate in four years without owing anything.

Roses & Raspberries
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to the Cain Foundation, whose $100 million gift to UNC's Morehead Scholars program will be an enormous boost to that prestigious institution. The gift from the Cain Foundation -- named for the late petrochemical magnate Gordon Cain and his wife, Mary -- is one of the largest gifts ever presented to an undergraduate scholarship program.
Morehead Foundation release: http://www.themorehead.org/servlets/RouterServlet?handler=News&start=0&act=publicview&id=326

PlayMakers holding talk and open house
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
PlayMakers Repertory Company will host two free events in the Paul Green Theatre on Country Club Road on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. At noon today, director Trezana Beverley will discuss the upcoming production "The Bluest Eye." The play, based on Toni Morrison's first novel, will run from Feb. 28 through March 25.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/bluesteye022007.html

'AIDS at 25' will be focus
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
"AIDS at 25: It's Time to Deliver" is the topic of the 28th annual Minority Health Conference to be held Friday at UNC's William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education. The event is sponsored by the UNC School of Public Health.
Related link: http://www.chapelhillnews.com/106/story/5640.html
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb07/mhc022007.html

Panel talks about health
The Winston-Salem Journal
From genetic testing to weight loss and smoking cessation at work, North Carolinians will have to take more responsibility for their own well-being, and their employers must invest in preventive care as health costs rise, according to speakers at a business conference yesterday. ...Just 7 percent of employers and 30 percent of employees participate in comprehensive workplace health promotion, said Laura Linnan, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Public Health, who spoke at yesterday's conference.

New push to make women aware of heart disease
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Women still haven't gotten the message that heart disease - not cancer - is most likely to send them to their graves. So the American Heart Association has pulled a conceptual U-turn in its prevention efforts. ..."If you look at 10-year risk in a woman in her 40s, it might look pretty good, when, in fact, that woman's actual risk for heart disease is quite high," said Dr. Sidney Smith, a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill cardiologist and past president of the American Heart Association.

Big-box stores offer good-for-you groceries at good prices (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Looking for good prices on good-quality, high-nutrition convenience foods and staples? You might be surprised at what you can find in the towering big-box store grocery aisles. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.

Online breakup is dramatic -- or is it drama?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It used to be couples broke up quietly over dinner, over the phone, via e-mail, via text message. But in the age of cell phone cameras and the video-sharing site YouTube, a breakup at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has played out before thousands: 160,000 as of Tuesday and counting.

What is the proper way for white people to observe Black History Month? (Column)
Up & Coming Weekly
Some whites just step aside and "let them have their time," the same way blacks used to do when whites celebrated Confederate holidays. ..."No other state in the American South has left a more indelible impression on African American literature before the twentieth century than has North Carolina," writes UNC-Chapel Hill Professor William L. Andrews.

Issues and Trends

Easley gains support for grants
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gov. Mike Easley's proposal to give some students an opportunity for a debt-free college degree has won praise from education leaders, who say it would expand the state's college-going population. "We are in lockstep with the governor on this," UNC President Erskine Bowles said after Easley's State of the State speech Monday night.

Governor's guarantee comes with a caution (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
UNC-Chapel Hill offers the Carolina Covenant, N.C. State the Pack Promise. Call this the Governor's Guarantee. In his State of the State address Monday night, Mike
Easley laid out a path for students from low- and moderate-income families to earn a four-year university degree debt-free. If the legislature funds the plan, more North
Carolinians can prepare themselves to succeed in a demanding new economy ... if they're prepared to succeed in college.
Related link: http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770220067

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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