January 21, 2004

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

National Coverage

WHO's Plan to Fight Obesity Meets Resistance From the U.S.
The Wall Street Journal
The World Health Organization is pushing ahead with an aggressive plan to
fight the growing problem of obesity around the world, despite resistance to
some parts of the plan from the U.S. government and major food and drink
makers....Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North
Carolina's School of Public Health, called the move a stalling tactic and said
challenging the WHO on technical grounds ignores a larger body of scientific
work on the causes of obesity.

Folic Acid Crucial Throughout Pregnancy
NBC News Feed - WLBT-TV, MS; WAFF, AL; WIS, SC; WAVY-TV, VA
There's a new connection between folic acid and pregnancy. Doctors have said
for years it was important early in pregnancy. Now, there's some indication it
might be important late term as well...."What our work is really showing if you get
later in pregnancy there is still an important effect of folic acid on division of stem
cells that are going to make area of brain develop," said Steven Zeisel, MD, Phd,
nutrition researcher, UNCH School of Public Health.
Note: NBC News Feed, based in Charlotte, shared material from an interview with NBC affiliates nationwide.

State and Local Coverage

UNC trustees rethink tuition call
The News & Observer
Now that UNC-Chapel Hill students and professors have mobilized against a $1,500 out-of-state tuition increase, trustees face a dicey decision today.

UNC trustees to study raised-tuition scenarios
The Chapel Hill Herald
With opinions flying on campus about a potential tuition increase, UNC's Board of
Trustees will meet today to choose a plan from what's shaping up as a very long list
of options.

Nanotechnology Center Advances Triangle as High-Tech Hub
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
A state-of-the-art tool delivered to North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus will allow faculty and students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and N.C. State to take a huge step forward in nanofabrication, or the fabrication of very small things.

All sweeteners are not equal
The Charlotte Observer
So you're cutting back on sugar for the new year? Good move.  Added sugar in soft drinks and other sweet treats is a substantial contributor to excess weight and to obesity. Sugar, as well as excess weight, also raises blood triglyceride and sugar levels. That raises the risk for diabetes and coronary artery disease....Suzanne
Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and an adjunct assistant professor in the
department of health policy at UNC Chapel Hill.

Phipps scandal becomes GOP campaign weapon
Associated Press
N.C. Republicans have already made clear one part of their campaign strategy for 2004:  Hang Meg Scott Phipps around the Democrats' neck like the proverbial albatross....Ferrell Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill, isn't convinced the Phipps scandal will do any substantial harm to Democrats.

Study: Primary Care Doctors Not Aware Of Latest Heart Failure Treatments
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
North Carolina has some of the best heart centers in the country. Still, many people with heart failure are not getting the standard care they need. A study finds the problem may lie with their primary care physician...."So we need to bring in all the generalists who are taking care of these patients -- obviously they are taking care of all kinds of diseases -- but we need to try to simplify it as much as possible," said Dr. Carla Sueta, a cardiologist at the UNC School of Medicine.

What ants tell us about people
The News & Observer
OK, he's not as hot as The White Stripes. He can't touch Jay-Z....But in global scientific and conservation circles, Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson is as big as they come....These days, Wilson is in demand around the world. He's in the Triangle this week to give lectures at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University.

Mission to Mars propels the imagination (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill News
Soon as I heard that President Bush would send a man, or woman, to the red planet, I was ready to go....I wondered what real scientists make of all the Mars hoopla (one told me, "I think sending the president to Mars is a great idea"), and the reaction is mixed. Holden Thorp, a chemist who runs the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, has some questions about the scientific efficacy of manned space exploration but likes the new attention to space, which can only help the Morehead as it embarks on an expansion campaign.

County urged to stop deficit spending cycle
The Charlotte Observer
Year after year Gaston County is spending more than it is collecting in revenue, and one county commissioner says that needs to change....The concept of basing spending on the previous year's revenue is unusual, said Jack Vogt, who specializes in local government finances at the Institute of Government at UNC Chapel Hill.

Issues and Trends

Bush Expresses Support for Community Colleges and Pell Grants, but Provides No Details
The Chronicle of Higher Education
In his State of the Union message Tuesday, President Bush proposed to increase federal support for community colleges to provide job training. He also proposed increasing the amounts of Pell Grants for secondary-school students who take "demanding" college-preparatory courses.

State Budget Writers Are Urged to Protect College Access and Affordability
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Higher tuition rates and slashed state appropriations to colleges denied at least 250,000 prospective students access to college in the 2003-4 fiscal year, and governors and state lawmakers must enact "emergency measures" to keep that number from growing in 2004-5, according to the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education.

Professors ready to lobby for better raises
The Charlotte Observer
For the first time in years -- and some say ever -- faculty at North Carolina's public universities are coming together to lobby lawmakers for pay raises....The topic is scheduled for discussion at Friday's meeting of the Faculty Assembly, the group that represents professors at all 16 UNC campuses.

Lobbying proposal is not necessary (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
It may be true that The Chapel Hill Town Council has a problem with sub rosa lobbying activity, but a proposed solution would be killing a gnat with a sledge hammer.

Madison's lobby law exempts university
The Herald-Sun
Town officials might get some ideas from studying an ordinance in Madison, Wis., that requires lobbyists to register with the city, but they won't learn much about how that ordinance affects town-gown relations....In Chapel Hill, UNC Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Nancy Suttenfield said she didn't know enough about the lobbying-registration idea to offer a take on it. But she said the university's goal has been to improve communication, not to lobby
council members.

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.