January 5, 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

Delta caps fares, relaxes some rules
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ailing Delta Air Lines says it is capping and simplifying fares in a bid to improve both its image and its bottom line....That will likely boost traffic and bring another round of cost-cutting at struggling carriers, predicted John Kasarda, director of the University of North Carolina's Center for Air Commerce.

Delta takes low fares national
The Enquirer (Cincinnati)
As anticipated, Delta Air Lines will take its cheaper fare structure national today, which could lead to big changes industry wide - but at considerable risk for the financially struggling company...."There are no guarantees here, but the current structure did have one certain guarantee - bankruptcy," said John D. Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina.

State & Local Coverage

Dr. Frank Longo
Metro Magazine
For someone trained to care for people's well-being, Dr. Frank Longo certainly has a lot of nerve....Regarded as a visionary by his peers, he is a driving force at UNC Hospital's outreach and treatment efforts for brain disorders.

Bland Simpson
"Our State" UNC-TV
Chapel Hill author, musician, songwriter, historian, and storyteller extraordinaire takes us on a whopper of a ride when he tells us of a kayaker who loses his boat, and all of his possessions in it, somewhere along the Intercoastal Waterway. Along the way, you come to understand that what's not fable in this story is the great lengths that folks from Down East will go to to help a traveler in their midst.
Note: This show begins airing tonight at 8 p.m. and repeats numerous times throughout the month.

Discussion program on books schedules
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
if you like to read and talk about books, you might want to check out the Chapel Hill Public Library's "Books Sandwiched In" program....In August, the group will discuss the book selected for the UNC-Chapel Hill Summer Reading Program.

Big Changes In Store For RDU
WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh)
Analysts say big changes are in store for air travelers out of Raleigh-Durham International as the airport begins what could be a year of tremendous change....Dr. John Kasarda, a business professor at the University of North Carolina's Keenan Institute, told NBC 17 RDU's $350 million renovation of Terminal C will coincide with a period of increased air travel at the airport.

Boosters in short supply
The Charlotte Observer
If your child is affected by the state's new child-restraint law and you don't have a booster seat yet, happy hunting....Bill Hall of UNC Chapel Hill's Highway Safety Research Center told the Observer on Tuesday that he hadn't heard of anyone being ticketed yet.

Durham's debt plan receives state's OK
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The city's proposed refinancing of $107 million in debt moved another step forward Tuesday when the state's Local Government Commission unanimously approved the deal over one City Council member's objections....Jack Vogt, a professor of public finance and government at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government, cautioned Durham that local governments have relatively little experience with this new form of debt refinancing.

Enabling pollution (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Economists like to say that a system of tradable pollution rights can provide the most efficient means to reduce air or water pollution, as compared with regulations setting maximum limits....Stanley W. Black, Lurcy Professor of Economics,UNC-Chapel Hill

Issues & Trends

Paying for college just got harder
The Christian Science Monitor
One education publication dubbed it the "December surprise": Two days before Christmas, the Bush administration announced it was revising the formulas for its Pell Grants - the federal government's primary aid vehicle for America's neediest college students - in a way that may leave 1.3 million students receiving a smaller amount, and 90,000 off the rolls altogether.

Patients first (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Higher health care costs belong with death and taxes on the list of modern inevitabilities. In North Carolina, that's especially so. Costs rose here faster than the national average during the 1990s, and are predicted to repeat that pattern this decade.

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.