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Jan. 11, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
A find on footpath outside the bank (Opinion-editorial column)
The Sydney Morning Herald
Unusual times offer home buyers mortgages with a silver lining writes Peter Martin. ...Professor James Smith of the University of North Carolina has several times been recognised as that nation's most accurate economic forecaster. He says an inverted yield curve has preceded each of the past four US recessions. In his words: "When the curve inverts, run for the exits."
National Coverage
Heart Patients Not Taking Meds As Directed
HealthDay News
A lot of people with heart disease aren't taking the medications their doctors prescribe for them as often as they should, cardiologists report. ...There has been some progress toward improving compliance, noted Dr. Sidney Smith, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, but his accompanying editorial in the journal said, "We have miles to go before we sleep."
Edwards brings crusade on poverty to Seattle
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Poverty is a great moral issue facing the country, and Americans have an obligation to address it, John Edwards, the former senator and vice presidential candidate, said Tuesday in Seattle. ...Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina and the 2004 running mate of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, is now the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina.
HISD's bonus system is likely to pass
The Houston Chronicle
Houston's plan to reward top teachers with bonuses upwards of $3,000 is expected to win school board approval on Thursday, but district officials warned it comes with a new testing policy that makes it harder for teachers to cheat to get the money. ...Gregory Cizek, a University of North Carolina professor who recently completed a review of Texas' testing security at the state's request, said the extra effort should help prevent cheating.
Knight Ridder honored for stories on veterans' issues
Knight Ridder Newspapers
A series of stories on veterans' issues by the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau was among three winners of the Philip Meyer Awards, which recognize the best use of sophisticated social science research methods and computer-assisted reporting techniques. ...The awards are in honor of Philip Meyer, the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a reporter, he pioneered the use of in-depth research methods in journalism.
Regional Coverage
State gave boost to higher education funding
The Albany Times Union
As politicians, policy wonks and others wonder what Gov. George Pataki will do with SUNY Chancellor John Ryan's first budget request, they may want to keep themselves warm with the memory of last year. ...The survey ranked the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as the nation's best bargain.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/kiplingers010906.htmCollege bargains
The Tallahassee Democrat
When a parent or student complains that the cost of college is quite a burden, that $500 bill for a semester's worth of books knocking a real hole in the budget, or that the Legislature or Board of Governors ought not even think about raising tuition, cooler thinking truly should prevail. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been at the top of this list since 1998, when the survey was started.
Related Link: http://www.kbsd6.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=KBSD/MGArticle/BSD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128769251983U-M receives patent for cancer-treating method
The Detroit Free Press
In a new direction for cancer treatment, the University of Michigan received a patent Tuesday on a method that targets proteins on the outside of cancer cells believed to drive tumor growth. ...Dr. Thomas Shea, a University of North Carolina medical oncologist and member of the media advisory committee for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a leading cancer research organization, cautioned that human applications of the research might be years away.
Revolutionizing health care (Opinion-editorial column)
The Washington Times
This is the first month of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Most media accounts insist that the worst feature of the plan is the fact that people, not the government, get to decide where to get their drugs from. ..."This is a test case," says Jonathan Oberlander, a University of North Carolina political scientist. "It's a theory in search of population, and they've found the wrong population. A lot of what you're seeing is what happens when you try to turn seniors and people with disabilities into computer-linked consumers. It's insanity."
Mountain’ divide
The Gazette (Colorado Springs)
“Brokeback Mountain,” which opens Friday in Colorado Springs, is billed as an “epic American love story,” a romance between star-crossed soulmates in the wilds of rugged Wyoming. ...Richard Cante, assistant professor of media and culture and faculty member of the sexuality studies program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says there are deeper themes that could engage a broader audience: the tension between man and nature, the passage of time, and the risk and courage needed to buck the herd mentality.
State & Local Coverage
UNC law professor called to testify (Question-answer)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Michael J. Gerhardt is set to testify Thursday in nomination hearings for Samuel A. Alito Jr. The Democrats called on him to be one of their witnesses. A constitutional law expert who testified before the House Judiciary Committee in 1998 on the history of the impeachment process, Gerhardt said he wants to encourage the Senate to be fair but tough on Alito.
UNC News Tip: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/supremetip103105.htmlUNC Professor To Testify At Alito Hearings
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
On Thursday, one of the Triangle's own will become part of the history of the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The UNC professor was called to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. ...“I suspect it'll be certainly interesting,” said Professor Mike Gerhardt of the UNC School of Law. “It could be intense.”UNC-Chapel Hill Ranked No. 1 For Fifth Consecutive Time By Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
The Lincoln Tribune
Gov. Mike Easley today announced that five North Carolina Universities are ranked in the top 50 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance as the “Best Values” among the nation’s public colleges and universities. The magazine will be available today on newsstands across the country. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is ranked No. 1 for the fifth consecutive time.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/kiplingers010906.htm
Hispanic Economic Impact
WUNC-FM
Census figures have long shown that North Carolina’s Spanish-speaking population is one of the fastest growing in the nation. A new report by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC takes a closer look at the migration of Hispanics to the state – and what that means in dollars and cents. Many Hispanics in North Carolina say they welcome proof of their economic power.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/economicimpact010306.htmImmigration's impact (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
"Immigration has always been a two-edged issue in the American psyche." That assertion from UNCG professor and researcher Andrew Brod, prompted by a recent UNC-Chapel Hill study on the economic impact of the state's Hispanic population, resonates when we consider our nation's history. ...By shedding light on the many issues surrounding Hispanic immigration in the state, the UNC-CH study can help advance policies to benefit all North Carolinians.
Carolina North to get a fresh look
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The leader of a new advisory committee on the future Carolina North research campus plans to scrap close to $1 million and several years' worth of planning. Forget about all of it, Ken Broun says, at least for now. The former Chapel Hill mayor and current UNC-Chapel Hill law professor wants the Leadership Advisory Committee on Carolina North to start with a clean slate.Insight into Carolina North panel
The Chapel Hill Herald
I thought it useful to give some additional information regarding the Leadership Advisory Committee for Carolina North, announced by Chancellor Moeser in his letters to Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton and Orange County Board of Commissioners Chairman Barry Jacobs. The purpose of the committee is to get community input on Carolina North from as broad a range of interests as possible. The process is intended to produce a set of principles that will guide the university in its preparation of plans that will be submitted to the local governing bodies in their regulatory functions. ...Ken Broun, former mayor of Chapel Hill and former dean of UNC's School of Law, is chairman of the Leadership Advisory Committee for Carolina North.
Note: No link available. For a copy, email Michelle at mgreene@dev.unc.edu.
What's going on at Triangle universities and colleges
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Woodward to speak: Bob Woodward, best-selling author and assistant managing editor of The Washington Post, will kick off the spring season of the Kenan-Flagler Dean's Speaker Series with the Weatherspoon Lecture at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 in the McColl Building's Maurice J. Koury Auditorium.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/woodward010906.htmIn prof's memory: Two scholarships have been established at the School of Public Health in memory of Dr. Harry A. Guess, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics who died Jan. 1 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 65.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/guess010506.htmMLK speaker: Nikki Giovanni, a nationally recognized poet and professor at Virginia Tech, will deliver the keynote address for UNC's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week Jan. 15-20.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/mlk010406.htmHispanic impact: North Carolina's rapidly growing Hispanic population contributes more than $9 billion to the state economy through its purchases, taxes and labor, while costing the state a net $102 per Hispanic resident in health care, education and correctional services, according to a study by UNC researchers.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/economicimpact010306.htmWoodward speech is booked solid
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
No more seats are available for next week's appearance by journalist/author Bob Woodward, a UNC-Chapel Hill spokeswoman said Tuesday. Woodward, a Washington Post assistant managing editor and best-selling author, is slated to speak Tuesday at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School in the Maurice J. Koury Auditorium in the McColl Building.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/woodward010906.htmCombining forces: Competition, convenience have hospital-linked practices on the rise
The Triad Business Journal
...Indeed, a study released in November by the Sheps Center for Health Services Research confirms that North Carolina's population is growing significantly faster than its supply of physicians. According to Thomas Ricketts, director of health-workforce studies, "the rate of growth in the total number of practicing physicians has steadily declined since 2000 ... indicating that physician growth is not keeping pace with population growth." The center, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, points out that the growing gap is only partially offset by more nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov05/ricketts111705.htmCalls come in, but clues still sketchy
The Charlotte Observer
Caldwell County investigators have received calls from people who believe they saw Emily Anderson or her pickup truck in the days before she was found killed, the case's lead investigator said Tuesday. ...John Rubin, a professor of public law and government at UNC Chapel Hill and an expert on criminal law and procedure, said he couldn't determine whether Caldwell County investigators should have moved the truck before they examined it thoroughly.
A night when good news turned bad
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The News & Observer is incompetent or insensitive or irresponsible or just plain mean, depending on which of our readers you talked to about the paper's coverage of the West Virginia mine disaster. ...UNC journalism professor Frank Fee is a former news editor who oversaw many a late call on big stories, such as the Oklahoma City bombing. Yes, news should be verified, information should be attributed, he said.
Gay couple: We were fired after getting married
The Asheville Citizen-Times
Owners of an Asheville photography business say they lost work with a ski resort after the announcement of their gay marriage, an example, they say, of workplace discrimination. ...Glenn George, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill School of Law who teaches employment discrimination law, said anti-discrimination laws may eventually pass in most or all states, but it will be a battle.
Podcasters connect while they listen and learn
The Fayetteville Observer
I didn’t know what to expect Saturday when I drove to the first Podcaster Conference at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be 15 nerds in a classroom.
Docs, hospitals square off in tiff for patients
The Triangle Business Journal
Call it a war. Call it a friendly competition. However it's described, the race to win patients in the Triangle hospital market is heating up. ...Over in Chapel Hill, meanwhile, UNC is getting started on construction of its new North Carolina Cancer Hospital.
Village OK's Delay on Tax For Ponds
The Southern Pines Pilot
The Pinehurst Village Council voted Tuesday to delay levying a special tax on property in a Municipal Service District on Ponds 1 and 2 until the 2008-2009 fiscal year. ...Wilkison also said in the memo he had been in contact with Dr. David Lawrence of the Institute of Government at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “to confirm that the council’s act of setting the tax rate for the MSD is the only action required of the Village Council to effect this funding of the capital reserve fund for the MSD.
Judicial activism has a role (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill News
The hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to be chief justice of the United States were in important respects out of touch with reality and misleading to the public. ...William P. Murphy is Henry Brandeis professor of law emeritus in the UNC School of Law.
Issues & Trends
General Assembly gives Bowles a warm welcome
The Winston-Salem Journal
Erskine Bowles went to the General Assembly yesterday for the first time as president of the UNC system. As it turned out, legislators were happy to go to him. Bowles walked into a committee room and was quickly met by a line of legislators wanting to wish him well, shake his hand or even give him a bear hug.
Report blasts UNC's 'speech codes'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Most University of North Carolina campuses have policies that restrict free speech and violate the Constitution, according to a report Tuesday by the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. ...The report suggested UNC campuses are vulnerable to lawsuits unless they change their so-called "speech codes."
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/158/story/386993.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.
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