July 16, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Anorexics seek perfection
Toronto Star
When Mary-Kate Olsen entered a treatment facility last month for anorexia, she became the latest celebrity to struggle publicly with what is arguably the most difficult eating disorder to cure...."Co-morbidity is really the norm rather than the exception,'' says Cynthia Bulik, a professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

National Coverage

Study: Fake Red Snapper Being Sold in U.S.
NPR, "All Things Considered"
A letter to the journal Nature claims that roughly 3 out of 4 of the red snapper sold in selected grocery stores and fish markets in 8 states aren't red snapper at all, but cheaper, less flavorful imitations. Environmentalists call it proof of a widespread mislabeling of fish catches that could be screwing up efforts to protect the nations fisheries. NPR's John Nielsen reports.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jul04/marko071404.html
Note: This research is to be discussed in today's (July 16) edition of NPR's "Science Friday" with host Joe. Palka.

State & Local Coverage

Judge's verdict in jury case draws criticism
N.C. Associated Press
A Superior Court judge is being criticized for interrupting a jury trial to find the defendant guilty of causing a fatal traffic accident....The state Supreme Court declared in 1893 that "the court cannot direct a verdict in a criminal case." Bob Farb, professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina School of Government, said nothing has changed since then.

Is That Really Red Snapper On Your Plate?
WTVD-TV (ABC, Raleigh)
Fish stories are often hard to believe, but this one's true, and it shows you could be getting duped. Graduate students at UNC Chapel Hill who were doing DNA research on fish say they've made a startling discovery.

Tobacco farmers get victory
The News & Observer
The Senate on Thursday approved legislation granting the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products and authorizing a six-year tobacco quota buyout....Kurt Ribisl, an assistant professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, said Thursday that health groups' push for tobacco control, farmers' desperation to get out of the program and politicians' willingness to compromise have taken buyout legislation farther than it has ever gone.

Durham outreach program walks thin line
The News & Observer
By 7:30 a.m. most weekday mornings, the Rev. Rodney Green usually has a paper napkin nearby to keep his forehead dry....Agencies that once felt compelled to remove religious iconography from rooms where publicly financed programs were held felt less pressure to do so, said Gordon Whitaker, a political scientist and professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Issues & Trends

Labor Board Says Graduate Students at Private Universities Have No Right to Unionize
The New York Times
The fast-growing movement to unionize graduate students at the nation's private universities suffered a crushing setback yesterday when the National Labor Relations Board reversed itself and ruled that students who worked as research and teaching assistants did not have the right to unionize.

N.C. budget negotiators meet, pushing for weekend adjournment
N.C. Associated Press
Legislators pressed ahead with budget negotiations late Thursday, hoping to resolve differences in their competing $15.8 billion spending plans so they go home for the year this weekend.

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.