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July 7, 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
Pain drug harmful to liver:study
The Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia)
The most popular form of pain medication in Australia has been linked to potential liver damage. ... Researchers from the University of North Carolina found out about the drug's effect on liver enzyme levels while carrying out a trial on a therapy which included a narcotic drug, hydrocodone, in combination with acetaminophen.
Note: UNC Health Care held a media conference call and with Watkins.National Coverage
Program teaches doctors how to tackle obesity
Gannett News Service
Traditionally, doctors in training were taught to set broken bones, treat life-threatening diseases and other medical challenges, but they didn't often get a thorough grounding in nutrition and obesity, especially in children. ... Dr. Steven Zeisel, the UNC pediatrician who oversaw creation of the nutrition and obesity program, said doctors-to-be, especially pediatricians, need to pay attention to nutrition and weight issues in children.
Usted No Puede Ir
Inside Higher Ed
The choice of postsecondary institutions for students who fancy a trip to Havana has dwindled precipitously in the last two years because of tightened federal restrictions on study abroad programs to Cuba. ... It’s unclear exactly how many programs still travel to Cuba, but numerous calls to colleges and experts revealed that programs still exist at, at least: American University, Hampshire College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sarah Lawrence College, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and SUNY-Oswego.
John Edwards Talks About the Need for Greater Access to College
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Throughout the 2004 presidential campaign, then Sen. John Edwards frequently talked about "the two Americas": one for the rich and one for everyone else. As part of The Chronicle's continuing series on the growing divide in higher education, which looks at the haves and have-nots among students and institutions, Mr. Edwards recently talked with us in his office here. He described the difficulty poor students have getting to college and why he thinks the country should adopt a program he started in Greene County, N.C., to help high-school students there pay for college (see related story, below).
Related Link: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i44/44a02301.htm
Note: Subscription required.State & Local Coverage
Transportation remains a knot for Carolina North
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Whether people should take bicycles, buses or cars or simply walk to UNC's planned Carolina North research campus remains the biggest sticking point for a group appointed to set guiding principles for its development. The Carolina North Leadership Advisory Committee spent its meeting Thursday, the group's fifth, highlighting the issues where the university, Chapel Hill and Carrboro disagree. Transportation remains on top.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun06/cnorthadvance062906.htmPanel wants details on housing, more for Carolina North
The Chapel Hill Herald
In trying to determine the principles they agree on for Carolina North's development, members of an advisory committee for UNC's proposed campus decided on Thursday that they need to have more detailed discussions about transportation, housing, building heights, fiscal equity and definitions of terms they are using in their report. ...
Principals get crash course in business
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Principals from more than a dozen of the state's lowest-performing high schools will begin a program in a few weeks to help them emulate the progress of Robeson County's Fairmont High School. ... Principals attending the training program at UNC-Chapel Hill will hear from business management experts who will teach skills for effective leadership. The principals are expected to return with strategies to reinvent their schools.
$145 billion award to smokers is tossed out
The Associated Press (N.C.)
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out a record $145 billion punitive damage award against tobacco companies for injuring smokers, saying it was excessive even though it agreed the companies had misled the public about the dangers of cigarettes. ... James Smith, finance professor at UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, also said the court's decision is great news for tobacco companies and their shareholders, more so than for farmers -- who received millions of dollars in buyouts since 1999 to offset losses relating to declining cigarette sales.
Kidney center gets aid for mobile unit
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC Kidney Center has been awarded $100,000 from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust of Winston-Salem to help purchase a mobile outreach unit. "Chronic kidney disease can be prevented," said Donna Harward, director of education for the UNC Kidney Center. "It is critical that North Carolinians know the major risk factors for developing chronic kidney disease and the importance of screening and early intervention before symptoms are apparent."
UNC Health Care News Release: http://unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2006/Jul/kidneycenterDuke places seventh in U.S. News hospital rankings
The Triangle Business Journal
Duke University Medical Center was ranked the seventh best hospital in specialty care in the country, according to the 2006 annual U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals." ... University of North Carolina Hospitals placed in the top 50 in seven specialty categories, including gynecology (14th), ear, nose and throat (18th), psychiatry (22nd) and digestive disorders (26th).
UNC Health Care News Release: http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2006/Jul/usnews2006House revises student eye exam plan
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Children who have poor vision would be encouraged to see a specialist, but the lack of an eye exam would not bar them from school under a compromise struck by state legislators working to relax a law requiring the exams. ... Dr. John Wright, a pediatric ophthalmologist and an associate professor at the UNC School of Medicine, praised the revision.
House panel endorses eye exam changes
The Associated Press (N.C.)
North Carolina's mandatory comprehensive eye exam for children could become a recommended visual screening under a House bill approved unanimously in committee Thursday. ... Dr. John Wright, a pediatric ophthalmologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill opposed the original eye exam requirement, calling it "wasteful and unnecessary."
Advocates hopeful for hospital future
The Fayetteville Observer
It’s been three months since Good Hope Hospital closed, and supporters say they are optimistic about the hospital’s efforts to replace the outdated complex on Denim Drive. ... In April, the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina released a study that looked at the economic effects of hospital closures in rural communities. The study found that in a three-year period after a lone hospital closed, the per capita income level in the communities fell 4 percent.
Brendan James
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
When he graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002, Brendan James went to New York City to try to break into the music business. And after three years working in the housewares department at an Urban Outfitters store, he's slated to release his first major-label album later this year.
Related Link: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-750552.htmlIssues & Trends
Ex-UNC system officer favored for Texas post
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gretchen Bataille, a former UNC system administrator and interim chancellor at the N.C. School of the Arts, is the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of North Texas.
Budget plan highlights
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Highlights of the $18.87 billion final spending plan for the 2006-07 fiscal year approved Thursday by the House and Senate.
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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