June 28, 2002

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

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

Many Questions Arise in Race for Helms Seat
The New York Times
The outcome of the race for the Senate in North Carolina to replace Jesse Helms, one 
of the most compelling political contests of the year, will probably turn on a few key 
questions. One is whether Elizabeth Dole, the probable Republican nominee, can use her 
celebrity and President Bush's popularity to compensate for her shortcomings as a 
campaigner and the fact that she has not lived in this state for 40 years...
..."No one knows who will vote in a primary in the late summer," said Thad L. Beyle, a 
political scientist at the University of North Carolina. "But if we only have one primary, 
with a solid black vote, it's possible — not likely, but possible — that Blue will finish first."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/28/politics/28CARO.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

State and Local Coverage

President's Commission taps UNC's Roper
Business Journal
Dr. Bill Roper, dean of the UNC School of Public Health, has been chosen to serve on 
the President's Commission on White House Fellowships, the group of advisers that 
selects participants for the White House Fellows Program. The fellowship program selects 
participants with strengths in leadership ability and an interest in public service, providing 
participants with connections to successful leadership role models from private and public 
sectors. 
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/06/24/daily31.html

Chancellor: Pay raises wrong
Perched behind a lectern and looking into a crowd of more than 100 university employees 
Thursday, UNC Chancellor James Moeser took the bull by the horns. Anticipating questions 
about his controversial January decision to give pay raises to a handful of administrators 
during a budget crunch, Moeser told the assembled group that, in hindsight, he realizes he 
made a mistake. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-242094.html

Peeling the Orange 
Think UNC Chancellor James Moeser still pines for his days at the University of South 
Carolina? At an Employee Forum community meeting Thursday, Moeser pondered the 
differences between South Carolina and North Carolina...
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-242060.html

Edwards faces tough call 
U.S. Sen. John Edwards faces another tricky political decision over a judicial nominee as 
the South Carolina NAACP and a group of North Carolina law professors weigh in against 
another of President Bush's choices. The Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Edwards 
sits, is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing today on the nomination of Dennis Shedd, 
a judge from South Carolina whom Bush wants to elevate to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of 
Appeals...
...But the South Carolina NAACP spoke out strongly this week against Shedd's confirmation, 
criticizing his record on civil rights. And a group of 16 law school professors from North 
Carolina have written Edwards, raising some of the same concerns and urging him to proceed 
carefully....
...The law school professors -- from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke 
University and N.C. Central University -- point out that Shedd would be the fourth judge 
from South Carolina to join the 4th Circuit, a 15-member panel based in Richmond, Va.
http://newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1493775p-1524094c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

College Board Announces an Overhaul for the SAT
The New York Times
The College Board formally announced yesterday that it was undertaking a major overhaul 
of the SAT test, one that will include a handwritten essay and take an extra half-hour to 
complete. Confirming a proposal that has been discussed for months, the board also revealed 
new details of its plans to expand the SAT, the nation's leading college entrance exam, into 
a 3 1/2-hour test.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/28/education/28EXAM.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

Panel To Review Title IX Law
The New York Times
A panel of sports professionals and educators will examine ways to improve the 30-year-old 
law that has greatly increased opportunities for women in school sports, Education Secretary 
Rod Paige told a Senate committee Thursday. The new Commission on Opportunity in 
Athletics is being formed in the wake of a lawsuit that argues that the law, known as Title IX, 
helps women's sports at the expense of programs for men.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Title-IX-Review.html

Easley gives emergency order 
Just four days shy of closing the books on the toughest budget year in decades, Gov. Mike 
Easley on Thursday declared a financial emergency for the year beginning July 1, granting himself 
broad authority to cut government spending and lay off workers even without a new budget 
in place.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1496616p-1527118c.html

N.C.'s pension stands to lose on WorldCom investments
The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina's $55 billion pension program lost about $100 million in value because of its 
WorldCom Inc. investments, officials said Thursday. Joe Stewart, chief of staff for N.C. 
Treasurer Richard Moore, said the state is obligated to pay retirement benefits to state workers, 
and WorldCom's financial and legal troubles would not threaten the fund's ability to honor its 
commitments.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/business/3560508.htm

Eckerd opts out of health plan 
In the latest turn in state workers' unfolding pharmacy drama, Eckerd said Thursday it can't reach 
a compromise on fees with the company that manages the state health plan's prescription drug 
benefit and will quit accepting state workers' drug cards July 15. But even as that door seemed 
to close, AdvancePCS, the drug plan's manager, told the leader of the Teachers' and State 
Employees' Comprehensive Major Medical Plan that it is in "promising" talks with CVS that might 
stave off that chain's threat to stop taking state health plan drug cards on Monday.
http://newsobserver.com/business/rtp_nc/story/1496639p-1527212c.html

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, 
please call Cathleen Keyser or Mike McFarland at News Services, 
(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu