June 16, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

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

Green Marketing: Label With a Cause
The New York Times
The first time a colleague suggested that Pillowtex make a line of environmentally 
safe bedding under the Sierra Club brand, Gretchen Dale laughed out loud. ... 
"People who are disappointed with products could stop supporting the club, and
that could mean a boycott not only of products but of membership," said Paul N. 
Bloom, a marketing professor at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-
Flagler Business School.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/business/yourmoney/15CLUB.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

'Egalitarian Recession' Keeps Anger at Bay
The New York Times
With its combination of slow growth, rising unemployment and falling wages, 
today's economy has escaped definition. ... College graduates remain much more 
likely to be employed than high-school dropouts, but since early 2001 the gap has 
narrowed. At the University of North Carolina, for example, just 15 percent of 
seniors had a job waiting for them on graduation day last month, half the usual
proportion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/weekinreview/15LEON.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

Aging population makes this deficit scarier
USA Today
Huge tax cuts, soaring spending and rising deficits. It's beginning to look a lot like 
the 1980s again — with one big difference. ... "It builds up the pressure to cut 
benefits over the long run," says Art Benavie, economics professor at the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has written a book on deficits.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2003-06-15-deficit_x.htm

Obstetrics practices thin as costs rise
The Chicago Tribune 
Jeremy Pyle has yet to even start his medical residency, yet he's pretty much 
ruled out one specialty. ... "It's only a matter of time before you are going to have
fewer practitioners," said Dr. Hal Lawrence, a professor in the obstetrics 
department at the University of North Carolina ...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0306150370jun15,1,5075880.story
(Note: The Chicago Tribune requires free registration to access articles.)

War by the book
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Convinced that the nation could benefit if its leaders had a better grounding in 
military history and thinking, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., has done something 
unusual for a politician. ... "I think that Congressman Skelton has perceived one 
of the real weaknesses of our national security policy thinking, and one of the very 
key ways we can strengthen it," said Richard H. Kohn, former chief of history for 
the Air Force. He is now a history professor and chairman of the Curriculum 
in Peace, War and Defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill. 
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/DAAD647B6EAFBA4886256D430011F8B3?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2Ckohn&headline=WAR+BY+THE+BOO(Note: This article also appeared in The Charlotte Observer.)

Racial bias has effect on health (Commentary)
The Beacon Journal (Ohio)
Kent State University recently sponsored a seminar on ``The Impact of Life 
Stressors on Health Disparities in Society.'' ... To begin to grasp the extent of the 
inequity, spend a little time on the Web site of the Minority Health Project at 
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (www.minority.unc.edu). 
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/living/6093022.htm
(Note: For more information, go to this UNC news release.)

Regional Coverage

Dixie still whistles a different political tune (Commentary)
The Virginian-Pilot
Coon dogs and kudzu. Banjos and biscuits. For years, the American South was as 
distinct from the rest of the nation as Jupiter from Mars. ... Public opinion specialist
Scott Keeter put numbers to the supposition at a recent gathering at the Center for 
the Study of the American South. The center is based at the University of 
North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=55346&ran=147873
(Note: This commentary also appeared in The Tallahassee Democrat.)

State and Local Coverage

Some N.C. offices should be appointed, analysts say
Winston-Salem Journal 
The resignation of the state agriculture commissioner in a scandal over her fund 
raising among vendors bidding to run the State Fair has caused some analysts to 
say that it's time to stop electing the agriculture commissioner and perhaps others 
on North Carolina's long ballot of statewide offices. ... 'We really don't need to elect
the commissioner of agriculture,' said Thad Beyle, a professor of political 
science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769797860&path=!localnews!stategov&s=1037645509153
Ignorance no bliss 
News and Observer
Gaither K. Fleming shops at Kannon's Clothing for what they sell and what they
won't. ... "If you're just trying to get one-stop shopping and high turnover, it's hard
to compete with a Lowe's, but there will always be a market for smaller
independent retailers who really know their customers' needs and focus on what
the customer wants," said William D. Perrault Jr., a business professor and
marketing expert at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2616864p-2427660c.html

A father's touch 
News and Observer
Red Edwards put on an appreciative smile as he turned toward the television 
cameras and shook hands with the governor. ... Even as he sat in the meeting room 
at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals, Red's son, Jim, was losing a 
battle to survive burns over 60 percent of his body. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/2619274p-2429858c.html

UNC education school wing at Smith Middle School on target 
The Herald-Sun
Construction of the UNC School of Education wing at Smith Middle School is on 
target and scheduled to be complete in early December, according to a city school 
district official. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-362246.html

New disease raises workers' comp issues 
News and Observer
A worker gets sick with a contagious, potentially lethal disease. Before long, two 
other employees at the same workplace develop symptoms indicating that they, too, 
might have contracted the illness. ... So when the University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill learned June 5 that a contract worker on campus had likely been 
diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome, the school didn't waste time. 
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2619240p-2429796c.html

Fraud alleged at UNC 
News and Observer
UNC-Chapel Hill is accusing a star campus scientist of falsifying data that showed 
how one gene may shield women from breast cancer. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2616949p-2427731c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Harvard Law School Seeks $400 Million
The New York Times
Harvard Law School announced today that it was starting a $400 million capital 
campaign, the largest fund-raising effort undertaken by a law school.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/15/education/15HARV.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

Experts differ on ACC revenue 
News and Observer
University of North Carolina chancellor James Moeser has questioned the 
ACC's projections for enhanced television contracts following expansion, forming 
a potential snag in the expansion voting process. 
http://newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc_expansion/story/2619195p-2429867c.html

What price expansion? 
News and Observer
The summer budget-slashing season at UNC-Chapel Hill has brought a flurry of 
layoff notices and the end of HEELS for Health, a popular staff fitness program. 
University employees, most of whom didn't see a raise last year, are outraged. 
Over at Carolina's athletics department, though, no one is talking about budget 
cuts.
http://newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc_expansion/story/2619194p-2429752c.html

The ACC spectacle (Editorial)
News and Observer
Few things are more disturbing than watching smart people try to rationalize a bad 
idea. But that's just what some college presidents are doing as they seek to justify 
expansion of the Atlantic Coast Conference. ... When news of expansion plans
first came to light, after what apparently were months of secret talks, Duke 
University President Nan Keohane and University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill Chancellor James Moeser rightly expressed hesitation and opposition.
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/editorials/story/2619306p-2429783c.html

Regardless of vote, ACC is family at odds 
News and Observer
When the ACC voted in 1990 to bring Florida State aboard, then-commissioner 
Gene Corrigan was among the first to acknowledge that the real tests of 
expansion had just begun. ... If expansion flops, six family members likely will be 
left with hard feelings toward Duke, North Carolina and Virginia.
http://newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc_expansion/story/2616838p-2427771c.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