June 26, 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:

SARS: Preparing for Round Two 
Business Week
World health officials declare that the SARS epidemic has been stopped dead in 
its tracks. But in industry and government research labs, the work is just beginning.
... "If SARS is like feline infectious peritonitis, then we definitely have a problem," 
says Ralph S. Baric, corona virus geneticist at the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_26/b3839075.htm

North Carolina lending law helped consumers-report 
Reuters (international news wire)
Legislation meant to curb abusive mortgage lending practices in North Carolina 
has not dried up credit for borrowers with spotty credit histories, a university study 
released on Wednesday said. ... According to the study from the Center for
Community Capitalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, loan 
volume among these borrowers increased after the law's passage, in line with 
neighboring states without such laws.
http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=2990030
(Note: This story appeared in today's Charlotte Observer.)

The happy homeowner
CBS MarketWatch.com
With more than two-thirds of Americans owning a house, there is little doubt how 
many see the advantages of homeownership. Still, the idea of the "American 
dream" has been so oversold by homebuilders and Realtors over the years that 
suspicion about the claims naturally arise. ... "Public policy and conventional wis-
dom tell us homeownership is a good thing and it is -- for the average home-
owner," said Shannon Van Zandt, a research associate at the Center for 
Urban and Regional Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 
who has studied the academic literature on homeownership. 
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B2F344F23%2DBDE9%2D4CA9%2D91D2%2D2A8DF6051194%7D&siteid=mktw

Ohio studies predatory lending
The Beacon Journal (Ohio)
A North Carolina law intended to rein in predatory lending is working and may 
influence how other states -- including Ohio -- try to curb abuses. ... Those are the 
conclusions of a University of North Carolina study that examined 3.3 million
subprime home mortgages throughout the United States between 1998 and 2002.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/business/6173119.htm

Airport plan gets new life
The Detroit News
Despite a sharp drop in airline travel, the Wayne County Airport Authority is 
pushing ahead with a scaled-down plan to renovate the former Davey Terminal 
at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, airport officials say. ... John Kasarda, an aviation 
expert and director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said he favored the design change 
at the Davey Terminal along with expansion efforts at Willow Run. 
http://www.detnews.com/2003/business/0306/26/a01-203404.htm

State and Local Coverage

Town defers action on UNC plans 
News and Observer
During a contentious meeting with UNC-Chapel Hill representatives, the Town 
Council decided Wednesday night to delay consideration of campus plans for two
parking decks for nearly 60 days. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2648810p-2456708c.html

Chapel Hill council delays UNC parking deck, chiller plant decision 
The Herald-Sun
After three hours of sometimes-heated debate and two deadlocked votes, the 
Town Council agreed on Wednesday to delay action until August on UNC Chapel 
Hill's bid for two new parking decks and a chiller plant on campus. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-365778.html

Black prof reflects on strides 
The Herald-Sun
Charles Daye arrived at UNC's School of Law in 1972 as the first black tenure-
track professor in that school and one of just a large handful on the entire campus. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-365713.html

Concept of diversity is evolving 
News and Observer
University leaders around the country breathed a sigh of relief this week when the 
U.S. Supreme Court upheld the consideration of race in admissions decisions -- a 
ruling that will preserve racial and ethnic diversity on the campuses of selective 
institutions. ... The resegregation of public schools suggests a troubling future for 
those who would like to see race-based policies disappear, said Jack Boger, a 
UNC-Chapel Hill law professor who co-wrote a brief in support of the University 
of Michigan Law School's admissions policy that was upheld by the Supreme 
Court.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2648813p-2456693c.html

Latinos and a fresh look at race (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer
When I picked up my paper last week I was startled at a headline: "Hispanics 
become largest minority." 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2648753p-2456611c.html
(Note: Ben Vinson is currently a postdoctoral fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Is there life out there?
Wilmington Star-News
Is there Somebody Else out there? Does life exist in outer space, other than on 
Planet Earth? The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center is tackling 
those questions with Life in the Universe, the new show premiering today at the 
Chapel Hill landmark.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73139236079997&Avis=WM&Dato=20030626&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=306260306&Ref=AR

UNC professor Jake Wicker dies at 79 
The Herald-Sun
Jake Wicker, who went from log-cabin roots in rural Lee County to becoming a 
much-loved and respected UNC professor and adviser to local governments 
around the state, died Wednesday at the age of 79. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-365766.html
(Note: A related story also appeared in The News and Observer, 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2648830p-2456583c.html)

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Top Schools Establish Links With Community Colleges
The Wall Street Journal
Suzanne Miller had good grades at her all-girls high school in Los Angeles, but 
knew they wouldn't be enough to get her into a top University of California campus. 
So, she made an unusual strategic move, leaving high school a year early and 
enrolling at a local two-year college. The payoff? Next fall, she'll be transferring to 
UCLA. As the fight to get into a top university intensifies, community colleges are 
emerging as a surprising backdoor route to admission. Long maligned as places 
for students who can't cut it at a more-rigorous campus, two-year colleges in a 
number of states are becoming official feeder schools to highly competitive public 
universities
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB105656675990880100,00.html?mod=todays%5Fus%5Fpersonaljnl%5Fhs
(Note: The Wall Street Journal requires a subscription to access articles.)

Hokies to Approve Move 
The Washington Post 
Virginia Tech, after an hour-long emergency meeting of its Board of Visitors and a 
hastily planned site visit by ACC officials yesterday, will accept an invitation to join
the conference. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31780-2003Jun25.html

ACC a changed conference 
News and Observer
The league extended official invitations Wednesday to both Virginia Tech and the
University of Miami, the surprising expansion combination that surfaced just a night 
earlier.. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2648806p-2456616c.html

Will bigger ACC be better? (Commentary)
Charlotte Observer
My preference is not to expand the ACC at all. But that's not the preference of 
almost all the schools in the conference. At least the expansion proposal now on
the table looks better than the made-for-TV monstrosity ACC officials first came up 
with. Duke University President Nan Keohane and UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor 
James Moeser may not like the present proposal -- as I write, they haven't said 
anything publicly -- but they deserve thanks for helping block the push for a 12-
team conference ranging almost from Cuba to Canada.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6172244.htm

Court ruling on admissions shows confusion (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald 
Politics, as much or more than law, undergirds the case for affirmative action in 
university admissions. It?s therefore no surprise that a Supreme Court decision 
upholding the practice came in a series of opinions, pro and con, that were 
singularly unpersuasive in legal terms. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/chhedits/57-365659.html

Zero budget (Editorial)
News and Observer
The public has to be wondering how far their representatives in the state legislature
will go to make an ideological point. Differences of opinion are fine, but when they 
stand in the way of a budget, or even an interim plan, North Carolinians could see
doors to state services begin closing next week
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2648747p-2456717c.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