June 3, 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:

Effecting Change
San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)
If you're an American, the statistics say you're out of shape -- and you don't need 
another study to tell you why. ... But, says Mark Fenton, host of PBS's "America's 
Walking,'' "the people who make the 'personal responsibility' argument are usually 
white, wealthy and well-educated. ... "The issue here is, we don't have a particular 
enemy. It's us against ourselves,'' says Richard Killingsworth, director of Active 
Living by Design at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, a national 
program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/6002036.htm
(Note: Mark Fenton is a program manager with the Pedestrian and Bicycle 
Information Center at the University of North Carolina.)

Rise of food fascism (Commentary)
The Washington Times
Some people in America are sure they know what you should be eating. In fact, they 
are so sure they are not willing just to stop at offering advice. ... A new study from 
the University of North Carolina shows that today's fatter kids are not eating more 
than 20 years ago, they're just exercising less. 
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20030531-092643-1371r.htm

Singular sensations only
The Chicago Tribune
Anson Dorrance, the University of North Carolina women's soccer coach, is 
confused. Dorrance coaches the best women's team in the country, a team that has 
won 17 national titles in the last 23 years, a team that has supplied more players 
than any other to the 3-year-old women's professional league, the Women's United 
Soccer Association. Dorrance said nearly all his Tar Heels players are dying to 
make the WUSA, which has a franchise barely 30 miles from the North Carolina 
campus. Yet few want to watch the Carolina Courage play.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/printedition/chi-0306030288jun03,1,342628.story
(Note: The Chicago Tribune requires free registration to access articles.)

Regional Coverage

Tax rate cut won't give relief to all
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Brunswick County's tax rate will drop by more than 6 cents per $100 valuation if 
county commissioners approve a $123.7 million budget proposed by County 
Manager Marty Lawing, but many homeowners would still see an increase in their 
tax bills. ... N.C. law does not require local governments to reduce tax rates during 
a revaluation, but Jack Vogt, a professor of public finance and local government 
at the University of North Carolina Institute of Government, said many 
communities do it anyway.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/6001590.htm

State and Local Coverage

Know Warning Signs, Head To Hospital Quickly To Increase Chances Of Stroke Recovery
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
The nation's highest death rate from a stroke is right here in North Carolina. In 
addition, the mortality rate in North Carolina is 100 percent higher than anywhere 
else in the country. ... "The sooner we can treat patients who are having a stroke,
the more likely they are to do well down the road," said Dr. Ana Felix, co-
director of the stroke unit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://www.wral.com/health/2193585/detail.html

Drop in analyst coverage hurts companies 
News and Observer
There are times when Michael K. Robinson, chief financial officer at US LEC, 
wishes it were 1999 again. ... That should help to ensure they won't lose touch 
with their shareholders, said Jennifer Conrad, a professor of investments at the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2582773p-2396791c.html

Commissioners invite input from residents
Shelby Star
They came bearing signs, urging their county commissioners not to cut funding next
fiscal year. The seats were packed when Mecklenburg County Commissioners 
discussed their budget Thursday. ... McIntosh said the commissioners were recog-
nized for their efforts in Popular Government magazine, a publication of the 
Instituteof Government at UNC-Chapel Hill.
http://www.shelbystar.com/portal/ASP/article.asp?ID=5387

TDA board, governor want agency dissolved
Triangle Business Journal
The board of the North Carolina Technological Development Authority has voted
to dissolve the financially troubled nonprofit organization if a way can be found to 
transfer both its assets and mission to the state. ... Also, under another proposal
making the rounds in government and academic circles, a consortium of the Triangle's 
research universities - UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State and Duke - would 
step up to oversee the assets. ... Mark Crowell, director of technology transfer 
at Carolina, says he sees merit in pursuing the idea, given the state's "dire" need 
for incubator space to hatch startup companies.
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2003/06/02/story2.html

Gift will help study of SIDS 
News and Observer
The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine has received a $2.5 million gift to study 
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2584852p-2398616c.html
(Note: This gift was the subject of a UNC news release.)

Triangle Ranks Eighth In Allergy Hotspots
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
Spring is in full bloom in North Carolina and unfortunately, so are allergies. A new 
poll ranks the Triangle and Fayetteville as the eighth worst allergy hotspot in the 
country.... Dr. David Henke, a researcher at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, said allergies are a year round nuisance in the Triangle.
http://www.wral.com/health/2239286/detail.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Restraint on tuition hits (Editorial)
News and Observer
On the surface, it doesn't seem like much -- a 5 percent boost in public university 
tuition and a 3.2 percent hike in state community college tuition. Got to get over the 
hump of North Carolina's financial crisis, legislators say, and this would help.
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2586826p-2400688c.html

A show of togetherness by BC, ACC
The Boston Globe
They asked the right questions, said the right things, and proclaimed mutual respect, 
with a sense of anticipation that it would all work out for everyone in the future.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/154/sports/A_show_of_togetherness_by_BC_ACC+.shtml

ACC has positive look at BC 
News and Observer
ACC commissioner John Swofford couldn't help but tease Boston College athletics 
director Gene DeFilippo during a news conference Monday that concluded a 
committee's two-day visit to the Big East school. 
http://newsobserver.com/sports/college/story/2586937p-2400737c.html

Winmore draws overflow crowds
Chapel Hill News
The next to last of the 50-odd people who addressed the Carrboro Board of 
Aldermen over a two-day public hearing on the proposed Winmore subdivision 
summed up the long process, and the even longer one that lies ahead.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2581018p-2395323c.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