June 30, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Study Shows Surge In Dividend Payments Post-2003 US Law
The Wall Street Journal
A new study shows corporate dividend payments rose sharply following the 2003 tax law that cut dividend tax rates by more than half....That earlier study, authored in part by Douglas Shackelford, a business professor at the University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill, found that companies boosted dividends by about 9%, or $3.2 billion, after the tax cut took effect, but most of that was through one-time payouts.
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Documentary seen boosting interest in Iraq
USA Today
Michael Moore's record-breaking documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 is a pop culture phenomenon that is raising public interest in the Iraq war just as the United States is attempting a crucial handoff of power to Iraqis...."We haven't seen anything like this before," said political scientist Thad Beyle of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Steroids Help Artificial Tendons
Ivanhoe Newswire
New research shows treatment with anabolic steroids may help patients with rotator cuff injuries....Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tested steroids on a bioengineered tendon model that was created from harvested tendon cells.

Gene Mutation Tied to Higher Parkinson's Risk
Health Day News
A specific form of a gene called APOE is associated with a slight increase in the risk of Parkinson's disease....University of North Carolina (UNC) researchers report on the link in the June issue of Neurology.

Cherokee praised for environmental work
Courier-Post, Cherry Hill, NJ
Long before Cherokee Investment Partners announced plans to reshape the South Jersey landscape, the North Carolina-based company had been involved in rehabilitating contaminated land across the country...."They have a tremendous reputation," said Richard Whisnat, associate professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State & Local Coverage

Legislature should provide matching funds (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
While the N.C. General Assembly haggles over how small a raise it can give to state employees, it might seem unseemly to be concerned with million-dollar professorships. But the university's ability to endow those professorships, with the help of the assembly, is as vital to the quality of the campus as is a well-motivated and compensated staff.

UNC designs program to develop leadership
The News & Observer
North Carolina's athletics program is known nationally for its success and its tradition....Soon, athletics director Dick Baddour hopes it will be known for something else: leadership.

Dirty Charlotte-region air driving man with lung disease away
N.C. Associated Press
Jim Henry is leaving. It's not that he doesn't like it here - it's the dirty air. If he stays, it could kill him...."This is just not healthy," says Wes Wallace, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at UNC Chapel Hill.

Moore school board rapped
The Fayetteville Observer
The chairman of the Moore County commissioners told members of the county's school board Monday night that they have embarrassed the county and that taxpayers would not support a bigger appropriation for schools....John Stephens is an expert in government mediations at the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Geared up for getting away
The News & Observer
When Charlie Tanzini recently visited Furman University in South Carolina with his mother, he rode shotgun with his laptop, MP3s and the Mario Brothers...."It's an enormous boom to the electronic industry," said James F. Smith, a finance professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

UNC physician leads global call for heart health
The Chapel Hill Herald
American exports of bad habits like smoking, failing to exercise and eating unhealthful foods are killing increasing numbers of people around the globe, says a report issued Tuesday by a panel of international experts led by a UNC professor.

Off-campus meals take on the dining hall
The Chapel Hill Herald
Since he lives on campus, Colin Scott likes the convenience of rolling out of bed and walking right over to the dining hall for breakfast....Ira Simon, UNC's director of food and vending services, doesn't see the off-campus plan as competition.

UNC Hospitals losing only Spanish-speaking chaplain
The Herald-Sun
Gregorio Marin can see the relief on patients' faces when he speaks to them in their own language....Some even burst into tears as they express their emotions to Marin, a native Colombian and UNC Hospitals' only Spanish-speaking chaplain.

Iraq's new birth of freedom (Commentary)
The News & Observer
Despite some media reports that have already discounted Monday's historic transfer of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority to an interim Iraqi government, the establishment of a sovereign post-Saddam Iraq is a crucial milepost in the war on terror....There was no Plan B," Iraqi expatriate Dr. Maha Alattar says of the coalition's postwar planning. Alattar is an assistant professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's medical school and a board member of the Women's Alliance for a Free and Democratic Iraq.

Issues & Trends

Courting Minorities, Kerry Promises Expanded College Access
The New York Times
Hoping to energize minority voters, Senator John Kerry promised blacks and Hispanics on Tuesday that he would expand access to college, and he delivered a forceful new answer to Republican charges that he is running a campaign of pessimism.
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New Wealth of Details Will Help Families Compare Colleges
The Wall Street Journal
Students and their parents who already feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available on choosing a college will soon have even more data to pore through.
Subscription required.

House committee clears bill to exempt UNC-related nonprofits from property tax
N.C. Associated Press
Certain off-campus housing for University of North Carolina students would be exempt from local property taxes in a bill that a House committee recommended Tuesday.

Bill to limit out-of-state enrollment at UNC campuses modified
N.C. Associated Press
A proposal to cap out-of-state enrollment at University of North Carolina campuses instead would require university officials to report such enrollment to a legislative committee.

Council to revive lobbyist question
The Chapel Hill Herald
The Town Council will resume its discussion tonight of whether lobbyists must register each year with the town and file quarterly reports on their contacts with town officials....Public entities like UNC and other local, state and federal governmental bodies would be exempt from the lobbying law.
Related link: http://www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/1381108p-7504199c.html

New draft urged for Chapel Hill booze rules
The News & Observer
You can dine al fresco on Chapel Hill sidewalks as long as the restaurants doing the serving have the needed permits....But in May, on the UNC-Chapel Hill graduation weekend, a police officer raised questions.

College game lowlights (Editorial)
The News & Observer
The sports network ESPN is all too happy to make deals with college sports conferences. In exchange for millions of dollars, the network can pick and choose those games for which sponsors are most eager to pay. Colleges get exposure, which helps them compete for high school players by telling recruits, "But we were on TV 10 times last year!" And conferences and member schools get money.

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Past issues of Carolina in the News are located at http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.