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June 27, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Growing up with caring corporates
The Times of London (United Kingdom)
Green schmeen. Corporate social responsibility used to be condemned as “greenwash” by cynics who argued that corporate sponsored volunteering could not undo the environmental damage of drilling for oil or importing strawberries to the UK from Africa. ... Sustainability should not be confused with do-gooding, says Katie Kross, the executive director of the Centre for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. “
Of meat, Mexicans and social mobility
The Economist (United Kingdom)
A hundred years ago, a sensational novel attacking the meatpacking industry prompted Congress to draft the first federal food-safety laws. The author of “The Jungle”, Upton Sinclair, was disappointed. ... Accurately measuring the economic consequences of immigration is hard. Looking only at North Carolina, John Kasarda and James Johnson recently found that Latinos paid $756m in taxes annually and cost the state government $817m. That works out as a net burden of $102 per head. Anti-immigrant agitators will seize on this figure, worries Mr. Kasarda, a professor at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
New Material Developed for PEM Fuel Cell
Fuel Cell Today (United Kingdom)
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a new material for proton-exchange membranes in PEM fuel cells. PEMs are used in fuel cells to allow protons to pass through from one electrode to the other.
National Coverage
Steel Tries to Shed Its Smokestack Image
The New York Times
Ask random Americans their opinion of the steel industry, and you'll probably hear about smoke-belching plants, sweaty laborers, rampant bankruptcies and sniveling whiners trying to get the government to protect their companies. ... "They're offering a lot of information, so the campaign doesn't strike me as spin," said Gary Armstrong, a professor of marketing at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina. "But if they use images and numbers to pull the steel wool over our eyes, it could backfire."
The lives of the very early Christians
The Christian Science Monitor
The title of Bart Ehrman's latest book - Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene - may prompt a smile, even from those who aren't fans of the 1960s folk trio. ... But that's typical of Dr. Ehrman. The religion scholar knows how to grab the attention of an audience. So popular are his classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that The Teaching Company now sells tapes of his lecture series on early Christianity.
Regional Coverage
Taking the measure of Bush administration scandals
The Austin American-Statesman (Texas)
It's been a collection of scandals and problems without handy monikers. But the Bush administration has had enough of them to begin nudging the needle on the presidential scandal-o-meter. ... "There is something that is different about the current administration and more worrisome about this," said presidential historian William Leuchtenburg, a University of North Carolina professor emeritus. "The kinds of problems that administrations have had in the past have usually involved bad behavior by an individual on his own."
Edwards gets down to substance, asks sacrifice (Opinion column)
The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)
Have we become too selfish and cynical? Or is the United States ready to roll up its sleeves and renew its commitment to some of the goals and themes that once formed the basis of the American dream? ... Since leaving the Senate, Edwards has served as the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He believes the U.S. should work toward the elimination of poverty over the next 30 years.
Her best friend suddenly turns cold (Letter to columnist)
The Sun Herald (Gulfport, Miss.)
... I read your response to "Need Therapy." In it, you suggested that the writer look for therapists from a number of sources. However, you left out licensed clinical social workers. Recent surveys indicate that 60 percent of all counseling/psychotherapy done in this country is conducted by clinical social workers. Arthur J. Frankel, Professor, Department of Social Work, University of North Carolina
Pulp Facts: The rocks in your head
North County Times (Calif.)
Like most parts of the body, people usually don't give much thought to the teeth unless they're causing problems. Canines, molars, impacted wisdom teeth and cavities keep dentists busy. ... Periodontal disease was linked to complications in pregnancy such as premature birth, in a study released Sept. 20, 2005, by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Kentucky.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/whiter091605.htmMap aims to aid navigation of North Carolina waters
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
Fish will go where two currents collide and algae drifts. They will avoid warm water and head for the ocean's cooler spots. ... "We're doing in essence what the National Weather Service did many years ago," said Jesse Cleary , the map's creator. He is a geographic information systems specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Preschool Partners (Editorial)
The Daily Press (Newport News)
One way to get more children involved in quality early childhood programs - the kind critical to resolving some persistent problems in our society and schools - would be to expand public preschool. ... They start off by helping preschools evaluate themselves, using a set of standards drawn up by experts at the University of North Carolina.
State & Local Coverage
Transit study could be delayed
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A long-awaited study of the town's transit needs could be delayed again after council members complained Monday night the proposed make-up of an oversight committee is unfair. UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser agreed two weeks ago to help fund a study that would look only at transit -- buses and rail -- and not transportation, i.e., roads.N.C. slips spot in children's report
The Winston-Salem Journal
North Carolina slipped one place in an annual report about the well-being of the nation's children. ... "The fact that we have large numbers of children living in poverty doesn't surprise me. The fact that we are not making better progress on that does surprise me," said Mary Ruth Coleman, a senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and an associate research professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Edwards appeals to better angels
The Wilmington Morning Star
Have we become too selfish and cynical? Or is the U.S. - despite being shaken by terror and distressed by the unending conflict in Iraq - ready to roll up its sleeves and renew its commitment to some of the goals and themes that once formed the basis of the American dream? ... Since leaving the Senate, Edwards has served as the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Bank program's aim: To cut bad-check fees
The Wilmington Morning Star
North Carolina's top bank regulator is championing a new way for banks to work with people who have poor credit. ... With that in mind, First Charter officials are consulting with consumer advocates from the Durham Center for Community Self Help and the Center for Community Capitalism, part of the Kenan Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.UNC's Campus Y gets a facelift
The Chapel Hill Herald
When UNC's Campus Y building opened 100 years ago, it not only housed social-justice organizations but also had many universitywide uses. ... But when the Cameron Avenue building closed for renovations about a year ago, it was in such disrepair that few of those uses were possible. "It became a struggle to do even Y programming," Campus Y director Virginia Carson said.Keeping the beast in its cage
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Since taking the helm of the Federal Reserve in February, Chairman Ben Bernanke has sent the stock market into a tailspin, slowed hiring at businesses and increased interest rates to a point that some bankers are worried about a wave of foreclosures. ... "At least we'll know they're serious about stamping out inflation," said James F. Smith, an economist at UNC-Chapel Hill.
UNC professor gets $250K grant
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The 2006 Staglin Family Music Festival Award for Schizophrenia Research, a $250,000 grant, was recently awarded by NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association to Eva S. Anton, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the UNC School of Medicine. Anton, who has identified the role of a gene called neuregulin-1, which guides cells to their place in the developing brain's cerebral cortex, will use the award to further study the gene's possible implication in the development of schizophrenia.
Note: No link available.Observer ready to start new chapter
The Charlotte Observer
Knight Ridder shareholders approved the sale of the nation's second-largest newspaper group to the McClatchy Co. on Monday, and with the scratch of a pen on contracts today, The Charlotte Observer will pass to a new owner for the first time in half a century. ... "And it's something different than what we've experienced," said Ferrel Guillory of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill. "The ultimate authority of news hole, emphasis on what these newspapers are going to be interested in in the future is going to be held in Sacramento."
Technology forces changes in the newspaper business (Opinion-editorial column)
The Charlotte Observer
The future for newspapers is bright. But for the companies that own them, the sky is darkening, and a sour wind blows. Knight Ridder, owner of The Charlotte Observer (the Knights bought it in 1955), is just the current example. Today, the company, whose roots go back to 1892 on the Ridder side and 1903 on the Knight side, will cease to exist. ... Philip Meyer is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of "The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age."Race as a social conception (Question-answer)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When it comes to biology, ideas about race - who's black, who's white - don't apply at all, says Joseph L. Graves Jr., a biology professor and dean of university studies at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro. On Monday, Graves will address a conference in Chapel Hill on minority health.
Entertainment briefs: Tickets on sale for 'Underpants'
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
"The Underpants," a play by Carl Sternheim adapted by Steve Martin, officially opens PlayMakers Repertory Company's 2006-2007 season. The play runs Oct. 4-29. Other plays to be presented as part of the season are a dramatization of Toni Morrison's novel, "The Bluest Eye," and Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun06/PMseason062107.htm
Issues & Trends
House, Senate leaders work on final budget
The Associated Press (N.C.)
House and Senate budget negotiators worked Monday to iron out nagging differences between the two chambers' spending plans for next year. ... The Senate wants to give nearly $200 million for construction projects at fewer university campuses than the House, which wants to spread planning money around to each of the 16 University of North Carolina schools.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/712/story/454906.htmlEasley Announces Innovation Grants
WXII-TV (NBC, Winston-Salem)
A pair of Piedmont-Triad businesses are among 16 companies awarded nearly $700,000 in innovation grants. Gov. Mike Easley announced the grants on Monday. He said the grants are part of the new One North Carolina Small Business Fund and are designed to help small businesses conduct research and develop technology. Vascular Pharmaceuticals of Burlington received $50,000 to develop a drug to treat atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes. The program is in collaboration with the University of North Carolina.Chapel Hill picks in-state candidate
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Former Fayetteville City Manager Roger Stancil will replace Cal Horton as Chapel Hill town manager Sept. 1
Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.
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