March 22, 2005

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Unocal Settles Human Rights Lawsuit Over Alleged Abuses at Myanmar Pipeline
Los Angeles Times
Unocal Corp. settled a landmark human rights lawsuit Monday that accused the El Segundo-based energy company of being responsible for forced labor, rapes and a murder allegedly carried out by soldiers along a natural gas pipeline route in Myanmar.....However, Susan Aaronson, a corporate social responsibility expert at the University of North Carolina, said she was "deeply ambivalent" about the Unocal settlement.

Some ask who belongs in 'ownership society'
USA Today
In President Bush's vision of an "ownership society," people would have more choices and assume more risk in nearly every part of their lives....Edwards, the Democrats' 2004 vice presidential candidate and now head of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, calls them "a great tax write-off for rich people."

Life and Liberty
"The Note" ABC News
Tuesday, President Bush stumps for Social Security in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He RONS in Crawford. DNC Chairman Howard Dean begins a two-day visit to Tennessee. The Federal Election Commission meets in executive session. Both chambers of Congress are in recess. Former Sen. John Edwards holds a discussion on ameliorating poverty at his University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Rural Areas Feel Unprepared for Attacks
The Associated Press (National)
Rural health officials believe they are woefully unprepared to respond to a possible terror attack on food supplies, nuclear power facilities or other targets....Also involved in the study was the Maine Center for Public Health, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of North Carolina, Texas A&M University and the University of Minnesota.

A Prescription for Getting Rich
The New York Times
The $30 million contract Sallie Krawcheck signed when she took over Citigroup's Smith Barney brokerage operation was so rich the tabloids dubbed her Sallie Paycheck. She is still one of the highest-ranking women on Wall Street, but she did not earn enough last year to get her name in Citigroup's proxy.
Note: Krawcheck is an alumna of UNC's School of Journalism and Mass Communication and College of Arts and Sciences.

The Company He Keeps (for Now)
The New York Times
Bloomberg the mayor is preparing for a re-election bid. Bloomberg the data terminal is as popular as ever. Bloomberg the newsroom feels oppressed. And Bloomberg the company has been dogged by rumors of a possible sale...."We have the great fortune of being a private company, and that allows us to invest in the long term," said Peter Grauer, a former investment banker who is the company's chairman."
Note: Grauer is an alumnus of UNC's College of Arts and Sciences.

Regional Coverage

Warner heralds research network
The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.)
Gov. Mark R. Warner joined four public university presidents in the Rotunda's Dome Room on Monday to announce creation of a broadband optical fiber network to connect Virginia universities to high-speed research networks...He called graduate students at Virginia's universities a key to expanding the federally funded research that could allow UVa and Virginia Tech to exceed more than $1 billion a year in such research, as he said both the University of Maryland and the University of North Carolina do.

Romney's religion could be issue
The Republican (Mass.)
Millions of Americans think John F. Kennedy put to rest the issue of religion in presidential politics when, in 1960, he became the first Roman Catholic to win the White House.....J. Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina, sees the situation differently.

State & Local Coverage

Zoning discussed for Carolina North
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
University officials got an earful from town residents and council members Monday night as a crowd turned out to support rezoning portions of the land that could become the Carolina North satellite campus.

Town chips in $100K for Erwin land
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Just another $1.4 million to go to put 43 acres along Erwin Road into public hands....Following the Erwin Road decision, the council also heard from several residents who support a move to rezone part of the Horace Williams property owned by UNC. UNC planner Anna Wu restated the university's opposition to rezoning parts of the land off Airport Road, where UNC envisions someday building its Carolina North campus.

$70M Ram's Head Center opens at UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
When it comes to food, college students have never been the most discriminating bunch....While the campus dining hall's industry standards probably won't ever be totally phased out, things appear to be improving for students at UNC-Chapel Hill, who are now being asked to fine-tune their palates.

Corporations give more than $100M to big three schools
Triangle Business Journal
Area corporations give a major financial boost to the Triangle's three largest universities, supporting a variety of current research, educational projects and outreach programs....The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was given $22.3 million in corporate funds in the same time frame.

Bust Of Playwright Green Now In Library
The Daily Record (Dunn)
A permanent reminder of Harnett County's most noted writer, playwright, activist and patron of the arts was placed in the Harnett County Library in a ceremony Sunday afternoon.....Among his [Paul Green's] other accomplishments he was known for his crusades for human rights. He was also a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and was a semi-professional baseball player. He was inducted last week into the North Carolina Association of Educators Hall of Fame.

Group finds healing in life's stories (Book Reviews)
The Charlotte Observer
John Shelton Reed, retired UNC Chapel Hill sociology professor and expert on all things Southern, says of Coski's book: "Whatever the flag means to you (valor, bigotry, and boogie-till-you-puke are just three of the possibilities) you'll learn something here."

AIDS event has 'Magic'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The very fact that Earvin "Magic" Johnson is alive to stride onto the stage of the Carolina Theatre, impressively tall and healthy more than 13 years after he learned he was HIV-positive, is an inspiration to many....Johnson spoke as part of the ninth annual Hope For People Living With AIDS, sponsored by Duke University's Adult AIDS Research and Treatment Center and the UNC Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, along with other groups.

Wayne, Duplin, Sampson leaders take 'eye-opening' trip to Mexico
News-Argus (Goldsboro)
Problems that people in Mexico face are not that different from those we face in the U.S, said Duplin County Manager Fred Eldridge after he returned from a trip there....The trip was part of a Latino Initiative, a program of the Raleigh-based Center for International Understanding. The center is a public service program of the University of North Carolina and pays for the trips from money raised through grants and the private sector.

Issues and Trends

Scientists see growth in degree
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Tell people you've earned an MBA, and it's understood you mean a master of business administration....But UNC system leaders would like to see the programs offered throughout the state, said Gretchen Bataille, the system's senior vice president for academic affairs.

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.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/newsserv/clipsindex.htm.

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