May 20, 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:

Fifth Suicide Bombing in 48 Hours Kills 3 Israelis
CNN News Night with Aaron Brown
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: I am in for Aaron tonight, and we want 
to tell you it is a chilling sign of the times. ... Finally from us, advice for the class of 
2003. It's high season for commencement speeches, and anyone who's been to a 
few graduations knows that only a handful rise above the cliches to really make us 
think or, better yet, laugh. Here's a sample from that handful, some of this year's 
standouts. BILL COSBY, ENTERTAINER, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH 
CAROLINA: Today is a day for you to cheer and throw the beach ball back and 
forth... (The program aired video clips; a transcript of the Cosby sound bite aired 
appears at the very bottom of the page linked to below.)
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0305/19/asb.00.html

Leading Drugs for Psychosis Come Under New Scrutiny
The New York Times
They were billed as near wonder drugs, much safer and more effective in treating 
schizophrenia than anything that had come before. For many years, it seemed that 
the excitement was fully warranted. ... "Clinicians and investigators alike are taking 
a harder and closer look at areas in which the newer drugs are supposed to be 
better," said Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, a professor of psychiatry and 
pharmacology at the University of North Carolina. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/20/health/20PSYC.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

All Washed Up
The Chronicle of Higher Education
A longtime tradition is going down the drain at the University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill, where officials plan to eliminate a swimming test required to graduate.
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i37/37a00902.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access articles.)

Cultural Trail could set new course
Indianapolis City Star
The city of Indianapolis is at a crossroads. Residents and officials are deciding
whether to drastically change Downtown by creating paths for bikers, skaters, 
walkers and joggers, eliminating traffic lanes on some major arteries in the process. 
... "I have been to over 200 communities in the last couple years, and I have not 
heard of anything like this," said Rich Killingsworth, director of Active Living 
by Design at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/1/044232-2251-009.html

Southern wind lifts Bush, buffets Democrats (Commentary)
The Orlando Sentinel
The South, it seems, is a little different from the rest of America. ... Keeter 
showcased the differences recently for the Program on Southern Politics, 
Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpsilva18051803may18.story

Regional Coverage

A Tar Heel chides the Old Dominion (Editorial)
The Virginian-Pilot
James Moeser didn't come across as a braggart, just a pragmatist. Asked about 
the differences between North Carolina and Virginia colleges last week during a 
forum on Southern politics, the chancellor of the University of North Carolina 
at Chapel Hill didn't mince words. 
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=54262&ran=168548
(Note: The editorial writer attended the Southern Journalist Roundtable last week
at which the chancellor spoke in conjunction with the Program on Southern 
Politics, Media and Public Life, based at the School of Journalism and Mass 
Communication. News Services also supplied additional background information.)

Phipps name could be liability for down-ticket Democrats
The Sun News
Last week, Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps called Gov. Mike Easley's 
letter asking her to resign "just politics." ... "That is a legitimate thing for a governor
to worry about. If a governor believes in his style of politics and his programs, then 
it is up to him to help elect as many people as possible who believe in that," said 
Ferrell Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public
Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/5901180.htm

State and Local Coverage

UNC health care leader will resign 
News and Observer
The chief executive of the state-owned UNC Health Care System, Dr. Jeffrey L. 
Houpt, said Monday that he will step down by May of next year or sooner if a 
replacement can be found before then. 
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2551374p-2368543c.html
(Note: Related stories also appeared in The Herald-Sun, 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-354018.html, and The Triangle Business 
Journal, http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2003/05/19/daily10.html. 
WCHL-AM also covered the announcement yesterday. For more information, 
please see http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may03/houpt051903.html)

Poll: N.C. teens trust government
Charlotte Observer
N.C. teens have high confidence in government, even when they don't know much 
about it, according to a first-time citizenship poll. The N.C. Civic Education 
Consortium, made up of 190 statewide government, nonprofit and business groups 
trying to engage young people in public life, polled 13- to 17-year-olds and adults 
about measures of civic life. .. "There were interesting paradoxes all the way 
through," said Debra Henzey, director of the consortium, which is housed in the 
UNC Chapel Hill School of Government.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5900241.htm
(Note: Other coverage known to date includes The Asheville Citizen-Times, 
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/35084, and The News and 
Observer, http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2551325p-2368602c.html. 
Consortium Director Debra Henzey also has been interviewed by WUNC-FM,
the National Public Radio affiliate at UNC. For more information about the index, 
visit http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may03/civicindex051903.html)

East junior will help unveil 'civic index'
The Daily Courier (Forest City)
An East Rutherford High School junior will be on hand on Monday to help introduce 
a first-ever "civic index" of the state. Jenna Lentz, 17, of Forest City, will speak at 
a press conference at the Albert Coates Local Government Complex in Raleigh for 
the unveiling of the first North Carolina Civic Index. The index is "a snapshot of the 
state's civic vitality," according to the organization that helped develop it, the North 
Carolina Civic Education Consortium.
http://www.thedigitalcourier.com/articles/2003/05/18/news/news03.txt
(News Services suggested this local-angle approach to the story.)

Civic Index shows there's some work to do for democracy (Editorial)
Asheville Citizen-Times
A study released Monday by the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium 
analyzing "citizenship skills, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and opportunities in 
the Tar Heel state'' held some encouraging numbers about this state's next crop 
of citizens. And some that were not encouraging at all.
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/editorial/35089

Graduates' big day at UNC (Interactive Slide Show)
The Chapel Hill Herald
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-353697.html

Common goals
The Chapel Hill News
Suppose you start at the intersection of Franklin and Columbia streets in downtown 
Chapel Hill and set out to walk onto the main UNC campus. ... Under a master plan 
approved last November by the UNC Board of Trustees, that entire northwest 
quadrant of campus will be transformed into what is being called the Arts Common.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2542742p-2360968c.html

Drug company gets partner 
News and Observer
Ercole Biotech, a 1-year-old company founded on technology licensed from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has achieved its first major milestone 
by signing a collaboration agreement with publicly traded Isis Pharmaceuticals 
of California.
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2551375p-2368564c.html

Lessons to be learned from my favorite molecule (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
On Feb. 28, 1953, Jim Watson and Francis Crick ran at breakneck speed from their 
laboratory at Cambridge University to a local pub called the Eagle.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/opinion/story/2543103p-2361354c.html
(The author, Holden Thorp, is director of the Morehead Planetarium 
and Science Center.)

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Chapel Hill to decide on next step in duplex ban at June 9 meeting 
The Herald-Sun
With the end in sight for the town’s temporary ban on new duplexes in many 
neighborhoods, the Chapel Hill Town Council has to decide what to do next. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-354064.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