May 18, 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

Lawyer: Tyco Lent Millions To Execs To Buy Homes
The Wall Street Journal
A Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) lawyer testified Monday that the company lent millions of dollars to its executives to buy homes, including a nearly $400,000 loan to its former treasurer to buy property in Montana....Meanwhile, Thomas L. Hazen, a University of North Carolina law professor, took the stand late Monday, testifying about the basic structure of a corporation. Hazen, an expert witness for prosecutors, is expected to testify about the duties and obligations of a corporation's general counsel on Tuesday.
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Disparities: Skewed Toll of a Curable Disease
The New York Times
Hundreds of thousands of young Americans are infected with chlamydia, a venereal disease that can be cleared up with a single dose of antibiotics, researchers say....The disparity may be another example of inequities in medical treatment for blacks and whites, said the study's lead author, Dr. William C. Miller, an infectious disease specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

...And Action: Alex And Benjamin
CBS "The Early Show"
On Monday, The Early Show began the weeklong "Soap Star Screen Tests," a dramatic acting competition in search of America's next soap star. And you, Early Show viewers, get to decide who it may be....The first student to audition was Alexandra Villarreal, who just wrapped up her freshman year at the University of North Carolina. She is a journalism major.

A Dietary Mineral You Need (and Probably Didn't Know It)
The New York Times
A health-conscious woman asked me the other day whether she should be taking magnesium with her calcium....Dr. [Mildred] Seelig is 83 and has spent 35 years studying the role of magnesium in health. She is retired but still an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina, and is an author of "The Magnesium Factor" (Avery Penguin Putnam, 2003), which she wrote with Dr. Andrea Rosanoff, a nutritionist in Hawaii who has spent 17 years studying magnesium.

Heart Attacks Less Deadly in Northeast Hospitals
HealthDayNews
People in the throes of a heart attack or angina are more likely to survive if they are treated in hospitals in the northeastern United States rather than elsewhere in the nation....In the first study, Dr. Venu Menon, director of the Coronary Care Unit at the University of North Carolina, analyzed more than 56,000 patients treated in 301 hospitals for persistent chest pain, known as unstable angina, or for heart attack.

State & Local Coverage

How welfare reform took hold in region
The Charlotte Observer
In 1996, President Clinton and Congress overhauled the 60-year-old welfare system, dismantling a New Deal program that had guaranteed a federal safety net for the poor....The data was provided by the S.C. Department of Social Services and UNC Chapel Hill's School of Social Work's Jordan Institute for Families, which has a contract with the state to help evaluate North Carolina's welfare program.
Related link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/8678914.htm

UNC receives $300,000 grant
Triangle Business Journal
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has awarded $300,000 to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to fund a short course, or "boot camp," in July for junior faculty interested in research on minority and women's entrepreneurship.

UNC projects hearing draws one resident
The Chapel Hill Herald
The smooth sailing continued Monday for several projects that UNC is planning for its main campus, such as expanding the Morehead Planetarium and shifting a parking lot.

Campus bridges worry council
The News & Observer
The idea of giddy, goofy and daring college students on an uncovered pedestrian bridge over one of the main UNC-Chapel Hill thoroughfares troubles several Town Council members.

50 years later: Remembering Brown vs. Board of Education
News 14 (Time Warner, Raleigh)
Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic "Brown vs. Board of Education" ruling. The court decided that elementary student Linda Brown should be allowed to attend classes at a white school near her home in Topeka, Kansas....UNC Journalism Professor Dr. Chuck Stone reported on the decision. He recently sat down with anchor Vernon Fraley to share his experiences.

Jogger spreads message of hope
The News & Observer
Once or twice a week, Trisha Meili steps outside her Connecticut home for a jog....On Saturday, Meili was in Raleigh to receive the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina's inaugural Courage Award. Before the gala in Raleigh, she visited patients at N.C. Memorial Hospital at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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

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