May 18, 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

Colleges Get Building Fever
The Wall Street Journal
When Ohio University's $60 million, 200,000-square-foot student union is completed in 2006, it will have a three-story entry rotunda with a grand staircase, a 250-seat theater, a food court, a ballroom and a five-story atrium linking the upper campus with the lower campus down the hill....The $72 million Rams Head Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a sports bar with 40 videogames, including a helicopter simulator.
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Chief of Unit Files Lawsuit Accusing G.E. of Racial Bias
The New York Times
A chief executive of a unit of General Electric filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing G.E. of underpaying African-American managers, denying them promotions and retaliating when they raise objections. He is seeking $450 million in damages...."For a suit like this to succeed, it has to show discriminatory intent, and that means showing that lots of other high performers were not promoted," said James H. Johnson, a professor of management at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School who specializes in diversity issues.
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C-Sections on the Rise
People Magazine
The lead author of the episiotomy study hopes her research won't contribute to another childbirth trend: the increasing popularity of cesarean sections. Those women who consider episiotomies a way to ease childbirth might consider a C-section if they felt episiotomies weren't an option. But that would be a mistake, says Katherine Hartmann, director of the Center for Women's Health Research at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "We don't want to send the message that cesarean is better," she says.

Study: Herb Helps Curb Binge Drinking
The Associated Press (National)
A group of 20-something drinkers seemed to lose the urge to binge-drink when they took pills made from kudzu, that ubiquitous vine that blankets the South, researchers reported....In 2003, David Overstreet and other researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill studied the plant found it had a similar effect on rats.
Related link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/11672752.htm

Child Abuse Death Risk High in Military Families
Health Day News
Children from military families are twice as likely to die from severe abuse as other children are, according to a North Carolina study...."In this study, the long-term patterns of child abuse homicides are not coincidence," Marcia Herman-Giddens, senior fellow at the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute and an adjunct professor at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, said in a prepared statement.

Regional Coverage

Antidepressants in pregnancy may pose risks
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pregnant women who take antidepressants such as Prozac and Paxil may be increasing the chances that their babies suffer from irritability, tremors and seizures at birth...."We can't assume that there's no adverse effects," said Sandy Zeskind, a research professor in pediatrics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Where's the baby boom nine months after Charley? (Commentary)
The Sun-Herald (Charlotte, Fl.)
It's about time. Last Friday was the nine-month anniversary of Hurricane Charley's rampage through our area....Richard Urdy of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied the birth records of every hospital in New York City following the 1965 blackout and, contrary to the New York Times' findings, said births actually declined.

State & Local Coverage

Town, UNC push for Columbia Street work
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
University and UNC Health Care officials have moved to dispel any doubts about their position on the planned improvements to South Columbia Street.

UNC expects more income
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC Hospitals, which accounts for about half of the public UNC Health Care system's revenue, expects to end the 2006 budget year with operating income of $10.3 million -- about a $10 million improvement from its expected results this year.

UNC seeks higher profile
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill has entered into a $1 million contract with Raleigh public relations powerhouse Capstrat to boost the state-supported health system's image nationally....Capstrat helped make the most of the event by encouraging national media reporters to attend the conference, said Karen McCall, UNC Health Care's vice president for public affairs and marketing.

Moratorium leaders (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Committed death-penalty opponents understandably support a two-year moratorium on executions, in the hope that North Carolina lawmakers will use the time to focus on problems with capital punishment....Those concerned about the fairness of the death penalty as administered in North Carolina include law professors Charles Daye of UNC-Chapel Hill and Walter Dellinger III of Duke University.

UNC alleged to have forced bankruptcy
The Chapel Hill Herald
A former UNC subcontractor is suing the university, claiming that Carolina's negligence led the demolition company into bankruptcy.....When contacted Tuesday, Peter Reinhardt, UNC's director of environment, health and safety, said he knew nothing of the lawsuit. Leslie Strohm, UNC's general counsel, declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Sylva targets growth areas for ‘consideration’
Smoky Mountain News (Sylva)
The town of Sylva has approved a 10.8-square mile “area of consideration” and is looking toward the southern N.C. 107 corridor as a future extra-territorial jurisdiction....However, an official with the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the town is not legally required to provide that service.

Issues & Trends

Whither academic freedom?
USA Today
College students who say they can't safely express conservative views on campus are taking their case to a setting they hope will be more hospitable: state legislatures.

Airport location worthy of debate (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
It wasn't long ago that the university wanted the Horace Williams Airport to stay put and some townspeople wanted it put out of town. Now, we have basically the reverse: The university wants to move the airport anywhere and some local residents would prefer it just stay where it is for as long as possible.

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/news/clips/index.shtml.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.