May 25, 2005

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

State & Local Coverage

National Guard troops should sign up for post-service dental care program (Editorial)
Fayetteville Observer
Like an appointment with the dentist, signing up for two years of free dental care is easily put off....Under the program, the nation's first, UNC Hospitals and the Department of Veterans Affairs will guarantee basic dental care - cleaning, X-rays, exams and even restorative work - to those who sign up within 90 days after separation from service.

Dental care available for war returnees
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
If they sign up promptly, Reservists and National Guard soldiers returning home after service in Iraq or Afghanistan will become eligible for free dental services under a $355,000 contract being announced today by UNC Hospitals and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Note: NBC-17 (Raleigh), Associated Press, WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill), NC News Network and WPTF-AM (Raleigh) also covered this story.

Dental Care for Veterans
WUNC-FM (North Carolina Public
Thousands of soldiers in North Carolina are coming home from Iraq. There are so many that the Department of Veteran Affairs is finding it hard to keep up with all the soldiers’ medical and dental needs. Now the military has signed an agreement with UNC Hospitals to get help treating combat veterans’ dental needs.

Student member on UNC board may not get to vote
The Chapel Hill Herald
Legislation that would give a vote to the student member of the UNC system's Board of Governors sailed through the State House last week and has landed in the Senate's rules committee.

Red Snapper turned out to be "Not on the Menu"
WNCT-TV (CBS, Greenville)
If you go to a steak house and instead of getting the filet mignon you paid for, they gave you a strip steak three out of four times, would you go back?....The problem came to light with UNC-Chapel Hill Assistant Professor Peter Marko set up an assignment for his graduate students in 2002.

House still looks reluctant to address cell phone bill
Up & Coming Weekly (Cape Fear)
Rep. Mary McAllister is taking another stab at it. She wants to stop drivers from cramming cell phones in an ear and yapping away while making their way to work or cruising to the corner grocery store.....Among the studies they cite is one conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center which estimates that 1,475 vehicle crashes in the state each year involve the use of a cell phone.

Four-county Hub organization makes some organizing strides
The Daily Dispatch (Henderson)
The organization charged with developing a system of economic development parks in a four-county region, called the Kerr-Tar Hub, now has a name: The Kerr Tar Regional Economic Development Cor-poration.....Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties have each decided to participate in bringing to reality a concept developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the direction of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.

Family Caregiver Program Hosts Retreat
The Pilot (Southern Pines)
The Older Americans Act gave birth to the Family Caregiver Program in 2000....This book was written as a project for the Senior Leadership Program sponsored by the Institute on Aging at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and 50 copies were a gift to the Family Caregiver Program.

Pastor unrepentant over sign
The Charlotte Observer
An N.C. Baptist official Tuesday said he worries that a sign outside a small church in Forest City could incite "negative actions" toward Christians around the world.....UNC Chapel Hill political science professor Donald Searing told the Daily Courier newspaper in Forest City that putting such a sign in a public place is "an un-American example of intolerance, of aggressive disrespect for deeply held views."

Issues & Trends

College athletics, studies must merge
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Though the close of the spring semester has ushered in a wide-open summer for most students at Duke University, women's basketball player Mistie Williams will spend the vacation training for her final season on the squad.

Education still gripping with sensitive issue (Commentary)
Up & Coming Weekly (Cape Fear)
After Molly Broad announced plans to retire as head of the University of North Carolina system, officials began a series of meetings to solicit ideas about what the next UNC president should bring to the job. Academic expertise, fundraising heft, political connections - all got mentions, and understandably so. I'm just sorry that there was so little talk about hiring a new UNC president with a commitment to diversity.

Changed Chapel Hill is foreseen
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Opinions varied, but reactions to the redevelopment plans for two downtown Chapel Hill parking areas Tuesday were much the same.

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.

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