May 10, 2006

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Drop in scores for new SAT has educators puzzled
USA Today
College admissions officials seeing large drops in average scores for the critical reading and math sections of the new SAT college entrance exam say they are concerned about the drops and want to know why they're happening. ... "There's so much public concern about testing generally," says Stephen Farmer, director of admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill. "The fundamental question is what's driving this decline and whether we need to take action."

Grapefruit's Effect on Drugs
The Washington Post
Researchers have identified the compound in grapefruit juice that affects how some drugs are absorbed in the body and said yesterday that it might be used to help lower dosages for some patients. Grapefruit juice is known for its effects on drug metabolism and is avoided by some patients, whereas others deliberately take their drugs with the juice. ... Paul B. Watkins of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues say they have identified the substance responsible: furanocoumarin.
Related Links: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/grapefruitstudy050806.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1941228
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=science
News&storyID=2006-05-09T162553Z_01_N09304830_RTRIDST
_0_SCIENCE-GRAPEFRUIT-DC.XML
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/09/health/webmd/main1604338.shtml

Economists Give Bernanke a B+
For First Three Months on Job
The Wall Street Journal
Economists give Ben Bernanke a B+ for his first three months as Alan Greenspan's successor as Federal Reserve chairman but say he could use a little more polish when it comes to communicating with financial markets. ... Advised economist James F. Smith of the University of North Carolina: "Never talk to Maria again."

Regional Coverage

Study: Mom's Mood Affects Kids' Mental Health
WTVJ-TV (Miramar, Fla., NBC)
New research indicates a mother who seeks help for her own mental disorders helps more than just herself. "Maternal depression can be a risk factor for a number of different types of disorders in kids," UNC psychiatrist Dr. Erin Malloy said. The study of 150 mothers and their children suggests treating mom's depression helps reduce those risks in youngsters and also those who do have problems -- everything from depression and anxiety to attention deficit disorder.

State & Local Coverage

5,377 expected to graduate
The Chapel Hill News
Wendy Kopp, president and founder of Teach for America, will give UNC's commencement address Sunday. Commencement will begin in Kenan Memorial Stadium at 9:30 a.m. The speaker: Kopp conceived the idea for Teach for America while she was a senior at Princeton University. Teach for America recruits graduating seniors from top colleges to teach for two years, at entry-level wages, in some of the nation's most disadvantaged grade schools. ... The University Registrar has estimated 5,377 expected graduates: 3,053 bachelor's, 1,338 master's, 325 doctoral and 661 professional degrees and certificates.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2006/commencement050906.htm

Drug Interactions and Your Food
WTVD-TV (Raleigh/Durham, ABC)
Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill have uncovered exactly why grapefruit juice and certain medications don't mix. For years, patients taking drugs for hypertension and high cholesterol have been told to avoid large amounts of grapefruit juice. Every day Kerr Drug pharmacist, Joe Heidrick warns customers of the potential risk of increased side effects of mixing grapefruit juice with their medications. "Because you're just increasing that amount of medication in the body and because the grapefruit juice interacts with the enzymes that excrete the drug out of the body."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/grapefruitstudy050806.htm

Senate leader's top aide leaving for UNC Chapel Hill
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Norma Mills, the chief of staff for Senate leader Marc Basnight, is leaving next month to join the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill. Mills was Basnight's chief of staff from 1993 to 2003 and returned to the job in January 2005. In between, she worked as Dare County attorney. ... Mills will join UNC Chapel Hill's School of Government this summer as a lecturer, with a special emphasis on advising local governments on emergency management issues.

Basnight staff shuffle (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Senate leader Marc Basnight's chief of staff is leaving for a teaching position at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government. Norma Mills has twice served as Basnight's chief of staff, including a stint that began last year. She will lecture in public law and government, UNC-CH officials said, covering areas such as local government law, state government law and emergency management law. "Norma is just the best there is -- she is a brilliant and special person, and I appreciate the dedication she has shown to the Senate and our state over the years." Basnight said in a news release.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/millsannounce050906.htm

Constella widens reach with new advisers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Constella Group, a Durham health services company, has assembled an all-star advisory board led by Tommy Thompson, the former U.S. secretary of health and human services. ... Other advisory board members include William Roper, CEO of the UNC Health Care System; Carol Browner, former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Kenneth Olden, past director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Paul Antony, chief medical officer at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; and Margaret Dardess, associate provost for strategic partnerships at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Bill increases funds for NC military construction, personnel and defense research
Lincoln Tribune (Lincoln)
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole today announced that the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which she is a member, has approved the Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2007. Senator Dole successfully worked to include significant funding for North Carolina in the bill, including more than $720 million for military construction projects, nearly double the 2006 amount. The bill also authorizes more than $54 million for defense industry research and development in the state, including several partnerships with North Carolina universities for defense research. ... Senator Dole also pushed for the inclusion of $5 million for the Citizen Solider support program, which is spearheaded by the University of North Carolina and is the only program in the nation that solely focuses on the needs of military families.

Issues & Trends

2 North Carolina Universities Reject $100-Million Deal Offered by Mann Foundation
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Two public universities in North Carolina have turned down a $100-million-plus offer from the Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Biomedical Engineering that would have established a joint institute to help commercialize inventions based on their academic research. Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at North Carolina State University ended discussions with the foundation last week because its demands for rights to the universities' intellectual property were too broad, university officials confirmed on Tuesday.

Easley proposes state budget heavy on education spending
The Associated Press (NC)
Gov. Mike Easley rolled out an $18.9 billion budget proposal Tuesday for the next fiscal year that tilts heavily toward education as he tries to keep a pledge to raise teacher salaries above the national average. The education package also would add middle-school literacy coaches, expand specialty high schools, spend more in the state's poorest school districts and pay for expected enrollment increases for public schools, community colleges and the University of North Carolina system.

Easley proposes sales tax cut
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gov. Mike Easley would state employees their biggest pay raise since 1994 -- 4 percent for most, but an average of 8 percent for teachers and community college faculty and administrators. ... Easley on Tuesday proposed trimming the statewide sales tax while expanding state spending on education, the justice system and human services. Flush with cash from a surplus of tax collections, Easley proposed the largest increase in the state's budget in nearly a decade.

Easley budget offers relief
The Winston-Salem Journal
The tax change was part of an $18.9 billion budget proposal that the governor released. … The proposal would also: Increase spending by 7.7 percent, especially for teachers' salaries, the court system and the mental-health system.

Gov. backs fractional sales tax break, teacher raises, uptown campus
The Charlotte Observer
Gov. Mike Easley's budget plan caps the gas tax, raises the minimum wage and boosts teacher salaries by an average of 8 percent and state employees' pay by 4 percent. He socked millions into emergency funds, paid back money borrowed from the state retirement system and the highway trust fund and set aside $45.8 million for a UNC Charlotte uptown campus. ... $200 million is devoted to repair and renovation of state facilities, largely neglected during recent budget crisis years.

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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