May 19, 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

New strategy for Alzheimer's under study
United Press International
A possible strategy for preventing or treating Alzheimer's disease and other brain and spinal cord damage has been uncovered by researchers. ... The study team, from the San Francisco Veteran Administration Medical Center and the University of North Carolina, identified several compounds that reportedly could play a role in treating degenerative conditions of the nervous system.

State & Local coverage

New UNC Chapel Hill staff stop at UNCC for talk, tour
The Charlotte Observer
While new UNC Chapel Hill faculty and administrators have always stopped in the Queen City during their annual tour across the state, they had never visited UNC Charlotte. ... Faculty and administrators from both schools met for breakfast in UNCC's Prospector Cafe as part of the Tar Heel Bus Tour.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/bustour051106.htm
UNC Media Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2006/bustourdayfive051806.htm

Tufts, ex-UNC administrator
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A longtime UNC-Chapel Hill administrator who led efforts to make sure products bearing the Carolina logo were made under fair working conditions died Tuesday. ... Rutledge "Rut" Tufts was 59.
Note: This story also was also covered by The Associated Press.

'Rut' Tufts, long-time leader at UNC, dies
The Chapel Hill Herald
Rutledge "Rut" Tufts, who led UNC's efforts to promote fair and decent conditions where items bearing the Carolina logo were made, has died. ... "He helped make our licensing and labor code among the nation's very best," UNC Chancellor James Moeser said in a statement.
UNC Statement: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/tuftsstatement051806.htm

Radical alterations suggested for Chapel Hill festivals
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Franklin Street's days as party central might be numbered. Town staff members are floating proposals that could eliminate all but one of the main drag's main events. ... Steve Kirschner, a spokesman for the UNC Chapel Hill athletics department, said he is not sure there is room for a party near the Dean Smith Center, as proposed.
Related Link: http://www.wral.com/news/9242271/detail.html

Testing Keyboard Wipes: Do They Disinfect?
NBC 17-TV (Raleigh)
If you work in a healthcare facility, the kinds of germs found on keyboards have the potential to put you in the hospital. ... "Telephones, tabletops, chairs, carpet, everything is contaminated with micro-organisms so it was likely that keyboards would be contaminated with micro-organisms," said Dr. Bill Rutala the Director of Hospital Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina Health Care.
UNC Health Care Release: http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2006/Apr/keyboards

Was she Jesus' wife?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
One of the central claims of "The Da Vinci Code" is that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus and bore him a daughter. ... In his book, "Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend," Bart Ehrman, a professor of religion at UNC-Chapel Hill, said that is a fallacy.

UNC student speaks out for ALS awareness
The Chapel Hill News
UNC nursing major Amanda Watson had two reasons for speaking Lou Gehrig's disease to over 350 people standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial this week. ... Watson, a 19-year-old Raleigh native is the reigning Miss National Sweetheart 2006 and her platform is ALS.

Technobarons of the 21st century
The Independent (Durham)
Internet equality might be more evocative in the political arena. In any case, the concept has been essential to the Internet since it was created. ... In 1992, Paul Jones launched one of the first Web sites in North America. He and a team of techies at UNC-Chapel Hill launched SunSITE, a public archive and information sharing project funded by grants from Sun Microsystems.

UNC's West House to be razed early
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
West House, the tiny structure on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus that preservationists have fought to save, will be demolished this summer -- earlier than the initial October schedule.

Issues & Trends

Chapel Hill sees ins, outs of wifi
The Chapel Hill Herald
According to a panel of experts that gathered Thursday night at Town Hall, at some point in the future access to the Internet will become that kind of essential public utility. ... Another benefit to having a municipal wireless network would be access for emergency personnel, Shannon Howle, the director of the Center for Public Technology at UNC's School of Government, pointed out.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/441166.html

UNCC to open office at research campus
The Charlotte Observer
UNC Charlotte is strengthening ties to the North Carolina Research Campus and will open an office of its Charlotte Research Institute near the fledgling biotech hub next week. ... The research campus has touted its network of partnerships with UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State and Duke University as a major strength; each university will have a significant presence at the site.

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.