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November 30, 2004
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Magnetic beaks lead pigeons home
Agence France Presse
Scientists believe they have confirmed theories that homing pigeons are able to carry out their long-range navigational feat thanks to tiny magnetic particles in their upper beaks....University of North Carolina researcher Cordula Mora placed homing pigeons in a specially-built wooden tunnel that had a feeder platform at each end and magnetic coils attached to its top and bottom.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov04/lohmann112404.htmlNational Coverage
Skip These Tests? (Question and Answer)
The Washington Post
Nortin Hadler says he would sue any doctor who tried to test his cholesterol. Likewise, his bone density, prostate levels, colon cells, etc. The Harvard-trained doc, now in his sixties and a rheumatologist and professor of medicine and microbiology/immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says you, too, should avoid these routine tests, as well as most angioplasties, bypass surgeries and routine mammograms.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sept04/hadler092304.htmlState & Local Coverage
Kids thrive in adopted homeland
The Charlotte Observer
Nine-year-old Fabiola Bernabé, wrapped into an ankle-length dress that arrived just days ago from her grandmother in Mexico, strolls into the auditorium where the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board is about to convene....In a program for CMS school leaders earlier this year, University of North Carolina demographer Jim Johnson warned that school systems that don't rush to accommodate the growth in foreign-language students will find themselves too far behind to catch up.
Cold and flu sufferers should beware of drug interactions
The Associated Press (N.C.)
As we get deeper into the cold and flu season, and with the shortage this year of influenza vaccine, more people may be making a beeline for the nonprescription aisle in their local drugstores....Choose those products that treat only the symptoms you're feeling, said Fred Eckel, a pharmacist at the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy and editor of Pharmacy Times.
Coastal pine land may be saved
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A national conservation association is seeking nearly 5,900 acres of long-leaf pine ecosystem in southeastern North Carolina, home to four endangered species....Still, the land purchase is valuable, said Alan Weakley, curator of the UNC Herbarium in Chapel Hill.
After 14 years, Parker now free
The Charlotte Observer
James Bernard Parker, sentenced to three life terms in one of North Carolina's biggest child sex assault cases, was set free Monday after 14 years behind bars....In the past three years, lawyers, UNC Chapel Hill journalism students and the Observer have raised questions about Parker's guilt and whether his reported crimes at a Monroe public housing project ever took place.
Teen inmate has new counsel
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A teenager convicted of robbing a Durham Police Department employee in 2001 has found another ally in his fight for freedom.....The Durham-based organization uses faculty and students from Duke University, N.C. Central University and UNC-Chapel Hill to attempt to free inmates organizers think were wrongly convicted.
Senate leader asked to testify
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, one of the most powerful leaders in state government, has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury this week....Richard Myers, a UNC-Chapel Hill law professor and former federal prosecutor, said it is significant that someone as powerful as Basnight has been asked to testify, but it doesn't necessarily mean he is in trouble.
A matter of content (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
I've seen letters from conservatives whining that their values are being attacked because of so-called liberal views in the public universities, specifically UNC-Chapel Hill. The latest brouhaha has been about a Western cultures curriculum financed by the Pope Foundation.
100 proof abuse (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Your Nov. 22 front-page article about rats being force-fed alcohol at UNC-Chapel Hill was shocking and sad. You stated how comical the rats looked in their "soused" condition.
Man kills wife, self
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Five days after Randy Leverne McKendall was in front of a judge for violating a domestic violence protection order, police say, he jumped out of a black Ford truck outside his wife's workplace, exchanged words with her in the chilly morning air, then fatally shot her before taking his own life.
Related links: http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-549596.html
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/10300332.htmPoets go to war in 'Heroes'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Pundits may prattle on about how America is a nation divided, especially where war is concerned.....But playwright Stephen MacDonald paints a more complex scenario in his elegant two-person play "Not About Heroes," which is running through Dec. 19 in a captivating production by PlayMakers Repertory Company.
Issues & Trends
Free the Academic Drug Tests (Editorial)
The New York Times
Academic medical centers represent the top rung of medical research in this country and are widely thought to be impartial and independent. So it is disheartening to find them signing restrictive contracts with pharmaceutical companies that allow the companies to dictate what drug testing data can be openly discussed and published.
Registration required.Group starts Triad study: Long-range plan to focus resources on area's economy
The Winston-Salem Journal
The Piedmont Triad Partnership said yesterday that it has been given a mandate by the General Assembly to develop a plan for economic-development initiatives through 2009 that has regionalism at its core....Those include developing existing and new industry clusters, putting into place a mechanism for monitoring the region's health, and better integrating the University of North Carolina system and the N.C. Community College system into projects.
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/newsserv/clipsindex.htm.
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