Nov. 8, 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

Google Earth, Satellite Maps Boost Armchair Archaeology
National Geographic
Satellite images are giving archaeologists a bird's-eye view of our past—by helping them quickly identify ancient sites from space. Scott Madry, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been pinpointing possible archaeological sites in France with the popular desktop program Google Earth.

Regional Coverage

In 500 words or less ...
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)
Ready? Here's the situation: You are a writer for a popular Hollywood scandal magazine. ..."We want to understand things we can't understand by looking at an application," says Stephen Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Minority melting pot?
The Washington Times
Rumors of racial hatred swirled around the small farm town of Tifton, Ga., last fall after four blacks were arrested in the deadly robberies of six Mexican immigrants. ...The Hispanic presence changes the dynamic of the South, which has always been viewed as white and black," said William Ferris of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina.

In gambling circles, Corker's the odds-on favorite
The Tennessean (Nashville)
U.S. Senate candidates Bob Corker and Harold Ford Jr. may be trading leads in public opinion polls, but when the chips are on the table, smart money's going with Corker. ...Paul Rhode, economic historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, puts it another way. "You have a reward for stating your true and best opinion," he said.

Riley beats Baxley, wins second term as Alabama governor
The Anniston Star (Ala.)
Get Bob Riley to speak to you, and you’ll hear a lot about business and education. ...That’s a sign, says University of North Carolina political science professor Ferrel Guillory, that Riley has learned how to balance the duties of office with the demands of partisans.

Excercise as cancer therapy
The Abilene Reporter-News (Texas)
Six months ago you couldn't have paid Gretchen Hoag to go to a gym. ... "What we would like is to be able to show how beneficial and important these complementary therapies are," said Claudio Battaglini, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at UNC and co-founder of the breast cancer exercise program.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2006/110306.htm

Rise of the Aerotropolis
WTHR-TV (NBC, Indianapolis)
The name wasn't terribly auspicious: Nong Ngu Hao, the "Cobra Swamp." ...In the relatively obscure world of urban planning, (John) Kasarda, a professor at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, has made a name for himself over the past decade with his radical (some might say bone-chilling) vision of the future: Rather than banish airports to the edges of cities and then do our best to avoid them, he argues, we should move them to the center and build our cities around them.

State and Local Coverage

Learning on wheels
The Statesville Record & Landmark
Iesha Gillespie is healthy, but she is a carrier of the trait for sickle cell disease, an inherited red blood cell disorder. ...The students had their biology class on the Discovery bus from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Destiny science learning program.
UNC Media Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2006/destinyolinstates103006.htm

UNC alumnus endows stipends
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC alumnus Ralph Falls Jr. has endowed $25,000 stipends for six Kenan-Flagler Business School MBA fellows who demonstrate the highest potential for leadership, superior academic achievement and a diversity of lifetime experiences in each incoming class.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct06/fallsprize103006.htm

Darling to direct 'Morrie' at UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Emmy Award-winner Joan Darling will direct PlayMakers Repertory Company in "Mitch Albom's 'Tuesdays with Morrie' " Nov. 15 through Dec. 10 at UNC.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov06/morrie110606.htm

Conference highlights need for fire safety on campuses
The Chapel Hill Herald
The fraternity house fire that killed five UNC students a decade ago had one benefit, Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones explained at a conference on campus fire safety Monday. ...UNC and Chapel Hill have been leaders in promoting campus fire safety since that day, Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said at the conference.

E. coli sickens four students at UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The State Laboratory of Public Health has confirmed four cases of gastroenteritis caused by E. coli bacteria among UNC-Chapel Hill students.
Related links: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-785991.html
http://rdu.news14.com/content/your_news/triangle/default.asp?ArID=94011
http://www.wral.com/health/10260145/detail.html

UNC asked to hold off on cuts
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's chapter of the American Association of University Professors is asking that the university place a 12-month moratorium on its decision to fire 15 dental technicians and outsource their jobs to local labs.
Related link: http://www.chapelhillnews.com/155/story/3514.html

Notable
The Chapel Hill News
Margaret Dardess, UNC's associate provost for strategic partnerships, has been named senior counselor to William L. Roper, dean of the UNC School of Medicine, chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System and vice chancellor for medical affairs. ...UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center nurses Linda Fowler and Sharon Cush have won the Oncology Nursing Excellence Awards.
UNC People Briefs: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2006/110106.htm

Republican chairman Blount to resign
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
State Republican Party Chairman Ferrell Blount plans to resign today as party chief, clearing the way for a possible run for political office in 2008. ...Anita Brown-Graham has been named director of The Institute for Emerging Issues, the think tank based at N.C. State University. Brown-Graham has worked with government officials for 12 years at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government as a professor of public law and government.

Foxx solidifies GOP's grip on 5th
The Winston-Salem Journal
On a day when Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives, voters in Northwest North Carolina re-elected U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, solidifying the 5th District as a Republican stronghold. ... What could shape Foxx's second term are the things that she won't be able to do, said Ferrel Guillory, the director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Looking to avoid bad fats? Check your cooking oils (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Bad fats -- artery-clogging saturated fat and trans fat -- are getting a lot of attention in the news. That's prompting some readers to take a closer look at the oils they use to cook. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.

Lay tracks for transit (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...Durham, Orange and Wake counties need to fill in the federal gap with local funding for a redesigned system that will serve the whole Triangle, including Chapel Hill. It is also crucial to include the Carolina North campus envisioned by UNC-Chapel Hill, which should be planned as a transit-oriented development.

Issues and Trends

Paying, playing (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system, isn't a fellow one would think of as naive. He was the White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, after all, and played hardball with a Republican Congress.

Detractors say well-Heeled PAC has light blue hue
The Triangle Business Journal
A political action committee funded by alumni and supporters of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including coaching legend Dean Smith and powerful banker Ken Thompson, is emerging as one of the most prolific campaign financiers in the state.
Related link: http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661107052

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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