Nov. 16, 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

Migraine Study Brings Men New Headaches
ABC News
It's not as if migraine sufferers need another headache, but a new study suggests that men who suffer from migraines are at a higher risk of heart problems. ..."Migraine is a disorder whose severity may depend on triggers which associate with increased risk of heart disease, such as sleep apnea, anxiety or even Type A behaviors," says Dr. Alan Finkel, director of the University Headache Center and professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Better Way to Avoid Artery Reclog?
WebMD
Researchers have come up with a way to keep heart arteries from reclogging after doctors use a tiny angioplasty balloon to open them: Coat the balloons with drugs. ..."These are very encouraging results," says past AHA President Sidney C. Smith Jr., MD. Smith is a heart specialist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Bristol's Plavix May Be Used for Years, Doctors Say
Bloomberg
Heart patients who get drug-coated stents to prop open arteries are being told for the first time they may need to spend years, not months, on Plavix, a blood thinner from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA. ...Three common reasons patients stop taking Plavix is because it causes easy bruising and bleeding, it's expensive and they just don't understand how important it is, said Sidney Smith, a spokesman and past president of the American Heart Association and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

John Edwards and the Virtues of Home
Fresh Air from WHYY, National Public Radio
Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards has edited a book, Home, in which both public figures and lesser-known professionals reflect on the places where they grew up. The former senator currently lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., and campaigned for Democrats in advance of last week's midterm elections.

Regional Coverage

Bats In Their Belfry
The New York Post
The New York City Council can reliably be counted on to feather its own nest when given a chance - and to stick its collective nose where it has no proper business. ...Researchers at the University of North Carolina have found there is no significant risk with either metal or wood bats.

State and Local Coverage

Moeser says tuition hikes should cover all UNC students
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
In setting tuition rates for next year, the UNC Board of Trustees faces a choice that is not just financial, but philosophical. ..."The university is an integrated organization and not a loose federation of independent entities, each with a separate funding model," UNC Chancellor James Moeser wrote to the chairman of the university's board of trustees, perhaps tearing a page from the Federalist Papers.

UNC seeks $25 million to start Carolina North
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC system is requesting $25 million for planning and site work at UNC-Chapel Hill's proposed Carolina North research campus, Chancellor James Moeser announced Wednesday. "That will really send the engine down the track, there's no doubt about that," Moeser told the Building and Grounds Committee of the UNC-CH Board of Trustees.

Black alumni honor six at reunion
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Four alumni, a former associate dean and a student were honored last week at the Black Alumni Reunion of UNC-Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov06/blkalums111006.htm

Notable
The Chapel Hill News
Cherri D. Hobgood, associate dean for curriculum and educational development and associate professor of emergency medicine in the UNC School of Medicine, has been elected chair of the board of directors of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

UNC starts music sharing service
WCHL-AM
A new music sharing service for UNC students coming online this week seeks to put a dent in illegal file sharing on campus. Student body president James Allred says his staff looked for a service that students would find just as good as illegal downloading.

Jobs shifting at Blue Cross
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has streamlined its executive team. ...The number of executives reporting directly to a CEO generally declines as businesses become more complex, said Hugh O'Neill, a professor at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. For an organization as complex as Blue Cross, the state's largest health insurer, "seven was a lot," he said.

Data layers expose trends
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sure, go ahead and mock the fact that Wednesday was officially GIS Day, but before you do, consider the following: GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, is being used in North Carolina to prevent syphilis, fight crime and predict landslides. ...Shannon Schelin, director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Public Technology, said initially it was the real estate community that pushed governments to adopt GIS for the purpose of accessing property tax records.

US Air-Delta merger's impact on PTI garners differing views
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad
US Airways Group Inc. has launched an $8 billion hostile takeover bid for Delta Air Lines Inc. in a bold effort to create the world's largest airline. ...While US Airways may lower many of its fares, John Kasarda, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill who has studied the airline industry, says it's unlikely PTI would see reduced fares following a merger. To the contrary, fares likely would go up, given the scope of its presence at the airport.

UNC picks a winner (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Amid a dismal, disappointing season, the cloud sagging over the University of North Carolina faithful was lifted this week when Athletics Director Dick Baddour named Butch Davis head coach of the struggling Tar Heel football team, effective at the end of the season.
Note: No link available.

Winning above all else (Letter to the editor)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Editor Bob Ashley wrote on Oct. 29 about the firing of UNC Football Coach John Bunting. He quoted UNC Athletics Director Dick Baddour, as saying Bunting "put character and academics first and never once compromised the university's principles." I heartily agree and think Bunting is a class act.

Who runs UNC? Athletics or academics? (Opinion column)
The Charlotte Observer
This week UNC Chapel Hill announced a new football coach for the ailing Tar Heels. Butch Davis, former coach for the University of Miami and the NFL's Cleveland Browns, will take over after the season.

Marchers, petition back UNC dental techs
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
About 35 people, some wearing yellow sad faces, marched on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus Wednesday to protest planned layoffs of 15 dental technicians.
Related link: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-789173.html

Shape up for the slopes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
What's a nice guy like Andrew Hooge doing in a place like Chapel Hill? Not that there's anything wrong with Chapel Hill. ..."I'm here because of the School of Public Health," Hooge says to clear up the mystery. He's earning a master's degree in public health while forging a snow-fitness mini-empire that includes a book ("FitSkiing: Your Guide for Peak Skiing Fitness"), consultation with the U.S. Ski Team, creating and teaching two snow-fit courses at UNC Wellness Centers' Meadowmont facility and a Web site that will include more than 100 recommended exercises for snow conditioning.

Issues and Trends

Veterans meet protesters
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The day after news that a soldier from Orange County had been killed by a bomb in Iraq, protesters marched down Franklin Street to the Army's new recruiting station. ..."It's not the kids who have lots of choices and parental support [who get recruited]," said protester Tamara Tal, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student.
Related link: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-789174.html

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.