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Oct. 17, 2005Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
Weight war can be never-ending
USA Today
One of the largest clinical studies on keeping off the pounds after weight loss supplies more evidence that even when the battle of the bulge is won, the war is far from over. ..."Face-to-face classes and the Internet support program were helpful because participants were taught how to make changes in eating and activity to immediately reverse small weight gains," says Deborah Tate, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina and a co-investigator on the study.
Christians ponder role of 'God bloggers'
The Associated Press (National)
That and other pressing questions drew dozens of Christians to a Southern California university this weekend for what was billed as the first-ever national conference for ''God bloggers,'' a growing community of online writers who exchange information and analyze current events from a Christian perspective. ...''We need to write in such a way that people can see themselves presented as... complex people who aren't monsters,'' said Muehlhoff, who studied conflict between gay students and conservative Christians at his previous post at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Obscure Refco wrestles with infamy and balance sheets
The Associated Press (National)
Congratulations, most everybody at Refco Inc.! Before last week, few investors had heard of your commodities futures brokerage firm. ... "When you become a public company, you are held to a standard that is ethically higher. You need to know everything and be clear on everything that you do," said Robert Bushman, a forensic accountant who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "That's not what we see here."
Fortress Investment Hires John Edwards
The Associated Press (National)
Fortress Investment Group LLC has given a job to former vice presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator John Edwards, who will advise the firm on "global economic issues related to Fortress' investment activities," said Kim Rubey, Edwards' spokeswoman. ...He is head of the University of North Carolina's Center on Work Poverty and Opportunity, a think-tank committed to battling poverty.
Doctors often uncertain on drug dosages for kids
ABC News
Grayson Davis looks like a happy and healthy 10-year-old, but over the past nine months he has been to the hospital seven times. ..."It's difficult," says Grayson's pediatrician, Dr. Sandra Kim of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "And there are nights I lie awake and think of our kids and try to think of better ways we can limit the toxicity as much as possible."
Regional Coverage
Needles May Work Better Than Pills
WFMY-TV (CBS, Greensboro)
A new study shows that people who suffer from headaches most days of the month, a condition known as chronic daily headache, fared better when they received acupuncture treatment in addition to their medical treatment. ..."The results showed that patients who received acupuncture reported significant improvement in many quality of life measures," says researcher Remy Coeytaux, MD, assistant professor of family medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, in a news release.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/acupuncture.htmState & Local Coverage
Dig uncovers past of Cherokee in North Carolina
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In a place where their people lived for generations, a man named Artowee and his family once raised corn, apples and peaches. ...But now a UNC-Chapel Hill archaeologist, using shovels and aged government ledgers, is piecing together the lost history of Cherokees forcibly removed from North Carolina 167 years ago. Brett Riggs has unearthed remains of 30 Cherokee farms in Clay, Cherokee and Graham counties, 300 miles west of Raleigh.
UNC tops NIH grant recipients
The Daily Tar Heel
UNC health scientists topped the likes of Harvard and Duke universities this year by winning eight Roadmap for Medical Research grants, more than any other learning institution. ...NIH Roadmap grants seek to move research findings more rapidly to clinical implementation, said Rudy Juliano, professor of pharmacology at the School of Medicine and chairman of the Carolina Roadmap Executive Committee.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/waldrop101305.htmArts are a journey, not a finish line (Question-answer)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Emil Kang is executive director for the arts at UNC-Chapel Hill. Kang, who started work in January, planned the season for the newly renovated and reopened Memorial Hall.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may05/memorial050205.htmlMerritt makes an unforgettable entrance
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Tift Merritt had some unscripted excitement when she opened for Nanci Griffith at UNC-Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall last weekend. Merritt walked onstage with the lights dimmed and approached the front of the stage -- and fell into the orchestra pit as the crowd gasped. After calling out that she was OK, she climbed back onstage and briefly struck a pose on the edge.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/nancitift100305.htmHow do we keep the applause coming?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Art hangs from more walls and performers appear on more stages than ever in the Triangle these days, thanks to a decade of cultural momentum that is now paying off in visible ways ...Last month, for instance, UNC-Chapel Hill reopened Memorial Hall, which had been closed for 3 1/2 years for renovation. The venue promises not only an array of popular and eclectic performers but also the beginning of a massive construction plan emphasizing the arts, overseen by the university's first "arts czar."
Reinventing N.C.'s book festival
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
I admit: North Carolina is a book lover's paradise. No state cherishes the written word more or holds its writers in higher esteem. ...Despite this dramatic face-lift, several important aspects of the biannual festival remain unchanged. It is still a partnership among the libraries of Duke, UNC and N.C. State -- which host the event on a rotating basis.
Costuming an American premiere
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Traci Meek is usually well armed when she sets out to craft costumes for Triangle productions. From research books to films and the Internet, she has plenty of avenues to explore. ..."The Amish are more photographed than the haredim of Israel," says Meek, who teaches costume and makeup design at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Burr proposes agency to counter bioterrorism
The Winston-Salem Journal
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., plans to introduce legislation as early as today that would combat the threat of bioterrorism. ...The legislation has the potential to bring big money to North Carolina's research facilities, such as Duke, the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest University, which announced plans this summer to build a biosafety lab.
Sign language puts words in the hands of babes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Babies come programmed with one word to request food, milk or a clean diaper. ..."It's going well," said Philip Cohen, an associate sociology professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. "She even signed to the dog once. That was cute."
Jobseekers need strategy, good advice
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Mark Sussman was pitching in at UNC Children's Hospital, there were so many other volunteers that his contribution to the cause was of questionable worth. Still, he hung in there simply because he knew the experience would add a little luster to his résumé. ..."There's definitely a strategy involved, and it's definitely not one-size-fits-all," said Marcia Harris, who directs UNC's career services office. "They're not going to get in the door without a good résumé."
Everybody pays
The Chapel Hill News
Willie Williams blew his whistle, and the first boy and girl took off. ...The towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough have joined Orange County, UNC, the Triangle United Way and others to start the year-long process of creating the plan. They will formally launch that initiative next Wednesday, with a homelessness forum at the United Church of Chapel Hill.
Rub-a-dub-dub (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Earlier this year I listened to a PBS program that reported the results of a hand-washing research project at UNC. The question was, for health care providers, what is the minimum time requirement for hand-washing between seeing patients.
Reel revisits '60s speaker ban
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina's speaker ban law, which barred communists from speaking at public universities in the 1960s, is a famous chapter in Chapel Hill's history. The story, along with parallels to today's post-9/11 world, is told in an award-winning documentary by Gorham "Hap" Kindem, professor of communication studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.
UNC-Chapel Hill planning to remove trees
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill will cut down trees that have grown too high in the Horace Williams Airport runway approach to comply with Federal Aviation Administration rules. "We are making these safety improvements to honor our pledge to keep the airport open until 2008 when we move forward with Carolina North," said Nancy Suttenfield, vice chancellor for finance and administration.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/airporttrees101405.htmUNC still shows predatory nature (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
As a property owner on Mason Farm Road, I would like to highlight the absurdity of UNC's plan to widen Mason Farm into a four-lane "parkway" in order to relieve pressure on Manning Drive and provide direct access to the hospital.
Issues & Trends
At Public Universities, Warnings of Privatization
The New York Times
Taxpayer support for public universities, measured per student, has plunged more precipitously since 2001 than at any time in two decades, and several university presidents are calling the decline a de facto privatization of the institutions that played a crucial role in the creation of the American middle class.
Barriers to biotech
The Charlotte Observer
The goal: Build a biotech hub out of nowhere to diversify the economy. ...UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State are partnering with Murdock, along with his companies Dole Food Co. and Castle & Cooke Inc. developers.
Plans shape up for Rosemary Street loft project
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Another possible piece of the future of downtown -- and West Rosemary Street in particular -- now is on the drawing board. ...To put up the loft building, the developer intends to tear down an existing office building, and a two-story structure that currently includes 20 apartment units. The office building is the location of the UNC Family and Community Research Center, the former site of Breadmen's restaurant before it moved across the street. The apartment building is a gray brick structure next door.
Chapel Hill newcomer is lying low
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Chapel Hill mayoral candidate Kevin Wolff did something unusual at a candidates forum this week. ...Wolff also is on record regarding what many see as the campaign's primary issue: Carolina North, the planned UNC-Chapel Hill research campus. He supports the project. "The future of the country is technology and research," he said. "I would like to see the town grow the University of North Carolina and make sure that research doesn't go to one of the other campuses."
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.
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