September 9, 2003

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:

National News Coverage

Experts Urge People to Increase Exercise
Newsday
It took Americans decades to forget how to walk, and experts think it could take longer to learn it all over again...."What we are trying to get people to understand here is the environment could create better choices for them to achieve a healthier lifestyle," said Richard Killingsworth, director of Active Living by Design, a community planning program based at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
(Distributed by the National Associated Press.)

Internships Let Students Tackle Some of IBM's Toughest Problems
The Chronicle of Higher Education
... Vani Prasad speaks calmly to a roomful of IBM executives. She's demonstrating software that would help an electric utility's operations manager cope with emergencies...."It's almost like memory, only better," says Mariano Pelliza, an M.B.A. student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who is on a team with three software developers.
(Available by subscription only.)

Edwards' sacrifice in Senate lauded
Des Moines Register
Key backers of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards say his decision to give up his seat in the U.S. Senate shows what he is willing to risk to win the 2004 nomination....University of North Carolina political science professor James Stimson said Edwards' announcement Sunday was of little surprise in his home state, where his re-election chances had dimmed as he campaigned for president.

State and Local Coverage

Triangle grades on growth mixed
The News & Observer
The Triangle has a relatively strong economy and well-educated residents but gets so-so marks for traffic, sprawl and high housing costs, according to a group of planners and activists who presented the first "smart growth report card" for the region on Monday....The group, led by the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, hopes the report card will focus attention on the problems caused by the Triangle's rapid growth and development.

Livability study gives area middling grades
The Herald-Sun
A study released Monday depicts the Triangle as an unimpressive C-plus student in need of tutoring and more rigorous study in so-called "smart growth."...The seven members of the Triangle Regional Growth Report Card Committee were brought together by Miller's group and by the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Urban and Regional Studies. The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation paid for the study with a $30,000 grant for several projects, including the report card research.

First, a U.N.-backed vote of the people (Opinion Editorial Column)
The News & Observer
Is the American presence in Iraq an increasingly unpopular and inept military occupation or the first, if messy, stage in a transition to democracy following the ouster of a brutal dictatorship?...Steven I. Levine is associate chair of the Curriculum in International and Area Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.

'Nickle and Dimed' author to visit UNC
The Herald-Sun
For months, UNC officials have had no luck trying to bring noted author Barbara Ehrenreich to campus for a lecture.

Bowles, Blue Consider Another Stab At Senate
WNCN-TV (NBC-Raleigh)
A decision by U.S. Sen. John Edwards to forego re-election to concentrate on his presidential bid could set up a partial rematch of last year's Democratic primary....Ferrell Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Bowles' fortune and fund-raising prowess could scare off some potential newcomers with Senate aspirations.
(Distributed by the N.C. Associated Press.)

Attorney, Family Continue Fight As Hunt's Execution Looms
WRAL-TV (CBS-Raleigh)
With Henry Lee Hunt's execution just days away, his family and attorneys Monday said the convicted killer is innocent and continued fighting to stop the state from carrying out his death sentence....Richard Rosen, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law school, said he also has doubts about the verdict.

'BTI' name will die with merger
The Triangle Business Journal
BTI, the corporate brand created in 1983 by entrepreneur Pete Loftin and cemented into the Triangle community over the years through sponsorships and naming rights, will be retired....Neil Morgan, an assistant professor of marketing at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School, says it doesn't make economic sense to maintain two brands selling the same products.

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Admissions Group Halts Enforcement of Controversial Rule on Early-Action Programs
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The National Association for College Admission Counseling has decided to stop enforcing its two-year-old rule about early-acceptance admissions programs, which a few selective colleges have defied and many others have contested.
(Note: Available by subscription only. )

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu.

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.