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Nov. 13, 2007

 

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

GET SMART(ER)
The Washington Post

You're struggling with a tricky problem at work. Then you had to do the embarrassing "Um, hiiiiiiiiiii," routine to cover the fact that you forgot the name of the woman you always bump into at the copy machine…"Until five years ago, we thought you were pretty much finished forming your brain by 4 or 5 years of age, and we were wrong," says Steven Zeisel, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wild West: The Prequel
The New York Times Magazine

The western genre and the Hollywood mythmaking machine match up so nicely that it’s hard to imagine one without the other…“It’s not really wild — that’s why it can be entertaining,” Kasson, a professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, told me.

New York, Chicago to Borrow With Munis Cheapest Since 2003
Bloomberg

New York City leads U.S. state and local governments seeking buyers for $5 billion in fixed-rate bonds after a three-week drop in the municipal market left tax- exempt debt at its cheapest relative to Treasuries since 2003…The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will offer $288 million of revenue bonds to finance projects on utility infrastructure, student housing, dining and retail services, and parking, with UBS managing as well.

Regional Coverage

Nobel Prize research could hold key for rare genetic disorder
The Associated Press

Cooper County, Missouri is a long way from Stockholm, Sweden. A shade more than 4,600 miles, to be precise…Capecchi helped develop a method to manipulate mouse genes to mimic human diseases such as Moebius syndrome, cancer, cystic fibrosis and others. He shared the prize with longtime collaborators Oliver Smithies of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Martin Evans of Cardiff University in Wales.

ACS Updates Recommendations For Breast Cancer Screening
WAFB-TV/CBS (Baton Rouge, La.)

Women who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer should have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the other breast in addition to mammography. Doing so may help doctors find a small number of cancer cases missed by mammography, a new study reports…"The results of this study will lead to changes in practice," said Dr. Etta Pisano, one of the study's authors, and director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

$800,000 Grant to Aid Minorities
The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.)

The numbers are grim for black and Hispanic boys in Polk County schools…The School District hopes to find ways to solve the problem with an $800,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for The Promoting Academic Success (PAS) of Boys of Color Initiative at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug06/kellogg081606.htm

Facts skewed on helmet law (Letter to the Editor)
The Flint Journal (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Motorcyclists in Michigan are, quite frankly, getting tired of the rhetoric and misinformation, especially from people who do not ride motorcycles…Fact: One of the most detailed studies (by the University of North Carolina) showed no significant difference between the average cost of a hospital stay of helmeted vs. non-helmeted riders (Vince Piacenti, vice president, ABATE of Michigan).

State & Local Coverage

Campuses join green bandwagon
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…Not all North Carolina colleges and universities have gone that far. Some have begun to embrace greener living with composting, biodiesel fuels, solar energy and locally grown food in the cafeteria…UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser has pledged that the proposed Carolina North research campus will be a model of sustainability — a promise that has been greeted with skepticism by town leaders.

'Green park' may be model for state
The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City)

A "green park" in Camden County has the potential to be a showcase for the entire state, a University of North Carolina professor said Monday. Douglas Crawford-Brown, president of the UNC's Institute of the Environment, last week toured the site in Camden County where the park might be built.

UNC Study: Blacks Add Nearly $45 Billion to State's Economy
WRAL-TV/CBS (Raleigh)

A recent study shows blacks in North Carolina contribute more than $44.7 billlion to the state's economy through their purchases and taxes. The study, "The Economic Impact of the African-American Population on the State of North Carolina," said if growth trends continue, the total economic impact of blacks' spendings in the state could increase to $60 billion by 2009.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov07/aarelease111307.html

UNC Researchers Target New Means of Fighting Cystic Fibrosis
WRAL-TV CBS (Raleigh)

Early next year, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will begin enrolling infants in a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of inhaled saline as a treatment for cystic fibrosis lung disease. It’s a treatment that was proven to work in adults in two earlier studies – one by researchers at UNC and one funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Australia. Both studies were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in January 2006.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov07/inhaledsalinetrial110907.html

Needle therapy gaining converts
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…A growing body of research suggests that the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture is both safe and effective for treating nausea, vomiting and pain associated with surgery…Pali Delevitt of Chapel Hill had (Lori)Fendell with her at UNC Hospitals in 2001 and 2002 for multiple surgeries to remove cancerous lesions from her tongue, throat and lower palate.

REVIVING HOUSE CALLS: Asheville doctor turns medical practice into mobile business
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)

Dr. Allen Lalor rolls a small suitcase down his Fairview driveway and opens it to reveal the contents of his new mobile health care business…Dr. Tim Carey, director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Medical Research at UNC Chapel Hill, said he worries the new businesses indicate larger problems with the nation’s health care system.

WUNC eyes expansion in county
The Dispatch (Lexington)

Fans of National Public Radio programs like "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered" and "Fresh Air" may be able to hear those shows and others more clearly on a new WUNC frequency the station is applying to put in Welcome. The public radio station, a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, broadcasts a 100,000-kilowatt signal throughout the Triangle and Triad on 91.5 FM.

NCSU, UNC rivals in water usage too
News 14 Carolina (Raleigh)

The Tobacco Road rivalry has spilled off the fields and the courts and into the realm of water conservation. N.C. State's chancellor has challenged UNC-CHapel Hill's chancellor to see which campus can conserve more water between now and when the two schools play each other during basketball season.

AP photo editor, former bureau chief to present photo exhibit at UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Walter Mears, former Washington bureau chief for The Associated Press, and Kiichiro Sato, AP photo editor in Ohio, will present an exhibit illustrating the history of the AP on Thursday at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
UNC News Brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2007/111207.html

Tick-borne ills – we're not out of the woods (Opinion Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

After a couple of recent news stories, some citizens are breathing a sigh of relief about Rocky Mountain spotted fever, feeling they no longer need to be so concerned. Actually, medical providers and residents need to be more vigilant about Rocky Mountain spotted fever and related infections, not less (Marcia E. Herman-Giddens is an adjunct professor at the UNC School of Public Health).

The undocumented (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Ruth Sheehan's Nov. 7 column on the new Wake County program to identify and deport illegal immigrants was, for me, a breath of fresh air in an atmosphere of increasing hostility toward the undocumented among us…I am grateful to Sheehan for this column and for highlighting the work of UNC-Chapel Hill's Hannah Gill on this topic.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/sheehan/2007/story/766132.html

Issues & Trends

When and Why Professors Retire
Inside Higher Ed

Joan Lorden said she noticed something unsettling a few years ago: When she went to events honoring professors for teaching awards, there was too much overlap in those being honored with those whose retirements were being announced at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she is provost…A perfect illustration of this point came from Betsy E. Brown, special assistant to the provost of North Carolina State University, who presented data she gathered from two University of North Carolina System surveys of faculty members aged 50 and over, and related studies of that group.

Graduation Rates of Athletes Outpace Students at Large
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Scholarship athletes at Division I institutions continue to graduate at a rate higher than students over all, according to an NCAA report released last week. But among white male students, athletes graduated at a lower rate than their peers in the student body at large. And in a handful of the biggest programs, athletes completed college at a rate much lower than other students.

Colleges waive application fee
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

A flood of college applications is expected at North Carolina colleges and universities this week…"We expanded the bandwidth just to make sure we can handle the applications this week," said Bobby Kanoy, the UNC system's senior associate vice president for academic and student affairs.
Related Link: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2031481/

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