Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Menu Fight Over Calories Leads Doctor to Reject Post
The New York Times
A dispute over food industry influence has resulted in the resignation of the incoming president of the Obesity Society. …Dr. Barry M. Popkin, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Obesity at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, said he believed Dr. Allison had resigned for the good of the organization.
FDA under pressure after heparin recall
"Lou Dobbs Tonight" CNN
The FDA has found problems at the Chinese factory supplying the main ingredient of a blood thinner heparin. After hundreds of four fatal problems, Baxter International is recalling all heparin it produces. All this comes under mounting congressional pressure for the FDA to explain how this was allowed to happen in the first place. (Jian Liu, Associate Professor of Medicial Chemistry and Natural Products at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill was a guest on Lou Dobbs program that aired Friday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.)
The following link is a copy of the program transcript:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0802/29/ldt.01.html
UNC Tip Sheet:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-heparin-expert-can-
explain-production-problems-possible-alternatives.html
Regional Coverage
Study finds 29 percent of teens admit to texting while driving
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.)
Everyone knows that drinking and driving is dangerous. But a recent survey has people pondering the risk of texting and driving. …Rob Foss, the Director for the Center for Young Drivers at the University of North Carolina, said the recent survey on teens and texting yielded little information because it didn't measure the behavior's frequency.
State and Local Coverage
UNC has brought the world to us (Opinion Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
When I came to Chapel Hill as a college student in 1981, it seemed like a small, sleepy Southern town with a pretty darn good university at its epicenter. …Chancellor James Moeser set out to make UNC an institution on the world map. And he succeeded. As a result, UNC's prominence in international academics has risen exponentially.
ADDY Awards are presented
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The American Advertising Federation's Raleigh-Durham chapter presented its 2008 ADDY Awards on Friday at the American Tobacco Campus. Top awards this year went to: Best in Show …UNC Chapel Hill — Student, Job Corps: Paper Doll.
Schools take steps to involve parents
The Chapel Hill Herald
Central and Efland-Cheeks elementary schools, the two lowest performing schools in the county district, are reaching out to parents as part of an overall effort to increase student achievement. …Central will play host to a spring UNC course for the School of Education that brings together UNC students and "socio-culturally diverse families" in an effort to better prepare future instructors to provide a "quality education for all students" as well as "identify individual needs of their diverse families," according to Central principal Sheila McDonald.
Thomas deserves credit for perseverance (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
We may love it, but we all know what's wrong with college basketball. …So let's ponder — and enjoy — for a moment the story of Quentin Thomas. …When the team needed him most, he was prepared, moving from the bench to the court as if he had been preparing for just this moment. He has been steady, a composed senior at the throttle. He has kept Carolina's hopes alive.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/unc/story/980192.html
Buzzing GNAT could be Granville lab's undoing
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Unpleasant surprises aren't part of the marketing playbook on how to land a big project. …"With a name like 'bio-defense,' you had to know there would be opposition," said Jim Johnson, a Kenan-Flagler Business School professor in Chapel Hill.
Greenway benefits surely outweigh the costs
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
Buncombe County’s plans for a series of greenways promises benefits to residents and visitors that will more than outweigh the costs. …Lower obesity rates correlate with “having things within walking or biking distance and having safe and direct ways to get there,” Kelly Evenson, who teaches epidemiology at UNC Chapel Hill and specializes in the effects of physical activity, told a Citizen-Times reporter recently.
Meeting planned on chemical cleanup
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill will hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on the cleanup of a disposal site for waste chemicals near Horace Williams Airport.
UNC Media Advisory:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/unc-schedules-media-briefing-
public-meeting-about-clean-up-at-chemical-waste-site.html
Issues and Trends
ASU has gunman scare
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Appalachian State University locked down campus buildings for 82 minutes and canceled classes Monday evening after the reported sighting of a man wearing a dark ski mask and carrying a gun near the campus. After announcing that no shots had been fired and no injuries had been reported, the university lifted the lockdown at 6:32 p.m.
Wolf Alert System Passes First Test
NBC 17 (Raleigh)
North Carolina State University's Wolf alert passed its first test Monday afternoon. …According to officials, it took $250,000 for the system to be installed and is similar to alert systems at UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Wilmington.
UNCC shortchanged in support for athletics (Letter to the Editor)
The Charlotte Observer
In reference to "Study: Football would spike UNCC fees" (Feb. 29):Why are UNC Charlotte's current athletic fees $445 without football, while UNC Chapel Hill's are $248.50 and N.C. State's are $126.50 with great football programs? Does this reflect low regard for UNCC? We deserve what the other public universities are given — and at the same cost! (Debby Presson, Mint Hill)