Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Mice offer a toast to aging memories
The Peterborough Examiner (Ontario, Canada)
This New Year's Eve, would you like a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to prevent Alzheimer's disease? …Dr. James Garbutt, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, says "This study corroborates a building story about the detrimental effects of alcohol on the brain".
National Coverage
Miracle Tax Diet (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The New York Times
…That has presented a huge problem in an age of sugary drinks, and some scholars believe they have become a major source of obesity. That’s why the new soda tax proposed by Gov. David Paterson of New York is such a breakthrough. …“Soft drinks are linked to diabetes and obesity in the way that tobacco is to lung cancer,” says Barry Popkin, a nutrition specialist at the University of North Carolina and author of the excellent new book, “The World Is Fat.” He warns that the cola industry will spend vast sums fighting the proposed tax.
Regional Coverage
Ky. Governor Not Alone With Salary Give-Back
WLEX-TV (NBC/Frankfort, Ky.)
With Kentucky's budget teetering near a half-billion shortfall, Gov. Steve Beshear announced last week he and the lieutenant governor would return 10 percent of their salary to the state treasury. …Many people already have a negative reaction to high-paid corporate CEOs who are being paid hefty salaries and bonuses, said Thad Beyle, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While governors are trying to balance budgets amid declining economies and declining incomes, they also stand to benefit politically by taking a pay cut, Beyle said.
State and Local Coverage
Home loans to the poor good policy, UNC says
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Home ownership has social benefits in addition to economic ones, according to a study by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill. …"Their children are more likely to be involved in organized activities" such as dance, karate lessons or Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, said Michal Grinstein-Weiss, a research fellow at the center and an assistant professor in UNC School of Social Work.
UNC Media Advisory:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/business/fdic-chair-unc-professor-to-
debate-response-to-housing-crisis.html
Legislators reassess economic development incentives
The Star (Shelby)
Over the past decade, North Carolina has offered up more than $2 billion in economic development incentives. Now a panel of state legislators is taking a look into whether the state is getting its money's worth and whether changes need to be made. …"A few companies get a lot of the incentives," said Brent Lane, executive director of the UNC Center for Competitive Economies.
Zoning decision draws Sharpsburg mayor's rebuke
The Rocky Mount Telegram
Sharpsburg commissioners agreed Tuesday to carve two acres out of the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction in a decision the mayor said lacks “political integrity.” …Cutting property out of an ETJ and establishing an island of unincorporated county land seems legal, if not entirely practical, said Richard Ducker, a public law professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Government. Regardless, he said, such a move is by no means conventional.
Food stamp enrollment too low here, officials are told
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Durham officials were advised Wednesday to explore partnerships with retailers, schools and nonprofit groups in order to boost food stamp enrollment. …UNC Chapel Hill master's of public health candidates Glenn Baldwin, Courtney Lyndrup and Kat McDougal reported to the Durham Board of Social Services Wednesday on possible enrollment expansion strategies for SNAP. Fellow student Josh Evans also worked on the project.
Study: Anti-tobacco campaign is working
The Winston-Salem Journal
A study of North Carolina's tobacco-prevention programs found that they have made a significant dent in teenage and young-adult smoking in the past two years. …The study was conducted by the Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation program of the UNC School of Medicine for the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund. …Most states are not spending enough of their money on tobacco prevention, said Dr. Adam Goldstein, the director of the UNC tobacco program.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/first-comprehensive-report-on-
states-multiple-tobacco-programs-shows-major-successes.html
UNC Expert Questions Colonoscopy Study
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
A UNC doctor who's an expert in his field is calling into question a Canadian study that claims colonoscopies may not rid all forms of colon cancer. Dr. Robert Sandler, president of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute, says colonoscopies are still the best test to rid the body of colon cancer.
Robot surgery helps patients recover more quickly
The Star-News (Wilmington)
Inside one of New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s surgical rooms, wirelessly controlled, robotic arms hovered over patients like something out of a science fiction movie. …Some of those claims were backed in a study last month from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, which monitored patients who underwent robotic surgery for two gynecological cancer procedures.
UNC tech transfer head Crowell gets new job
The Triangle Business Journal
Mark Crowell, who’s helped lead the charge for business campuses at North Carolina’s two biggest public universities, is leaving the state. Crowell, who’s currently head of economic development and technology transfer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been appointed vice president for business and technology development at the Scripps Research Institute in California.
Related Links:
http://localtechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/venture/story/4158246/
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-1048377.cfm
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/science-and-technology/crowell-named-to-new
-vice-president-post-at-prestigious-scripps-research-institute.html
Co-chairs named for fundraiser
The Chapel Hill Herald
H. Shelton Earp, director of UNC's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and H. Kim Lyerly, director of Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, will serve as honorary co-chairs of Cornucopia House Cancer Support Center's 10th A Chocolate Affaire fundraiser. The annual fundraising event will be held at the Carolina Club at the UNC Hill George Watts Hill Alumni Center, from 2-5 p.m. on Feb. 8.
UNC Park librarian on to next chapter
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
Most people cannot say they have had a successful fourth career. Barbara Semonche is not most people. She is director of the Park Library in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She retires in February, after heading the library for 19 years. …"She's so hard-working and so cheerful," Phil Meyer, Kenan professor emeritus in the school, said. "She's the happiest librarian I ever saw."
Holidays a time for diversity (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Every year, about this time, stories pop up about Christmas controversies. In Chapel Hill, a couple of libraries at UNC didn't have Christmas trees as usual, responding to complaints lodged over several years.
Issues and Trends
UNC system delays expansion of Charlotte med school
The Associated Press
A proposed regional medical school campus in North Carolina's largest city has been put on hold because of expected declines in state revenues. …Under the original proposal, Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte would have gotten its first medical students in 2011 from UNC Chapel Hill.
Related Links:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/421468.html
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/4163058/
UNC panel begins a policy stew
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The 11 members of a task force considering a hate crimes policy for the UNC system began their work Wednesday with a crash course in the First Amendment. …The creation of the task force — formally titled the UNC Study Commission to Review Student Codes of Conduct as They Relate to Hate Crimes — followed the discovery in early November of the racist and threatening messages.
Related Links:
http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=602601
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/should-unc-have-a-hate-crimes-policy
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=8896
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-1048378.cfm
Probation system needs attention (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Governor-elect Beverly Perdue will have a full plate when she takes office next month. Among the pressing matters to be addressed will be budget shortfalls, mental health reform and education. Another priority should be the woeful condition of the state's probation office. The problems in probation first came to light in relation to two high-profile local murders — of UNC student body president Eve Carson and Duke graduate student Abhijit Mahato.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2932/story/1338124.html
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/dec/18/crime-and-technology/
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/durham/4-1048580.cfm
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4159408/
http://durham.mync.com/site/Durham/news/story/22296/durham-improves-probation/