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

International Coverage

Improved cancer risk test developed
United Press International

U.S. scientists have completed the largest animal toxicology study ever conducted, challenging some concepts concerning cancer-causing compound levels. …The study that included Assistant Professor Gayle Orner and researchers from the University of North Carolina appears in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

Regional Coverage

How to pay for health care reform? Maybe these new taxes
The Sacramento Bee (California)

Democratic leaders, worried that high price tags might derail their health care plans, are looking at a raft of ideas both old and new to salvage their legislation. …Jonathan Oberlander, who teaches health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said he'd be surprised if the VAT made the final cut of revenue raisers. "Health care reform has enough problems as it is without taking on the VAT," he said. Still, he said, at this point in the process, "It's basically a question of which poison or poisons do you want to drink?"

Heat index on mind of high school football coaches
The Dispatch (Columbus, Miss.)

The heat index is a number on the mind of more and more high school football coaches. With temperatures and heat indices in the state reaching into the upper 90s and 100s, respectively, in the past two weeks, football coaches around the state are trying to identify the best times and ways to get their players in condition for the start of the season. …Since 1995, at least 39 football players across all levels have died from heat-related causes and most of those cases happened in early August, said Dr. Frederick Mueller, director of the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina.
Related Link:
http://www.couriernews.com/story.php?ID=21828

Some like it cold
The Dallas Morning News

A raw-food diet — basically raw fruits, vegetables and whole grains — has plenty of advocates, but whether it's the right choice for a cancer patient is open to question. …"What you could say about a raw-foods diet and cancer risk or cancer treatment could be something that's extrapolated and kind of surmised," she says, "based upon the body of evidence related to diet and cancer in general." Still, Hobbs, who's on the faculty in the school of public health at the University of North Carolina, is far from dismissive.

Metro road to ease traffic
The Rankin Ledger (Jackson, Miss.)

A new north-south corridor between Flowood and Brandon is gaining ground as funding is piling in to pay for the second phase of the project, officials say. …One key points of a study – which pointed out ways to grow Jackson-Evers International Airport – was good, accessible roads. One of the roads mentioned in the study was a corridor on the east side of the airport. John Kasarda, a University of North Carolina business professor, released the study earlier this year.

State and Local Coverage

Council Approves Carolina North Development Agreement
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)

The town of Chapel Hill approved a development agreement with UNC to give it the green light to build Carolina North, the university's satellite campus which will be located two miles north of downtown. The campus is proposed to cover 250 acres of the Horace Williams tract and will be built in phases over the next 50 years. It's expected to bring in thousands of jobs for the state. …UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said the campus will also be environmentally friendly which he said the university is committed to. "We're going to adhere to the highest possible standards at Carolina North and that's in the development agreement," said Thorp. "And those are higher standards then the town would be able to ask in a regular permit."

Council OKs Carolina North pact
The Chapel Hill Herald

The Town Council approved a comprehensive development agreement with UNC on Monday that will guide development of Carolina North, the proposed 250,000-acre research and mixed-use academic campus planned two miles north of the main campus. But even with the council's unanimous approval of the historic agreement, which was some 15 years in the making, UNC officials say it will take a minimum of two additional years before the first shovels of dirt are turned on the site near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Estes Drive.

Carolina Covenant Shows Signs Of Success
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)

The Carolina Covenant could assist as many as 500 incoming freshmen at UNC. Associate Provost and Director of Scholarships and Student Aide, Shirley Ort, says the Carolina Covenant helps students from low income households receive a UNC degree. …Students qualify for admissions, and then their economic background is considered. There are no limitations on the number of Carolina Covenant Scholars. Ort says before starting the Carolina Covenant, only about 4% of the student body was considered low income.

Tiny ticking time bombs
The Chapel Hill News

Dr. Marcia Herman-Giddens takes out a quart-sized, Zip-lock bag, and pulls out three vials of alcohol. "We found all of these ticks in my backyard in a few hours," she said, holding up a vial filled with 61 Lone Star ticks, many with a white star on their back. …Herman-Giddens, now an adjunct professor at UNC's School of Public Health, serves on the state's Vector-borne Disease Task Force.

Raising animals and rising threats (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Down East, many neighbors of factory hog farms keep their houses closed. They don't hang out laundry, work or sit outside, cook out. They may be ashamed to invite guests to dinner. The stench in Eastern North Carolina — one of the densest areas of swine production in the world — is compounded by huge turkey and chicken operations. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization recently raised its pandemic influenza alert to the highest level. Thirty thousand cases of H1N1 swine flu have been reported in 74 countries, including more than 100 in North Carolina. So far there have been fewer deaths than first feared. (Steve Wing is an epidemiologist at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Tax breaks for companies in trying times
WFAE-FM (Charlotte)

Mecklenburg County has cut its budget by $70 million, reducing social services at a time when they're in high demand. The City of Charlotte has frozen salaries and laid off 50 Charlotte Area Transit employees. Despite the cutbacks, the city and county are giving tax breaks to companies at a record rate. …The Center for Competitive Economies at UNC Chapel Hill recently surveyed 50 North Carolina counties. Eighty percent of counties reported they're reviewing their tax credit and incentive programs in light of the recession.

Colleges to offer logistics program
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Wake Technical Community College and Vance-Granville Community College recently teamed up to initiate a new program for logistics education. …The colleges plan to provide logistics training for distributing products and materials to different parts of the nation and world. Through the N.C. Consortium for Logistics Education, the training will be offered to students at colleges and businesses in the areas served by the schools. …The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill helped found the consortium and will provide research and expertise in the field.
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/story/5418451/

Layer meals are ideal for summer (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Some of the easiest summer meals come in layers. By layered foods, I'm referring to burritos or tacos, pizza with assorted extras and baked potatoes that you can load with fillings. These foods are favorites for many of us. And there are a few reasons for that. For starters, they can be customized. Got a picky eater? Not a problem when he can leave off the chopped broccoli or salsa. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Hodding Carter
"Carolina Conversations" WRAL.com

How many of you remember Hodding Carter III? He was a key administration figure during the Jimmy Carter presidency and later a major national commentator. Anyone who followed the Iranian hostage crisis remembers his face. I didn’t realize Carter was working in Chapel Hill these days. …He graciously brought me up to date on how he was hired four years ago as a Professor of Leadership and Public Policy at UNC.

Suggestions for summer reading — and viewing (Column)
The Chapel Hill News

It is summertime again and time to put aside a few books for vacation reading. …UNC psychology professor Barbara Fredrickson is a leader in a relatively new field, positive psychology. Her research looks for ways psychology can help normal people improve their lives. She shares some of those findings in her new book, "Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive." (August 2)

Issues and Trends

Oblinger emails missing
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Lawyers for North Carolina State University told federal authorities today that they cannot find six months of e-mails from an email account that former Chancellor James Oblinger used for high priority correspondence. The missing six months, from January 2005 to June 11, 2005, covers the period when Oblinger helped create a job for former First Lady Mary Easley.

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