Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Expert questions airport scanner spending
United Press International
A security expert says the United States may be better served by investing in improved intelligence analysis instead of new airport screening machinery. David Schanzer, who heads a terrorism study center at Duke and the University of North Carolina, said the federal government should not overreact to the Christmas bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight en route to Detroit.
Brainy kids for mums who eat full English breakfast
The Daily Mirror (United Kingdom)
A traditional slap-up full English breakfast could help mums-to-be boost their unborn child's intelligence. Researchers believe the nutrient choline – found in eggs and pork products such as bacon and sausages – helps memory functions develop. Dr Steven Zeisel, who led a study, said: "Choline can change the switches that control brain development in the foetus. …Dr Zeisel and his team at the University of North Carolina fed two groups of pregnant mice different diets during the period a foetus develops the part of the brain responsible for memory.
Related Link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1240932/Bacon-eggs-help-
pregnant-women-boost-babys-intelligence.html
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/149929/Why-mothers-to-be
-who-love-fry-ups-have-brighter-babies-
Heart Attack Symptom May Be False Alarm
All Headline News (Wire Service)
U.S. cardiologists recently reported that patients may suffer heart pain and heart attack-like symptoms for an extended period of time without actually having a heart attack. According to reports by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, an example of a heart pain that is not a heart attack is small vessel disease (microvascular disease).
National Coverage
Report: Homegrown terror suspects in US mostly young men who plan violence overseas
The Associated Press
A study released Wednesday of American Muslims and homegrown terror found that most of the publicly known cases since the Sept. 11 attacks involved young men who were U.S.-born or naturalized citizens. More than half of the suspects were radicalized as part of a group. The analysis by researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found the accused were almost evenly divided in terms of ethnicity.
Congress Doing Health Care The Hard Way
"Morning Edition" National Public Radio
As lawmakers enter the last lap in the effort to pass a health care overhaul bill — merging the measures passed by the House and Senate — Congress watchers say looking back at how the debate got to this point may provide some important clues to where it might lead. Jonathan Oberlander, who teaches health policy at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, says he's not all that surprised that the effort has been painstaking so far. "As the President has said, if it was easy to do, it would have been done already."
The ‘Best Values’ in Public Universities, as Handicapped by Kiplinger’s (Blog)
The New York Times
While close readers of The Choice know of our general skepticism regarding any effort to rank colleges as if they were microwave ovens, I nonetheless draw your attention to yet another such list: “The Best Values in Public Colleges 2009-10,” in the February issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. For parents and prospective applicants, I see this list as being useful not in its insistence on crowning a No. 1 in various categories — the University of North Carolina (purportedly for best overall value) and Binghamton University of New York (best out-of-state value) — than for the treasure trove of raw data the magazine provides on various institutions in various categories.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3213/1/
Regional Coverage
'Best Value' public colleges include three from Missouri
The Kansas City Star (Missouri)
Three Missouri universities are included on the Kiplinger's magazine list of the 100 best values in public colleges. …Topping the list this year is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by the University of Florida and the University of Virginia.
Related Link:
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100105/ARTICLES/100109894/1083/ARTICLES
?Title=Kiplinger-s-rankings-USC-Clemson-among-best-public-universities-
http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=11773527
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3213/1/
State and Local Coverage
UNC makes habit of topping charts (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
It's always nice to be noticed, and it's doubly pleasing to be praised. So we imagine the students, faculty, employees and administrators at UNC have a bit of a bounce in their step this week after news broke that North Carolina's flagship university was named the No. 1 overall best value in U.S. public higher education by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. …With that in mind, a tip of the hat goes out to all those at UNC who keep the university humming at high pitch.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3213/1/
Actor to headline MLK events
The Chapel Hill News
Actor Danny Glover, author Timothy Tyson and neighborhood activist the Rev. Robert Campbell will give keynote speeches at Martin Luther King Jr. memorial events this month in Chapel Hill. Glover's free public talk at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 in Memorial Hall will be preceded by a candlelight vigil starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Well on Cameron Avenue. The events are part of the 29th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Jan. 17-22 at UNC, which also will include a film, and oratorical contest, a march down Franklin Street and a talk by Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS quilt.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3214/68/
UNC center hosts public forum on sustainable energy (Blog)
WRAL.com
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Solar Energy Research Center will hold a public forum and information session to explore energy issues. The free event, “A Sustainable Energy Future – Mapping the Way,” will be Friday, Jan. 15, at the William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3218/1/
Time to put more North Carolinians on prosperity grid (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
We all benefit daily from a power grid, and we can tell if our connection is working by walking into a room and flicking a switch. Go on, try it now – lights on, lights off. Similarly, we also depend on a prosperity grid, which connects us to resources necessary for economic opportunity, including bank accounts, affordable housing and quality education. (Solita Denard is a master's of social work candidate and research assistant at UNC. Michal Grinstein-Weiss, PhD, MSW, MA, is an assiatnt professor of social work.)
Things are looking up (Column)
The Chapel Hill News
…For those who want a bit more mystery in the magnificent march to medals, here's my annual list of notable performances in recreation on an expressly local level for 2009. … Whereas most running shoes are good for around 500 miles of use, the local running enthusiasts known as Trailheads began an program to squeeze about 8, 000 miles out of their footwear — the distance from North Carolina to new homes in Malawi, Africa. About a dozen pairs were given to the executive committee of the Dzama School, a school in a village area of Lilongwe, said Lillian Brown, a Trailhead runner currently living in Malawi; she works near Lilongwe at the UNC Project, an initiative of the UNC School of Public Health. Some shoes that were too large for the children at Dzama found their way to a nearby hospital, where they were fitted to prosthetic legs.
Change your tactics for weight loss (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As we launch into the New Year, it's a good time to come up with fresh tactics for our weight loss efforts. It doesn't take much, but a new approach may inspire you to get started and keep you motivated until your success can help sustain the momentum. Before you begin, though, lay the right foundation with clear, realistic goals. (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.)
Issues and Trends
States braced to tighten 2010 belts amid $14.8B in shortfalls
USA Today
States across the nation begin the year facing grim budget shortfalls that could mean a repeat of the service cuts, layoffs or furloughs and higher fees imposed in 2009, a USA TODAY survey shows. States passed fiscal 2010 general-fund budgets totaling $627.9 billion, 5.4% less than a year earlier, says a study released last month by the National Association of State Budget Officers and National Governors Association. Despite cuts, shortfalls for the 2010 fiscal year, which in most states began July 1, are $14.8 billion, the study says. The gap in 2011: $21.9 billion.
Vote on hate crimes policy by BOG may be forthcoming
The Chapel Hill Herald
The UNC Board of Governors could be asked to vote on a systemwide policy governing campus hate crimes as early as next month. The board's committee on education planning, policies and programs is expected to recommend this week that the board adopt a policy that forbids students from engaging in unlawful harassment that "threaten, coerce, harass or intimidate another person or identifiable group of persons …"
UNC system to scale back retreat rights policy (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC system's Board of Governors will probably approve changes this week to a policy that gives campus chancellors a golden parachute of sorts when they leave their leadership roles. Board members have spent months tinkering with the current policy on administrative leaves, which has traditionally granted chancellors – and the university system president – a one-year "research leave' at full pay after they step down.