Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
MS pills show promise and risk, studies say
The Associated Press
Tests of the first two oral drugs developed for treating multiple sclerosis show that both cut the frequency of relapses and may slow progression of the disease, but with side effects that could pose a tough decision for patients. …The side effects detailed in the new studies are giving some physicians pause. "There is a price tag attached" to the new medications, said Dr. Silva Markovic-Plese, an MS researcher at the University of North Carolina.
Why public support for health care failed
MSNBC.com
As a candidate, Barack Obama promised to pass a health plan with important benefits for the average American. …“Health reform is a really hard thing to do," says Jonathan Oberlander, associate professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "They did a lot right, strategically. But you can do everything right and still fail in health reform."
Regional Coverage
Airport expert to bring 'Aerotropolis' concept to Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Business Journal (Indiana)
Indianapolis International Airport officials about to contemplate what to do with the former passenger terminal and its vast parking lots are entertaining ideas from an expert on making airports the hub of a much broader urban development. John D. Kasarda, a professor of management and director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina, is a proponent of the "Aerotropolis,” an airport city with well-planned outlying corridors and clusters of aviation-linked business and residential development.
State and Local Coverage
Student survives quake to tell the tale of Haiti
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Laura Wagner's love for Haiti shines through. During an interview Wednesday, the UNC doctoral student made it clear that she would rather talk about Haiti's recovery and the world's negative perception of the island nation and her people than her harrowing experience during the catastrophic earthquake that left more than 100,000 dead.
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/5616565/article-
Quake-victim–assumed-I-would-die-?
Actor Danny Glover to speak at UNC event for King
The Associated Press
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill continues its remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. with a candlelight vigil and a speech by actor Danny Glover. The vigil begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Old Well, with Glover's King memorial lecture beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall. Glover will discuss how King's influence caused him to become involved in issues such as economic justice, accessible health care and education.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3214/68/
Moldova prime minister visits NC, signs agreement
The Associated Press
The prime minister of Moldova visited North Carolina on Wednesday to extend its formal relationship with the state, with the leader of the former Soviet republic acknowledging the country's desire for outside help as it seeks reform. …In September, dentists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill joined dentists in Moldova to provide free dental care to children at a boarding school there. North Carolina medical leaders also have worked with Moldovans in improving their hospice care programs, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said.
UNC warned after leak
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
State officials served UNC-Chapel Hill with a notice of violation after treated wastewater at its animal holding facility in western Orange County leaked into a creek feeding Jordan Lake. It was the second of three wastewater spills at the Bingham Facility, commonly called The Farm because it houses animals used in research on the university's main campus. …Eventually the pond will be emptied and the water in it hauled to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority while the liner is fixed, said Mary Beth Koza, director of UNC-CH's Department of Environment, Health & Safety.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/unc-leak-draws-state-violation
Council to consider rules for meetings
The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City)
City Council will consider rules of procedure for council meetings at its work session next week. …He said he plans to recommend that City Council follow municipal government expert Fleming Bell’s rules “as much as possible.” Bell, a professor of local government at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has compiled a set of suggested rules for local government meetings based on Robert’s Rules of Order but adapted to municipal government settings.
Issues and Trends
DKE fraternity brothers to break ground on Habitat house
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
With shovels in hand, members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity will break ground Saturday on a Habitat for Humanity house to be named for their former president, Courtland Benjamin Smith, who died in August. "We see this project as an important opportunity for the DKE House to contribute meaningfully to the community and give the chapter, parents, and alumni a constructive way to cope with the enormous loss we suffered after Courtland's death last August," said the fraternity's incoming president, Davis Willingham, in a written statement.
Related Link:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7229509
Tighter on rights (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
After The News & Observer reported on some over-the-top "retreat rights," or the privilege of paid leaves given to outgoing University of North Carolina system administrators at different campuses, the UNC Board of Governors took up the matter, and now has fashioned a more reasonable policy. Many North Carolinians were asking why academic administrators deserve such gilded exit plans, and the question had no good answer.
Oblinger, Nielsen back as professors
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Former Chancellor Jim Oblinger and former Provost Larry Nielsen are professors now for N.C. State University, though Oblinger has left the Raleigh campus and moved west. The pair resigned last year over their roles in the university's hiring of former state first lady Mary Easley. Each received a six-month leave to prepare for rejoining the faculty after being away from their areas of scientific expertise for years.