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

International Coverage

HIV-infected not getting early treatment
The Times of India

A new study warns that HIV-infected people in the United States and Canada are not getting treatment early enough. Researchers conducted a study of 45,000 patients to reach the conclusion. … In an accompanying editorial, Cynthia Gay, MD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, agreed: "These findings reveal that despite such compelling data, there is much room for improving our ability to link more HIV-infected individuals with effective treatment prior to immunological deterioration."

National Coverage

BP Says 'Top Kill' Method Requires Patience
National Public Radio

…Well, as we've been hearing over the past couple of weeks, it appears that a fair amount of that oil is actually staying under the water. That sort of disproves the notion that oil always floats. This may partly be because it's getting sort of mixed up with the dispersants and able to dissolve a little bit in the water. I also talked to some fluid dynamics experts at the University of North Carolina and they've showed that actually if you make small enough oil particles they can actually get trapped as they try to rise up through the ocean when they encounter denser layers of ocean water.

From Carswell to Kagan: Learning the hard way to vet court nominees
The Los Angeles Times

…"I'd be shocked if there were any surprises," said William P. Marshall, a University of North Carolina law professor and a former White House lawyer for President Clinton. "She is a careful, judicious person. And she's been in the public eye for 15 years." In addition to thorough White House vetting, Marshall points to other changes in recent decades that have helped take the surprise factor out of nomination fights.

Regional Coverage

With fewer flights these days at KCI, solo terminal proposal gains attention
The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Kan.)

Local travelers who use KCI twice a year for vacations may be indifferent to the slim pickings among retailers and concessionaires, but it’s an important part of an airport’s revenue base, said John Kasarda, a professor at the University of North Carolina and airport commerce expert. “Forty percent of an airport’s revenue can come from retail and concessions, and for many airports it’s over 50 percent,” said Kasarda, who has been a consultant to the Kansas City Aviation Department in the past but not under VanLoh’s tenure. “Kansas City’s airport is not designed to allow that. The layout does not provide what’s needed in the 21st century.”

Virginia students facing more tuition increases
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

The governor calls the spikes in tuition "unsustainable." University presidents use similar language to talk about cuts in state support that they blame for those increases. Left holding the tab are students at the state's 15 four-year public schools, who next year will pay increases that range from $1,700 at Virginia Commonwealth University to $355 at Norfolk State University. … The University of Virginia, which increased tuition and fees by 9.9 percent, said that in 10 years, state funding per in-state student has fallen from $12,011 to $8,601. By contrast, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received $26,034 per in-state student this year, U.Va. said.

State and Local Coverage

Researching, acting on energy, environment (Column)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

Energy and the environment are two of the toughest problems the world faces today. How do we use one without destroying the other? Carolina is a research university. It's our job to put the brilliant minds of our faculty and students to work coming up with solutions to these problems. And they are responding admirably.
Holden Thorp is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Readers can contact him at holden_thorp@unc.edu.

Ready When Beckoned
Triangle Business Journal

Bruce Carney never planned on being an administrator. In fact, the astronomy professor reluctantly took his first administrative position, as department chair for astronomy and physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, mostly because it was his turn. So, it’s a bit of a surprise that not only is Carney now UNC’s chief academic officer, but that he’s also enjoying the position of provost.

UNC to pay rescuer's hospital bill
The Chapel Hill News

UNC Hospitals expects to pick up the hospital bills for Joey Shelton, the Pittsboro man who was hit by a car as he tried to stop a kidnapping in Chapel Hill this month, a spokeswoman said Friday. … On Thursday, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp publicly thanked the Shelton brothers. "The Sheltons are very humble and haven't really looked for any public accolades," Thorp told campus trustees. "But thanks to Joey and Freddie Shelton for taking care of one of our students."
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/05/29/506008/hospital-will-pick-up-tab-for.html?storylink=misearch
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat/unc-to-pick-up-good-samaritans-hospital-bills?storylink=misearch

Foreclosures rise, trap residents and investors
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…"The foreclosures are unfortunately not random," said Roberto Quercia, director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Community Capital, which has done research into foreclosures. "They are concentrated typically in neighborhoods. If you have homeowners failing in a concentrated way, they can bring a community down. Institutions, churches and community groups all weaken with it."

They play and you pay (Opinion/Editorial)
The News-Record (Greensboro)

Don't tell Carolina boosters times are tight. Tar Heel fans haven't let a little thing like a recession get in the way of a $70 million expansion for UNC-Chapel Hill's home football field, Kenan Stadium. Thus far, there have been 15 takers for luxury suites that cost $50,000 a pop for one season. Act now, while supplies last. Only five are left. But there's more: The stadium already has sold out 224 cushy loge boxes for $2,500 each.

BP prohibited workers from speaking with media
The Independent Weekly (Durham)

Several journalists from UNC-Chapel Hill have obtained BP's agreement with at least one of its contractors that show workers were forbidden to speak with the media until the company reversed its policy last week. BP required workers employed in the Vessels of Opportunity program to sign a contract that included a clause prohibiting them and their deckhands from making "news releases, marketing presentation, or any other public statements" while working on the cleanup . Fishermen who violated the contract could have lost their jobs.

Runner Finishes Trek Across Georgia
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)

The man who pledged to run across the state of Georgia in support of cancer research finished Monday. UNC School of Information and Library Science Director of Information Technology Scott Adams concluded his 260-mile trek from Ft. Benning to Savanah. He admitted that the last leg of the trip was the most difficult for him, but he managed to push through the final 39 miles.

Incidents spark UNC look at fraternities
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

A couple of high-profile incidents that brought negative attention to UNC fraternities this past academic year has university officials looking for ways to curtail inappropriate behavior among Greeks and studying plans to make academic scholarship a larger part of the Greek experience at UNC. In January, UNC Board of Trustees Chairman Bob Winston asked Jordan Wichard, a 1979 alumnus and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity member, to investigate the university's Greek system and bring back recommendations to make it one of the best in the country.

Novel treads deftly in turbulent territory (Column)
The Charlotte Observer

"The Queen of Palmyra," the fine debut novel by Minrose Gwin, seems destined to attract comparisons. It may remind readers of Kathryn Stockett's "The Help." Both are set in early-'60s Mississippi. Both explore the uneasy relationships between black women working for white women. … There's reason for that accuracy. As a UNC Chapel Hill English professor, Gwin has done extensive academic research on slain NAACP leader Medgar Evers. And as a Mississippi native who grew up in the '60s, she has lived this history.

An incredible true story of forgiveness
The Times-News (Hendersonville)

Ronald Cotton clearly remembers his first meal as an almost free man. Bound by handcuffs, he sat at a McDonald's with two prison officers from Asheville and devoured a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and fries. He noticed people staring at him. … In 1994, when Cotton had nearly given up hope of ever being freed, two new lawyers, Richard Rosen, a law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and Tom Lambeth, a former student of Rosen's who practiced law in Burlington, offered to take over Cotton's defense.

UNC pays fine for Bingham leak
The Chapel Hill News

UNC paid a $15,000 state fine last week for leaking treated wastewater from its animal research facility in rural Orange County into a nearby creek. The university was ordered to pay the fine and investigative costs, for a total of $16,612.48, for a leak from a storage pond at its Bingham Facility. An unknown amount of treated wastewater, likely containing very low levels of nitrogen and fecal coliform, seeped into Collins Creek, which feeds the Haw River and eventually Jordan Lake.

Issues and Trends

State may cap UNC's growth
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

A state House spending plan unveiled this week dares to consider an idea that North Carolina higher education leaders have opposed for years: limiting access to public universities. Restricting growth to 1 percent across the 17 UNC campuses would likely mean no room for thousands of potential students. And it would be an unprecedented change for a university system that has long prided itself on its accessibility. "Limiting access goes against everything we try to do within our university," said Hannah Gage, chairwoman of the UNC system's Board of Governors. "It looks like a big step backwards."
Related Link: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/at-unc-an-enrollment-cap?storylink=misearch#ixzz0pbwQamHW

Kannapolis scholars embark on summer of research
The Charlotte Observer

Six students from universities across the state arrived for a summer of research at the North Carolina Research Campus over the Memorial Day weekend. The students are the first crop of “Kannapolis Scholars” at the campus. They will spend 10 weeks working with researchers in state-of-the-art labs. The Kannapolis Scholars program brings postgraduate students from eight partnering universities to the Research Campus to study food science, nutrition and human health. The universities are Appalachian State University, Duke University, N.C. A&T State University, N.C. Central University, N.C. State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte and UNC Greensboro.

Recession slammed a soaring South (Opinion)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

In the decades after laws and court rulings dismantled legalized racial segregation in the American South, the region went on an extraordinary trajectory toward building a broad middle class and erasing a legacy of endemic poverty. In a "gilded age" that reached historic proportions, the South outpaced the nation in both population and job growth – a gain of more than 30 million people and 25 million jobs from 1980 to 2006.
Ferrel Guillory, a former N&O staff member, is a senior fellow at MDC, a nonprofit in Chapel Hill that issued its first State of the South report in 1996.

UNC’s Anoop Desai Rocks At Charity Concert In Raleigh
The Raleigh Telegram

Former UNC-Chapel Hill student and American Idol TV show sensation Anoop Desai played to a packed house at the BandTogether charity concert in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, May 22nd. The charity concert raised over $358,000 for StepUp Ministries, which helps homeless and low-income individuals to live independent lives.

Homeless shelter site raises questions
The Chapel Hill News

The proposal to relocate the Inter-Faith Council (IFC) Community House to a site at the corner of Homestead Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard raises public policy concerns that should engage the entire town and Orange County communities. … The IFC, Town Council and UNC have not considered the implications of placing all of the county's at-risk overnight facilities in such a concentrated area, encompassing Homestead Park and adjacent to residential neighborhoods and apartments.

 

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