Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Elizabeth Edwards' funeral Saturday
United Press International
Elizabeth Edwards, a national figure for her battle with cancer and her husband's campaign, will be buried Saturday in Raleigh, N.C., the funeral home said. …Elizabeth Edwards, who married after she and her husband graduated from the University of North Carolina law school and passed the bar exam, became a national figure in 2004 when her husband, a one-term senator, ran for president and then became Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's running mate.
Related Link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8189962/Elizabeth-Edwards.html
National Coverage
Edwards had prepared family, home for death
The Associated Press
For years, Elizabeth Edwards prepared her family for the day she would be gone, talking bluntly about the cancer consuming her body and writing a letter to leave for her children with life advice on topics such as how to pick a church — or even a spouse.
NFL concussion committee hears from helmet makers
The Associated Press
…A member of the committee, University of North Carolina professor Kevin Guskiewicz, is optimistic that helmet design and materials will improve. "But we stand a much better chance of minimizing concussion and eventually preventing concussion by behavior modification. We need to be focused on teaching young players, as well as collegiate and professional players, how to tackle appropriately, not leading with the head," Guskiewicz said.
N.F.L. Invites Helmet Safety Ideas
The New York Times
With the federal government, state legislatures and football helmets’ regulatory body already focusing on concussions and head protection, perhaps the most influential group of all — the N.F.L. — convened its own summit of experts Wednesday to discuss possible reforms. …Currently, researchers at the University of North Carolina and Virginia Tech collect data on impact levels — and to what extent they result in concussion — among hundreds of high school and college players.
Dives To Gulf Seafloor Turn Up Sea Life Near Well
"All Things Considered" National Public Radio
…Andreas Teske, a professor of marine sciences at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, looks appreciatively at the day's treasure and declares that it is one of the best dives of the entire expedition. He describes a habitat you would never expect to find nearly a mile under the sea: mussel beds, orange and white bacterial carpets that spread across the seafloor, along with the more predictable fish, shrimp and sea cucumbers.
Frank S. Emi dies at 94; Japanese American fought effort to draft WWII internees
The Los Angeles Times
…"I admired him tremendously," said Eric L. Muller, a constitutional law expert at the University of North Carolina who wrote a book about the Japanese American draft resisters. "He was one of the really small number of Japanese Americans of his generation who found the courage in camp to develop an articulate public position questioning the legality of what was being done to the Japanese American community, and he very much paid the price for that."
Regional Coverage
'Black Swan' highlights dancers' pressure to be thin (Column)
The Philadelphia Daily News (Pennsylvania)
…But these misperceptions are equally detrimental to the 30-, 40-, and 50-year-old women who suffer eating disorders at pretty much the same rate as younger women. According to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill report, 75 percent of American women have an unhealthy relationship with food and their bodies.
State and Local Coverage
Elizabeth Edwards was both ordinary and extraordinary
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A little over a decade ago, Elizabeth Edwards was a Raleigh homemaker, soccer mom and lawyer, living a normal suburban life, shopping at Crabtree Valley Mall, browsing at Quail Ridge Books or dining at Caffe Luna. When she died Tuesday, all three major television networks led their broadcasts with lengthy reports on her life and her death.
Related Links:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10583814/article-Edwards-called–strong–resilient-?instance=main_article
http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=16793
http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Remembering_Elizabeth_Edwards.mp3/view
Elizabeth's grace (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When John Edwards decided to put a very successful law practice aside to enter statewide politics in 1998, those closest to him knew that while he was articulate and smart, his biggest asset was then unknown to most people. His wife, Mary Elizabeth Anania Edwards, had practiced law part-time and kept a low profile while Edwards himself won millions in personal injury lawsuits.
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10583448/article-Elizabeth-s-lessons?instance=hs_editorials
Thorp Leaves for Malawi to Visit UNC Employees
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp leaves for South Africa and Malawi today to visit employees of a university health care project. UNC Project-Malawi is a research, clinical health care and training facility on the campus of Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. Doctors and employees at the facility are conducting HIV and cancer research as well as training doctors in a National Institute of Health program for AIDS treatment. The project has been a collaborative effort between UNC and the Malawi Ministry of Health since 1990.
Related Link:
http://www.unc.edu/spotlight/Malawi
Graphic warnings a bust?
The Winston-Salem Journal
Putting more-graphic warning labels on cigarette packs may stir the emotions of smokers, but it might not spur them to quit, according to a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. …John Sweeney, the director of the sports-communication program at UNC Chapel Hill, said he was not surprised that the more intense graphics “failed to be a decisive factor. We are inundated with shock and attempted shock,” Sweeney said. “Fear sometimes works, but positive support also works. And, then, sometimes nothing works…
Make the dream real (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In a program known as the UNC Scholars Latino Initiative, students at UNC-Chapel Hill make a three-year commitment to mentor Hispanic students at Jordan Matthews High School in Siler City. Students sign on as sophomores and work one-on-one with the high school sophomores through their graduation, preparing them to apply successfully for college. (James Moeser is chancellor emeritus of UNC-Chapel Hill and is a board member of the UNC Scholars Latino Initiative . Andrea Bazán, a graduate of the university, is president of Triangle Community Foundation, which is connected to the Initiative.)
Biltmore Company's executive vice president announces departure
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
…Steve Miller, 55, the Biltmore Company's executive vice president and vice chairman of its executive committee, said he also plans to expand his role with the UNC Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School's family business program. Miller has taught a course on the management of family businesses at the school for five years and has become a nationally recognized expert on the subject.
WakeMed accuses rival of ill will
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC Health Care System's "predatory" efforts to compete in Wake County are part of a plan to orchestrate a hostile takeover of rival WakeMed, that hospital's top executive said Wednesday. …But UNC Health's top executive, Bill Roper, said his intent isn't to "tear down" or take over a competitor. "WakeMed believes what we're doing is deeply harmful to them," Roper said after a separate visit to The N&O on Wednesday. "We don't intend to cause them harm. That's not the way we do business and it's totally counter to the way I do things personally."
UNC coach Davis sought help for players
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina football coach Butch Davis feared frustration and pent-up anger from the NCAA investigation was potentially destructive for the players involved in the investigation and sought counseling for them in September, according to an e-mail from Davis to UNC athletic director Dick Baddour. Davis cited the suicides of two football players, one by an NFL player in September and one by a college player in April, as a reason to get help for the UNC players.
Related Link:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/sports&id=7832043
Issues and Trends
With States Still Swimming in Red Ink, Higher-Education Budgets Stay Tight
The Chronicle of Higher Education
State tax revenues are gradually improving in most places, but not quickly enough to put state budgets in the black, so the fiscal outlook for higher education remains bleak. At least 15 states project midyear cuts, totaling nearly $27-billion, for the current budget year, says a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Traffic plan for N.C. 54 on hold
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
With the public comment stage of their review nearly complete, officials say it's going to take months to come up with a new draft of a traffic-handling plan for the N.C. 54 corridor. Administrators intend to begin the work early next month, when they'll gather to sift through the suggestions, complaints and arguments they received this fall from elected officials and residents.