Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Study: Ozone Smog Pollution Expanding
Voice of America
… The new study, conducted jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the University of North Carolina, found that levels of ozone smog that until now have been considered safe, actually pose a serious public health threat. "The latest study on ozone is telling us that lower levels of ozone can be really dangerous for us to breath," Alba said.
National Coverage
Citigroup Settles Fraud Cases Tied to Texas Mortgage Assigner
Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc., the third-largest U.S. bank, settled or lost at least five claims in 2010 brought by borrowers who accused the bank of filing fraudulent mortgage documents provided by a Texas firm. … “It doesn’t strike me as something that lenders do every day of the week,” said Melissa Jacoby, a bankruptcy law professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, referring to the size of the concessions. “It does raise some questions about the practices.”
Muslims to Be Congressional Hearings’ Main Focus
The New York Times
The new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Monday that he planned to call mostly Muslim and Arab witnesses to testify in hearings next month on the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism. … A report issued last week by an independent research group on national security found that 48 of the 120 Muslims suspected of plotting domestic terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001, were turned in by fellow Muslims, including parents, mosque members and even a Facebook friend. The report was issued by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, which is affiliated with Duke and the University of North Carolina.
In Search of Alcoholism Genes (Blog)
The Wall Street Journal
… Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have tentatively identified a similar "tipsy gene" that makes carriers feel inebriated after just one or two drinks. Between 10% and 20% of the population has this variation, which is also thought to protect against becoming alcohol-dependent.
Health benefits of falling and staying in love
The Washington Post
… Hugging and hand-holding, meanwhile, have been found to release the hormone oxytocin, which lowers the levels of stress hormones in the body, reducing blood pressure, improving mood and increasing tolerance for pain, according to research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Health Care Showdown: Obama Administration Calls Out GOP Governors
The Huffington Post
… "While you have this legal theater, the odds are that in the trenches, most states are going to take and spend the money," said Jonathan Oberlander, a health care policy professor at the University of North Carolina. "The further people get invested in this, not just the states but also the health care industry, it becomes harder to roll it back … the more they get involved, the harder it becomes to reverse."
State and Local Coverage
Hospitals offer Medicaid deal
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina hospitals want to set up a program that they say would add $43 million to state coffers and bring in as much as $350 million in federal money for hospital care for Medicaid and uninsured patients. … UNC Hospitals support the proposal, though they would not participate, said spokeswoman Karen McCall. UNC Hospitals and East Carolina University are part of a separate Medicaid-enhancement deal worked out with state officials that brings in more money for state-owned hospitals and their doctors.
Aetna reassures pregnant women
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Aetna won't abandon any pregnant women. In a story on Saturday's front page about the health insurer's contract dispute with the UNC Health Care System, a member who is 35 weeks pregnant discussed her fears of having to change her doctor and hospital. Jennifer Marks is scheduled to deliver her baby next month at Rex Healthcare, the Raleigh hospital owned by UNC Health. For Aetna members, Rex is "out of network" now that the insurer's contract has expired after a fight about how much Aetna should pay UNC Health for medical care.
Hospitals together, or as competitors?
The Charlotte Observer
At a recent health forum, leaders of Charlotte's two large hospital systems and North Carolina's largest health insurance company said they need to work together to improve care and reduce costs. … Despite Billings' aspirations, it would be tough to start a fifth medical school in the state. One reason UNC wants to collaborate with CMC is that the university doesn't have money to expand on its Chapel Hill campus. After 25 years of observing Charlotte's health-care landscape, I can't say whether collaboration between the two hospital systems would make medical care safer, better or less expensive.
Fertile possibilities
The Charlotte Observer
… In the Triangle area, at least two clinics – at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University – offer egg freezing only to patients undergoing cancer treatment. So far, none have returned to try to get pregnant. … For now, fertility clinics at UNC, Duke and Carolinas Medical Center limit their egg-freezing programs to patients undergoing cancer treatment. They won't open it to other patients until results are more reliable. "We have no idea what to tell patients about their actual chances of having a child," said Dr. Jennifer Mersereau, a reproductive endocrinologist at UNC Fertility Center. "Your chances of pregnancy from banked eggs might be really low at (age) 40."
Change that truly helps (Opinion)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
… A study done by the Durham System of Care (an umbrella covering the range of agencies that aid people on the spectrum of homelessness), Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill concluded that the traditional "services" available to homeless people — emergency shelters, 911 dispatches and visits to the emergency department — cost hospitals, nonprofits and local governments between $9,000 and $10,000 per person per year. When people are helped into housing and connected to services, the per-capita costs decrea
se by 30 percent. A cold is less likely to become pneumonia for someone who has both regular shelter and easy access to preventive medical care.
PlayMakers does right by 'Angels'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" is not a play everyone will want to see, but it's a play everyone should see. And they should see it in PlayMakers Repertory Company's brilliant and riveting production. The 6 1/2-hour, two-part work is unquestionably Shakespearean, achieving levels of epic scope, poetic philosophizing and character complexity, as well as Bard-like comic heights and tragic depths.
Natives Leave When Immigrants Move In
WUNC-FM
A new study made available today sheds light on the phenomenon of neighborhood segregation. Kyle Crowder, a sociology professor at UNC Chapel Hill, conducted the research along with two others.
Pender billing oversight an example of health department's problems
The Star News (Wilmington)
Plenty seems to be wrong with the Pender County Health Department. Fortunately, an interim director seems well-equipped to help fix what's broken – most notably, the agency's failure to bill insurers for $200,000 in services rendered. … The department, Pender residents no doubt recall, was in turmoil last year as a result of complaints against former Health Director Jack Griffith, who retired in September during an investigation into employee morale and department operations. A 42-page report by the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found a widespread perception of unfair treatment of employees and morale problems.
UNC Tops Rankings in Peace Corps Volunteers
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC has been ranked third in the nation among large schools to send alumni to the Peace Corps. The annually published list ranks the top 25 large, medium and small colleges. 94 UNC alumni currently serve overseas as Peace Corps volunteers. UNC has sent more than 1100 graduates to the program since it was established in 1960.
UNC Juniors Selected For Carson Scholarship
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Two UNC juniors have been selected to honor the memory of former student body president Eve Carson. Zachary De la Rosa and Mark Clarke were chosen by a nine-member committee from a pool of almost 100 applicants. De la Rosa was selected in part for his work teaching sign language to students.
UNC Business School Plummets in Rankings
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The UNC business school has surprisingly plummeted in the ranking of one national publication. The Kenan-Flager Business School has dropped from number 46 to 62 in the Financial Times Global Master of Business Administration rankings. The rankings are based on alumni salary and career development, diversity, and research capability.
GOP announces selection to fill open commissioner seat
Morganton News Herald (Morganton)
The Burke County Republican Party has selected current Chairman Johnnie Carswell to fill the seat on the county Board of Commissioners left vacant by the death of Commissioner Gene Huffman on Jan. 21. … Steen said he is consulting the School of Government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to ensure the commissioners take the right steps to officiate Carswell. N.C. GS 153a-27.1 requires the commissioners to fill the seat within 60 days.
Hockey's hospital gift (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Though the event has past, there is one thing that will outlast the NHL All-Star Weekend – a gift to North Carolina in the form of an interactive, state-of-the-art classroom for sick children. On Jan. 28, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, several players and alumni unveiled the NHL Lions Den Legacy Classroom at N.C. Children's Hospital. This high-tech space features innovative communication tools that enable patients to connect to family, friends and teachers anywhere in the world during a hospital stay.
(Patti Thorp N.C. Children's Hospital Board of Visitors)
Health cost heights (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
How ironic that the Feb. 5 N&O article on the 8,000 patients left in the lurch by the Aetna and UNC Health Care dispute over money should be followed the next day by a full-page advertisement celebrating the UNC Health Care physicians mentioned in a Best in America publication. The claim that UNC Health Care's commitment to caring reaches new heights may be true, but clearly only for those who can afford to pay for the steep incline.
Time to punt (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Your Feb. 3 front-page article on UNC-Chapel Hill's treatment of the head of the Carolina Mammography Registry was fascinating ("Researcher's demotion hurts UNC image"). Apparently, illegal activities occurred within her area at UNC. She claimed ignorance of the issue, stated she could not be expected to monitor every aspect and suggested other people who may be the root cause of the problems.
Issues and Trends
Anger Over New Rankings
Inside Higher Ed
Education deans from some of the top research universities in the United States have called on U.S. News & World Report to rethink its plans for evaluating teacher education programs. In a joint letter, the deans questioned not only the methodology to be used, but also the magazine's plan to say that institutions that don't participate have "failed" to meet certain standards. Such an approach is "inconsistent with professional journalistic practices," the deans wrote, adding that they "worry that this implied coercion will cast doubt on the results of the entire evaluation."
As State Funds Dry Up, Many Community Colleges Rely More on Tuition Than on Taxes to Get By
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Community colleges have traditionally been the most public of public higher education, receiving a much higher proportion of their revenue from state and local taxes than four-year institutions do, and typically serving a wider range of students—in terms of age, income, and ethnicity—at lower prices. But community colleges, like many public universities before them, are experiencing a shift in their public identity. In some states, students' tuition dollars have surpassed state aid, now accounting for mo
re than half of community-college budgets. Passing that threshold threatens to undermine the institutions' educational and economic missions.
NC state work force on edge about filling big gap
The Associated Press
North Carolina state employees and public school teachers are often the place lawmakers look to consider significant budget cuts, as three-quarters of the state's $19 billion budget is allocated to salaries and benefits. But anxiety levels for the more than 300,000 teachers, university workers and other state employees have soared early in the legislative session with the Republican leadership's approach to closing a projected $3.7 billion budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year. GOP leaders have pledged not to extend two temporary taxes that would have trimmed the shortfall by $1.3 billion.
Seed corn (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina's splendid community college system is the third largest in the United States, and in 2008-09 enrolled 850,000 people in classes. It is the key to job training, and to retraining, which is what many of those new students, having lost jobs, are doing. The system was even singled out (via Forsyth Tech) in President Obama's recent State of the Union address.
Rapid transit on Jones Street (Commentary)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Legislative sessions start out with a congenial break-in period that lets lawmakers learn one another's names, ease into committee assignments and find out how to turn ideas into drafts of new laws. This year, everything is different. Committees were named fast, drafts of major legislation were ready to go to committees and legislative leaders were intent on passing laws as quickly as they could get to them. There were high hopes for a bipartisan start to the session, but they soon showed signs of strain.