Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
State Higher-Education Leaders Join Push to Set College-Readiness Standards
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Public-school officials nationwide have been working for years to develop standards to ensure that high-school graduates are prepared for college-level work or to enter the work force. One problem has been, however, that until recently, people in higher education have taken a limited role in deciding what it means to be college ready. …"When we launched the Common Core State Standards, we made a conscious decision to avoid that split," said Mr. Chester, who is one of the speakers at the forum, which is being held by the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, an agency of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Is conservative student group preaching white nationalism?
MSNBC.com
… The group first came to widespread attention two years ago, when it tried to host a speech at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill by former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who ran for president in 2008 on a platform that advocated overhauling U.S. immigration policy. …The university apologized to Tancredo, who returned and spoke without notable incident last year.
State and Local Coverage
Aerotropolis: Is it for us? (Column)
The Apex Herald
…“Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next” by John D. Kasarda and Greg Lindsay, catalogs the world's major international airports, explaining which ones work well, which ones do not, and why. Kasarda is director of the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill and an early proponent of North Carolina’s Global TransPark. (D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s "North Carolina Bookwatch," which airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m and Sundays at 5 p.m.)
UNC Hospitals tops patient satisfaction scores (Blog)
The Triangle Business Journal
UNC Hospitals ranks No. 1 among Triangle health care systems in all 10 patient satisfaction scores measured by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the most recent Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider Systems survey. …The results were satisfying to everyone at UNC, said Dr. Mary Tonges a UNC Hospitals senior vice president and chief nursing officer. “These are the most credible patent satisfaction scores that we have,” she said. “They are really important to us.”
Rival to bid for Rex hospital
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
WakeMed officials plan to announce today that they're making a $750 million bid to buy cross-Raleigh rival hospital Rex Healthcare. WakeMed executives have accused Rex and its Chapel Hill-based parent, UNC Health Care System, of using "predatory" efforts to compete in the fast-growing Wake County medical market.
Related Links:
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2011/05/12/wakemed-makes-bid-to-buy-rex.html
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9586172/
Escapee sentenced for role in chase, crash
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A prison inmate who escaped from custody while at UNC Hospitals, stole a police car, then led police on a wild chase that ended in a car crash near Mebane was sentenced to 20 to 24 months in prison Monday in Orange County Criminal Superior Court.
Issues and Trends
April brings a nice tax bump
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In an otherwise bleak budget year for North Carolina, a glimmer of good news has emerged: The state's tax collections were up in April for the first time in three years, yielding $24.5 million more than expected. …Senate leaders have said their target is to spend $40 million less than the House on public schools, community colleges and universities. The UNC system would fare better by $87 million in the Senate plan, but the community colleges would get $21 million less and the public schools would get $106 million less.
Bus, rail transit plan backed
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Local elected officials on a western Triangle planning board endorsed a $1.4 billion bus and rail transit plan Wednesday that – if local voters agreed – would be financed in part with a half-cent sales tax increase in Durham and Orange counties. …The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization's transit committee approved the plan for beefed-up bus service in and between the three municipalities, an electric-powered light-rail line from the UNC-Chapel Hill campus to East Durham, and the Durham County portion of a rush-hour commuter train line from West Durham to Garner.