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

International Coverage

Arctic sunshine revs up greenhouse gases
United Press International

Sunlight in the arctic is delivering a double climate blow, researchers say, by both melting ice and speeding up the release of greenhouse gases. Dead vegetation preserved in far northern permafrost under ice is estimated to contain twice as much carbon dioxide as is held by the atmosphere, and global warming could allow this plant matter to decompose, releasing both that CO2 and methane, they say. Rose Cory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her colleagues, studying melting permafrost sites in the arctic, found the amount of CO2 released was 40 percent higher when the melt water was exposed to ultraviolet light than when kept dark, buried in the permafrost.

PSA decision tools may help men clarify their values
Reuters (Wire Service)

Giving men decision-making tools to help them consider the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening changed how they valued different possible outcomes but did not affect how many chose to be tested, in a new study. …"One of the elements of a good decision is that a man's own values are incorporated into the process," said Dr. Michael Pignone, who worked on the new study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "In some cases, the evidence isn't so clear that one option is best."

National Coverage

Sunlight stimulates release of carbon dioxide in melting permafrost
The Los Angeles Times

…"Although no estimates exist for what percentage of now-frozen carbon will be released to the surface as the Arctic warms, the alteration and fate of this carbon will depend on its susceptibility to coupled photobiological processing and the available light," wrote study lead author Rose Cory, an assistant professor of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina.
Related Links:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23158-arctic-sunshine-cranks-up
-threat-from-greenhouse-gases.html

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/02/slumping-arctic-
soils-produce-si.html?ref=hp

Obama visit puts Georgia pre-K in spotlight
The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Georgia’s pre-kindergarten program will get a turn in the national spotlight this week when President Barack Obama uses Decatur as a backdrop to promote an education initiative to give low-income preschoolers an earlier start on their schooling. …A recent University of North Carolina study shows that students in the program are making academic strides but pre-k classes still largely fall short of the highest standards for quality.

State and Local Coverage

Chapel Hill council approves University Square project on Franklin Street
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

The Town Council unanimously approved a major Franklin Street redevelopment Monday night after getting a $250,000 pledge over five years toward affordable housing. UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp said the $80 million to $100 million University Square redevelopment is critical for “a vibrant retail environment … and to create a downtown that works year-round.”
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/chherald/x1733192641/Council-
approves-University-Square-redevelopment

Staff grades (Editorial)
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)

A to the UNC system for high ratings in the recent report from The Princeton Review listing the nation’s “Best Value Colleges,” a project the education services company began in 2004 and has reported in recent years with USA TODAY. …Princeton Review ranked UNC Chapel Hill as No. 2 on its list of “Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges for 2013,” and N.C. State was not far behind at No. 6.

Docs say NC leaders should expand Medicaid
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

…Dr. Charles van der Horst, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said Medicaid expansion would save the state money, control costs for private insurers, help rural hospitals with high levels of uncompensated care, boost the state’s economy and save lives. ”Our unemployment is over 9 percent,” van der Horst said. “If I was a CEO of a company that was going to bring 25,000 new jobs to North Carolina, what do you think the legislature and the governor would say? And what do you think the voters will say that we’re turning this down?"
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/docs-bash-berger-s-petition/12093513/

Medicaid expansion supported (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

About 14 doctors, nurses and medical students came to Raleigh to speak against a bill that would prevent the state from expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. “It’s nutty,” said Dr. Charles van der Horst, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “It’s terrible for the citizens of North Carolina.” The Senate passed a bill last week preventing expansion and a state House committee is set to debate it Tuesday.

Brophy to deliver lecture
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

Alfred Brophy, a distinguished professor of law at UNC Chapel Hill, will deliver the 2013 William P. Murphy Distinguished Lecture today. The free public lecture will take place at noon in the rotunda UNC School of Law. Brophy will speak on “Slavery and Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina Before the Civil War,” detailing the ideas about constitutional law and slavery at the university during that time period.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5851/70/

Frontier adding direct flights to Denver from PTI
The News & Record (Greensboro)

Frontier Airlines, which began flying out of Piedmont Triad International Airport in November, is adding direct flights to Denver, its hub. …The expansion of low-fare service is a significant achievement for the airport, which has struggled to maintain low-fare carriers for decades. It opens up a market that may even draw people from the Triangle, said Stephen Appold, senior research associate with the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Focus on blues culture
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

In celebration of Black History Month, the Friday Center for Continuing Education at UNC Chapel Hill will host a free lecture Friday by William Ferris in which he will share photographs, stories, music samples and film clips from his book and DVD, “Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues.”
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5853/107/

Holding Back The Tide (Blog)
WCHL-FM (Chapel Hill)

North Carolina Republicans are trying to do what the Democrats did in our state for 50 years: Hold back the tide! …According to figures that Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program of the Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, shared with journalists last month, the demographic trends in North Carolina do not favor Republicans.

Conference looks at veils
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

The relationship of Muslim women and their veils will be explored as UNC Chapel Hill, in partnership with Duke University, hosts the conference “ReOrienting the Veil” Feb. 22 and 23. The conference, in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at the FedEx Global Education Center, is intended to expand the dialogue about the tradition of wearing the veil and the meaning of the headscarf for Muslim women.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5835/68/

The long term will be Launch’s real challenge (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill News

The Town of Chapel Hill, once a beacon for anti-business sentiment, is trying a novel approach to attract entrepreneurs. It is becoming an entrepreneur itself. And like most entrepreneurs it will find starting is easy; surviving is the real challenge. The town, with help from Orange County’s Economic Development fund, the Downtown Partnership, and UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, is opening a manufacturing business downtown.

Issues and Trends

New challenge at NCCU (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Debra Saunders-White has experience as an IBM systems engineer, a high school math teacher and as a technology administrator at Hampton University and UNC-Wilmington. All of those skills will be called upon as she becomes chancellor of N.C. Central University in Durham.

State Lawmakers Begin Budget Process
WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill)

Budget subcommittees will begin meeting in Raleigh on Tuesday as state legislators begin their work to put together a roughly 20 billion dollar budget. A number of appropriations subcommittees are scheduled to meet this morning as the official public beginning of the budget-making process. It's estimated it will take legislators about two months to come up with lists of what to cut and what to keep.

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