Here is a sampling of links and notes about other Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Down Payment Rules Are at Heart of Mortgage Debate
The New York Times
…And the subprime debacle has only distorted the debate, say some analysts. “The problem with this conversation is that it’s like discussing the future of shipbuilding from the deck of the Titanic,” said Roberto G. Quercia, director of the Center for Community Capital at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “There’s a lack of perspective.” To underscore his point, Mr. Quercia studied mortgages in a special program for low-income borrowers, typically those with minimal down payments.
Immigration Reform in Jeopardy?
HuffPost Live
In the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombings, numerous politicians are calling the Gang of 8's push for immigration reform into question. What lessons can advocates learn from 2001? Chris Bail is featured in this HuffPost Live discussion. (Chris Bail is an assistant professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill, presently on a fellowship at U Michigan as a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar.)
Duke Faces Obstacles in Plan for Overseas Growth
Bloomberg Businessweek
…At nearby Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Dean James W. Dean Jr. played a similar waiting game with the Chinese Ministry of Education while trying to launch an executive dual-degree program with Tsinghua University. Even with a well-known partner like Tsinghua, it still took about a year for the program to be approved. The program was launched last October.
The Morning Leverage: Birch Hill to Take IT Tech Provider Private (Blog)
The Wall Street Journal
…Professors from Oxford University’s Said Business School, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina have teamed up to establish the Private Equity Research Consortium, dedicated to improving information about the industry, according to the Financial Times.
Regional Coverage
Apps to track teens' driving habits
Fox News (New York)
Ever wonder what your teen is doing behind the wheel when you're not around? If you're worried they can't stop texting, tweeting, talking or browsing the web now there is an app for that. …Researchers from the University of North Carolina found that the first phase of driving alone is the deadliest phase. A recent survey from a major insurance company found that 65 percent of parents wanted a better way to keep track of their teens' early driving experience. The new app from UNC is called Time to Drive. It focuses on some of the things new drivers struggle with.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5961/74/
Setbacks for coal industry; rulings for EPA, new health studies
The Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.)
If the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is guilty of anything in Eastern Kentucky, it's doing too little too late to avert a potential public health catastrophe. …One of the reviewers, epidemiologist Steven B. Wing, an associate professor in the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health, said: "The evidence shows that mountaintop removal threatens public health and the environment. It's time to act to protect rural communities."
State and Local Coverage
Case to speak at UNC commencement
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Steve Case will speak, and he and four others will receive honorary degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the May 12 Commencement ceremony. Chancellor Holden Thorp will preside at the ceremony at 9:30 a.m. in Kenan Stadium.
Related Link:
http://chapelboro.com/AOL-Co-Founder-Steve-Case-To-Be-UNC-Commencement-S/16138523
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5996/68/
Got a teen driver? There's an app for that
The Star News (Wilmington)
…But thanks to a new iPhone application designed to improve young driver safety, the whole family can take a collective deep breath knowing that driving practice could actually go smoothly. Time to Drive is an app created by the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in collaboration with Sky Highways that supports the supervision of teen drivers during their learner's permit period.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5961/74/
Doctors wary of role in gun rights debate
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
…The law varies from state to state. In North Carolina, those who apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon must prove mental or physical competence. To get that proof, a sheriff's department may place a call to the applicant's personal physician. "One of the real problems which we really found is there really are no standards by which physicians can assess the safety and how that relates to physical conditions and psychological conditions," said Dr. Adam Goldstein, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
UNC to participate in autism blood test study (Blog)
The Triangle Business Journal
UNC-Chapel Hill will participate as a leading site in a potentially ground-breaking autism study that will involve more than 660 children at 20 locations. The study, announced by Lexington, Mass.-based SynapDx Corp., centers around a blood test the company is developing to diagnose autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) at an earlier age, which could yield better outcomes for families with children diagnosed with autism.
Chief Medlock defends letters banning about 50 gang members from
the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival
The Fayetteville Observer
Threats of fighting and potential gun violence between Fayetteville gangs was the catalyst for Dogwood Festival organizers to ban about 50 gang members from the weekend event, Police Chief Harold Medlock said Wednesday. …Michael Gerhard, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has questioned the legality of the letters, saying they could amount to prior restraint.
Corporate boards in N.C. still lag in diversity
The Chronicle (Winston-Salem)
…Board diversity is important for a number of reasons, according to Lissa Broome, Wells Fargo Professor of Banking Law at UNC School of Law and director of the DDI. “A diverse group can help avoid groupthink and bring new insights and ideas. Sometimes homogeneous groups get into too much of a comfort zone and would benefit from new thinking and viewpoints,” Broome said.
‘Rite of Spring’ revival at UNC to feature new costumes
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The Martha Graham Dance Company had planned to use Halston’s original costumes for a revival of Graham’s 1984 “Rite of Spring.” This work is included in the company’s Friday and Saturday programs at UNC’s Memorial Auditorium. Superstorm Sandy changed that plan. “There was a rush of water that ripped doors off walls,” company artist director Janet Eilber said of that storm’s devastating effect on the company’s New York headquarters.
N.C. native Ken Jeong has a funny way of doing things
The Charlotte Observer
…“I was very grateful to get into Chapel Hill – it’s one of the best public med schools in the country,” Jeong says. “I was an in-state resident, and the tuition was so affordable. … I remember one of the medical professors said, ‘You couldn’t be more cost-effective a med school than University of North Carolina School of Medicine.’
Holden Thorp: "We Have A Lot Of Problems"
WCHL-FM (Chapel Hill)
Outgoing UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp’s comments regarding the athletic hierarchy at colleges and universities, as prescribed by the NCAA and Knight Commission, have stirred controversy in the ongoing conversation of Big Time College Athletics. He says the amount of time he’s had to spend on this topic compared to the funding behind it doesn’t add up.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/24/2847810/should-the-chancellor-punt-on.html
Issues and Trends
House committee OKs bill allowing guns at college campuses, bars, restaurants
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
Concealed handgun permit holders would be able to lock their handguns in their cars when they park on college campuses under a sweeping gun rights measure that passed the House Judiciary A Committee Wednesday. …Andrew Moretz, a lobbyist for the University of North Carolina system, said that campus police are trained that nobody should be carrying a weapon on campus. That means even a well-meaning civilian who retrieves a firearm from a car and attempts to help in an emergency might be confronted by a confused police officer who could consider him or her a threat. "We see it as more of a problem than a solution," Moretz said, speaking on behalf of police chiefs from across the 16 UNC campuses.
Related Link:
http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/house_panel_advances_major_gun_bill
Senate panel approves legislation to force NC hospitals to clarify billing
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A proposal to make hospital bills more transparent and easy to understand sprinted through a Senate committee Wednesday with bipartisan support. The Republicans pushing the bill added several suggestions from Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat.
Sutton's in Chapel Hill marks 90 years
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
For its offer of hot dogs, fries and drinks for 5 cents each, Sutton’s Drug Store in Chapel Hill had a line of customers on Wednesday that started inside the store and stretched past adjacent Franklin Street storefronts. The pharmacy and grill offered the deal in celebration of its 90th birthday. Owner and pharmacist John Woodard said that Lynwood and Lucy Sutton started the business in 1923. …Woodard said that the key to staying afloat on Franklin Street is making sure there’s enough revenue generated while University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students are on-campus to sustain slower times during the summer.
Related Link:
http://wunc.org/post/sutton-s-drug-store-celebrates-90-years-business