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Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

All in the family - except for a nephew
The Globe & Mail (Canada)
...It's certainly no fun, and facing such conflicts on an ad hoc basis is one reason why the lion's share of family businesses don't make it past the second generation. Ninety per cent of American businesses are family owned, according to the University of North Carolina's Family Business Forum, but only 12 per cent of them get passed on to the founders' grandchildren.

National Coverage

Online 'Pandemic' a Virtual Gold Mine for Epidemiologists
ABC News
...Such was the scenario in the fall of 2005, when a plague known as Corrupted Blood swept across the land. ..."Here, we have a large-scale computer simulation where we know everything about the disease, but its spread is determined largely by human behavior," said study co-author Eric Lofgren, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

Improve drug testing in baseball and other sports (Editorial)
The Star Bulletin (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Major League Baseball took a deserved hit by former Sen. George Mitchell for its feeble efforts in past years to keep players from cheating by use of performance-enhancing drugs. ...In 1989, fewer than 10 players weighed at least 300 pounds. They now number more than 450, and a 2003 study by the University of North Carolina said that 56 percent of NFL players were considered obese.

State & Local Coverage

Moeser: Growth to Challenge Next UNC Chancellor
WRAL-TV (CBS Raleigh)
Chancellor James Moeser said growth will be the top challenge for his successor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Moeser, who has led the UNC system's flagship campus for the past seven years, plans to step down on June 30 to take a faculty position.

Black Middle Class
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
For years, social science has defined the middle-class family as a married couple, typically with children. But a new study out of UNC-Chapel Hill challenges that definition, particularly for the African-American population. Host Frank Stasio gets an update on who is achieving and maintaining middle-class status in the black community from Kris Marsh, of the Carolina Population Center; Walter Farell, a UNC professor of Social Work; and, John Morton, a program director at Pew Charitable Trusts.
Note: “The State of Things” is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.
Related Links:
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-908467.cfm
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=5386

Traveling lab to visit Hopewell
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students will solve a microbiology mystery today when a traveling laboratory from UNC Chapel Hill's DESTINY Science Learning Program visits Hopewell High.
UNC News Brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2007/destinyhuntersville121407.html

The gift of blood
The Chapel Hill Herald
If blood donors were feeling a little anxious as they checked in at the 9th annual Winter Blood Drive Tuesday at Woollen Gym, they could have asked Kelly Boggs about her father. ...Katrina Coble, chairman of the UNC Blood Drive Committee, said she hopes other universities will use the Carolina blood drives as a model for their own campaigns.

N.C. takes 1st step to revise water rules
The Charlotte Observer
An overhaul of North Carolina's outdated water policies will begin with a meeting Thursday in parched Charlotte. ...That might be decided by how long the current drought persists, said study adviser Richard Whisnant, an associate professor at UNC's School of Government.

Study: Permanent homeless shelter saves state money
The Triangle Business Journal
A new study done by local researchers shows that the state is saving money by providing permanent shelter for the homeless, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. The study, prepared by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, looks at the costs of providing services for 21 participants of Lennox Chase, a state-supported, southeast Raleigh housing complex for those who were previously homeless.

Coral Reef Disease and Global Warming
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
Coral reefs, vital sources of life for the world's oceans, are in danger of disappearing. Two new studies headed by John Bruno, associate professor of marine biology at UNC-Chapel Hill, show that warmer ocean temperature causes more coral disease outbreaks. John Bruno joins host Frank Stasio to talk about the new research and its implications for the environment.
Note: “The State of Things” is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.

Trustees give OK to Davis raise
The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina's Board of Trustees approved football coach Butch Davis' raise and contract extension by an 11-2 vote via mail ballot, a university official said Tuesday. Sandra Caulberg, administrative officer for university vice chancellor and general counsel Leslie Strohm, confirmed the ballot results.

`Friendly' bacteria may give immune system a boost (Column)
The Charlotte Observer
How about some bugs in your dinner tonight? Many people love them -- the bacterial kind, that is. They use probiotics, an alternative medicine approach to supporting health. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Council to consider code-of-conduct alternatives
The Daily News (Washington)
Washington City Council members aren’t sure they need a 14-page code of conduct for city officials, but they do agree some standards of conduct are needed. ...The new council member suggested the city contact the N.C. League of Municipalities and the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to determine if they have codes of conduct that may be more appropriate for Washington.

Emergency siren to be tested Dec. 19
The Chapel Hill News
UNC's Department of Public Safety will test a newly installed emergency alert system siren Dec. 19 between noon and 1 p.m. The siren is designed to be used to sound an alarm and broadcast instructions about what to do during a life-threatening situation such as an armed and dangerous person in the area, a major chemical spill or hazard, or a tornado.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/higher_education/story/837975.html
UNC link: http://www.unc.edu/news/alert121907.html

Granville's window on history getting windows fixed
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
After serving as an open window to the formation of local history, Granville County's grand old red-and-white courthouse is getting its own windows refurbished. ...Those like Harry Watson, a professor of history at UNC and director of the Center for the Study of the American South, who spoke of the role the courthouse has played.

Issues & Trends

Neighbors protest plan for 5-story residence hall
The News & Observer
The Methodist campus ministry at UNC-Chapel Hill is planning the East Coast's first large-scale Christian residence hall at a state university. ...The UNC Wesley Foundation, a private nonprofit student ministry, has proposed a five-story building with 22 apartments for about 160 Christian students seeking a "learning/living" community.