uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

More Than 1 Million Beaten
Newsweek
Domestic violence used to be the problem no one talked about. But in the past few years, the issue has clearly emerged from the shadows. ...In an editorial accompanying (Harriet) MacMillan's study, Kathryn Moracco and Thomas Cole of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill point to research showing that women in shelters for victims of violence who get consistent counseling with specially trained advocates are less likely to suffer repeated occurrences of physical abuse.

State and Local Coverage

New N.C. Cancer Hospital dedicated
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
On a perfect North Carolina day, under a sky scientifically verified by UNC Hospital Chief Bill Roper as “Carolina blue,” UNC formally opened its cutting-edge $207 million N.C. Cancer Hospital, which hospital, university and state leaders said will place UNC in the forefront of the fight against a scourge that kills 500,000 people a year. The 315,000-square-foot research and treatment facility, which is three times larger than the old, crowded Gravely building that previously housed the hospital’s cancer center, has 50 beds —15 more than what was previously available.
Related Links:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7015258
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/video/6005942/
http://news14.com/?ArID=614713&RegionCookie=104

North Carolina Literary Festival A Success
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The North Carolina Literary Festival brought about twelve thousand visitors to the UNC campus this weekend. Festival director Amy Baldwin says that while many aspects of the festival went well, one in particular was a source of pride.
Related Link:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/opinion/story/52259.html
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Letter-+
Sept-+16-+2009%20&id=3604871-Letter-+Sept-+16-+2009
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Sept-+16-
+2009%20&id=3605334-Sept-+16-+2009
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2872/68/

Roses and Raspberries (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to the North Carolina Botanical Garden, whose new Education Center is expected to be the first public building in North Carolina to earn the highest level of certification for green architecture. The Education Center, a new gateway to the garden's nature trails and display gardens, was designed as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum building.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2849/68/

UNC To Test Emergency Sirens
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will test its emergency sirens on Tuesday, Sept. 22, between noon and 1 p.m. as part of Alert Carolina, a safety awareness campaign. ..."We want the campus community to be very familiar with the sound of the sirens and know what to do when they hear them," said Jeff McCracken, the University's public safety director. "The sirens are the fastest and most effective way we have to immediately inform everyone about a life-threatening situation."
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2864/1/

Health care basics outlined at UNC
The Chapel Hill Herald
Local experts outlined the basics of the health care reform debate in a panel discussion held Monday night at the UNC School of Medicine. The forum, initiated by different student groups within the School of Medicine, consisted of a short briefing on the health care debate followed by a question and answer session. “It’s vitally important for the medical students to understand what’s going on in the current health care environment,” said Tim Carey, a professor of medicine and one of the four doctors on the panel. “Plus more generally we all need to talk about what’s going on with health care as a society.”

Medical students focus on health care reform
The Chapel Hill Herald
The health care debate stews on Capitol Hill, and here in Chapel Hill the medical community seeks to stay informed with a series of panel discussions, the first of which took place Monday night. The student-initiated forum, which was held from 5 to 6 p.m. in MacNider Hall at the UNC School of Medicine, intended to bring students, faculty and the community up to date on health care reform. "Education extends outside the classroom," said Jonathan Oberlander, an associate professor in the School of Medicine and the Gillings School of Global Public Health and one of the experts on Monday night's panel. "There is a great hunger among medical students to learn about health reform."

UNC picks firm to rebuild shopping center
The Chapel Hill News
A Boston architecture firm has been tapped to come up with a new design for University Square. Elkus Manfredi Architects was selected from six finalists to design the mixed-use development on the 12-acre plot along Franklin Street currently home to the shopping plaza and Granville Towers. ...The Chapel Hill foundation is a non-profit arm of UNC. It bought the land for about $46 million and plans to rework an area officials say is dated.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2857/68/

Swine flu hits colleges hard
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...But at UNC-CH, campus health workers are watching the numbers carefully. Last week, the H1N1 cases at the student health service represented 29 percent of all maladies reported there, said Campus Health Services Director Mary Covington. "Anytime you get over 15 percent, it's high," Covington said. So health officials urge students to wash their hands a lot and stay isolated if they feel symptoms.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/h1n1-settles-in-on-area-campuses

Optimism improving among CFOs (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The mood among corporate bookkeepers is improving, another sign that the economy is likely on the mend. ...The results mirror a similar quarterly survey conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Released last month, the survey found that 39 percent of CFOs were "slightly more confident" about the economy.

Consider the (energy) source (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Electric cars cause more pollution than cars powered by gasoline. This doesn't have to be the case, but it will remain true unless we make major changes in our system of producing electricity. The problem is that electric cars run on batteries, and batteries have to be recharged. And the recharge -- people tend to overlook this -- comes from plugging the batteries into the electric power grid. (John J. W. Rogers is retired as the William R. Kenan Jr. professor of geology at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Make over your plate and improve your health (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
We love our makeovers. Whether it's hair and makeup, home, closet or clothing, comparing "before" with "after" makes it easier to understand how to make the improvements. Diets are no different. I once wrote diet makeovers for a regular feature in Self magazine. Readers wrote in about what they ate for lunch, and I recommended healthful changes. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

School forum garners grant ideas
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
More than 150 participants Tuesday night combined to make dozens of suggestions on improving black male student achievement. ...The district has two partners in the effort: the Durham Association of Educators and a team of professors at UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. Central University. They have been meeting with focus groups of parents, students and teachers to gather their input on useful strategies. Efforts to bring businesses and religious groups into the process are also being made.

Religious Debate To Be Held At UNC
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Dinesh D’Souza will face off against Bart Ehrman in a debate on October 7th. Larry Taunton, executive director of Fixed Point Foundation and sponsor of the event, says the two men will debate the question of suffering throughout the world and God’s existence. ...The event will be held at Memorial Hall on UNC’s campus. ...Taunton says the Foundation decided to sponsor debates at several universities because there is a market for thoughtful public discourse.

Issues and Trends

Judge drops case against protestor
The Chapel Hill News
Judge Joe Buckner on Monday dismissed a disorderly conduct charge against student Haley Koch, who had been accused of disrupting a speech by former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo last April. Koch's attorney successfully argued holding a banner and chanting wasn't a significant disruption.

Football players' case ends quietly
The Chapel Hill Herald
The kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault case in which three UNC football players were tied up and robbed in December 2007 ended quietly Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court when one of the suspects pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and received probation.

Athlete sentenced to prison for DWI
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Christopher Kearney, a former UNC-Chapel Hill tennis player, will spend the next year in prison after pleading guilty this week to injuring two fellow students in a drunken-driving crash last fall.

Doctor charged in DWI death surrenders posts
The Associated Press
A North Carolina doctor has been charged with second-degree murder after police say he caused a wreck that killed a 20-year-old ballerina. Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that Raymond Dwight Cook of Raleigh surrendered his medical license before appearing in a Wake County courtroom for a hearing in connection with death of Elena Bright Shapiro, a 20-year-old dancer with the Carolina Ballet.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1691667.html
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6010195/
http://news14.com/?ArID=614690&RegionCookie=104
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7017178
http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=11839