Carolina in the News Carolina in the News: Friday, May 7, 2010
| Carolina in the News: Friday, May 7, 2010 |
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| Friday, May 07, 2010 | |
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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media: National Coverage Why Islam does (not) ban images of the Prophet (Blog) The Washington Post When a pair of adolescent and anonymous Muslim bloggers ("Muslim Revolution") threatened the producers of South Park for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit in an April 2010 episode, pundits responded by saying that the "Muslim Revolution" folks were extremist idiots (true) and that they were offended because Islam bans the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (not true). ...Over the last thousand years, Muslims in India, Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and Turkey did have a rich courtly tradition of depicting the various prophets, including Prophet Muhammad, in miniatures. (Omid Safi is Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and author of "Memories of Muhammad: Why The Prophet Matters".) With Apologies to Chapel Hill: An Empire (and NYU) State of Mind (Blog) The New York Times ...This decision was the hardest I’ve ever made and I truly spent long hours trying to figure out which path would the “right” one. But the more I thought about it (and the more I read), I realized there was no decisive “right” choice. College is, as I’ve stated in my previous posts, what you make of it, but it seems as if I’d forgotten my original message amidst all the hullabaloo and hype about reputation and “career opportunities” after graduation. ...Even though the Robertson Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Martin Luther King Scholars Program at NYU Stern were the last two choices standing, I had had a really tough time narrowing it down to two. (“The Envelope, Please” is a series of posts by high school seniors chronicling their experiences during the end-game of this year’s college admissions process.) Regional Coverage Aerotropolis idea begins in the clouds The Memphis Business Journal (Tennessee) The start of Memphis’ journey to being dubbed an aerotropolis began, fittingly enough, on an airplane. In July 2006, John Moore, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Memphis Chamber, was on the same Memphis-bound flight as then-Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton. Moore read a Fast Company magazine article about John Kasarda, a business professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, who started the idea of aerotropolis. At the end of the four-page article, Kasarda said Memphis was one of the most well-developed examples of the concept in the U.S. State considers ban on metal baseball bats in scholastic sports The Contra Costa Times (California) Sheila Carter was happy Thursday to hear California lawmakers are taking a swing at imposing at least a two-year ban on metal bats in high school baseball. ...Fred Mueller, a University of North Carolina professor who tracks catastrophic injuries in scholastic sports, said batted balls produced two serious head injuries in 2007, the most recent complete year for which he has data. Neither was fatal. State and Local Coverage UNC commits to end coal use by 2020 The Carrboro Citizen Flanked by representatives of the Sierra Club and North Carolina Energy Policy Council chair Tim Toben, Chancellor Holden Thorp announced Tuesday that the university intends to end its use of coal at the Cameron Avenue co-generation plant in 10 years. Starting with tests this spring with wood pellets, the university will gradually shift away from coal, phasing it our entirely by 2020. The plan was put together over the past six months by a university task force comprised of students, faculty, energy-systems managers and Sierra Club representatives. UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3603/68/ Athletes' 'never-ending ascension' key to success The Chapel Hill Herald The seemingly incessant work by the UNC women's soccer team is part of what coach Anson Dorrance calls the "never-ending ascension." That ascension is one of the team's goals to improve continuously as individuals on and off the field. Dorrance always requires his players to read different books during the season, depending on each player's class year, and discuss them. Related Link: http://heraldsun.com/view/full_story/7341376/article-UNC-DESIRE? Binti Pamoja "The State of Things" WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill) Nairobi’s Kibera slum is a hard place for kids to grow up, particularly for young women. A program developed by a UNC-Chapel Hill nonprofit uses writing and photography to help girls understand their bodies and their choices. Host Frank Stasio tells the story of Binti Pamoja, or Daughters United, a reproductive health and women's rights center for 11 to 18 year-old girls in Kibera. Scholar/authors from Duke, UNC speak at museum The Herald-Sun (Durham) Scholars and authors Timothy Tyson, Reginald Hildebrand and Blair Kelley will discuss and answer questions about key turning points in North Carolina's African-American history on May 22 at the N.C. Museum of History, 5 E. Edenton St., Raleigh. The trio will discuss the Civil War, the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot and the roots of civil rights. ...Hildebrand is a UNC Chapel Hill faculty member and author of "The Times Were Strange and Stirring: Methodist Preachers and the Crisis of Emancipation." Lowe’s, US Air, GSK, IBM among top takers of North Carolina tax credits The Triangle Business Journal Not surprisingly, given the economy, fewer North Carolina companies are using the state’s corporate tax credit programs for job creation, but that doesn’t mean they’ve turned their backs on the free cash. ...Karl Smith of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government says he isn’t surprised that fewer North Carolina businesses claimed corporate tax credits in 2009. “Not with the economy the way it was,” says Smith, whose expertise is the use of tax policy to stimulate economic development. “It’s a general pattern: When the economy declines, the taking of tax credits declines.” UNC students on Anderson CD The Chapel Hill Herald Two UNC students appear on a new jazz compact disc from a trio led by faculty pianist Stephen Anderson. Anderson's previous CD, "Forget Not," received reviews in All About Jazz and Jazz Times, four and a half stars out of a possible five in the All Music Guide, which reviews albums of all genres, and was nominated as "Best Debut CD" in the 2008 Village Voice Critics Poll. ..."I'm excited to feature the work of UNC students in addition to the trio on this international publication," said Anderson, assistant professor of music in the College of Arts and Sciences. UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3579/66/ PlayMakers wins arts grants The Chapel Hill Herald PlayMakers Repertory Company has received national arts grants for two shows in its upcoming season: its first musical in more than a decade, "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and William Shakespeare's "As You Like It." For the third year in a row, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has recognized the professional theater company based in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC. UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3607/66/ Bingham 'impacts' wetlands, stream The Chapel Hill Herald UNC's Bingham Facility was hit with three notices of violations last month for unauthorized "impacts" to wetlands and a stream at the facility located on Clover Garden Church Road. ...(UNC Associate Vice Chancellor Dwayne) Pinkney said the recent notices stem from management issues at the animal holding facility prior to UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp's reorganization in February to establish a clear chain of command, which was thought to be a major source of the facility's problems. "Now what we're seeing is how those issues are going to be resolved," Pinkney said. Issues and Trends University chancellors warn of budget cut impact The Citizen-Times (Asheville) The chancellors of Western North Carolina's three public universities predict dire consequences for higher education if proposed budget cuts are enacted. At stake, they said, are course offerings students need to graduate on time and long-term damage to a primary driver of economic development. Gov. Bev. Perdue's $19 billion budget plan for the coming fiscal year would slash spending on the university system by 5.9 percent. Related Link: http://www.reflector.com/opinion/steve-ballard-proposed-budget-cuts-threaten-ecuunc-mission-33741 |