uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Drugmakers Upset Approval System Plan Biotechs Sought
Bloomberg Businessweek
Drugmakers have fought off a U.S. senator’s proposal that would have approved medicines for diseases that are fatal, or have no existing treatments, based on fewer human trials. ...John Vernon, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of North Carolina, said the original proposal was seen as a no-win proposition for large drugmakers for several reasons. “I could see how it would be a threat to have a new process, to think about how to redefine efficacy,” he said. “It would have been a game-changer.”

Glaxo Settles 20,000 Lawsuits Over Avandia, Lawyer Says
Bloomberg Businessweek
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, which is paying $3 billion to resolve government claims that it illegally marketed drugs such as the Avandia diabetes medication, agreed to settle more lawsuits over the pills, a lawyer said. ...A University of North Carolina professor told lawmakers in 2007 that Glaxo officials pressured him to stop raising questions about the safety of Avandia when it came on the market in 1999.

National Coverage

House GOP Still Furious Over Recess Appointments
"All Things Considered" National Public Radio
Republicans signaled at a House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday that they're still furious about President Obama's "unprecedented recess appointments" to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board. …that's Michael Gerhardt, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, responding. Gerhardt says he thinks Mr. Obama's recess appointments are in line with the Constitution.

Study: If Would-Be Home Buyers Have to Put 20% Down, 60% of Them Ain’t Buying
Time
...A new study entitled “Balancing Risk and Access: Underwriting Standards for Qualified Residential Mortgages” from the Center for Responsible Lending at the University of North Carolina states that while such requirements would result in fewer defaults, they nonetheless “would be a mistake for business and consumers.”

Ultrasound Helps with Male Birth Control?
Ivanhoe (Newswire)
...Ultrasound's capabilities as a male contraceptive were first acknowledged almost 40 years ago. Although the equipment used back then is now outdated and no longer around, researchers from the Department of Pediatric at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine were able to use the experiments done as a starting point to examine whether or not modern ultrasound equipment used for physical therapy could also be used as a male contraceptive.

Regional Coverage

Arizona is rising as a key state in GOP presidential race
The Arizona Republic (Tucson)
...Add to that mix the significant population of Arizonans who share Romney’s Mormon religion and “it’s a hard thing to imagine that this doesn’t work out for him,” said Kareem Crayton, a political scientist and associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “The question may be the margin of victory, not whether or not he wins.”

State and Local Coverage

Benefits of early childhood education should be a no-brainer (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
...Now a study conducted by UNC Chapel Hill has again demonstrated the benefits of early education, and it should play a key role in the deliberations of our state Supreme Court and legislature as they try to settle a dispute over funding for the state's pre-school program. The UNC-CH study began in 1972 and tracked 111 children from low-income families. Half were enrolled in high-quality pre-school, half were not. Forty years later, the results show that those who got the early education have done considerably better in life, both in terms of education and social factors such as teen pregnancy.

Triad job market limps through '11, data show
The Winston-Salem Journal
...Brent Lane, director of the UNC Center for Competitive Economies at UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, said he views the U.S. and N.C. economies as still being vulnerable to economic shakes from Europe and China. "It's like we are trying to ride a bicycle really slowly, and the slower we get, the easier it is for us to tip over," Lane said.

Restructuring after the Great Recession
The Charlotte Post
...In 2010, the unemployment rate for blacks was 17.2 percent in North Carolina, nearly twice the 8.6 rate for white North Carolinians, and higher than the national average for African Americans of 15.9 percent, a 2011 Economic Policy Institute Issue Brief shows. “I think if the U.S. has a bad cold we got pneumonia,” said James Johnson, PhD, professor, Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Duke libraries cut public hours
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
...Davis Library and the House Undergraduate Library at UNC Chapel Hill, both have only one main entrance. Both libraries require a UNC ID for entry starting at midnight. “And both of them have a posted security guard at the door who checks IDs,” said Judy Panitch, director of library communications.

UNC hosts ribbon cutting at Research Campus
The Salisbury Post
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will host a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new student center at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. The UNC Nutrition Research Institute will host a public reception at the new Scholar’s Cove from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the UNC building, 500 Laureate Way.

Issues and Trends

Students, NAACP oppose tuition hikes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Students at UNC-Chapel Hill joined with the NAACP on Wednesday to demand a halt to proposed tuition increases in the UNC system. About 50 people gathered around the steps of the South Building that houses administrative offices at the center of campus. Students also were scheduled to meet with UNC system President Tom Ross later Wednesday.
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/news/education/story/10676391/
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8527750

Bowles will not run for governor (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Erskine Bowles, a former University of North Carolina president, said he will not run for governor. “I will not be a candidate for governor,” Bowles said in a statement. "I've spent a lot of time trying to think what is the right thing for me to do,” he said. “I don't think anyone questions my love for North Carolina or my efforts to make our State a better place to live, work , or raise a family . I've done my best in this regard and I plan to continue to do so.”
Related Link:
http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/feb/01/erskine-bowles-
weighing-bid-for-nc-governor-ar-1880489/

Hackney bows out (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
House Minority Leader Joe Hackney announced this morning he will not run for re-election this year. The 16-term Democrat from Chapel Hill offered no reason other than he looks forward to spending more time with his family, his law firm and recreational pursuits.