Now: Reuters political & economic reporter
Before: Business reporter for the Charlotte Observer, political reporter for the News & Observer, editor for The Daily Tar Heel, longform writer for Synapse Magazine
Megan Cassella
Now: Reuters political & economic reporter
Before: Business reporter for the Charlotte Observer, political reporter for the News & Observer, editor for The Daily Tar Heel, longform writer for Synapse Magazine
In 2006, a man walked into a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi, in search of treatment. Now, seven years, dozens of blood samples and scores of medical tests later, his unique case is still being studied in search of a scientific discovery he never could have imagined. When the patient walked into the clinic, UNC researchers stationed there identified in his blood an acute HIV infection, the earliest stage of the disease.
The beds line the walls, crowd the hallways and form a ring around the nurses’ station. They’re empty, most of them — it’s 11:30 p.m. in the emergency room at UNC Hospitals, and the day is coming to a close. But as the hour grows later and the weekend looms, the vacant beds start to fill, awaiting the patients who tend to inhabit them more often than anyone else — intoxicated students.
North Carolina teachers struggling with low salaries and repeated pay freezes are being lured from the state with an appealing offer: For a substantial raise, come teach in Texas. The Houston Independent School District held a job recruitment fair in uptown Charlotte on Friday, offering higher pay and benefits to teachers whose salaries are among the lowest in the nation.
The city’s plan for bringing an ultra-fast Internet network to Charlotte is in – and now the Google Fiber team is deciding whether it will work. In May, city leaders set forth a plan for bringing a Google Fiber network to Charlotte, with 28 small huts encircling the city, thousands of miles of cable running above and beneath the streets and ultra-fast Internet powering neighborhoods and homes.
An 11 percent jump in wholesale beef prices is leaving Charlotte restaurant owners with a stark choice: charge more for menu items or swallow the costs themselves. Some are raising prices for beef dishes while promoting poultry-centered specials, which are more profitable right now. Others are holding prices steady and looking to sign long-term contracts with suppliers before prices rise still further.
Walk into Birdsong Brewery on any given night, and you’ll see a room full of beer tanks, a large stack of kegs, and a taproom brimming with after-work drinkers, their friends and their dogs. As Birdsong celebrates its 2 1/2-year anniversary this month, the small brewery and taproom on North Davidson Street is looking to move to a larger location.
Starting a multimillion-dollar company wasn’t what Mark Hoogendoorn intended. He just wanted to quit smoking. The computer programmer had tried it all: nicotine patches, nicotine gum, hypnosis. He didn’t want his teenage son and daughter to see him smoking anymore. But nothing worked. On a whim one day in 2008, he bought an electronic cigarette off eBay.
So far, seven Republicans, two Democrats and two Libertarians have filed their candidacy papers for the U.S. Senate race. • Republicans William Alexander, Greg Brannon, Heather Grant, Mark Harris, Edward Kryn, James Snyder and Thom Tillis. Candidates must pay a filing fee that is 1 percent of annual salary of office.
An external review of the Landen Gambill Honor Court case detailed weaknesses in the University’s Honor System and called into question the merits of an entirely student-run court. Rutgers professor Barbara Lee’s investigation found that the student handling the case was insufficiently trained and advised, leading her to bring forward a charge that was potentially unconstitutional.
Members of the UNC community have drafted varied lists of the qualities they want to see in the next chancellor. Given the opportunity, they would choose Chancellor Holden Thorp — again. In two forums held by the chancellor search committee Thursday for students and faculty, an interest in maintaining the same values upheld by Thorp arose time and again.
Deep within the labyrinth of Caudill Laboratories, a tall man with glasses sits behind a desk in office 257. He has two kids, married his high school sweetheart and is in the midst of planning a holiday party for his friends and colleagues. Joseph DeSimone, who will present this morning to the Board of Trustees on the importance of diversity in the lab, is perhaps the most recognizable of the University’s scientific researchers.
After undergoing a series of reviews of its Department of African and Afro-American Studies throughout the past two years, the University has been told by its accrediting agency that more action needs to be taken. In a letter dated Jan. 15, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges asked the University to provide proof that it has taken sufficient action to address the breaches in academic integrity exposed in those reviews.
Throughout his career, legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith always had six words for his players. Now, decades later, Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham has six similar words for his department — six words that summarize its new strategic plan, which was released today. “We want to work hard,” Cunningham said, “and play smart, and win together.”.
On a day meant to celebrate the University’s past while looking toward its future, the latter has managed to grab all of the attention. Last University Day, Chancellor Holden Thorp was fighting a persistent football scandal and a shrinking budget. One year later, a focus on past missteps has largely given way to widespread uncertainty about the University’s future.
In 1994, UNC alumnus Peter McMillan flew from England to Australia — and only crashed once. The notoriety of the accomplishment lies in the aircraft itself: an exact replica of a 1919 Vickers Vimy biplane with an open cockpit and cotton-covered wings. In its time, the original Vimy was the first plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean and flew from London to both Australia and South Africa.