Manlin Chee arrived at her “going-away” party in Greensboro two weeks ago with an air as cheerful and flowing as her yellow silk salwar kameez. That’s not what you’d expect from someone facing a year-and-a-day-long sentence in federal prison on charges of defrauding the U.S. government. But for Chee–a Singapore native and a naturalized U.S. […]
Barbara Solow
Posted inBest of the Triangle
Cary masala
Cary has become synonymous in Triangle parlance with the worst kind of suburban sprawl. But if you know where to look, it’s also home to the best kind of urban density. Take Chatham Square at the far eastern end of the central business district. In recent years, this nondescript, open-air shopping center near the intersection […]
Posted inNews
Abortion off the agenda at UNC Women’s Week
Women’s Week at UNC-Chapel Hill is set to kick off smoothly next week, without the disagreements that have dogged the celebration since 2003. There are no competing events being planned by pro-choice students and no complaints from anti-abortion groups about being shut out of programming. In fact, abortion is nowhere on the agenda for the […]
Posted inNews
UNC faculty say Pope talks bypassed them
Controversy at UNC-Chapel Hill surrounding a proposed undergraduate program in “Western Cultures,” as the latest version is now called, ramped up again last week with an open letter from faculty decrying “secret negotiations” between university administrators and the potential donor, the Raleigh-based Pope Foundation. More than 70 faculty from disciplines including anthropology, history, romance languages, […]
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Information is power
When Mark McCarthy thinks of Darfur in western Sudan, he pictures more than the barren, desert images that have become fixed in the public mind since an internal war on civilians began there in 2003. He also sees mountains, green riverbeds and a landscape touched by beauty. “Of course, when people are on the run, […]
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Indy photographer captures possible suspect
Indy photographer captures possible suspect Jenny Warburg, a longtime photographer for the Independent, was on her way to Selma, Ala., last Friday to document the 40th anniversary of the bloody civil rights march across that city’s Edmund Pettis Bridge. Warburg–who began her professional life as a social worker–has spent years photographing people and events on […]
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A new Newt? Not really
Newt Gingrich, the famous architect of the Republican “Contract with America,” has taken up a new crusade: transforming the nation’s healthcare system. In the process, he appears to be accomplishing a Madonna-like transformation of his own, from conservative flame-thrower to champion of reform. Witness Gingrich’s appearance as the opening keynote speaker at this week’s Emerging […]
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Gray-and-black hair
My grandmother, Janet Stern, died on Jan. 30, exactly one week after celebrating her 100th birthday. In this culture, we tend to overlook the true meaning of such milestones. These days, our most vibrant connections seem to be electronic, and the lack of respect for wisdom and experience is everywhere in evidence. Grandma was wise […]
Posted inNews
Licensing battle brewing over alternative medicine
Susan Delaney has been trying for more than a decade to get the state to license her profession. A graduate of one of the nation’s few accredited schools for naturopaths, Delaney has been working to convince lawmakers that licensing is needed to elevate standards and protect the public from untrained practitioners of her branch of […]
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Reframing the issues
Congressman Mel Watt has never been one to hold back. Throughout his political career, first as manager for Harvey Gantt’s U.S. Senate campaign against Jesse Helms, then as a member of the North Carolina Senate, and now as a representative for the 12th Congressional District in Charlotte, Watt has remained unabashedly liberal. The UNC-Chapel Hill […]