In the News

February 2008

'Get the Dirt Out' Focuses on the Bay
DelmarvaNow.com - Feb. 29

The environmental impact of construction storm water runoff is the focus of an Environmental Law Clinic conference Friday at the School of Law. Guest speakers include Jane Barrett, JD, director of the UM Environmental Law Clinic.
www.dailytimesonline.com

Sound Diagnosis for BSO's 'CSI'
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 29

Not too gimmicky and not too talky (well, most of the time), CSI: Beethoven, the brainchild of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra music director Marin Alsop, fused historical research, medical diagnoses, theatrical impersonation, slide projections, and occasional music in an innovative fashion. To assist in this investigation, Alsop enlisted Philip Mackowiak, MD, MBA, vice chairman of the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine, and Charles Limb, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology at the Johns Hopkins University.
www.baltimoresun.com

Wellmobile Partners With Community Groups
The Maryland Nurse ý February, March, April 2008

A new diagnosis of Type II diabetes can be very frightening and overwhelming. A frequent question is, "How can I still cook the foods that my family will eat, but meet the restrictions now being imposed by my new diagnosis?" Steven Simmons, MS, BSN, RN, clinical instructor at the School of Nursing and lead provider on the Central Maryland Wellmobile, worked with community partners, including an executive chef, to provide cooking demonstrations at several community venues. Because many Wellmobile patients in this region speak Spanish as a first language, classes were interpreted in Spanish. Rebecca Wiseman, PhD, RN, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing and director of the Governor's Wellmobile program, wrote the article.

Wellmobile of Western Maryland: Men's Preventive Care
The Maryland Nurse - February, March, April 2008

Because men have greater reluctance in seeking help for physical problems and for participating in screening programs, the Governor's Wellmobile of Western Maryland, operated by the School of Nursing, has made men's health one of the areas it is working on this year. The Wellmobile provides preventive, acute, and chronic care for adults between the ages of 19 and 64, in addition to children, who are uninsured and live in underserved areas. Bea Lamm, MS, RN, a clinical instructor at the School and program manager, Governorýs Wellmobile of Western Maryland, wrote the article.

What It Takes to Be a Great Nurse
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 17

Not everyone knows what it takes to be a good nurse. Karen Kauffman, PhD, RN, associate professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Health at the School of Nursing, said, "Nurses who are truly committed work very hard. - In hospitals, nurses have a very high workload, often working 12-hour shifts. You have to stay sharp and on-the ball alert - a mistake can mean the difference between life and death."

Collegetown Report: Show Baltimore Is a College
The Baltimore Business Journal - Feb. 27

Changing perceptions of Baltimore are at the core of how to capitalize on the region's higher education strengths, according to local officials and the sponsors of a new economic impact report. The region's academic institutions, including research hospitals, contribute more than $17.2 billion to the state's economy, according to a study released Tuesday by the Baltimore Collegetown Network. The 15 colleges, universities, and academic hospitalsýthe University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital-that participated in the report award 20,000 degrees annually, the researchers found. The state and city are missing economic development opportunities with each student who relocates after graduation. A video excerpt of the conference can be viewed with Real Player at http://media.umaryland.edu:8080/ramgen/oea/collegetownreport.rm
baltimore.bizjournals.com

Come Clean: 'Get the Dirt Out Chesapeake' Conference to Focus on Bay
DelmarvaNow.com - Feb. 27

The environmental impact of construction storm water runoff is the focus of an Environmental Law Clinic conference Friday at the School of Law. Guest speakers include Jane Barrett, JD, director of the UM Environmental Law Clinic.
www.dailytimesonline.com

Flu Shots Urged to Age 18
The (Baltimore) Sun- Feb. 28
Chicago Tribune - Feb. 28

A federal panel recommended Wednesday that all children over the age of 6 months be vaccinated for influenza every year. The recommendation is based on more than a desire to keep youngsters healthy and in class. Doctors hope it will protect their parents and grandparents, too. "Kids are not just transmitters, they're amplifiers," said James King, MD, a professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine. "If you're going to catch the flu, you're much more likely to get it from a child."
www.chicagotribune.com

No Body Found as Trial Starts
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 28

While murder prosecutions in cases in which no body has been found are rare, they are not unfamiliar to Maryland prosecutors. Part of the difficulty in some cases is proving that a murder occurred, said Abraham Dash, JD, a professor at the School of Law. "Having people actually saying they saw an attack on the victim can almost prove there was a murder," Dash said. "For example, if you have someone saying they saw a defendant shooting a victim five times in the chest, that's pretty good stuff."
www.baltimoresun.com

Today's Newsmakers
The (Baltimore) Examiner ý Feb. 28

Jesse J. Harris, PhD, former dean of the School of Social Work, will be honored for founding the school's 15-year-old Social Work Community Outreach Service.

Can Exercise Alleviate Parkinson's Symptoms?
TheDenverChannel.com - Feb. 25

The effects of Parkinson's disease and stroke can be debilitating. The conditions can make it difficult for patients to walk or control their bodies, therefore affecting nearly all of their daily activities. Dressing, housekeeping, shopping, and just getting around can go from the routine to impossible. By having patients exercise regularly on a treadmill, researchers from the School of Medicine found patients were able to reduce insulin resistance, therefore reducing their risk of a repeat stroke. "Now we're interested to see if this same concept will work for other neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease," said Richard Macko, MD, professor of neurology at the School.
www.thedenverchannel.com

Collegetown Report: Show Baltimore Is More Than 'The Wire'
The Daily Record - Feb. 27
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 27
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 27

Changing perceptions of Baltimore is at the core of how to capitalize on the region's higher education strengths, according to local officials and the sponsors of a new economic impact report. The regionýs academic institutions, including research hospitals, contribute more than $17.2 billion to the state's economy, according to a study released Tuesday by the Baltimore Collegetown Network. The 15 colleges, universities, and academic hospitals-the University of Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital - that participated in the report award 20,000 degrees annually, the researchers found. The state and city are missing economic development opportunities with each student who relocates after graduation.
www.mddailyrecord.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Men As Well As Women Need Bone Tests
The Associated Press - Feb. 25

Bone tests aren't just for women anymore. New guidelines are calling for older men to get a routine check for bone-thinning osteoporosis. There's news for women, too: A new computerized tool uses more than bone-density tests to predict who is at highest risk of breaking a bone in coming years-by adding in such important risk factors as whether a parent ever broke a hip. "There's a recognition more so now than in the past that men are at risk," says Jay Magaziner, PhD, professor at the School of Medicine, who has long researched hip fractures-osteoporosis' most-feared break. Donýt misunderstand. Postmenopausal women are still at greatest risk of osteoporosis, when bone-strengthening estrogen plummets. But a quarter of hip fractures occur in men, and as men live longer, the number who break a hip is steadily rising, Magaziner told a recent meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
ap.google.com

Science, Symphony Mix with Alsop's 'CSI'
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 27

An investigation will be carried out in CSI: Beethoven, a Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presentation tonight and tomorrow that promises an unusual mix of forensics and music. It's the brainchild of BSO music director Marin Alsop, who describes the venture as "pop culture meets a slice of history." Joining Alsop at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for the examination will be two medical experts-Philip Mackowiak, MD, MBA, professor and vice chairman of the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine, and Charles Limb, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
www.baltimoresun.com

Tedco Awards Grants to Three University Research Teams
Baltimore Business Journal - Feb. 26

The groups to receive $15,000 in Maryland Technology Development Corp. funding, announced Tuesday, include a three-person team at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Scott Strome, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, David Block, and Elizabeth Good, a director of strategic investment in the Office of Research and Development, are developing technology that could increase the efficacy of cancer vaccines.
www.bizjournals.com

Acupuncture May Combat Infertility, Study Says
ClarionLedger.com - Feb. 26

It sounds far-fetched-sticking needles in women to help them become pregnant-but a scientific review suggests that acupuncture might improve the odds of conceiving if done right before or after embryos are placed in the womb. The analysis was led by Eric Manheimer, MS, a researcher at the School of Medicine, and paid for by a federal agency, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
www.clarionledger.com

Anniversary of Boy's Death Brings Attention to Dental Care
wmar.com - Feb. 25
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 26
wjla.com - Feb. 21

Congressman Elijah Cummings held a news conference to outline the progress in his efforts to ensure dental access for all children and to discuss new legislation that he expects to introduce this week. Norman Tinanoff, DDS, Maryland Dental Action Committee co-chair and chair of the Dental School Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and others say they support Cummings' work, which followed the death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver last February because of an untreated toothache.
www.abc2news.com

Bill to Prohibit Smoking in Cars Carrying Children
NBC-TV, Ch, 4, 6 p.m. - Feb. 26
WMAR-TV, Ch. 2, 6 p.m. - Feb. 26

A Maryland House committee has delayed a hearing on a bill that would make it a crime to smoke in a car if kids under age 6 are inside. The hearing was supposed to be held today, but will be rescheduled for later this week. Under the proposal, drivers would be fined $50 for smoking when children under the age of 6 are in the car. "Last year, California banned smoking in cars with children under 18, which followed on the heels of similar legislation in Oklahoma and Louisiana," said Kathleen Hoke Dashille, JD, assistant professor at the School of Law and director of the School's Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy.
video.nbc4.com

Study Finds Academiaýs Area Impact Is $17.2 Billion
The Daily Record - Feb. 26

Baltimore's institutions of higher education contribute more than $17.2 billion to Maryland's economy, dollars that could be leveraged to create a Maryland version of North Carolina's Research Triangle or California's Silicon Valley, according to a study scheduled to be released Tuesday. And "quality-of-life" issues including housing, transportation, and entertainment can be key to capitalizing on resources like Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore-and their two affiliated hospitals-and Goucher College, Towson University, and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, the study says.

The Pain is the Same
Toledo Blade - Feb. 26

A study by the University of California at San Francisco found that minorities who seek relief from pain at hospital emergency rooms tend to be given less powerful drugs than whites. Linda Simoni-Wastila, PhD, an associate research professor at the School of Pharmacy, said the findings suggest that doctors are more likely to suspect minority patients of faking pain to obtain narcotics. But shouldn't a doctor be able to distinguish between a pretender and someone in intense pain? The irony, she added, is that blacks are less likely than whites to abuse prescription drugs.
toledoblade.com

They Got Willie; Will We Get Him?
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 26

Columnist Jean Marbella reports that "The law finally caught up with Willie Parker, who escaped from a prison camp on Maryland's Eastern Shore, but why it even bothered is a mystery." When he was found in North Carolina last week, it was pretty much all he could do to get out of bed, let his home health nurse put some pants on over his boxers and be escorted to jail. Now 81, he'll have to go before a judge for an extradition hearing and could be brought back here to serve the 29 years he apparently owes the state on a 1950s-era armed-robbery charge. "I'm sure the rationale that [police] use is it's not up to them, once there's a warrant out," said Andrew Levy, JD, an adjunct professor at the School of Law and a Baltimore attorney. "It has to be a zero-tolerance issue. They at least have to be seen to be taking it through the normal process. But it's hard to believe any judge at this stage will incarcerate him."
www.baltimoresun.com

Bush vs. Congress: Eavesdropping Showdown
ABC News - Feb. 23

President Bush issued a stark warning to Congress: Renew the so-called "Protect America Act," which allowed the government to eavesdrop on certain phone calls and e-mails without a court order, or aid the terrorists. Michael Greenberger, JD, a former senior Clinton Justice Department official, a professor at the School of Law, and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said it appeared as if "the channels may have been subverted in order to reach a result that would allow the Central Intelligence Agency or others to conduct interrogative techniques that clearly violate law." U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Friday sounded skeptical that there was any wrongdoing. "I have no reason to believe that politics was involved in that or any other analysis," he said.
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Dismissal of Steiner Gives Fans of ýPublicý Radio a Rude Awakening
The (Baltimore) Examiner ý Feb. 25

WYPR changes its midday programming today. After 15 years of the most intelligent, evenhanded, insightful talk on Baltimore-area radio, Marc Steiner has been shoved out for reasons known only to those who shoved him out. Steiner's the one who practically invented that station. He's the one who created a community of listeners. "I knew there was a community I belonged to," Douglas Colbert, JD, a School of Law professor, said last week at a meeting where hundreds turned out to support Steiner. "That's what makes [Steiner] such a dangerous subversive. He believes we own the station."
www.examiner.com

Drug Clinic Limit Stands
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 24

With a less-than-definitive opinion from a federal appeals court, Baltimore County officials say they have no intention of scrapping their restrictions on the location of methadone clinics. "The way Baltimore County has avoided the issue in this case would not be likely to happen again," said Ellen Weber, JD, an assistant professor at the School of Law and a lawyer involved in another lawsuit against the county over its methadone clinic restrictions.
www.baltimoresun.com

Letter to the Editor: Safety of Phthalates Still Open to Debate
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 23

Brenda Afzal, MS, RN, a project manager and director of health programs, and Robyn Gilden, MS, RN, program manager, both at the Environmental Health Education Center at the School of Nursing, co-wrote a letter to the editor, saying, "The current understanding of the potential adverse effects of phthalates comes from laboratory animal and human epidemiological studies. More than 100 studies have raised concerns that exposure to phthalates is associated with health outcomes such as genital birth defects in males, decreased testosterone production in boys, and decreases in male fertility. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered the presence of phthalates in body fluids of almost 100 percent of Americans."
www.baltimoresun.com

Names in the News
The Washington Post - Feb. 25

The School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine named Margaret Chesney, PhD, as associate director. She was the former deputy director at the National Institutes of Health's Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
www.washingtonpost.com

Ode to Ellis Island
The Washington Times ý Feb. 24

Barbara Billauer, JD, an adjunct professor at the School of Law and president of the Foundation for Law and Science Centers Inc., co-wrote an Op-Ed with Norman Bailey, PhD, MA, president of the Institute for Global Economic Growth, saying, "The debate over illegal immigration has fluctuated between those who wish to adopt the most draconian measures to stop―or even reverse―the flow (often led by politicians with Italian, Irish or German names) and those who want to legalize most if not all illegals in the United States outright, in a form of amnesty. The reasons of the latter group are easy to comprehend: We are all (with the exception of the Native Americans) descendent of immigrants; we are compassionate people, and/or frankly because we need them in the labor force. The reasons of the first group are less laudatory. The fear of terrorist infiltration deserves special mention: To the extent we change or fashion policy based on fear of outsiders, the terrorists have won."

Six-Figure Salaries Not Uncommon for State Workers
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 25

Almost three-quarters of the high earners in state government work for the university system as faculty and administrators. The salaries are most mind-blowing among the medical faculty and staff at the School of Medicine. There are 1,200 who make more than $100,000, 300 who make more than $200,000 and more than a dozen medical specialists who earn more than $500,000.
www.examiner.com

Today's Newsmakers
The (Baltimore) Examiner ý Feb. 25

Ami Parekh, a home-schooled student, is the 2008 Baltimore Brain Bee champion. The 10th annual Brain Bee is a neuroscience competition launched by Norbert Myslinski, PhD, associate professor at the Dental School.

Trial Opening for Ex-Navy Sailor Accused of Aiding Terrorists
Associated Press - Feb. 24
The Houston Chronicle - Feb. 24

A former Navy sailor faces a trial beginning Monday on terrorism charges alleging he communicated with suspected terrorists while on duty and leaked information that could have doomed his own ship. Prosecutors allege that Hassan Abu-Jihaad sent details of the location and vulnerabilities of a Navy battle group to suspected terrorism supporters in London. "If we have members of our military who are aggressively passing on secrets to terrorists, that's cause for concern," said Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security. "It's a very aggressive act that would have brought real danger to the United States."
ap.google.com
www.chron.com

A Perfect Public Radio Storm
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 22

About 300 supporters of former WYPR talk show host Marc Steiner filled the auditorium at the Baltimore Museum of Art on Wednesday night for a meeting called to discuss his firing. But mostly, people seemed grateful to be among the like-minded, the fellow grievers over the loss of Steiner. "I knew there was a community I belonged to," Douglas Colbert, JD, a School of Law professor, marveled as he looked at the standing-room-only crowd.
www.baltimoresun.com

Amtrak Security and Supreme Court Decision Not to Hear Case
WUSA-TV, 9:30 a.m. - Feb. 20

Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, discussed the new security measures on Amtrak trains. Greenberger says that, "since 9/11, the biggest terrorist problems have been with trains" and that there is a "need to pick up security on mass transit." Greenberger says the random passenger security stops Amtrak officials plan to do will provide "minimum intrusion on traffic and have the maximum ability to protect the trains." In addition, Greenberger commented on the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the American Civil Liberties Union domestic spying case, saying the decision was "no surprise."

The Three-Minute Interview
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 22

No one is more aware that a child suffers when a social worker fails than Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW, dean of the School of Social Work. He is the focus of this column, which touches upon his thoughts in regard to advice to adoptive parents, system changes needed in public child welfare, and the importance of research to the practice of social work.
www.examiner.com

W.R. Grace & Co. Latest to Join Diabetes Care Program
The Gazette - Feb. 22

Executives at W.R. Grace & Co. in Columbia think about 200 of their employees and family members will sign up for the company's new HealthMapRx program that uses licensed pharmacists to coach diabetics, one-on-one, through the complexities of living with the disease. HealthMapRx was created by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation. In Maryland it is co-administered by Mid-Atlantic Business Group on Health, the Maryland Pharmacists Association, and the School of Pharmacy in Baltimore. The School provides supplemental training to the pharmacists.
www.gazette.net

Medical School Seeking NCI Status
The Daily Record - Feb. 21

The School of Medicine and its affiliated hospital in West Baltimore, the University of Maryland Medical Center, have spent nine years and millions of dollars preparing their cancer center's application to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). University officials now are in the thick of the review process after a site visit from NCI officials last month. Final word from the institute is due by early summer.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Thrown Back
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 21

In this Op-Ed, Rena Steinzor, JD, a professor at the School of Law, president of the Center for Progressive Reform, and author of Mother Earth and Uncle Sam-How Pollution and Hollow Government Hurt Our Kids, wrote, "The Bush administration received a judicial rebuke long in the making this month when an exasperated panel of federal appeals judges held that the Environmental Protection Agency's weak-kneed approach to mercury pollution failed to follow the law. The court killed the rules and sent them back to the EPA for revision."
www.baltimoresun.com

Bachelor Dad: Keeping It Together
CNN Money, Money Magazine - Feb. 20

As a younger man, David King enjoyed running marathons once in a while. There were two in New York, one in Austin, Texas, another in San Diego. Now he runs one every day, starting and finishing at his home in tiny Decatur, Texas. "I don't do any formal exercise anymore," says King, 45, a single dad of four children. "But I feel like I do the same amount of running around." In divorce cases it is no longer assumed that custody of the children should automatically be awarded to the mother as it used to be. "Society is allowing men and women more flexibility in their roles," says Geoffrey Greif, DSW, MSW, a professor at the School of Social Work and author of The Daddy Track and the Single Father. "And the laws governing divorce have given fathers a better chance of winning custody."
money.cnn.com

Bail Too High For Many Poor Marylanders Held
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 20
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 20

A group of Maryland Law School students is meeting resistance as it attempts to free people too poor to post small bails for minor charges, the groupýs professor said. ýCurrently, too many people accused of less serious crimes remain incarcerated for 30 days and longer because they lack the necessary financial resources ... ý Douglas Colbert, JD, a professor at the School of Law, wrote in a letter to the Baltimore City Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. With the councilýs blessing, Colbert said he and his students asked prosecutors in December to review the bails of 3,500 nonviolent suspects awaiting trial to see if any bail was set too high for a minor offense.
www.baltimoresun.com
www.examiner.com

Pharmacoepidemiology Goes to the Dogs
Academic Pharmacy Now - Jan.-Feb. issue

Two professors are teaching researchers ways to study the safety and effectiveness of veterinary medications in a new course titled veterinary pharmacoepidemiology. Sheila Weiss Smith, PhD, associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, developed an advanced course in pharmacoepidemiology and also lectured on the topic at an introductory level at Johns Hopkins University. It was not long before Weiss Smithýs courses received attention from Laura Hungerford, PhD, DVM, MPH, professor at the School of Medicine. "It was a learning process for everybody," Weiss Smith said. "We wanted to take pharmacoepidemiology to a different level, and we succeeded in creating different ways to apply the methods that have been developed in the field for different types of animals."

Work Force Programs Target Md. High Schools
The Daily Record - Feb. 15

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is aiming to keep Baltimore City schoolchildren from falling through the technology cracks. "We've been working closely with the Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, which is a public city high school," says James Hughes, MBA, vice president for reseach and development at UMB and president of the nonprofit organization managing the UMB BioPark.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Work Force Programs Target Md. High Schools
The Daily Record - Feb. 15

Another park that is enjoying tremendous success is the UMB BioPark. The park, located on the cityýs west side on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, has been keeping an ambitious construction scheduleýopening a new building every 18 to 24 months.
www.mddailyrecord.com

George Washington's Tooth Troubles
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 19

George Washington, often angry and irritable because of frequent toothaches, was forced to wear dentures, but they were not made of wood. "They were made from elephant and hippopotamus ivory," said Eliza Dunning who works at the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus. The museum has Washingtonýs dentures.

Hospitalization Endangers Spouses
Chicago Tribune - Feb. 17
Akron Beacon Journal - Feb. 19

It's called the "widow" or "widower" effect, and doctors have long been familiar with this curious but real phenomenon: When a husband or wife dies, there is a greater likelihood that the surviving spouse will pass soon afterward. A new study showing that high levels of triglycerides are strong predictors of cardiac trouble strengthens the case for including measurement of the blood fats in prevention programs. ýTriglycerides traditionally have been viewed as second-class citizens,ý said Michael Miller, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and lead author of the report. "LDL cholesterol has always taken center stage."
www.chicagotribune.com
www.ohio.com

Maryland Schools Review Safety Plans in Wake of Deadly Shootings
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 19

Universities in Maryland and elsewhere are grappling with the painful repetition of campus shootings by reviewing their security plans and wondering how they would react if a tragedy struck. To help identify students with mental illnesses and get them into treatment, faculty at the School of Social Work will participate in a seminar Wednesday at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
www.examiner.com

Maryland Schools Review Safety Plans in Wake of Deadly Shootings
WCBC 1270 AM, Cumberland - Feb. 19

Gov. Martin O'Malley this month announced several new initiatives to recruit more nursing faculty and students to address the state's nursing shortage. O'Malley's announced the allocation of $3.4 million to the School of Nursing from the Higher Education Investment Fund. The announcement was part of a series of events to highlight work force creation initiatives in the state. Last year, O'Malley appropriated $5.93 million to the Maryland Higher Education Commissionýs Nursing Support Program, to expand enrollment in nursing programs and create jobs.
www.wcbcradio.com

Rodricks Will Push Dialogue Forward
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 18

Patricia Boland, MSW, assistant to the executive at the School of Social Work wrote a letter to the editor, saying, As a longtime WJHU and WYPR listener and member, I may be a lone voice in support of the WYPR management and board. But I am pleased to welcome Dan Rodricks to public radio and hope that he will continue the dialogue that Marc Steiner gracefully began ("Rodricks chosen to fill Steiner's slot," Feb. 13).

Today's Newsmakers
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 19

Sherrilyn Ifill, JD, a professor at the School of Law and a nationally known expert on civil and voting rights, will be the guest lecturer during The Community College of Baltimore County's President's Distinguished African American Lecture Series on Feb. 28. She will discuss "The Power of Law to Affect Social Justice."

BSO Event to Delve Into the Cause of Beethovenýs Death and Blindness
The Daily Record - Feb. 16

A team of medical and musical experts, including Philip Mackowiak, MD, MBA, professor and vice chairman of the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine, will discuss the mysteries behind Ludwig van Beethovenýs progressive hearing loss and death at age 56, during two performances this month at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The performances, called CSI: Beethoven, will use expert discussion, performance of Beethovenýs music, and an actor's portrayal to give the audience a better understanding of the composer's life.
www.mddailyrecord.com

Cummings Fears Clemens Lied to Congress
WJZ-TV, Ch. 13, 6 p.m. - Feb. 16; 6 and 7 a.m. - Feb. 17
WJZ.com - Feb. 16

Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings said he did not find the testimony of pitching great Roger Clemens to be credible when he told Congress that he never used steroids. If Clemens is convicted of lying under oath, he could face up to five years in prison. The likelihood Clemens will ever see the inside of a jail cell is slim, according to Andrew Levy, JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law. "It's very hard to convict someone of perjury. There are a lot of technical requirements. In addition, you have to prove that they were lying. It can be hard to prove someone was lying, and you also have to prove they did it intentionally," said Levy.
wjz.com

New Assistant Dean Hails from Laurel Area
Gazette Community News (Laurel) - Feb. 14

The School of Nursing has announced the selection of its new assistant dean for undergraduate studies, Sandra McLeskey, PhD, RN. "Since ours is the largest program in the state for bachelor degree nurses, my challenge will be to ensure a consistent flow of graduating nurses into the stateýs workforce during a time of critical nursing shortages," said McLeskey, who will oversee the program of approximately 700 students.
www.gazette.net

Triglycerides Are a Big Cardiac Threat
Chicago Tribune - Feb. 17

A new study showing that high levels of triglycerides are strong predictors of cardiac trouble strengthens the case for including measurement of the blood fats in prevention programs. "Triglycerides traditionally have been viewed as second-class citizens," said Michael Miller, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine and lead author of the report. "LDL cholesterol has always taken center stage." Omega-3 fatty acids can lower triglyceride levels, as can niacin, and exercise is beneficial, Miller said.
www.chicagotribune.com

BioElectronics Targets Dental Market
The Gazette - Feb. 8

Next year, dental patients may be able to ease their post-surgery pain with a drug-free patch instead of medications. BioElectronics Corp. of Frederick plans to enter the lucrative market for dental pain management with its pain-reducing ActiPatch following a one-year study, now under way at the Dental School, of 60 patients who had their wisdom teeth extracted. The principal investigator of the dental study, Sharon Gordon, DDS, PhD, associate professor of biomedical sciences, said she hopes the patch will reduce the need for pain medication and steroids prescribed to reduce swelling after oral surgeries. Physicians are always looking for "something to reduce the painkilling pills they prescribe," she said.
www.gazette.net

CDC Discussed Katrina Trailer Risk a Year Ago
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Feb. 15
AJC.com - Feb. 15

More than a year ago, officials inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discussed the potential long-term cancer risk posed by trailers housing thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors, records show. But the Atlanta-based agency delayed an investigation of the threat of long-term exposure to formaldehyde until recently because CDC needed an official request before it could act. The CDC's view of its limited ability to take the initiative to protect the public drew surprise and criticism from some public health experts. "It's just an indefensible position," said Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security.
www.ajc.com

Heparin Probe Finds U.S. Tie to Chinese Plant
The Wall Street Journal - Feb. 15
NJ.com - Feb. 15

Baxter International Inc.'s investigation into the cause of deaths and allergic reactions linked to its blood-thinner Heparin is focusing on variations in batches of the active ingredient for the drug, most of which were supplied by a Chinese manufacturing facility co-owned by a Wisconsin company. Heparin is a complex sugar molecule that normally exists on the lining of blood vessels in people and animals. It is now made from pig intestines, but processing them can lead to impurities. "Crushing tissue to get extracts means you can get contamination from other things in the tissue," says John Hess, MD, MPH, FACP, FAAAS, professor at the School of Medicine.
online.wsj.com
www.nj.com

Md. Praised for Medicaid Changes Since Death
The Washington Post - Feb. 15

In the year since a Prince George's County boy died of a dental infection, lawmakers say Maryland has begun addressing the structural problems and funding shortages that are blamed for breakdowns in the state's Medicaid system. Harry Goodman, DMD, MPH, a former professor of pediatric dentistry at the Dental School and the director of the state health department's Office on Oral Health, served as co-chairman of the committee. "You just never know, but everything is geared to preventing another Deamonte Driver," he said. "We're touching every base."
www.washingtonpost.com

Med School Still Uses Pigs for Surgery Practice
The Johns Hopkins News-Letter - Feb. 15

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is one of only 10 medical schools in the country that still requires its students to perform surgery on live pigs, a practice that has garnered criticism from animal rights groups. Philip Militello, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, finds using human cadavers to be more advantageous. "The anatomy of a cadaver is identical to a patient, while a dog's anatomical landmarks differ," he stated on the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Web site.
media.www.jhunewsletter.com

The Negotiating Table
The Daily Record - Feb. 15
MDDailyRecord.com - Feb. 15

"The Maryland Court of Appeals rules governing alternative dispute resolution and, more specifically, mediation, Title 17 dramatically changed the face of litigation for businesses and other entities," writes Louise Phipps Senft, JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law. "Adopted 10 years ago, the rules set forth the standards for mediation and shortly thereafter, Chief Judge [Robert] Bell put in motion an unprecedented request that all 24 circuit courts make mediation available for all civil matters."

A Long-Running Mystery, the Common Cramp
The New York Times - Feb. 14

It can happen for no reason, it seems, taking you completely by surprise. And it can be excruciating. Suddenly, a muscle contracts violently, as if it had been prodded with a jolt of electricity. And it remains balled in a tight knot as painful second after painful second drags on. Stephen Liggett, MD, a professor of medicine and physiology at the School of Medicine, has a different solution. He got terrible cramps in his calf during yoga. The culprit, he decided, was the drugs he takes for asthma, which can diminish the bodyýs supply of potassium. He knew that potassium is sold over the counter. But because high levels of potassium can be dangerous, store-bought potassium supplements are not very strong. "I didn't want to drink two gallons of Gatorade," Dr. Liggett explained.
www.nytimes.com

Names in The News
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 14

Sandra McLeskey, PhD, interim assistant dean for research of the School of Nursing, was permanently appointed to that position. McLeskey, who served in the interim position for two months, heads and oversees the schoolýs graduate nursing program. She has been a member of the school's nursing faculty since 2000, having worked as a professor in the University's organizational systems department. She also maintains a post at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center and an appointment in the School of Medicine's Department of Pathology.
www.baltimoresun.com

The Price of Parenthood: Missouriýs Foster Parents Struggle
Missourian - Feb. 8

According to a national study commissioned by Childrenýs Rights, the National Foster Parent Association and the School of Social Work, reimbursement rates in Missouri rank 48th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study, ýHitting the MARC: Establishing Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children,ý paints a dismal picture of the way foster parents are reimbursed for their efforts in Missouri. In order to adequately meet childhood needs, the study recommends monthly payments ranging from $629 to $790 depending on the age of the child. Missouri pays between $271 to $358 per month for traditional foster children, or those who are not categorized as high-risk or have serious health problems.
www.columbiamissourian.com

Domestic Spying; Detainees Charged
WUSA-TV, Ch. 9, 9 a.m. - Feb. 13

Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, discussed why the Senate voted to re-authorize the Bush administrationýs domestic surveillance program while granting immunity to major telecommunications companies that have taken part. He also talked about why, nearly 6 1/2 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. is preparing to prosecute six of the men it says are responsible.
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Program Makes Family Law Services More Affordable for Lower Income Residents
Cumberland Times-News - Feb. 12

Legal services for low-income clients and seniors in Allegany County will be expanded through a pilot project that offers representation in family law matters at reduced fees. Michael Millemann, JD, professor at the School of Law, conducted the study to review the potential of reinstating a program from the 1970s known as Judicare.
www.times-news.com

End Profit-Driven Vaccination Racket
Scoop Independent News - Feb. 12

The push to keep adding more vaccines to the mandatory schedules comes directly from a purely profit-motivated industry and a recent investor report estimates that the worldwide market will quadruple from about $4.3 billion in 2006 to more than $16 billion in 2016, with the biggest boost coming from kids in the U.S. Experts say we have allowed ourselves and our children to be overdosed through a culture dominated by industry marketing influence that has now become dangerously out of control and detrimental to our children's health. "In the 21st century, it is unacceptable to be marketing medication to infants and children that may not work," Steven Czinn, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine, told Reuters.
www.scoop.co.nz

Finding May Solve Riddle of Fatigue in Muscles
The New York Times - Feb. 12

Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center say they have not only come up with an answer to why muscles get tired, but have also devised, for mice, an experimental drug that can revive the animals and let them keep running long after they would normally flop down in exhaustion. The idea of an antifatigue drug, ýis sort of amazing,ý said Stephen Liggett, MD, a professor at the School of Medicine. Yet, Liggett said, for athletes "we have to ask whether it would be prudent to be circumventing this mechanism. Maybe this is a protective mechanism. Maybe fatigue is saying that you are getting ready to go into a danger zone. So it is cutting you off. If you could will yourself to run as fast and as long as you could, some people would run until they keeled over and died."
www.nytimes.com

Incubators, BioPark Swap Services in Baltimore
gazette.net - Feb. 12

The Emerging Technology Center doesn't have wet-lab space for its early-stage companies in the two incubators. Meanwhile, the UMB BioParkýs BioInnovation Center offers short-term lab space for those businesses but doesnýt have all the support services of a conventional incubator. So, it made sense to join forces, said Catherine E. Vorwald, director of business development for Wexford Science + Technology, a Baltimore-based company developing two buildings at the BioPark. "They were turning companies away," Vorwald said. "This is a winning proposition not just for the [Emerging Technology Center] and the UMB BioPark, but for Baltimore's growing bioscience sector."
www.gazette.net

The Power of Focus
The Huffington Post - Feb. 11

On Jan. 31, 2008, more than 1,800 groups came together across the United States to learn more about the myths, realities, and threats ofýand more importantly solutions toýglobal warming. At the School of Law, students in the Maryland Environmental Law Society were excited to be a part of the Schoolýs first annual student-run conference on climate change. "For days following the conference, students and faculty alike stopped students in the hall to tell them how motivated the conference had made them," said Patience Bosley-Burke, a second-year student and co-chair of the conference. "Our message was to impress upon people that they are not free from the effects of climate change and to show how they contribute to the problem. In the end, the intention was not to give a doomsday declaration, but to inform people and motivate them to become part of the solution."
www.huffingtonpost.com

Triglycerides Linked to Coronary Disease Risk
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Feb. 12
ajc.com - Feb. 12

A new study showing that high levels of triglycerides were strong predictors of cardiac trouble strengthens the case for including measurement of the blood fats in prevention programs. "Triglycerides traditionally have been viewed as second-class citizens," said Michael Miller, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and lead author of the report in the Feb. 12 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "LDL cholesterol has always taken center stage. We know that LDL is intimately involved in bringing cholesterol to scavenger cells, which deposit them to form plaques in the arteries. This study shows that triglycerides in and of themselves are also lipids to blame."
www.ajc.com

Acupuncture Might Help with Fertility
Chicago Tribune ý Feb. 8
Toronto Globe and Mail ý Feb. 8

Acupuncture appears to be a useful fertility aid, according to a new report in the British Medical Journal that found pairing acupuncture with in-vitro fertilization can raise a couple's odds of getting pregnant by 65 percent. Although that's a "modest" effect, it's important given the emotions and considerable expenses associated with assisted reproduction, said Eric Manheimer, MS, the lead author and a research associate at the School of Medicine. Around the time of reimplantation, some of the women received acupuncture treatment. Needles were placed in the abdominal region as well as in the arms and legs and ears, said Grant Zhang, PhD, assistant professor and one of the researchers at the School.
www.chicagotribune.com
www.theglobeandmail.com

Dental Professor Makes Mark in Business with NovaMin
The Daily Record - Feb. 8

Gary Hack, DDS, is no businessman. But 10 years ago, Hack, associate professor at the Dental School, co-developed a technology that is the basis for numerous dental products, a dozen of them available in 30 countries. And despite his admitted lack of business savvy, Hackýs discovery led to the founding of a company in 2004, NovaMin Technology Inc. of Alachua, Fla., just outside of Gainesville. Now, NovaMin says 2008 could be the companyýs biggest year yet, and the coming months could bring a major retail product containing Hackýs discovery to American store shelves for the first time.

Shock of Family Violence on Communities
WBFF-TV, Ch 45, 7:15 a.m. - Feb. 8

Tanya Sharpe, PhD, MSW, an assistant professor at the School of Social Work, discussed the shock factor of family violence and the easy access to firearms in connection to the Cockeysville shooting and the funeral slated for Saturday. "Although we don't know the particulars about what Nicholas Browning has experienced, typically when we see this type of violent behavior, we have to explore the correlation between trauma exposure and involvement in violent activity."

State Awards $3.4 Million to UM Nursing School
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 8
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 8
SouthernMarylandOn-line.com - Feb. 8
The Daily Record - Feb. 8
The Associated Press - Feb. 7
WJZ-TV, Ch. 13, 5 and 6 p.m. - Feb. 7
WBAL-TV, Ch. 11, 5:30 p.m. - Feb. 7
WBFF-TV, Ch. 45, 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. - Feb. 7
Wtopnews.com - Feb. 7

Gov. Martin OýMalley announced yesterday that he is allocating $3.4 million to the School of Nursing to help alleviate a growing shortage of nurses in the state. Plans also call for adding 120 masterýs and doctoral students to its current 900. The school needs to add roughly one faculty member for every 10 new students, said Dean Janet D. Allan, PhD, RN, CS, FAAN.
www.baltimoresun.com
www.examiner.com
wjz.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080

ETC, UMB BioPark Collaborate to Accelerate BioScience Growth in Baltimore
PharmaLive.com - Feb. 7

To accelerate the growth of Baltimore's bioscience industry, Wexford Science + Technologyýdeveloper of the UMB BioPark Building Two and Threeýand Baltimore City's technology incubator, the Emerging Technology Center (ETC), have signed an agreement to coordinate incubation and leasing activities for early-stage bioscience companies.
www.pharmalive.com

Heath Ledger's Death Shows Risk of Overdose
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 7

"A person would never be prescribed all these drugs at the same time. An opioid [painkiller] and benzodiazepine could have medical use, but never this number," said Andrew Coop, PhD, chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy, regarding the overdose death of Heath Ledger. People who resume taking leftover medications without telling their doctor, for instance, may suffer a drug interaction with a new prescription, Coop said. Old drugs may also deteriorate. "When taking a combination of drugs, it's essential to consult either your physician or your pharmacist," Coop said.
www.baltimoresun.com

Judge Orders Reviews of Tuition Charged to Some Students
RedOrbit.com - Feb. 5

Some state school students and alumni denied in-state tuition could be reimbursed for the difference between the in-state rate and the price they paid. In a case that has been ongoing for six years and even made it to the Court of Special Appeals, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Brooke Murdock ordered the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to review its denial of in-state tuition to certain students, some of whom graduated years ago. The lawsuit that started the case was brought by a School of Law student who argued that she was unfairly charged the out-of-state rate. When Karyn Bergmann, JD, enrolled in the law school, she lived in Virginia, but she later moved to Maryland and petitioned the University to reclassify her as an in-state student, a designation that comes with a significant tuition break.
www.redorbit.com

Killings of Parents by Youths Rare in U.S., Experts Say
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 7

The murder of a parent at the hands of a son or daughter is rare in this country, occurring 250 to 300 times a year, according to experts. Teenagers face a lot of stress and aren't as equipped to deal with it as adults are, making them prone to impulsive acts, said Kenneth Rogers, MD, MS, assistant professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine. "Their brains, in general, are still developing," he said.
www.baltimoresun.com

Lowering LDL Cholesterol Without Drugs
U.S. News & World Report - Feb. 6

There are other weapons besides drugs in the cholesterol wars. Eating plenty of soluble fiber, which occurs naturally in products such as oats, nuts, flax, and psyllium husk and in dietary supplements such as Metamucil, can also drop low density lipoprotein. Red rice yeast, a popular dietary supplement, also works. But be warned that it contains lovastatin, the active ingredient in Mevacor, a prescription statin, and is "essentially an unregulated statin," says Robert Vogel, MD, a professor at the School of Medicine.
health.usnews.com

National Capital Region Evacuation Plan
WWWT - 7 a.m., Feb. 7

Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, spoke live concerning shortcomings in the emergency evacuation plan that has been prepared for the National Capital Region and what needs to be done about it. "A lot of money was expended to come up with whatever the document was going to be. It was a $1.4 million contract ý and apparently it was a 70-page guide of resources," said Greenberger. "From what I heard it didn't reflect $1.4 million worth of work."

Judge Orders Reviews of Tuition Charged to Some Students
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 5
The Associated Press - Feb. 5 (Published also by four TV stations and five Web sites)

Some state school students and alumni denied in-state tuition could be reimbursed for the difference between the in-state rate and the price they paid. In a case that has been ongoing for six years and even made it to the Court of Special Appeals, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Brooke Murdock ordered the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to review its denial of in-state tuition to certain students, some of whom graduated years ago. The lawsuit that started the case was brought by a School of Law student who argued that she was unfairly charged the out-of-state rate. When Karyn Bergmann, JD, enrolled in the law school, she lived in Virginia, but she later moved to Maryland and petitioned the University to reclassify her as an in-state student, a designation that comes with a significant tuition break.
www.examiner.com

New Family Trauma Center Extends Counseling Needs
WYPR News In Maryland, 88.1 FM - Feb. 6

Trauma is a fact of life for many families in Baltimore. A new collaboration between the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the Kennedy Krieger Family Center will be focusing on helping families survive traumatic experiences. The Family Informed Trauma Treatment Center, a new collaborative partnership that the School of Medicine, School of Social Work, and partners at Kennedy Krieger are bringing to Baltimore to serve families, is supported by a large federal grant. The center will focus on helping people who have survived traumatic events. It will be different from most treatment programs in that it will focus on helping the family as a whole.
www.publicbroadcasting.net

Today's Newsmakers
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 6

Hugh Mighty, MD, MBA, associate professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the School of Medicine, and the Maryland Katrina and Indigent Defense Project student group at the School of Law were honored with the University of Maryland, Baltimore's 2008 Dr. Martin Luther King Diversity Recognition Awards. The Outstanding UMB Faculty/Staff Award went to Mighty for working 25 years to improve care for pregnant women in West Baltimore.

Toto, Just What Is This Place?
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 6

Another sign that Maryland presidential primaries could count: Larry Gibson, LLB, a professor at the School of Law, and Ronald Shapiro have just gone out and had thousands of ýMaryland for Obamaý signs printed up, with their own cash, and without consulting the senator's campaign. "It was something we just wanted to do, and we did it," said Gibson, who was state chairman of Bill Clinton's campaign in 1992. "This is not anti-Clinton," he said. "This is pro-Obama."
www.baltimoresun.com

Can Exercise Do for Parkinson's Patients What Medicine Canýt?
KING TV - Feb. 4

A study is aimed at finding out if exercise can do what medication often canýt for patients with Parkinson's disease. "Medications have been somewhat disappointing to prevent disability related to walking and balance," said Lisa Shulman, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine. Researchers say strength exercises, aerobic activity or gait practice may actually be able to retrain the brain.
www.king5.com

Court Ruling Means Students May Be Entitled to Refunds
The Daily Record - Feb. 5
WTOP News - Feb. 5

Some state school students and alumni denied in-state tuition could be reimbursed for the difference between the in-state rate and the price they paid. In a case that has been ongoing for six years and even made it to the Court of Special Appeals, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Brooke Murdock ordered the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to review its denial of in-state tuition to certain students, some of whom graduated years ago. The lawsuit that started the case was brought by a School of Law student who argued that she was unfairly charged the out-of-state rate. When Karyn Bergmann, JD, enrolled in the law school, she lived in Virginia, but she later moved to Maryland and petitioned the University to reclassify her as an in-state student, a designation that comes with a significant tuition break.
www.wtopnews.com

Lawyer's Response to Military Tribunals
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 5

Sig Libowitz, JD, is an attorney who, not so coincidentally, has also played one on Law and Order. But when he came across a transcript of a Guantanamo tribunal as a student at the School of Law several years ago, it literally was an eye-opening experience. ýHis eyes got wider and wider,ý Professor Michael Greenberger, JD, recalled yesterday. All of which led Libowitz to the one conclusion that makes perfect sense given his dual background in law and entertainment: ýThereýs a movie in this.ý The film shot last week on campus is part of the Schoolýs Linking Law and the Arts project, which uses the latter to explore the former, and is funded by the France-Merrick Foundation. The filmmakers are hoping to have a premiere of the movie in Baltimore in September.
www.baltimoresun.com

School of Social Work Honors Jesse Harris, PhD
GBC Newsletter - Feb. 1

Jesse J. Harris, PhD, former dean of the School of Social Work and founder of the School's 15-year-old outreach service known as Social Work Community Outreach Service, will be honored on Thursday, March 6 at the American Visionary Art Museum (800 Key Highway), from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
www.gbc.org

Suit Targets Manure Management
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 5
The Annapolis Capital - Feb. 5
The (Delmarva) Daily Times - Feb. 5

An environmental group sued the state yesterday for failing to allow public access to records showing how chicken farmers handle more than a billion pounds of manure a year. While all farmers are required to have the management plans, the Waterkeeper Alliance is seeking access only to information about poultry operations. Jane Barrett, JD, associate professor at the School of Law and director of its Environmental Law Clinic, which filed the lawsuit in Anne Arundel Circuit Court on behalf of the Waterkeeper group, said the state should at least release the plans with the names blacked out. "Or, the state should consider the secrecy provision to be nullified by an older and more sweeping law, the Maryland Public Information Act, which requires most information maintained by state agencies to be open to public scrutiny," she said.
www.baltimoresun.com
www.hometownannapolis.com
www.delmarvanow.com

'White' Cities Built On Ugly Past; Raising Awareness of Past 'Racial Cleansingý'
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 2

Columnist Gregory Kane reports on an event at the School of Law during which Sherrilyn Ifill, JD, a professor at the School, stood in front of the group assembled in the Moot Court there and gave a synopsis of what the film Banished is about. For six decades, black Americans were systemically driven from towns and cities across America. Not all of those towns were in the South. In Banished, filmmaker Marco Williams visited Pierce City, Mo., Forsyth County, Ga., and Harrison, Ark. He talked to blacks and whites about how blacks were driven from those places, and what the chances are for reconciliation today. "It's an important phenomenon," Ifill said of what has been called the "racial cleansing" of blacks from communities that have remained virtually lily-white, even in the 21st century. "Important in how we see the geographical landscape today."
www.baltimoresun.com

Alternative Therapy: Healing or Hooey?
USA Today - Feb. 4

Biostatistician Barker Bausell, PhD, a professor in the School of Nursing, tried acupuncture once, for a chronic backache. The needle pricks and the warmth from the heat lamp aimed at his sore back felt good at the time, he recalls. They didn't do a thing for his underlying pain. But when the acupuncturist asked if the treatment had helped, Bausell said yes. "What could I say? I worked with the guy all the time," says the scientist, who was then director of research at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland.
www.usatoday.com

Attorneys Hope to Open Legal Clinic for Gays in Maryland
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Feb. 3
AngelCitysDevil.com - Feb. 3

Legal experts in the state of Maryland understand that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) youth have special legal problems, and rarely have the opportunity to receive help. When the state's proposed Free State Law project emerges this fall, organizers and LGBT supporters hope to change that. Aaron Merki, a School of Law student, is helping to organize the opening of a new clinic and hopes it helps Maryland's transgendered youth. "There's a large population in the city of homeless [LGBT] youth who have been sort of abandoned by their families, especially the transgender youth," he said.
angelcitysdevil.com
www.examiner.com

Film Re-Creates Guantanamo Tribunal
Associated Press - Feb. 3 and 4

Working from transcripts of the U.S. military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Sig Libowitz crafted a 30-minute screenplay. The Response imagines one such tribunal, then follows three military judges into the deliberation room, where they try to answer the key question about Guantanamo: How do you balance civil liberties and national security? That debate was enough to lure three well-known actorsýKate Mulgrew, Aasif Mandvi, and Peter Riegertýto join Libowitz in a mock courtroom at the School of Law, where The Response was shot over three days. ýThis is really something that takes a look at whatýs going on there from a very fair-minded perspective,ý said Libowitz, who graduated from the School in 2007. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School, director of its Center for Health and Homeland Security, and former Justice Department counter-terrorism official who consulted with Libowitz on the script, said "Guantanamo has inspired debate about the constitutional guarantee of habeas corpus-the right of individuals being detained to challenge their detention before a judge." The film was funded by the Schoolýs Linking Law and the Arts Series, which attempts to address complex legal issues through theater and art. Karen H. Rothenberg, JD, MPA, dean of the School, envisions it as an educational tool to be shown at other law schools, colleges, and high schools. But she and Libowitz also plan to shop it around to film festivals and seek television distribution.
ap.google.com

Marylanders Receive Awards
The Daily Record - Feb. 2

Ingrid Lofgren, a second-year student at the School of Social Work, has been awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. Lofgren, who is pursuing a dual degree in social work and law, is working on the Public Justice Center Prisoner's Rights Project for health care and civil rights violations. She will perform intake interviews at the Baltimore City Detention Center and take evidence from the detainees regarding health-related civil rights violations.

Misuse of 'Bupe' is Found to Be on Rise
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 3

In a report to federal regulators, the manufacturer of buprenorphine has provided the starkest evidence to date that misuse of the drug is growing in parts of the country where it is most widely prescribed as an addiction treatment. At poison control centers across the nation, more than a quarter of 1,876 buprenorphine exposures involved children under 6 years of age from Jan. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc. said. The levels have been mirrored in Maryland, according to the Maryland Poison Center at the School of Pharmacy. Over the past three years, 35 children were exposed to buprenorphine, amounting to 29 percent of the total of 121 exposures. By comparison, 27 children were exposed to methadone, or 9 percent of the 293 cases for that medication, and 75 were exposed to oxycodone, or 15 percent of the 501 exposures to that medication.
www.baltimoresun.com

U.S. Flu Outbreak Plan Criticized
The Washington Post ý Feb. 2

The federal government's voluminous plans for dealing with pandemic flu do not adequately account for the overwhelming strain an outbreak would place on hospitals and public health systems trying to cope with millions of seriously ill Americans, some public health experts and local health officials say. Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of its Center for Health and Homeland Security, said the federal effort amounts to a ýclassicý unfunded mandate. ýIf you look at the plan, the basic message is, 'This is going to be one hell of a problem, and you better get ready.' You better get ready. You the cities, you the states, you the citizens," Greenberger said. "The pandemic flu preparations in the United States are a tragedy."
www.washingtonpost.com

Judge Rejects Plea Deal, Man Will Face Trial in Drunken-Driving Crash That Killed Two
The (Baltimore) Sun - Feb. 1
BaltimoreSun.com - Feb. 1
WMAR-TV, Ch. 2, 11 p.m. - Jan. 31; 5 and 6 a.m. - Feb. 1
ABC2News.com - Jan. 31

A Howard County judge rejected a plea agreement yesterday that called for a sentence of up to eight years for a 26-year-old man accused of killing a Marine and his date in a drunken-driving accident on Thanksgiving night in 2006. After accepting a plea, judges can reject it after reviewing victim impact statements and other evidence in a case. But Christopher Brown, JD, MA, associate professor emeritus at the School of Law, said such a move is ývery unusual.ý The judge was involved in a drunk-driving accident in 2002 that nearly killed her husband. "The defense is in a tough position in a case like this," said Andrew Levy, JD, adjunct professor at the School. "Here the judge has some personal experience that is somewhat similar to the facts of the case."
www.baltimoresun.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080

More Public Restrooms Needed in Baltimore
WBFF-TV, Ch. 45, 10 p.m. - Jan. 30

Steven Soifer, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the School of Social Work and co-founder of the Baltimore-based American Restroom Association, says more public restrooms are needed in downtown Baltimore. Soifer has found many establishments hostile to his groupýs conviction that the public has a right to use restroom facilities.
www.foxbaltimore.com

Superbowl Could Cause Heart Problems
NewsLI.com - Feb. 1

University of Maryland researchers who studied emergency-room visits on days of collegiate and professional sporting events warned in 2006 that male fans who needed care tended to put it off until the games were over. ýYouýve got a lot of people eating cheese nachos and waiting to have a big myocardial infarction,ý says David Jerrard, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine and an emergency physician who led the Maryland research.
www.newsli.com