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CNN Sunday Morning: Keeping winter workouts safe

There's no reason to sit inside when the winter winds blow, says CNN correspondent Liz Weiss on the January 27 edition of CNN Sunday Morning. "Hockey 101 at Boston University includes a stretch on ice," Weiss reports, adding that cold muscles are more prone to injury. "We always let the guys stroke out, really get the body warm, almost on the verge of sweating," says Barbara Pinch, a PERD physical education instructor in figure skating. "Then we start the stretch to get those muscles ready to work out."

Sex and the City: WBUR gets a plug

HBO's Emmy-winning series Sex and the City aired a scene on the Sunday, January 26, show where star Sarah Jessica Parker shops with a WBUR (90.9 FM) tote bag. Parker, who is a fan of Boston's National Public Radio station at Boston University, chose the prop herself.

Financial Times (London): Investment industry misinforms people about risks

There's a very large gap, says Zvi Bodie, an SMG professor of finance and economics, between what he and other financial academics say and the advice handed out to consumers from the investment industry. "There is a very common, almost universal belief, for example, that the longer your time horizon, the less risky it is to hold stocks," he says in London's Financial Times on January 26. "Some advice even suggests that if your time horizon is long enough, you would be almost foolish not to invest in stocks. But professors of finance will tell you this is a fallacy." The misconception arises, says Bodie, from an imperfect measure of risk, with people looking simply at the likelihood of stocks delivering a better return than risk-free government bonds. That probability is about 60 percent over one year but rises to 95 percent over 25 years, seeming to prove the point about stocks being less risky over the long term. "But this is a misleading measure of risk," he says, "because the probability of a bad thing happening is only part of the risk equation. The other part is the severity of that bad thing, and the further out you go the more severe it could be."

Boston Globe: Terrier basketball standout makes Wolff proud

Terrier men's basketball guard Chaz Carr (CGS'03) became only the second freshman player in the 19-year history of the America East to earn America East Player of the Week honors, says the January 24 Boston Globe. "It felt good," Carr says, "but I'm just worried about the games right now." Carr, who scored a career-high 36 points in a 95-88 overtime victory over Northeastern on January 20, adds, "I'm not really trying to focus on any of that. I'm just focused on the team and trying to help them win some games." Dennis Wolff, head coach of the men's basketball team, says Carr is "a unique kid," who was under-recruited. "It's just been steady improvement almost every game," he says. "He's poised beyond his years." BU's 55-53 win over Binghamton on January 26 kept the Terriers unbeaten in America East road games (5-0), and pulled BU within half a game of first-place Vermont in the conference. The teams meet on Saturday, February 2, in Burlington, Vt.

Boston Globe: Swift's cuts hit public health services hard

Acting Governor Jane Swift's planned budget cuts, announced on January 22, have sparked protest from cancer specialists, social workers, housing advocates, and the attorney general, all of whom believe Swift is going too far in her budget belt-tightening. Many fear reductions in antidrug, antismoking, and prostate cancer screening and awareness programs, and affordable housing could destroy a decade of advances in public health and human services, according to a story in the January 23 Boston Globe. "You don't know whether to laugh or cry," says Alan Sager, an SPH professor of health services. "These programs were legislated because they made good health-care sense. Naturally, when there's
a budget crisis, everything gets scrutinized. But these are programs that pay off big health-care benefits. A lot of people will be hurt."

Business Wire: BUCEC to offer loans through MEFA

The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) has earmarked nearly $5 million annually for Massachusetts students who wish to study at the Boston University Corporate Education Center (BUCEC), says a report in the January 22 Business Wire. BUCEC becomes the first non-degree-granting educational program to qualify for MEFA consideration. MEFA's new Boston University Career Opportunity Loans will be available immediately. BUCEC's relationship with MEFA, says Melissa Ryan, BUCEC executive director, "recognizes that, for some of us, education takes place beyond the bounds of the traditional four-year undergraduate degree. The Boston University Career Opportunity Loans will help open doors for men and women across the state who have hesitated to commit to skills training for financial reasons. That barrier has now been moved aside." For more information about MEFA's BU loans, call 1-800-BU-TRAIN (288-7246) or visit www.BUTrain.com.

The Associated Press State and Local Wire: SPH prof testifies at Monsanto trial

In a lawsuit brought by 3,500 residents of Anniston, Ala., against Monsanto and Solutia Inc., the company that now owns an Anniston plant that has produced chemicals for decades, Richard Clapp, an SPH associate professor of environmental health, testified for the plaintiffs. The residents are seeking monetary compensation for personal injury, property damage, and emotional distress from exposure to the chemicals, known as PCBs, reports the January 23 Associated Press State and Local Wire. They also want an injunction requiring the company to clean up their land, local waterways, and other property in Anniston. Clapp testified that exposure to the chemicals Monsanto produced in Anniston raises the likelihood of various types of cancers. He cited studies showing that the risk people face in developing cancer, neurological problems, immune system impairments, thyroid injuries, and skin disorders multiplies as their level of PCB exposure increases. He said that a recent study of Maryland residents shows that people are four times as likely to develop non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when their blood contains 10.7 parts per billion of PCBs. By comparison, he added, the 16 Anniston residents whose claims are being heard in the initial phase of the trial have an average of 47 parts per billion of PCBs in their blood.

1 February 2002
Boston University
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