[Currents headergraphic]

July 27, 1998

Making the News

Anthropologist Nancy Chen was featured in a Washington Post story about qi gong, a Chinese martial art that utilizes controlled breathing, exercise, and meditation. The article focused on the controversy that followed a Beijing TV station's coverage of a form of the art. Chen is writing a book about qi gong and popular healing in China.

"Agent for Change" was how West (the Sunday magazine in the San Jose Mercury News) described hist. con.'s Angela Davis. Davis was featured on the cover of the magazine and in a lengthy article. The story detailed her far-reaching work as a political activist, past and present.

An article in the Dallas Morning News about supernovas and gamma ray bursts featured the comments of astronomer Stan Woosley, professor of astronomy and astrophysics.

Columnist Julianne Malveaux wrote in the San Francisco Examiner about the latest edition of Bill Domhoff's classic Who Rules America: Power and Politics in the Year 2000. She focused on the future of small businesses in this country, which Domhoff maintains will never have enough collective power to challenge the corporate community.

Biochemist Phil Crews, professor of chemistry, was quoted in Inside Wine magazine in an article about Enologix, a company in Sonoma that analyzes wines using scientific flavor analysis.

Sociologist Craig Reinarman penned a commentary about U.S. drug policy for a Dutch daily newspaper following the recent visit of U.S. drug czar General Barry McCaffrey to the Netherlands. The piece, about the U.S. aversion to Dutch drug policy, was reprinted in the Italian daily Il Manifesto.

An article about sea otters expanding their range into Santa Barbara County, published in the Santa Barbara News Press and several other newspapers, featured marine biologist John Pearse, professor emeritus of biology, commenting on conflicts between commercial fishermen and otter lovers.

Manuel Pastor's media moment continues with extensive coverage in the Los Angeles Times of his study of Los Angeles County's trade "winners and losers" in the wake of the explosion in global trade. . . . The same paper tapped Pastor for comment in a story about upcoming transportation projects in California. . . . And Pastor appeared as part of a panel discussion on KCRW-FM, the NPR affiliate in Los Angeles, talking about inequality in California and Los Angeles.

The Santa Cruz County Sentinel covered a summer science camp for middle and high school students from the Pajaro Valley and Monterey County hosted by UCSC's MESA program. MESA--Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement--provides outreach to minorities and others from disadvantaged backgrounds, preparing them to take the more advanced classes required for UC admission. MESA director Tony Garcia was interviewed for the story.

The news that swim coach Mickey Wender will leave UCSC caught the attention of the Santa Cruz County Sentinel. In the story, the Sentinel quoted one of the people responsible for bringing Wender to his new school, the University of Washington. She stated that, "with Mickey, we believe we can be nationally competitive. We're thrilled to start a new era under Mickey's direction."


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