Story Ideas for Media 04-07-12
News
Campus Construction update: Good news, Bad news
Projects on Ohio State’s campus will have an impact on traffic this week.
· Cannon Drive. Closed for repair on the “S” curves between Drake Union and Woody Hayes Drive.
· Hospitals Garage. The Ross Heart Hospital Parking Garage is now open. The new garage provides 1,000 spaces for patients and visitors.
· Neil Avenue. Through late July, Neil Avenue is closed to traffic between Lane Avenue and Norwich Avenue as part of the ongoing Lane Avenue widening and reconstruction project.
· North Cannon Garage. The North Cannon garage is closed today (7/12) through Thursday (7/15) while 12th Ave. in front of the garage is repaved.
· Drake-Sisson Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge is closed for repairs and unavailable throughout summer quarter.
· 12th/Neil Avenue. Traffic remains one-way eastbound on 12th, and has been routed one-way south on Neil.
For more information, see: http://www.osu.edu/news/construction_update.php Contact: Amy Murray, University Relations, (614) 292-8385
Experts
Constitutional law expert can comment on idea to postpone Election Day – U.S. officials are discussing the idea of postponing Election Day in the event of a terrorist attack on or near that day, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Edward (Ned) B. Foley, professor in the Moritz College of Law, is an expert in constitutional and election law. He says that any postponement of voting in a presidential election should occur only in the event of a physical impossibility of conducting voting on Election Day and only in the specific location where voting is impossible. Contact: Edward (Ned) Foley, Moritz College of Law, (614) 292-4288.
Expert can discuss disruption of sentencing practices in courts nationwide -- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on Tuesday (7/13) about the future of federal sentencing guidelines. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (Blakely v. Washington) disrupted sentencing practices in courts nationwide. The ruling stripped judges of their power to increase sentences based on aggravating factors because, according to the Court, the U.S. Constitution gives those rights to juries. Douglas A. Berman, an expert in criminal law and criminal sentencing in the Moritz College of Law, says the fallout of the decision is dramatic. He is chronicling the aftermath of the decision on a web site (http://sentencing.typepad.com/), and can provide insight on the issue. Contact: Douglas A. Berman, Moritz College of Law, (614) 688-8690.
Research
Research on vaccine against food-borne bacteria shows promise -- Researchers hope to add bacterial food poisoning to the list of the world’s preventable diseases, and scientists in Ohio and Texas have moved closer to that goal by developing a vaccine that is 100 percent effective in preventing Salmonella and Listeria infection in mice. Food-borne microbial diseases cause an estimated 76 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Dr. John Gunn, associate professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at The Ohio State University Medical Center, is the lead researcher on the vaccine project. Gunn and colleagues seek to develop a vaccine that will trigger a protective immune response against diseases acquired through the intestinal tract. For more information, see http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/mediaroom/article.cfm?ID=1726 Contact: Emily Caldwell, Medical Center Communications, (614) 293-3737.
Events
Fisher College hosts economic forecasting conference – July 16. -- A panel of three economic experts will make predictions about the local and national economies for the remainder of 2004 at the Fisher College of Business’ College Mid-Year Economic Forecasting Conference. The event is at 7 p.m. on Friday (7/16) at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road. The panelists are: Anthony Chan, senior managing director and chief economist for Banc One Investment Advisors, who makes economic presentations nationwide; James W. Coons, principal of J.W. Coons Advisors, who has more than 23 years of experience forecasting the economy and financial markets; and James Newton, president and owner of Economic Perspectives, who serves as chief economic advisor to Commerce National Bank as well as an adjunct faculty member at numerous universities including Ohio State’s Marion and Newark campuses. The conference is sold-out to the public, but media may attend. Contact: Laura Bowers, Fisher College of Business, (614) 292-8937.
New American hero shares his life challenges and successes – July 21. Cedric Jennings, whose story was documented in the best-selling book, “A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League,” will join Ohio State’s Young Scholars at the Samuel DuBois Cook Summer Academy on Wednesday (7/21). Jennings will speak at 1:30 p.m. in McPherson Lab, 140 West 18th Ave. The presentation is free and open to the public but space is limited. He will discuss the challenges he faced as a student with potential in a inner city school district, and how he was able to rise above those obstacles as he went on to graduate from Brown University. This summer, more than 200 high school students from the nine largest urban school districts in Ohio will take part in the Summer Academy, which runs through July 24, as a part of the Young Scholars Program. Contact: Paula Smith, Young Scholars Program, (614) 292-4884.
Symposium to explore inequality, crime and justice – July 22. -- A national symposium at Ohio State on Thursday (7/22) will examine how racial, gender, class and other forms of inequality in the United States are linked to issues concerning crime and justice. The symposium, sponsored by Ohio State’s Department of Sociology and the university’s Criminal Justice Research Center, will feature top faculty from around the country to discuss cutting-edge research on the topic. One of the issues that will be discussed is the political disenfranchisement of felons – a hot topic in light of the controversial 2000 presidential election and the upcoming election this November. Other issues include the race and class implications of DNA technologies used by law enforcement, and gender and racial disparities in youth violence. The symposium is designed to be the first in a series of symposia on issues of inequality – a topic in which Ohio State’s Department of Sociology is considered an international leader. Contact: Jeff Grabmeier, University Relations, (614) 292-8457.
The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Liz Cook, (614) 292-7276; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.
