Story Ideas for Media 9-24-07

News

Street lighting project begins in student neighborhood. Installation begins today (9/24) for a new street lighting system in the predominantly student neighborhood east of High Street. The long-anticipated project is scheduled to be completed by early April 2008. Parking will be restricted on one or two streets at a time as the work progresses.
The new lighting system will be installed in an area between Summit and High streets, from East 12th Ave. to East Woodruff Ave. The first phase of the work will replace street lights on East 12th, East 13th, East 14th and East 15th avenues. Signs and flyers will provide notification. Parked vehicles not complying with the parking restrictions will be towed to a lot located at the northeast corner of High Street and East 8th Avenue. The vehicles may be recovered without charge. SEE: http://www.universitydistrict.org/newsprofile.php?category=&newsid=196

Research

Bad news for Hispanic teens: parents’ marital disruption hurts them least. Compared to teens from other racial and ethnic groups, Hispanic adolescents don't experience nearly the level of problems during the process of their parents' divorce or separation.
But that's not something to be glad about. New research suggests that Hispanic teens aren't as affected by their parents' marital disruption – including divorce and separation – only because they already face a host of difficulties and disadvantages before the breakup.
“For many Hispanic adolescents, their life situation is already poor before their family dissolves – there may not be much further for them to drop,” said Yongmin Sun, co-author of the study and associate professor of sociology at Ohio State’s Mansfield campus. CONTACT: Yongmin Sun, (419) 755-4261; Sun.84@osu.edu. SEE: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/divdisrupt.htm

Experts

E. coli and food: new study tracks Ohio starlings to see if they play a role. An Ohio State researcher looking at how E. coli contamination occurs in food is turning his sights to a new possibility: wild birds. To determine the extent to which European starlings disseminate E. coli between cattle on neighboring farms, 50 starlings from five different dairy farms will be captured and fitted with tiny tail-mount transmitters, which will provide information on movement and behavior.
Jeff LeJeune, a microbiologist and veterinary scientist at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, leads the study – the first to look at the relationship between European starlings and food safety. He is also working on two projects that examine how E. coli contamination occurs and what can be done to remove it.
“We need to know how much these birds are contributing to infection on farms to see if management strategies to reduce their numbers or restrict access to livestock-feeding areas are warranted,” said LeJeune. CONTACTS: Jeff LeJeune, Food Animal Health Research Program, (330) 263-3739, lejeune.3@osu.edu. SEE: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~news/story.php?id=4295

Events

Ohio State alum returns to give lecture on Taiwan and the U.S. – Sept. 28. Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s Representative to the U.S., will deliver “Taiwan and the U.S.: Allies of Interest in Security, Prosperity and Democracy” at 2 p.m. on Friday (9/28) at the Wexner Center Film/Video Theatre, 1850 College Road. Wu, who earned a Ph.D. in Political Science at Ohio State in 1989, is the chief representative of Taiwan to the United States and head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington D.C. His lecture is free and open to the public. Sponsors include Ohio State’s Department of Political Science, Office of International Affairs, Institute for Chinese Studies, and College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. CONTACT: Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385.

Ohio State hosts Jonathan Kozol, author/advocate against educational inequity – Oct. 2. Author and advocate Jonathan Kozol will speak at Ohio State on Oct. 2. Kozol, author of “Savage Inequality” and “Ordinary Resurrections,” has dedicated his life to shedding light on the crucial problem of educational inequity. An outspoken critic of segregation in public education, Kozol is a galvanizing force in public education who questions why in the United States the place of a child’s birth, their race or their social status should determine so conclusively the quality – or lack thereof – of that child’s education, and thus, their future. Kozol’s lecture takes place at 7:30 p.m. in Weigel Hall Auditorium, 1866 College Rd. The lecture is free, but reservations are required at www.osu.edu/access CONTACT: Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385.

The person listed as the CONTACT will have the most current information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story: Liz Cook,(614) 292-7276 or cook.17@osu.edu; Shelly Hoffman, (614) 247-4748 or hoffman.511@osu.edu; Jim Lynch, (614) 247-4110 or lynch.270@osu.edu; or Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385 or murray-goedde.1@osu.edu