AROUND THE STATE

Senator seeks chancellor seat; would replace Delaney

State Sen. Jim King, R-Fla.,  announced March 31 he is seeking the open chancellor seat of the State University System.

King, a Jacksonville representative, would succeed former Chancellor Mark Rosenberg, who retired earlier this year. He would also replace current President in Residence John Delaney, who filled in for the past several months.

“I am going to apply,” King said after a committee meeting March 31. “I’m going to go through all the hoops. I have no idea whether I’ll even make the short list.”

King, a Florida State Alumnus, also said Florida fans and supporters need not worry and he would be completely fair to all state institutions.

AROUND THE NATION

Congressional Black Caucus raises concerns to Obama

The Congressional Black Caucus recently made several stringent comments to the nation’s first black president about the issue of bailing out the financial system: Don’t forget minority-owned
companies.

“Today we change the status quo,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., March 20 at a press conference. “The inclusion of women and minority-owned business has been a second thought for too long. This is the 21st century.”

The CBC organized the event after the White House announced details of the latest financial rescue measure last week.

Its plan is to raise concerns about the barriers minority and women-owned firms face in winning federal contracts to administer financial rescue programs.

AROUND THE WORLD

British doctors use flesh-eating maggots to heal ulcers

In a recent study on treatments for leg ulcers, British doctors found that an unorthodox option works as well as the standard treatment: maggots.

The method is a throwback to the more than 700-year-old European method of using maggots to treat wounds.

Researchers at the University of York studied 267 patients with leg ulcers in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2007. Patients either received the traditional method – a gel applied to the skin – or the new method using maggots.

Patients who used the maggots healed as quickly as those who received the gel treatment, but suffered a little more pain as a consequence. However, the maggots are more cost effective than traditional methods, according to the British Medical Journal.

Compiled by James Cannon II.