Alabama won’t recover lost jobs until 2013, IHS Global Insight says
Birmingham News – Nov. 17
… Even if Alabama’s employment picks up in the latter half of 2010, University of Alabama economic researcher Ahmad Ijaz says the state likely will experience more job losses than gains next year. Ijaz said Alabama may see only a modest uptick in employment in 2011 and 2012 , and, like Norris, he believes it might be 2014 before the state returns to its 2007 peak of slightly more than 2 million jobs. “We are currently around 1.895 million jobs, so that means the state will have to create 110,000 jobs over the next three years,” Ijaz said. “That is doable only if both consumer- and business-spending grow at the rapid pace we experienced in 2005-2006 when most economic growth was driven by consumer access to cheap and easy credit.”…
Cloudy skies dim shot at seeing meteor storm early Tuesday
Birmingham News – Nov. 16
… this year, Earth is forecast to plow through debris ejected by comet Tempel-Tuttle in 1466 and 1533, said Bill Keel, an astronomer at the University of Alabama. The comet orbits the sun about every 33 years.
Certificates and a sweet touch
Campus Dining Today – Fall 2009
We don’t have a lot of discretionary funding for recognition. But when my team at Lakeside Dining won the gold Loyal W. Horton Dining Award for Residence Hall Dining—Single Stand-Alone Concept/Outlet, I had to get creative. I made certificates that said, “You deserve an extra payday.” I hand delivered the certificates along with a Payday candy bar to each of the 90 staff members. The staff member that put the book together received a certificate that said, “You deserve 100Grand.” This, of course, came with a 100Grand candy bar. The return on such a small investment—I only spent about $30 on candy and created the certificates myself—was better than I could have imagined. The staff was so appreciative. I even got a couple of hugs. Our employee turnover has been much higher in the past, and management is to be credited for the recent stability. Small gestures of appreciation, even a candy bar, help to retain good staff. – Kristina Hopton-Jones, director, University Dining Services, University of Alabama
School news
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 17
… The following teachers will be participating in the 10th year of the Master Technology Teacher Program: expert technology teachers Laren Hammonds and Lisa Matherson and fellow teachers Richjetta Smith, Justin Roberts, Shannon Bogert, Wanda Williams, Teresha Jones and Melinda Sears. The program is a partnership between the City and County Schools, the University of Alabama College of Education and In-Service Center, and the Alabama Consortium for Educational Renewal. The group meets five times during the school year to learn new technologies which may be used in their classrooms and to share the projects that they have put together using the newly learned technologies…