Familiar face returns to WVUA
Tuscaloosa News – July 10
A familiar face will return to WVUA-TV’s news program at 5 p.m. Monday, when Jon Mason resumes the post as chief meteorologist recently vacated by Wes Wyatt. Mason was one of the first people hired for the channel that became WVUA, along with his wife Rebekah Caldwell Mason, who was the channel’s first news director. That was in 1997, but the couple left the air in 2003 to devote more time to their three children. They also started an advertising business, Caldwell Mason Marketing. . . . Big changes have happened in the seven years since he left, mostly to do with the station’s signal strength and a growing collaboration with UA, which owns and operates WVUA 7 and WUOA 23.
Where are the buyers?
Mobile Press Register – July 11
Interest rates are at record lows and home prices are deal-makers, so where are the buyers? My sales have dropped so bad, said Tina Maynard of RealtySouth Orange Beach, who said that she had six condominium units under contract when the oil spill hit in late April. Last week she reported one. . . . Inventory, which ballooned in Baldwin County as the real estate bubble broke, had been coming down, according to Grayson Glaze of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama. But if the oil spill continues that demand will decrease quickly, he said.
UA center raises growth estimate for Alabama economy
Birmingham News – July 12
Economists at the University of Alabama have boosted their growth forecast for the state’s economy. The University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research said this morning it expects Alabama’s gross state product to expand by 2.5 percent this year, up from an earlier estimate of 2.2 percent. It also expects job gains, with the state’s employment base to expand by 0.7 percent. The center’s economists say Alabama’s economy still faces challenging circumstances.
Index predicts positive moves in 3Q
Florence Times Daily – July 11
The latest Alabama Business Confidence Index shows the state is finally turning the corner on a broad-based economic recovery, according to a report released by the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research.
Consumers and businesses plan for holidays
Tuscaloosa News – July 11
Merchants have not quite kicked off the holiday shopping season, but some already are subtly tapping into the new consumer frugality with offers aimed at Yuletide spending. Some major retailers have expanded their layaway season, which just a few years ago didn’t start for most until around Halloween. Today, some stores start their holiday in summer. . . . Kristy Reynolds, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Alabama, said the economic downturn has prompted retailers to get creative to attract shoppers. The Christmas savings clubs are a unique way for shoppers to earn money while saving for the holidays, she said. “There has always been a segment of consumers who shop and plan for Christmas year-round,” Reynolds said. “This and the fact that so many folks are being more vigilant in controlling their budgets are reasons consumers will not grow too tired of Christmas ads and offers.”
Gadsden Reads events begin this week
Gadsden Times – July 11
Activities tied to the this year’s Gadsden Reads novel, “The Prince of Frogtown” by Northeast Alabama native Rick Bragg, begin this week at the Hardin Center. . . . Bragg will participate in several events and will be in Gadsden during First Friday on Sept. 3 for a grand celebration of the project on the lawn of City Hall. Bragg was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for feature writing when he was with The New York Times. He now teaches at the University of Alabama.
Kerry Madden tracks Harper Lee
Los Angeles Times – July 11
One story that didn’t make it was how Lee chose to attend the University of Alabama Alumni Assn.’s first Capital Capstone Award ceremony in 1963 instead of the Cannes Film Festival for the screening of the film version of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The award was for “the graduate whose distinguished contributions to the national scene during 1962 have reflected the best traditions of this university.” Legendary coach Bear Bryant was there, and Lee told a reporter: “Bear talked about literature and I talked about football.…I was a rabid football fan long before I was a writer.”