JDCC, UofA make it official
Atmore Advance – July 17
A partnership between the nursing school at the University of Alabama and Jefferson Davis Community College will benefit students as well as the community, officials from both schools said Wednesday as they signed an agreement. The partnership will allow local students to take classes for advanced degrees through UA’s Capstone College of Nursing without having to travel to Tuscaloosa. “We want people to have all the opportunities,” Capstone College of Nursing Dean Dr. Sara Barger said. “We know they are not limitless for some. … The real winners are your graduates and current students and your community. When you increase education, people make fewer mistakes and patients get better care.”…Jeanette VanderMeer, assistant professor and RN mobility coordinator at the University of Alabama, said the program helps nurses succeed. She recalled that when she began expanding her education in nursing, the opportunities were not so easy…The partnership program will begin this fall…
VIEWPOINTS: Let’s prevent a smoking generation (by Alan Blum)
Birmingham News– July 18
…Dr. W. Jeff Terry, president-elect of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, wants the medical profession and the public alike to correct this glaring oversight. Last month, the American Medical Association approved his resolution that calls on physicians to campaign for a stamp to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health…Nearly half a century after the surgeon general’s report, cigarettes still kill more Americans than AIDS, breast cancer, sickle cell disease, motor vehicle accidents, alcohol, illegal drugs, homicides, suicides and fires combined…Alan Blum, M.D., directs the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society…
Alabama Voices: ‘Magic’ not policy (by William L. Andreen)
Montgomery Advertiser – July 18
…We have been led to believe that offshore drilling is safe, that the technology is reliable, and that any spills that occur can be readily contained and cleaned up. Nothing could be further from the truth. The BP spill may be exceptional in the magnitude of the damage it has caused, but it is not exceptional when it comes to risk…Tougher regulation and better-funded and more robust regulatory agencies can make deep ocean drilling safer. Better response plans can reduce, to some extent, the damage from spills of this sort. But only magic can eliminate the risk of catastrophic loss inherent in this kind of drilling. And when it comes to oil spills, I don’t believe in it…William L. Andreen teaches law at the University of Alabama and is a Member Scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform.
UA Professor Comments on Oil Spill
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – July 16
WVUA spoke with oil expert Dr. Peter Clark from the University of Alabama. He says once the well is permanently plugged, then the serious clean up can begin. Clark says the well will then be checked occasionally to make sure it’s not leaking. He compared this spill to one back in the1970s that affected the Texas Gulf Coast. There was a huge oil slick in the gulf, and it’s all recovered.
Bradley Byrne’s tepid showing at home did him in, supporters say
Mobile Press-Register – July 18
…State Rep. Robert Bentley, meanwhile, in the words of University of Alabama political scientist William Stewart, carried his home Tuscaloosa County “almost unanimously,” taking 86 percent of the vote.
Builders hit by tough economy
Mobile Press Register – July 18
…Statewide there were 3,250 new homes on the market in May, a 27 percent decline from last May, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama. Most of today’s new construction is through volume builders and priced about $60 per square foot, industry officials said. Custom built houses can average $125 to $135 per square foot, depending on the size of the house and the builder…
W. Ala. jobless rate rises; state’s drops
Tuscaloosa News – July 17
…Ahmad Ijaz, an economic researcher at the University of Alabama, said state employment figures have been slowly improving for three months. “It’s a good sign for the economy,” he said. Ijaz, who works for the Center for Business and Economic Research, said he expects the recovery to continue through the summer, but it will be in small doses because “it was a very deep recession.”…
Hearing set for interstate expansion
Selma Times-Journal – July 17
…The University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research conducted a socio-economic analyses for the proposed project, which indicate all eight counties within the project study area are projected to experience an increase in population with the construction of the proposed project, except for Sumter County, according to an overview of the impact study. “Employment forecasts indicate that the counties within the project study area will see an increase in jobs,” the study states. “Economic output forecasts project that each county within the project study area will increase its output. It is anticipated that growth in many of the region’s counties will be in labor intensive industries, such as trade and services.”…
Dig seeks information on ancient Gautier residents
MississippiPress.com – July 19
Anthropology students from the University of Alabama have been digging into a mound built by native Americans about 1,500 years ago since May 30…Lauren Downs, a doctoral student who was directing the dig on Friday, said the site was first documented in 1905 by archaeologist Clarence Moore, but has been relatively unexamined except for looters who have pockmarked the mound. The project director for the current dig is John Blitz, an anthropology professor at the University of Alabama. “It been a wonderful project because it is in a residential area,” said Downs. “We can drive up to the site. Mr. Jones and the neighbors have been wonderful to us.”…
UA anglers finish third at national
Tuscaloosa News – July 18
University of Alabama anglers Dustin Connell and Daniel Taylor weighed in 7.88 pounds to take third place on the final day of the sixth annual College Bass National Championship on Brewer Lake in the Ozarks.