UA Engineering team surveys tornado-damaged areas
Tuscaloosa News – June 20
The short-term findings from a University of Alabama civil engineering team’s research of the tornado damage in Tuscaloosa and Joplin, Mo., could have an impact on future building codes. Andrew Graettinger and Jim Richardson, associate professors in civil engineering, and civil engineering graduate student Blake Doherty were part of the UA group that joined a multi-institute research team, including faculty from the University of Florida and Oregon State and South Dakota State universities…The grant is awarded to teams who need to quickly begin researching an area with perishable data, such as the damaged structures and devastated areas in a city hit by a tornado…The team’s second suggestion — and the one they stress most to those who are rebuilding and those who were spared from the devastation — is to install a safe room in the home or structure…
Tornado hikes jobless rates
Tuscaloosa News – June 18
…Although the unemployment increase was expected, a study by the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research indicated that rise should be temporary, with reconstruction and recovery reversing the upward unemployment trend. The study said about $2.6 billion could get pumped into the state’s economy later this year and that could create 51,700 jobs statewide. Much of that money will come from federal assistance and insurance claims, it said…
Anniston Star – June 17
Mobile Press-Register – June 18
Birmingham News – June 18
Montgomery Advertiser (Associated Press) – June 18
Tuscaloosa News – June 20
Tornado relief group targets “forgotten towns”
WXIA-TV (Atlanta, Ga.) –June 19
Leaders of a newly formed nonprofit group called Magnolia Disaster Relief are focusing on the “forgotten towns” hit hard by tornadoes in April. Founder James O’Dwyer said those towns include Warm Springs and Trenton in Georgia. O’Dwyer, a University of Alabama sophomore, said tornado victims in some smaller towns haven’t received as much help as those in areas that have received more media attention, like Ringgold, Georgia, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. “We’re trying to give them furniture, housewares, new clothes, pretty much everything you need to rebuild your life,” O’Dwyer said…
WAGA (Atlanta, Ga.) – June 19
WATL (Atlanta, Ga.) – June 19
Aggressive I-20/59 drivers targeted
Tuscaloosa News – June 18
…The University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety is conducting pre- and post-initiative analysis of serious and fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles to help guide future enforcement in the area and to gauge the effectiveness of the initiative, Reese said…
FOX6 (Birmingham) – June 17
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 17
UA hosting national conference on science education
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 19
Science teachers from around the country are coming together at the capstone this week, to learn how to better teach, the National Science Foundation is funding a conference this week at the University of Alabama.
Gated community has manufactured homes on large lots
Tuscaloosa News – June 19
…Leonard Zumpano, a University of Alabama professor of finance who specializes in real estate research, said the development appears to be the first of its kind in the Tuscaloosa area… “I’m sure they have done their homework, so they know if there is a market out there,” Zumpano said. “It will be interesting to watch how they do.” Zumpano said a development like Country Ridge could appeal to retirees and soon-to-be retirees who want less yardwork but more privacy and space between their neighbors than is available in garden home communities or condominiums. The bursting of the housing bubble a few years ago also has caused some younger people to change their view of home ownership, and they, too, could be potential customers, he said. A traditional home owner has a major investment in the land, Zumpano said. There’s no land to buy in a development like Country Ridge so that could appeal to some if the price of the home is right…
Crops affected by drought, high temps
Tuscaloosa News – June 18
…Homegrown Alabama, a student-led group at the University of Alabama, seeks to educate students about the value of local produce as well as foster partnerships between local farmers and UA.
UA to build center for water research
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – June 17
The UA board of trustees approved a resolution that will allow UA to become the home of a new national headquarters for water research.
Tech-savvy teens in Tuscaloosa
CBS42 (Birmingham) – June 17
UA’s computer science summer camps are teaching teens robotics, java script, and creating APS for smart phones.