Some storm damage may have been preventable
Tuscaloosa News (Associated Press) – Aug. 1
A new study of tornado destruction in Tuscaloosa found that relatively minor changes in construction — things like better shingles, more anchors and thicker vinyl siding — could have prevented much of the damage to houses on the fringes of the twister…“The winds are so high that a wood-frame structure is not going to withstand them. In those cases, you need a safe room,” said researcher Andy Graettinger of the University of Alabama. “But the vast majority of the area (experienced) lower wind speeds that you can engineer for. You need to have the roof tied to the walls and the walls tied to the foundation to prevent major damage.” Homeowners on the fringes of the tornado would have been spared at least some damage with different construction methods or improvements to existing homes, Graettinger said. In some cases, he said, homes could have been saved from catastrophic damage by metal clips or straps that cost about $1 each. “You’re looking at a few thousand dollars for these clips that hold everything together,” Graettinger said in an interview Friday. “It’s a very small amount compared to the cost of the house.” The final report is being released today. The Associated Press obtained a copy in advance…Researchers found that basic changes like using wind-rated shingles; additional anchors at the bottom of porch columns; metal straps to link roofs with walls; and higher-quality vinyl siding could have made a huge difference in how well some homes survived the storm. “We would have saved a lot of rebuilding cost if that had been done,” said Graettinger, who worked with Alabama engineering professor John W. van de Lindt and other researchers on the project. Researchers didn’t determine how much the needed changes would add to the cost of a new home, or the cost of retrofitting existing homes to make them stronger. But they hope the findings will lead to better construction techniques in tornado-prone areas, much as coastal areas have adapted building codes and methods to help structures withstand hurricanes.
Al.com – Aug. 1
Montgomery Advertiser – Aug. 1
CBS42.com – Aug. 1
WRCBTV.com – Aug. 1
USA Today – Aug. 1 (Print Edition Only)
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – July 31
NBC 13 (Birmingham) –July 31
WHNT (Huntsville) – July 31
WTVY (Dothan) – July 31
NASA Sheds Light On Gas-Consuming Black Holes
Astronomy Now – Aug. 1
… The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has, for the first time at X-ray wavelengths, clearly imaged hot gas being drawn towards a galaxy’s central black hole “It’s exciting to find such clear evidence for gas in the grip of a massive black hole,” says Ka-Wah Wong of the University of Alabama. Wong led the study, published in the 20 July issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters…
Irish Weather – Aug. 1
Brainstorming for a ballpark: Birmingham Barons park developer will use ideas from other fields
Birmingham News – July 30
… A baseball stadium is not an automatic home run when it comes to being a catalyst for new development, according to Louis Marina, a University of Alabama business professor who specializes in business-government relationships and partnerships. But it’s not an automatic strikeout, either. “It can work,” Marino said. “There are certainly models in other cities that would indicate that it would work.” However, baseball alone isn’t enough to fill the booths, barstools and checkout lines of the new Parkside district, he cautioned. Marino said the city must be aggressive in both its promotions and offerings. “It’s not just a matter of ‘build it and they will come.'” he said. “There has to be a systematic marketing effort and letting them know of other opportunities that are down there.”…
Tuscaloosa-area foreclosures have hit poor, mostly black neighborhoods the hardest
Tuscaloosa News – July 31
… The maps produced by the Department of Geography at the University of Alabama pinpoint in increasing shades of red the density of foreclosures in Tuscaloosa neighborhoods and surrounding areas since 2008. Lichtenstein, an associate professor in criminal justice at the University of Alabama, has been gathering foreclosure data in Tuscaloosa County since February 2008 and said a pattern has developed. The foreclosure crisis here has hit poorer, more black neighborhoods the hardest. “From 2008 to 2011, we are seeing large clusters (of foreclosures) in Alberta and the west side of the city,” Lichtenstein said. “The general feeling that one gets from the media is that it is the average Joe and the people who were trying to get into the bigger home who are facing foreclosures, but it is not the rich folks who are losing their homes. It is the poorer black and white folks who are getting hit.” Wealthier people typically have more expensive homes and bigger mortgage payments. They also have more discretionary income, savings and investments, so if they lose their jobs, they have a nest egg to fall back on, she said…Lichtenstein worked on the study with Joe Weber, an associate professor in geography at UA…
Jefferson County sewer debt crisis: 11th-hour talking to avoid bankruptcy
Birmingham News – July 31
… Jefferson County bankruptcy filing would eclipse that of Orange County, Calif., in 1994, and include school and construction bonds, for a total of $4.1 billion. “The most valuable thing is that they get this behind them, and that they get it behind them in a manner that it doesn’t show up again in five years,” said Bob Brooks, a University of Alabama finance professor in Birmingham on Friday for a Securities and Exchange Commission conference on municipal bond issues…
Birmingham Water Works to use wells during droughts
Birmingham News – Aug. 1
… Populations in counties served by the Water Works are expected to grow by several percentage points in the next 15 years, according to information from the Alabama State Data Center at the University of Alabama. The utility serves customers in Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, Walker and St. Clair counties…
Alabama’s pre-recession 4% jobless levels may lock in at about 8% by 2015
Birmingham News – July 31
… Ahmad Ijaz, an economist for the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, says Alabama lost more than 200,000 jobs during the recession. Though some of those jobs have returned, the state remains 143,200 below the peak, he said. “At current rate it could be three or four more years before the payrolls get to pre-recession levels, but with new people entering the labor force and population increases, that could keep the unemployment rate relatively high for a while unless we see a very rapid job growth, which is unlikely with the current conditions the way they are,” Ijaz said. At best, Alabama might see unemployment rate “fall back down to around 7 to 8 percent by 2015,” but he says that doesn’t account for technological advances, increased productivity, and other forces that caused many businesses not to hire back workers they previously let go. “Currently, with larger available pool of available workers and uncertain demand conditions, most firms are already reluctant to take on additional workers,” he said…
Editorial: Legal services group offering help to victims
Tuscaloosa News – July 31
…The grants have allowed the local legal services office to hire Laurie Synco, a 2010 graduate of the University of Alabama Law School of Law, who is working strictly on the legal needs of tornado victims…
UA grad student sheds 175 pounds in fear of dire diagnosis
Al.com – July 29
When a near 350-pound Will Nevin felt a pain in his chest while riding out to Pasadena to see his beloved Alabama Crimson Tide win its 13th national title, he knew it was time for a lifestyle change. Fearing sudden heart attacks or a diabetes diagnosis, Nevin scurried to the University of Alabama Student Recreation Center and hit the treadmill to walk for three miles, the first of thousands he’d walk on the way to shedding 175 pounds, and perhaps saving his life…CNN featured the UA journalism graduate student’s story today, emphasizing the moment Nevin faced a dreadful doctor’s appointment wherein he’d find out whether or not he was diabetic….
CNN.com – July 29
UA holds Alessi Trombone Seminar
FOX6 (Birmingham) – July 29
The University of Alabama’s School of Music is hosting the 2011 Alessi Seminar in Trombone Performance from now until Aug. 6. More than 400 trombonists will be on campus during the event. All concerts are free and open to the public.
Charlotte Harris Drennan: Getting down to business
New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune – July 31
…Charlotte Harris Drennan is a business major and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity at the University of Alabama, where she will be a junior in the fall…
Mallory Healy Geary: Kappa will manage quite well
New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune – July 31
Mallory Healy Geary, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery Lawrence Geary, her mother nee Joan Schneidau, will be a junior this fall at the University of Alabama, where she is majoring in restaurant and hospitality management, has been named to the dean’s list and is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity…
Catherine Allison Steck: Set to make news
New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune – July 31
…An incoming junior at the University of Alabama, Catherine Allison Steck is majoring in telecommunications and film with a focus in news broadcasting, and is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity. Catherine also took part in the UA summer program at the University of Innsbruck, Austria…
Jane Cowley Turner: Convention-al wisdom
New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune – July 31
This summer, Jane Cowley Turner of Mobile, Ala., has been a student at the University of New Orleans’ Innsbruck, Austria, program. She will return to the University of Alabama in the fall, where she is a junior majoring in restaurant and hospitality management and is secretary of her sorority, Kappa Delta…