University of Alabama professor studying effects of April 27, 2011 tornado on children
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Oct. 9
According to new research, the April 27, 2011 tornado may have been a good thing for some local children. A group at the University of Alabama will be studying the storm’s psychological impact on children. Despite the hundreds of lives lost and thousands of homes in Tuscaloosa destroyed by the April 27th, 2011 tornado, lead researcher Dr. John Lochman said they have data that suggests some children were impacted in a positive way by the storm. “Some of these kids look like they are doing better, and so somehow providing resources, and help, and being supportive to them in these very difficult moments, I think can have life changing effects on some of these children,” Dr. Lochman added. Over the next five years the professor and his team will follow 360 kids in Tuscaloosa City and County Schools as well as children in the Bessemer City School System. Through a series of interviews, observations, and reports from those most influential in the children’s lives, the team will determine how the tornado specifically impacted the kids. Lochman said some of their preliminary analysis suggests that a child’s location to the direct path of the storm, didn’t impact the child psychologically, as much as some other factors did.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Oct. 9
HOT BLAST: Anniston Star, UA partnership featured in journalism website
Anniston Star – Oct. 10
In an article from the Poynter Institute, a partnership between The Anniston Star and the University of Alabama’s School of Communication is featured. The program offers a Master’s degree in community journalism. What’s unique is that grad students divide their time between classroom study on campus and journalism work in the Star’s newsroom. It is the realization of remarks made in 2002 by Star publisher H. Brandt Ayers in which he sought the creation of a partnership that would “keep our newspapers from becoming just an undistinguished link in a long corporate chain” while advancing “the art of community journalism.”
CBER Economists See Slight Impact of U.S. Economic Problems on Alabama Forecast
Al.com – Oct. 10
The Alabama economy is expected to grow around 2.0 percent during 2013, according to the fourth quarter forecast update from the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) in The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce. With federal spending cutbacks and now the budget impasse hitting some areas of the state pretty hard, that’s a weaker forecast than the 2.2 percent annual growth forecast last quarter. Still, the state’s anticipated increase in real GDP is better than the 1.5 percent gain forecasted for the U.S. economy this year by IHS Global Insight. Economic activity should accelerate in 2014, when Alabama’s real GDP is expected to increase by about 3.0 percent. Statewide about 10,000 to 15,000 jobs could be added in 2013 for a gain of close to 1.0 percent. Most job growth will be in transportation equipment manufacturing, food services and drinking places, administrative and support services, and in healthcare and social assistance. The annual pace of job creation could pick up to around 1.4 percent during 2014.
Moundville Native American Festival turns history lessons into reality
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 10
The culture students have been learning about in textbooks jumped off the pages and into reality Wednesday at the Moundville Native American Festival. “(The books are) an interpretation,” said John Standingdeer, a Cherokee from Whittier, N.C. “As you’re reading it, you can read what it says, but you don’t really get a feel of who people are or how they’ve lived or what they think … I speak with a voice of the modern time, but I speak with a deep memory and deep respect of the ones who have gone on before.” Standingdeer came this year to participate in the festival’s living history area, where he speaks about life in Moundville many years ago while dressed in period attire. The festival, which continues through Saturday, teaches the culture of Southeastern Native Americans through living history, arts and crafts and performances.
Phase 2 Of BP Trial Focuses On Amount Of Spilled Oil
WNNO Radio (New Orleans) – Oct. 8
In a New Orleans courtroom this week, BP and the federal government are arguing over how much oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010. Oil flowed from the out-of-control well for nearly three months. Just how much oil spilled will be key in determining the amount BP will have to pay in federal fines and penalties. Attorneys for both the U.S. government and BP told a federal judge in opening statements Monday that they have estimates for how much oil spilled into the Gulf after the accident, but their numbers are different. The government says it was about 176 million gallons; BP says it was closer to 103 million … “You never know what might happen in a case like this,” said Montre Carodine, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law. “We may get to the very end and there may be a settlement, and ultimately we may never hear Judge Barbier’s determination.” This second phase of the trial is scheduled to continue through Oct. 24.
First time’s a charm for pageant contestant
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 10
University of Alabama junior Jasmine Sabio never thought of herself as a pageant girl — until a family friend suggested the idea of the Miss Philippines USA pageant. “Some of my friends did pageants, and they would always talk about how much they grew from it, but I never really thought of doing it myself,” Sabio said. Sabio, who had never competed in a pageant before, was crowned Miss Philippines USA on Aug. 18 at a pageant in La Mirada, Calif. The pageant is for young Filipino American women living in the United States…Sabio has lived in Huntsville since she was a year old. Her parents were born and raised in the Philippines. As a Filipino-American, she said she was excited to represent her Filipino culture in the pageant. Sabio said that since winning the title, she has been busy. As a chemical engineering major at UA, school takes up much of her time. She is also an active member in the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta, a certified scuba diver and a piano player.
Medicaid expansion means jobs, jobs, jobs — and health care for the working poor (Joey Kennedy)
Al.com – Oct. 10
How much evidence does Gov. Robert Bentley need to change his mind and expand Alabama’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act? First, let’s talk about the large numbers of working poor and others who may slip through qualifying for ACA. They would get health care under expanded Medicaid — about 300,000 fellow Alabamians — but otherwise may not qualify under a stripped-down ACA sans Medicaid expansion. Just that compassionate angle should be enough to move Bentley, but it hasn’t. If anything, Bentley seems to be more entrenched than ever. Bentley has already been presented studies that show Medicaid expansion will bring millions of dollars — if not billions — of economic benefit to the state. Now we have yet more evidence. The governor also says he is trying to create more jobs for Alabamians. As AL.com’s Kim Chandler reports, a study by researchers at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research said expanding the state’s Medicaid program would create 30,700 new jobs over the next six years.
Puppy Break: University of Alabama SGA brings in therapy dogs for midterm stress relief [photos]
Al.com – Oct. 10
University of Alabama students are hitting the books this week as they prepare for midterm exams, but some students were seen taking a break on the Quad Wednesday afternoon with several furry friends. The Student Government Association has arranged their second annual “Puppy Break,” bringing in trained therapy dogs to give students a brief respite from studying and classes. For two hours on Monday and Wednesday afternoon, dogs from the animal-assisted therapy organization Hand in Paw were on campus, usually surrounded by a crowd of student admirers. Lisa Thompson, Hand in Paw vice president, said therapy animals can have an “amazing” effect on everyone from infants to the elderly. “People are calmed, the stress kind of leaves them,” Thompson said. “It’s a positive distraction from whatever the negative forces are, whether it’s physical pain or emotional stress.”
Screenwriters compete for Hollywood success
Crimson White – Oct. 10
Aspiring television writers have an opportunity to be heard in Hollywood this October thanks to the script competition “Scriptapalooza TV.” Intended to help open doors for aspiring screenwriters, Los Angeles, Calif.,-based Scriptapalooza was founded in 1998, the competition’s president Mark Andrushko said. The TV competition, which runs through Oct. 15, features four categories for submission: an original pilot, a reality show and a new episode of either a pre-existing hour-long drama or half-hour sitcom. Andrushko said it is in that way that the TV competition separates itself from the film competition … Adam Schwartz, a University of Alabama professor of telecommunication and film who has written, directed and produced several student-made TV pilots, said the competition is a good idea for aspiring writers and filmmakers. “I think that competitions in general, be it filmmaking competitions or screenwriting competitions, are good ways to get people experience working on projects like scripts or videos, but also working under the confines of deadlines,” Schwartz said.
Swagon provides free ride, health education
Crimson White – Oct. 10
For those who dread long walks from one class to another, Project Health offers its own chauffeur service that will give any student a free ride across campus and even the chance to win prizes. The “Swagon” program was initiated last January. In order to participate, students must simply hop on and answer a few simple multiple choice or true or false questions pertinent to student health education. The golf cart seats up to two students at a time and will drive students anywhere on campus. “What makes the Swagon unique is the fact it is a ‘mobile learning vehicle,’ which allows for students to get information and prizes while getting a ride to class,”said Reale Snorton, a junior at The University of Alabama and the director of public relations for Project Health.