Alabama honors gymnastics, softball, golf, tennis with additions to Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza
Al.com – Sept. 19
The University of Alabama Athletics Department celebrated its latest championships with an unveiling at the Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza in front of Coleman Coliseum on Friday. Honored were the SEC Champion softball, women’s tennis and gymnastics teams along with the SEC champion and back-to-back national champion men’s golf team. Also honored were athletes who won individual national titles. The ceremony, emceed by Tom Roberts, included the coaches and student-athletes from each of the championship teams: Patrick Murphy, Jenny Mainz, Jay Seawell and Sarah Patterson.
Marijuana Money Is Still A Pot Of Trouble For Banks
Forbes – Sept. 18
During a visit to the Dixie Elixirs & Edibles plant in Denver last summer, I saw the machines the company uses to produce cannabis concentrates, the kitchen where it makes marijuana-infused chocolates, and the bottling line for its THC-spiked sodas. Toward the end of the tour, I had a semi-serious question for the company’s CEO, Tripp Keber: “Where do you keep your piles of money?” Keber laughed but quickly turned serious. “We actually have strong banking relationships,” he said. “We don’t talk about them. Asking someone about their banking is like asking them what they wear to bed at night. It’s an intensely personal question, even within the industry.” You can begin to understand why banking is such a touchy subject for the newly legal cannabusinesses in Colorado and Washington (as well as growers and dispensaries in the 21 states that allow medical but not recreational use of marijuana) if you consider the federal laws a financial institution violates when it does business with a state-licensed company like Keber’s … “By providing [a] loan and placing the proceeds in [a] checking account, the institution would be conspiring to distribute marijuana,” writes University of Alabama law professor Julie Andersen Hill in a paper she presented at a conference on marijuana and federalism last week.
Reason.com – Sept. 19
Tuscaloosa County jobless rate falls to 6.3 percent
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 19
Tuscaloosa County’s jobless rate fell to 6.3 percent in August. “The metro area also added 2,400 jobs, 200 of which were in manufacturing, and over the course of the year, Tuscaloosa has added 4,600 jobs,” said Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research. “There might be some seasonality in here, too, because of school teachers, etc., but still the overall numbers look good considering the economic growth and consumer and business spending are still fairly sluggish.” Statewide, Alabama’s unemployment rate decreased slightly in August to 6.9 percent, but it remained above last year’s rate for last month.
Anniston Star – Sept. 19
Tuscaloosa County authorities report steady increase in felony domestic violence cases
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 21
High-profile domestic violence cases involving National Football League players and an Alabama federal judge have brought attention to an issue that affects thousands of people in the Tuscaloosa area. The Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit, which houses the domestic violence unit, received 5,829 cases of domestic violence in 2013, resulting in 1,035 arrests. Another 2,728 cases were reported from January to June 2014. … The domestic violence unit can assist victims with filing restraining orders, protection from abuse orders and arrest warrants. Phillips said the Women’s Resource Center on the University of Alabama campus provides counseling services to students, faculty and staff who are victims of domestic violence … The University of Alabama Law School Clinic can provide legal services for victims who live in Tuscaloosa County.
Alabama state chess championship preview and Chess Challenge
Al.com – Sept. 22
One of Alabama’s most prestigious chess events will attract players from all over the state, as well as many from out-of- state. The Alabama State Chess Championship Tournament will be held September 26-28 and, concurrently, the Alabama State Scholastic Chess Tournament on September 27. Both tournaments will be played on the third floor of the Ferguson Center at the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa.
Dozens of dogs rule the pool in annual Dog Splash at University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 21
More than 100 dogs splashed, dove and swam at the University of Alabama Recreation Center’s outdoor pool Sunday, catching balls and playing with their owners and other dogs. The event was part of the eighth annual Dog Splash, where dogs and their humans could enjoy the water at the Rec pool, before the UA pool staff closes it for cleaning. The event has traditionally marked the end of summer for the pool complex.
Tuscaloosa News (gallery) – Sept. 21
Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre (gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 21
Student dancers rehearse for “The Ice Blade” choreographed by Qianping Guo in the Fall 2014 presentation of the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre at Morgan Hall on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Health Hut expands to increase education
Crimson White – Sept. 22
Almost every day, students at The University of Alabama walk by the Health Hut on their way to class. Although the group is the most visible division of Project Health, it’s not the only one. Health Hut interns, along with Project Health ambassadors and advocates, work to advance health education among students through a variety of programming. The Health Hut started in 2011 and has since grown to reach more and more
students every semester. Olivia Hodge, a senior majoring in journalism and marketing, is the public relations coordinator for the Health Hut. She said the Health Hut expanded to include ambassadors and the most recent position, advocates, because there were so many students who wanted to be involved and help make a difference in health education on campus. In addition to increasing in size, the quality of programming has increased as well. The group has won numerous awards through the BACCHUS network, an affiliation of similar health education programs across the country.
Mark Edmundson asks ‘Does Football Matter?’
Crimson White – Sept. 22
Mark Edmundson said he views football as a modern day setting of “The Iliad.” He said there are two types of players: those like Hector and those like Achilles. “Those who have access to their rage often triumph,” Edmundson, a professor at the University of Virginia, said during his lecture on his book “Why Football Matters: My Education in the Game” on Friday. He compared football to war and football players to the characters in the ancient Greek epic. Hector was a warrior who could “turn off” his aggression when he left the battlefield, while Achilles lived in a constant state of rage. He argued that, like Hector, those who can leave aggression on the field are likely to fail. “Everyone wants to be a Hector, but Hector loses,” he said. “Everyone wants to win.” When asked after his lecture about his thoughts on the recent incidents involving domestic violence in the NFL, Edmundson said he was disturbed because he realizes football is a game “dangerous to the brain and heart.” He said coaches train athletes to harness their aggression and become animals on the football field, yet Americans are stunned when their heroes commit violent acts like those that have been highlighted in the media recently.