Student leaders speak out on race (video)
State of The Union (CNN) – March 14
Well, joining me are four of the country’s best and brightest young minds. Elliott Spillers, student government president-elect at the University of Alabama. Rusty Mau who is the student body president at NC State. Julia Watson, undergrad student body president at Northwestern and Jalen Ross, president of the UVA (ph) student council. Thanks all of you for coming here. I appreciate it. And I want to start with you, Elliott. You were just elected the SGA president at University of Alabama. The first African-American in 40 years. Just happened around the time of the Selma anniversary, which is kind of cool. You got votes from across the social and — socioeconomic, I should say, and racial spectrum. What does that tell you about where your generation is with regard to — ELLIOT SPILLERS, STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT-ELECT, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: I think it tells that we’re moving forward and that our generation is willing and wanting to kind of make the steps to progression and Alabama does it so well. I think that with me getting elected that I got — you know, bring people together from all types of backgrounds and diverse cultures.
CNN.com (transcript) – March 14
What’s the UA student president-elect doing on spring break? Visiting the Pelham City Council
Al.com – March 18
After a historic victory last week to become the first black University of Alabama Student Government Association president since the ’70s and appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” show Sunday to discuss racism in America, Elliot Spillers has barely had time to catch his breath. So what does the Pelham High School graduate do when he’s back home for spring break? Like a seasoned politician, Spillers appeared at the Pelham City Council meeting tonight and led the room in the pledge of allegiance. “It’s such an honor,” he said in a brief interview. “I love Pelham, Alabama — the people, the leaders and what it represents. Seeing students from Pelham, Alabama, the Pelham alumni standing beside me throughout this entire campaign process was remarkable. It just shows the true leadership that is represented here in Pelham.”
University of Alabama students elect first African American SGA president in 40 years
Daily Orange (Syracuse University student newspaper) – March 17
After nearly 40 years, students at the University of Alabama have not only elected its first African American Student Government Association president, but they have done so by a large margin. Elliot Spillers was elected into office on March 10, and he earned more votes toward his presidency than any other candidate has earned in SGA history at the university, said Vel Lewis, the volunteer and outreach director for the Spillers campaign. Not only was this the first time in almost four decades that an African American SGA president was elected at the school, but it is only the second time in university history, the only other African American president being Cleo Thomas in 1976, according to a March 10 Yellowhammer News article. He received more than 57 percent of the vote, according to The Crimson White, the university’s student newspaper.
Tuscaloosa startup gets share of Launchpad funds
Tuscaloosa News – March 20
Brewery Buddy, a Tuscaloosa startup company, was among five fledgling companies to win a share of $214,300 in the Alabama Launchpad business startup competition finale on Friday. Brewery Buddy, founded by University of Alabama graduate students Josh Sahib and Wes Eldridge, is a web-based brewery management platform designed to automate business for craft brewers. It gives users more time to devote to brewing and developing their craft beers. The Brewery Buddy team was awarded $24,600 by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation. Greg Sheek, Alabama Launchpad programs director, said it was the first time in the competition’s nine-year history that judges determined all five finalists should receive a share of available funds.
Reduced trooper presence has negative impact on traffic safety
Clanton Advertiser – March 13
A reduced Alabama State Trooper presence across the state is having a negative impact on traffic safety. “Our numbers are not growing,” Alabama Law Enforcement Agency trooper Sgt. Steve Jarrett said. “We also face budget cuts, and we are not able to hire more people because of funding.” Jarrett said a recent study by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, which is independent from ALEA and the former Alabama Department of Public Safety, concluded that Alabama should be staffed at a minimum of 1,016 troopers including field supervisors assigned to patrol the highways throughout the state. With the implementation of ALEA on Jan. 1, there are currently 431 troopers assigned to highway patrol.
Daily Home (Talladega) – March 18
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – March 18
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 18
WDHN-Fox (Dothan) – March 18
WAKA-CBS (Montgomery) — March 18
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 18
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 18
WAFF-NBC (Huntsville) – March 18
KVEO (Rio Grande Valley, Texas) – March 13
KETK-NBC (Tyler, Texas) – March 13
KOBI 5 (Medford, Ore.) – March 13
Forged in a Flash: Volcanic Lightning Forms Glass Balls
Yahoo! News – March 16
Inside towering clouds of volcanic ash, stunning lightning storms can create tiny crystal balls, a new study reports. Researchers recently discovered smooth glass spheres in ash from explosive volcanic eruptions. Kimberly Genareau, a volcanologist at the University of Alabama, first spotted the orbs while scanning ash from Alaska’s 2009 Mount Redoubt eruption with a powerful microscope. She also found them in ash from Iceland’s 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. Both volcanoes blasted out billowing ash clouds that triggered spectacular displays of volcanic lightning. Inside these murky clouds, ash particles rub together, generating static electricity that discharges as lightning. [Big Blasts: History’s 10 Most Destructive Volcanoes] Genareau and her colleagues said they think the lightning displays forged the glass balls from particles of volcanic glass. Their findings were published Feb. 27 in the journal Geology.
Business Insider – March 18
UA history professor studies barbecue
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – March 13
Researchers at The University of Alabama are looking at history and politics through the lenses of barbecue. They recently created a publication, in conjunction with the Alabama Department of Tourism, tracing the relationship between barbecue and politics in Alabama’s history. They found that barbecue cut across race and class lines, and provided a way for both black and white Alabamians to open businesses.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 13
UA archaeologists dig at Rickwood Field
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – March 21
A team of archaeologists are hoping to dig up a piece of history at Birmingham’s historic Rickwood Field. The team from The University of Alabama spent the day searching Rickwood Field. They wanted to see if they could find items left behind by people from the days of the Jim Crowe era, back when seating was segregated. They’re looking for the front edge of the old bleachers where they hope to find jewelry, coins or any kind of memorabilia from decades past. The project is in its beginning phases. Workers will be out during the weekends to dig.
Time for all of Alabama to get wet
Lagniappe Weekly (Mobile) – March 18
Last week, Gov. Robert Bentley signed legislation to allow Alabama municipalities within dry counties to continue selling alcohol. But why did the Alabama governor take this seemingly dated action? Earlier this month the Alabama Supreme Court overturned a 2009 law that allowed for alcohol sales in dry county cities and towns. Bentley signed the new law shortly before the expiration of the court’s grace period … As far keeping the roadways safer, it isn’t clear a dry county is any better off than a wet county. A 2009 University of Alabama Center for Advanced Public Safety examined DUI data of 13 dry counties and 13 wet counties and determined there was no clear distinction between whether a county was wet or was dry. The study instead concluded demographic data should be considered, particularly the age of the population, where a concentration of a younger population could mean more of a likelihood of risky behavior.
ASHRAE Publishes Revision of Ground Source Heat Pump Book
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine – March 17
According to The ACHR News, the publication is a complete revision of Ground-Source Heat Pumps: Design of Geothermal Systems for Commercial and Institutional Buildings, published in 1997 and a primary reference for nonresidential GSHP installations. The new book was written by Steve Kavanaugh, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama, and Kevin Rafferty, a consulting engineer, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Both have spent the last 25 years focused on geothermal/GSHP work.
Mechanical Hub – March 17
ROY MITCHELL: Hospitals need transparency – and Medicaid
Biloxi Sun Herald (Miss.) – March 19
Lobbyists working in secret, against the interests of Mississippians is nothing new, but this year has been extreme in its scope, even for long time watchers of the Legislature. Just 24 hours after it was introduced, 83 legislators voted to approve House Speaker Philip Gunn’s scheme to completely phase out Mississippi’s income tax … In just this session, with little debate on the merits, lawmakers have pushed or floated bills that give a $10 million subsidy directly to hospitals, $5 million in bonds for a single struggling hospital and another $30 million dollars as seed money to help hospitals start their very own insurance company. These same hospitals that are crafting deals for taxpayer bailouts are fighting like hell against increased transparency … A study by economists from the University of Alabama shows that In Jackson County alone, the federal funds that come from Medicaid expansion would bring in 622 jobs and create $64 million in economic activity.
Prof. Joyner: IAEA Not Qualified to Judge Reliability of Info Independently
FARS News Agency – March 14
Dan Joyner, a law professor at the University of Alabama, says that recently-revealed documents indicating that the CIA attempted to mislead the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear program show that misleading information are seemingly the cornerstones of the agency’s assessment, stressing that the IAEA is not qualified to appraise the credibility of its received intelligence on its own … “I think this incident does significantly undermine the idea that the IAEA should be relying for its assessments on intelligence information provided to it by third-party states, some of whom have proven that they have no compunction about falsifying documents, ambush-killing civilian nuclear scientists, using cyber attacks against civilian facilities, and generally doing anything within their power, including all manner of subterfuge, to frustrate Iran’s nuclear program. The IAEA is not itself an intelligence agency. It does not have the capability to independently assess the credibility of intelligence provided to it by third party states,” Dan Joyner said in an exclusive interview with Fars News Agency.
OSINT resources on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons
Examiner – March 17
Over a decade ago the CIA conducted a nuclear sting operation upon Iran. Because of it, the U.N. monitors have to be wary in their past assessments of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons work. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors will have to review intelligence they received about Iran as a result of the sting, in which the CIA passed doctored blueprints for nuclear-weapon components to Iran in February 2000 … The CIA sting shows the kind of tactics that the U.S. and its allies have used against Iran, according to Dan Joyner, a law professor at the University of Alabama. “The falsification of nuclear-related documents is a very real part of such states’ efforts to frustrate Iran’s nuclear program,” said Joyner, who has written extensively on nuclear proliferation risks. He added, “This revelation highlights the dangers of reliance by the IAEA upon evidence concerning Iran provided to it by third party states whose political agendas are antithetical to Iran.”
‘Sweetie 2.0’ Software Uses Virtual Girl To Lure Child Porn Offenders Out Of The Dark
International Business Times – March 19
Right this moment, no matter when you’re reading this, there are at least 700,000 people online across the world browsing child pornography, according to research estimates. No one is exactly sure how many people in total view images of victimized children, nor is there a standard operating procedure for investigators trying to stop images of abused children from spreading. That could all change, though, now that a team of Dutch researchers is at work on a new way to identify suspected predators and bring them out of the dark. Meet Sweetie 2.0, a computer-generated image of a fictional child that will be utilized to help international police agencies identify and apprehend suspected child pornographers and online predators … What’s already clear is that, despite all the gains in online policing, there is still a dire need for a clear enforcement strategy to curb the distribution of graphic images of minors. “There are child pornography images and/or videos that are a part of a ‘series,’ so child pornography users will often network with others in order to obtain images and/or videos that they are missing from the series in order to complete their collection,” Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama, said via email. “There are other tactics being used by law enforcement, including posting ads on Craigslist and/or Backpage and setting up honeypot stings in order to catch child pornography users.”
Cheap cigarettes take heavy toll on health
Zawya.com – March 18
The conference also revealed that more than 1.1 million adults and 16,600 children in the UAE use tobacco products, which are known to kill 1,400 people each year. They therefore called upon policymakers and government officials to undertake more stringent tobacco control policies, including offering smoke cessation services and setting higher tobacco tariffs. … Dr Alan Blum, director of the Centre for the Study of Tobacco and Society at the University of Alabama in US, said two major international tobacco industry conferences, aimed at increasing the market share of tobacco companies in the Middle East, have been held in Dubai over the last eight years. “In addition, two transnational tobacco-related companies have established offices in Dubai over the last two years, now producing cigarette filters and running import and export operations from here,” Dr Blum said.
Yahoo! News – March 18
GulfNews.com – March 18
Health experts defend e-cigarettes despite concerns (Update)
Medical Xpress – March 20
Health experts at an anti-tobacco conference in Abu Dhabi defended e-cigarettes on Friday, dismissing widespread concerns that the devices could lure adolescents into nicotine addiction. Most experts agreed, however, that use of the devices, about which research warns that not enough is yet known, should be regulated. Konstantinos Farsalinos, researcher from Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre in Athens, told AFP that in a study of nearly 19,500 people, mainly in the United States and Europe, 81 percent said they had stopped smoking by using e-cigarettes … Alan Blum, a family doctor and director of The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, says he would usually recommend e-cigarettes to patients trying to quit, rather than “give a pharmaceutical product which has side effects and which have not worked very well”.
Oregon Herald – March 19
Medical Observer – March 19
Hindustantimes.com (India) – March 19
The Economic Times (India) – March 19
Arab Times Online – March 23
‘Dizziness’, the super-tobacco hooking UAE teens
Daily Nation (Abu Dhabi) – March 21
Despite campaigns on the risks of smoking, teenagers in the United Arab Emirates are turning to a little-known tobacco product five times more potent than cigarettes and said to cause seizures. … One puff is enough to make the smoker light-headed, or as one 17-year-old ex-smoker who identified himself as “Clique-C” described the feeling, “relaxed” … Its appeal has even become international, with one Emirati expatriate family setting up a medwakh import business in the United States, according to Alan Blum, a tobacco expert at the University of Alabama.
Inquirer.net – March 21
Malay Mail Online – March 22
South China Morning Post – March 23
How a 1923 Supreme Court decision could help Mobile’s probate judge in marriage case
AL.com – March 13
Buried within written legal arguments in a federal lawsuit, Mobile County’s probate judge cites a 9-decade-old legal doctrine that would seem to give him cover for his actions in an adoption dispute revolving around same-sex marriage. It also appears to bolster arguments Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and supporters have made regarding the limits of a federal judge’s authority to trump state court rulings … University of Alabama School of Law professor Robert Krotoszynski raised another possible problem with using the doctrine: In Alabama, he said, interlocutory orders cannot be appealed; litigants must wait for a final ruling. In order for Rooker-Feldman to apply, there must be an avenue to appeal in state court, he said. “Here, the plaintiffs can’t do that,” he said. Krotoszynski said he thinks the doctrine is more about promoting a natural give-and-take between state and federal courts. “If state courts went out of their way to do what the (Alabama) Supreme Court did last week, then the dual system would have real problems functioning,” he said.
Tuscaloosa County’s unemployment rate rises slightly
Tuscaloosa News – March 17
Tuscaloosa County had a 5.3 percent unemployment rate in January, according to figures released Tuesday by the Alabama Department of Labor. That was up from 4.7 percent in December, but a University of Alabama economist who follows the labor market said such an increase normally occurs as temporary workers hired for the holiday season are let go. “There are too many factors that affect employment numbers in January, primarily seasonal workers hired for Christmas season,” said Ahmad Ijaz, assistant director of UA’s Center for Business and Economic Research. He said a more accurate picture occurs in tracking employment trends over a period of months or looking at figures from the same month to that month a year earlier.
How much influence did ABC 20/20 have in Baldwin County murder case?
Al.com – March 20
If ABC 20/20 decides to do a follow-up to its 2013 episode on Michael Wohlschlaeger, it might want to focus less on the question of “highly suspicious or highly tragic” and more on why the case went to trial in the first place. Wohlschlaeger, a 63-year-old chiropractor, was acquitted by a Baldwin County jury Tuesday on a capital murder charge following an investigation by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office that started sometime after the TV news-magazine ran an episode spotlighting Wohlschlaeger’s personal life and failed marriages. It was entertaining and made-for-TV stuff. But did the episode institute a capital murder investigation based on circumstantial evidence? … At least one legal professor believes that prosecutors have a duty to look into a case whenever new evidence surfaces, even if it’s through mass media. “I think we have to keep in mind that the district attorney has an obligation whenever new evidence comes to their attention, to investigate it even if it came from a 20/20 (show),” Steve Emens, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, said. “It may seem strange, but they have an obligation when evidence comes to their attention.”
Alabama Bar Association to host free legal clinic at Tuscaloosa library
Al.com – March 17
A free legal clinic for more than 40,000 low-income Tuscaloosa residents will be held Thursday, March 19, at the Tuscaloosa Public Library. Clinic lawyers will be able to advise participants in divorce/custody procedures, landlord/tenant issues, debts/bankruptcy and domestic violence issues, among other civil legal issues. The clinic is hosted by the Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program alongside the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association and the University of Alabama School of Law. The clinic will be held from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Tuscaloosa Public Library on Jack Warner Parkway.
Tuscaloosa News – March 18
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 18
University of Alabama to host traveling black history collection
Tuscaloosa News – March 19
The University of Alabama on Monday will host a colloquium on black history, featuring displays from a traveling collection. “Sankofa African-American Museum on Wheels” will be in room 104 of UA’s Little Hall on Elm Drive and Eighth Street. The exhibit will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a special lecture from noon to 1 p.m. The event will feature artifacts collected by historian Angela Jennings of Brooklyn, whose traveling collection spanning African-American culture from 19th century Africa to the civil rights movement began 20 years ago as a way to teach her nephew about black history and culture. A reception for Jennings will be held from 4-6 p.m. in Little Hall’s student lounge in room 109. The event is sponsored by the UA School of Social Work and the Black Faculty and Staff Association.
Tuscaloosa Youth Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra concert Sunday
Tuscaloosa News – March 19
The Tuscaloosa Youth Orchestra and the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra will join in concert Sunday at 3 p.m. at Moody Concert Hall in the Moody Music building at 810 2nd Ave. on the University of Alabama campus. The program will include “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius, the overture to the “Merry Wives of Windsor” by Otto Nicolai, the overture to “Fidelio” by Ludwig van Beethoven and “Hungarian Dance No. 5” by Johannes Brahms. Admission is free.
TEDxTuscaloosa speakers announced, applications still open for attendees
Al.com – March 23
An expert on tobacco marketing, a young chef and a budding entrepreneur will fill out TEDxTuscaloosa’s inaugural slate of speakers on April 11. Eight speakers in total have been announced for the event, and organizers said applications to attend are still open. … TEDxTuscaloosa’s line-up will include: … Dr. Pamela Payne Foster, a public health researcher who studies HIV/AIDS stigma in rural, black communities … Terrence Lonam, a college student and award-winning debater … Josh Sahib, an instructional designer at the University of Alabama and a software entrepreneur … Dr. Alan Blum, physician who is foremost authority on history of smoking/tobacco marketing
UA Counseling Center to hold mental health awareness walk
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 22
The University of Alabama’s Counseling Center is spreading awareness of mental health. Next Sunday, there will be a UA awareness walk to erases the stigma of mental health. The walk will be from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. It will start at the counseling center and end at the Walk of Champions.
10 things companies look for in PR hires
PR Daily – March 17
If you’ve sat across from a hiring manager to interview for a PR job recently, you probably know all too well how valuable it would be to know exactly what he or she thinking. What exactly are companies looking for when they hire PR pros? Of course you have to have strong communication skills—and it’s likely you wouldn’t be seeking a job in PR if you didn’t at least have those fundamentals down—but of course there’s more to it. A recent infographic from The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at the University of Alabama offers highlights from interviews of some leaders in the PR industry to find out what they’re looking for in new hires. Here are a few examples of what they had to say. You’ll notice that one word in particular keeps coming up: Intangibles.
Southern Design Week newcomers reflect on experience
Daily Reveille (LSU student newspaper) – March 18
The Gravier St. Social in New Orleans holds a vintage bar, a pop art wall and chairs in varying fabrics. The area is usually used for guests to order a drink, sit back and relax. But on March 15, furniture was reorganized to create a runway in the center of the space for Southern Design Week to showcase the night’s collections — Megan Mitton and Fit By You. Designers Megan Mitton and Robin Barnes are newcomers to Southern Design Week, and both walked two juxtaposing lines down the runway. Mitton is a senior design student at the University of Alabama but was born and raised in Shreveport. She said her design aesthetic combines a classic southern woman with a touch of edge and sex appeal. She said the goal of all her designs is to effortlessly turn heads and not rely on over-the-top silhouettes. “It’s not because she has something vulgar written across her or there is some giant thing coming off of her head,” Mitton said. “You turn because something about that makes me turn my head.” … Mitton’s Fall/Winter 2015 collection consisted of skirts, sweaters, kimonos and gowns in neutral colors of black, cream, dusty pink and dark green. Fabric choices varied between velvet, lace and leather. Pieces from Mitton’s show include a long, dark green gown made of velvet with a straight silhouette and a “deep V” neckline as well as a billowing high-low skirt in dusty pink.
Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Patients Honored for Giving Back
Steam Feed – March 22
An injured Iraqi citizen, a port wine stain patient, a breast reconstruction patient and a skin cancer patient will be named honorees of the Patients of Courage: Triumph Over Adversity awards by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) at Plastic Surgery 2009, October 24, 4:30 p.m., at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle. These unselfish individuals endured numerous reconstructive plastic surgeries and use their experiences, strength and determination to help others in need … Abigail Hardin, Clinton, Miss. – Hardin, currently a student at the University of Alabama, was born with a right cheek capillary vascular malformation – port wine stain. She received several laser treatments throughout her childhood to try to alleviate the malformation. Based on her life experiences, she recently published a children’s book entitled “Look at me; I’m just like you” about a hippopotamus named Lucy who has a port wine stain on her cheek. Lucy is the subject of peer ridicule and teaches her classmates to accept and respect other children with facial and functional deformities. Hardin travels to schools to read her book to school children, giving both teachers and students the opportunity to increase their awareness of the self-esteem and emotional issues facing children perceived as “different.”
Miss Black USA fundraiser held in Birmingham
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 21
Members of the Miss Black Alabama USA pageant held a fundraiser Saturday afternoon in Birmingham. The organization provides scholarships and other opportunities to young women of color. Jefferson County Commissioner Sandra Little Brown was among those in attendance at the Arlington House. The pageant’s current queen studies at the University of Alabama. Today’s event is one of several fundraisers for the Miss Black Alabama USA organization. The next pageant is scheduled in September.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 21
UA freshman shares how she got scholarships
WHNT-CBS (Huntsville) – March 18
Kelsi Long ran after scholarship opportunities for months. She knew that without scholarships, college may not happen. Kelso set about to get as many scholarships and to apply for as many as possible. All that hard work paid off. Kelsi pays absolutely nothing to attend The University of Alabama, where she is majoring in accounting.