UA economists: Auto, health care key to state’s rebound
Birmingham Business Journal – March 1
Alabama’s automotive industry, health care services and BRAC-related development should be key segments in the growth of the economy this year, according to economists at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research. According to a news release, the economists expect the state’s economy to improve with a real gross domestic product of 3.4 percent, which is 0.4 percent higher than the forecasted U.S. economic growth.
Two tales of a city: 2010 census numbers released
Southeast Sun – March 1
Enterprise, the “City of Progress,” in 2000 had just more than 21,000 people living within its city limits. A decade later, the city is making headlines as one of the fastest growing cities in the Alabama. . . . In 2000, Enterprise had an estimated population of 21,100, according to Annett Watters, manager of the State Data Center at the University of Alabama. “In 2009, that (population) number grew to roughly 25, 900,” she said.
Leveling Justice: Tax Code as Moral Code
American Spectator – March 2
A recent episode of the PBS program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly addressed the issue of income inequality. Predictably, the conversation centered on the question of whether redistribution of wealth is a suitable way to remedy the purported problem. . . . Also in the episode, University of Alabama law professor and progressive tax crusader Susan Pace Hamill argued that Alabama’s low property taxes, high sales taxes (applying even to food), and income tax that applies even to low levels of income constitute a sub-Biblical ethic of revenue collection. Her reasoning is that the highest taxes apply to consumption, while the taxes that target wealth, like the property tax, are relatively low. Her proposal is that the tax system be made more progressive and the greater revenues (if realized) would go to finance public efforts like the educational system to improve equality of opportunity.
Doc Justice applications due
Crimson White – March 2 (print version only)
Documenting Justice, an initiative of the University’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, may be the answer. The yearlong class offers students the opportunity to investigate social justice issues in Alabama and around the world through documentary films. . . . The 2011-2012 class of Documenting Justice will begin in a classroom in the fall. (Not online)
Bashabs a full-circle family legacy
Baldwin County Now – March 2
It’s unusual to have a family tradition of mother-daughter lawyers compared to father-son lines, Pamela Baschab said. So for her two daughters to follow in their mother’s footsteps, Pamela thinks it is the beginning of a legacy. . . . Pamela had a law office in Elberta dating back more than 22 years. Her daughters, Denise Baschab and Mary Baschab-Haslacker, and her son, John Baschab, would come to the office when they were just kids to visit their mother. . . . Now, Mary is a third-year law student at the University of Alabama law school and will work with Sen. Jeff Sessions in Washington, D.C., once she graduates in May, Pamela said.
Greg Horn Provides Art for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”
Comics Book Bin – March 2
Comic book artist Greg Horn will be lending his talent to the Broadway extravaganza “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,” providing high end illustrations for the play’s line of merchandise and also some imagery for the official program guide. . . . Greg has upcoming projects with the University of Alabama [“The Realm”], Abrams Publishing, Zenescope and Marvel Comics.