More than 1,200 participate in cleanup of tornado debris
The Tuscaloosa News – April 22
Karen Sowder noticed something protruding from the red earth while picking up debris on an Alberta hillside Saturday. She had already seen and collected several pieces of broken glass. The circular piece in the clay was either that or a drink coaster, she thought. The cylinder she pulled from the ground was scuffed and chipped, but not broken. In its center was the University of Alabama seal featuring the Roman goddess Minerva. The inscription “25 Years” was just below the seal. Likely an award given to faculty or staff for 25 years of service, the small token is just one of many pieces of UA memorabilia scattered across Tuscaloosa by the EF4 tornado that ripped through the city on April 27, 2011. The memento could be considered a symbol of the way the storm planted the university even more firmly into Tuscaloosa soil. The UA Day of Service on Saturday provided more evidence of the strengthened bond between the university and the city, as more than 1,200 volunteers participated. The event began a week of activities and remembrances marking one year since the tornado. The week will culminate in the city of Tuscaloosa’s memorial service on Friday, exactly one year after the tornado struck. The group that volunteered Saturday consisted primarily of students, said UA spokeswoman Debbie Lane, but also included UA faculty, staff and community members. The volunteers gathered at the university Saturday morning and then were bused to three of the city’s hardest-hit areas to pick up the trash and debris that still littered the ground.
The Gadsden Times – April 22
Al.com – April 22
The Crimson White – April 23
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – April 21
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 21
WSFA-NBC ( Montgomery) – April 21 (Saturday and Sunday)
WALA-Fox (Mobile) – April 21
WAFF-NBC ( Huntsville) – April 21
Obama honors Crimson Tide for BCS championship
The Associated Press – April 19
President Barack Obama is honoring the University of Alabama football team for winning the BCS championship in January. It was the Crimson Tide’s 14th championship. Alabama entered the game ranked second and beat top-ranked Louisiana State University 21-0. Obama says it was a “fun season to watch” but also a “deeply meaningful season” for the Crimson Tide. Obama praised the team for their efforts in the Alabama community, noting the importance of athletes helping rebuild Tuscaloosa, Ala., after devastating tornadoes touched down in April 2011. Obama received an Alabama jersey and helmet. Obama says, “I’m probably going to need a helmet between now and November.”
The Crimson White – April 23
Tennessee tax collections growing
The Leaf Chronicle (Clarksville, Tenn.) – April 22
Tennessee collected more tax revenue last year than it did in 2010, a sign the state’s economy is rebounding from the recession. Tax revenue grew by 8.5 percent in Tennessee during the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to a report released this week by the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y. Sales and income tax revenues grew in 2011, but the state’s share of property taxes likely fell last year, the Census Bureau said in a recent report. Tennessee’s sales tax revenues totaled $6.19 billion in 2011 compared to $6.13 billion the previous year — a jump of nearly 1 percent, according to census figures. Sales tax revenues have shot up much more this year so far, economists say … “The payrolls are going up but they aren’t going up as they used to in previous recessions,” said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. “Business confidence is up but (employers) are still cautious about hiring new employees. Nobody is sure how sustainable this recovery is.”
The Tennessean – April 22
Ashley Priess completes comeback, leads Tide gymnasts to sixth national title
Al.com – April 21
This was the comeback story of comeback stories. The Alabama gymnastics team came back from the 2011 national championship to win it again Saturday, earning its sixth title in school history and scoring its first repeat. The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide led after its first two routines but slipped slightly behind top-seeded Florida after an uneven performance on the uneven bars. But it came back on the balance beam to edge the Gators and the UCLA Bruins, and leading the way was the senior whose comeback story reads like a fairy tale. A year ago, Ashley Priess was in the stands nursing injuries to both ankles when her teammates won it all in Cleveland. This year, she ended the meet with a 9.95 on the balance beam to clinch her team’s championship. “The story will be that Ashley came back this year, and she used the hurt and frustration to fuel herself and this team,” Alabama coach Sarah Patterson. Alabama won with a score of 197.850. Florida finished second at 197.775, followed closely by second-seeded UCLA (197.750).
Gwinnett Daily Post – April 21
Tuscaloosa County jobless numbers stabilize
Tuscaloosa News – April 21
Tuscaloosa County’s employment picture changed little in March, according to figures released Friday by the state. The county’s unemployment rate was at 6.7 percent, the same as in February. The rate had been gradually falling until flattening out in the two most recent months. Still, the rate was down from the 8.1 percent seen in March 2011. “From February to March, the Tuscaloosa metro area added 300 jobs, but is still about 900 below the year-ago employment levels,” said economist Ahmad Ijaz at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research. “Net employment growth in Tuscaloosa has been pretty flat over the last few months, with job losses occurring mainly in state and local government entities.” In March, however, the job losses in government remained unchanged for the three-county metro area of Tuscaloosa, Hale and Greene counties. The metro area jobless rate was at 6.9 percent, down from 7.1 percent in February and 8.5 percent a year ago.
Purple Martins get prime living quarters on campus
Newswise.com – April 20
A University of Alabama geographer and ornithologist is leading an effort to build houses on campus for the purple martin, a popular migratory bird. Dr. Michael Steinberg stands near one of the birdhouses designed to invite purple martins to stay. Dr. Michael Steinberg, associate professor in New College and geography, has set up two complexes of birdhouses – one near the Lakeside Community in the northwest area of campus, and one near Capstone Village on the east side of campus. Steinberg has selected proven birdhouse designs to meet the needs of the purple martin, including the requisite size of holes and nesting room. “This is part of my community outreach and research agenda to provide more nesting opportunities for popular bird species,” Steinberg said. “Purple martins are one of the most desired birds. They have a nice, warbling voice, they eat a lot of insects, and they’re social birds. “However, like many neotropical migrant birds, their numbers have declined in recent decades. So part of the motivation in this project is to provide more housing opportunities in this area for martins and record base-line population data for this species.”
Earth Day festival will benefit Hurricane Creek, promote environmental awareness
Tuscaloosa News – April 21
Like much of the area, Hurricane Creek suffered the ravages of the April 27 tornado, which left debris littering the water and the protective canopy of trees stripped from the riverbanks. The Friends of Hurricane Creek have worked during the past year to restore the creek and the most recent cleanup effort led to an introduction to Net Impact, an organization at the University of Alabama led by MBA candidate Austin Creel. “I have lots of friends who enjoy Hurricane Creek,” Creel said. “It is a gorgeous area and I want to bring awareness of environmental issues to the community and benefit the creek.” Net Impact came up with the idea of an Earth Day Festival. “They totally surprised us by putting together this benefit,” said Friends’ board member Alina Coryell. “They put it all together in about a month and we are very grateful.” The Sunday afternoon Earth Day Festival will be from noon- 5 p.m. at Capitol Park and will feature free food, live music, sustainability workshops and activities for children. “Admission is free, but we are welcoming donations to help Hurricane Creek, and we will raffle prizes like gift cards and T-shirts to raise money,” Creel said. A print of the creek by award-winning artist Sue Blackshear will be among the prizes. The event is sponsored by Net Impact, Creative Campus, New College and University Programs. Many local vendors have donated food and drinks.
It takes discipline to be a triathlete
Tuscaloosa News – April 21
Swim. Bike. Run. As individual sports, each creates its own athlete. Combine the three, however, and one of the most unique and elite athletes in the sports world is created: the triathlete. While most professional athletes earn glory and fame, many of the world’s top triathletes will not be known by anyone outside their sport. Simply put, they are a rare breed. Success does not come from being good at one thing, but a combination of power, efficiency, mechanics, preparedness and mental toughness. Balance in all of these categories is necessary for a perfect triathlete. Those disciplines will all be on display today when Tuscaloosa hosts the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship. Cathy Pagani, a professor at the University of Alabama, who competed in the 2011 International Triathlon Union World Championships, said power is important but cannot stand on its own.
Mississippi Immigration Bill Dies, But Debate Rages On
Fox News Latino – April 21
Mississippi lawmakers have a few weeks left in the state’s 2012 legislative session, but the debate about immigration is done — at least until next year. A proposed Alabama-style immigration bill failed to pass the state’s Senate earlier this month, after passing 70-47 through the House just a few weeks earlier. If passed, HB 488 would have required police to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, every time they arrest someone and suspect the person is in the United States illegally. The bill would have also prevented undocumented immigrants from applying for a driver’s license or business license. A coalition of some of the state’s largest and most influential groups came together to fight the bill, saying Mississippi’s agricultural economy would be badly hurt if it became law. “A lot of the fruit wouldn’t get picked…and then some of the fruit that would ordinarily be picked by hand just wouldn’t have gotten picked at all,” says Dr. John Braswell of the Gulf South Blueberry Growers Association. While there are no definitive figures, a study by the University of Alabama estimates an economic loss of $2.3 billion annually to its home state as a result of the immigration law passed last year.
Posing with corpses reflects old problem
MySA.com – April 21
In past wars, such photos would have been destined for a shoebox in someone’s closet. But in the Internet age, images of U.S. soldiers posing with the corpses and bloody body parts of insurgents appear instantly on computer screens across the world. Last week, the Los Angeles Times published two of 18 photos provided by a soldier who served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division in 2010. He said he hoped the photos would call attention to the lack of discipline, leadership and security in the unit, putting at risk the safety of soldiers … Andrew J. Huebner, author of “The Warrior Image: Soldiers in American Culture from the Second World War to the Vietnam Era,” points to instances of severing the ears of dead Viet Cong. “Across different wars, there’s a dehumanization of the enemy that happens,” said Huebner, an associate professor of history at the University of Alabama. As for the Afghanistan photos, he said, “What we’re seeing here … is a small number of soldiers taking that dehumanization to the level of posing with the bodies.”
Study: Women embrace technology over men
Athens Banner-Herald – April 21
Research by a University of Alabama senior finds that women are using technology to communicate more than men, contrary to several previous studies. Amanda Kimbrough, a 21-year-old UA psychology major, presented a pool of 381 subjects with a 26-item survey. The survey asked the participants to name their preferred piece of tech for keeping in touch, as well as how often they use it. The 114 men who participated largely could not pick a preferred client from a list including text messaging, phone calls, video calls and social networks like Facebook and Twitter. But the vast majority of the 267 women who participated chose text messaging as their preferred method of communicating, with social networks a close second. Kimbrough said these are surprising results because the majority of similar studies, most of them conducted around the turn of the century, found that women hardly used technology at all. In fact, a 2000 study done at Georgia Tech found that 95 percent of Internet users were men.
WAAY-ABC (Huntsville) – April 22
UA students hold spring health fair with Good Samaritan Clinic
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – April 22
Students from UA and the staff at the Good Samaritan Clinic had a spring health fair and fundraiser today, but it wasn’t your average health fair. That’s because this one – full of activities for children, as well as music, clowns and you could get your blood pressure checked for free. Pledge cards were given to people for the clinic to raise money. “We have some pledge cards out there and we also mailed them out to different community members and we hope to get some more donations in.” If you would like to give money, you can do so by mailing your donation to 3880 Watermelon Rd., in Northport.
Bragg to present Last Lecture tonight
The Crimson White – April 23
Students have cast their votes, and the 2012 Last Lecture speaker will be journalism professor Rick Bragg. Monday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in 118 Graves Hall, Bragg will present his lecture titled, “So People Won’t Forget.” Bragg teaches a magazine writing course in the journalism department. He has authored several books, along with published articles, and he won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing in 1996. Bragg has worked at The Anniston Star and The New York Times and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. “I think one thing that stands out with him, mostly in the classroom and when he gives talks any place, is what a compelling speaker he is,” Jennifer Greer, Department of Journalism chair, said. “He’s so captivating in his stories, and he streams together stories you laugh or cry about, but then in the end, they make such a compelling point.” The basis of Bragg’s lecture was encouraged by an encounter he had with a woman in New Orleans soon after Hurricane Katrina. He recalled being apologetic for talking with the lady after she had lost her son. Bragg remembered the lady saying, “That’s all right. People forgets if it ain’t written down.”
Documenting Justice returns to Bama Theatre
The Crimson White – April 23
UA students are hoping to raise awareness of a variety of social issues through a film project known as Documenting Justice. Documenting Justice is a film series that began six years ago. Originally created by Stephen Black, the director for the Center of Ethics and Social Responsibility, Documenting Justice stems from a yearlong interdisciplinary course taught at the University. The course teaches students about the documentary form of filmmaking and allows them to create their own documentary in teams. Andrew Grace, who teaches the Documenting Justice course with Rachel Morgan, believes it is vital for students to explore issues they feel are important to the community. “We don’t focus on specific topics for the class,” Grace said. “I think it’s very important that the students come up with their own topics for the film. I don’t think they’d be very passionate about their stories if they were just doing an idea that I’d given them.” Rebecca Howard, a senior majoring in political science, and her partner Fifi Wang, a sophomore majoring in political science, chose to do their film “Same People” on segregation academies, which are districts where schools have populations of either all-white or all-black students.
Interfraternity Council endows scholarship in name of Robert Witt
The Crimson White – April 23
The Alabama Interfraternity Council recently endowed a scholarship in honor of University of Alabama System Chancellor Robert Witt. “Through his efforts, our greek community has grown exponentially into the largest greek system in the nation,” said IFC President Drew Smyth. “It is because of his endless support that the Alabama Interfraternity greek system unanimously voted to honor Dr. Witt with this endowment.” On March 22, IFC announced the creation of a scholarship in honor of the former president of the University. Witt served nearly nine years as president and was recently appointed as chancellor of the University of Alabama System. “We are excited to see his passion and drive for the success of Alabama continue as he takes on the responsibilities of chancellor,” Smyth said. In commemoration of Witt, the scholarship will benefit active members in the IFC, which is the governing body of 27 fraternities at the Capstone that serves 2,500 men campus-wide. The IFC seeks to unite the fraternities and foster relationships by hosting educational programs and community service events for its members. In addition, the organization works in collaboration with the Panhellenic Association and National Pan-Hellenic Council throughout the year. “During his time as president, Dr. Witt has shown great support for our greek community and has served as an advocate for greeks across campus,” Smyth said.