Teen, researchers find rare fossils in Tuscaloosa quarry
Biloxi Sun-Herald – July 20
A fragment of stone on a dusty hillside in a Greene County quarry drew Noah Traylor’s attention because it resembled a vertebra. Despite the tantalizing shape, the 14-year-old said he assumed an assessment by a University of Alabama paleontologist accompanying the teen and other middle and high school students would reveal it was only a rock, like so many other bits of stone culled during the annual summer field expedition program put on by UA’s Alabama Museum of Natural History. Instead, paleontologist Takehito “Ike” Ikejiri told the teen it was fossilized bone. “At first, I thought he was joking,” said Noah, who will attend Northridge High School this fall. Noah’s vertebra-shaped rock turned out to be just that — a fossilized piece of backbone from an Elasmosaur, a Cretaceous period leviathan that prowled a sea whose shoreline traced along Alabama’s Black Belt region.
Phys.org – July 22
Aggregates Manager – July 22
North shore students earn Fulbright Scholarship, Upper Iowa University recognition
New Orleans Times-Picayune – July 19
Emma Fick of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Serbia for an English Teaching Assistantship, the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently. Fich attended Covington High School and the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, and attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, majoring in English.
Confidence in Alabama economy grows for first time in a year (updated)
Al.com – July 19
Alabama business people are gaining confidence in the economy, reporting improving prospects for sales, profits, hiring and capital investment, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. The organization’s Alabama Business Confidence Index rose 5.2 points to 52.9, according to the third-quarter survey. “That’s the first optimistic reading since third quarter a year ago when the index registered a weakly positive 50.2,” CBER said in a prepared statement. “The state’s business community is feeling much better about the economic environment.” All industry indicators that contribute the index improved, with expectations of sales growth showing the strongest improvement. Among individual industries, only manufacturing and retail showed declines. Wholesale trade showed the largest gain in the index.
If previous bankruptcy record holders are any indication, Detroit has a rough road ahead
M-Live – July 20
One is a city, one is a county, and both held U.S bankruptcy records – until Thursday. That’s when Detroit filed for federal protection under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code, making it the largest American city to ever do so. And with some $19 billion in debt, Detroit has the largest-ever burden owed to creditors. While Detroit appears to be making history, Jefferson County, Ala. and Stockton, Calif. are two municipalities that once set records of their own, and both are still struggling to move beyond the fiscal messes that preceded Detroit’s record-breaking move. In both places, economic experts paint a fairly bleak picture, but not one that is without hope. Jefferson County appears to be climbing its way out of bankruptcy, though University of Alabama finance professor Robert Brooks said an exit plan filed two weeks ago in U.S. bankruptcy court could put it back at square one. “My advice to Detroit would be don’t do what Jefferson County is about to do,” Brooks said.
Twitter user takes down Trayvon Martin juror book deal
Al.com – July 19
Reactions to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin have run the gamut, but not many Americans have used their internet prowess to spring into action. New York native Genie Lauren has. After the woman known as Juror B37 appeared on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” and announced plans to write a book based on her experience with the case, Lauren decided to make her own feelings known by appealing to those directly involved…But, how much would the memoir have made her? A lot of money very quickly, according to University of Alabama Press Marketing Director J.D. Wilson. Time is of the essence when trying to sell a book dealing with a high-profile case. Wilson said it would have been possible for the book to wind up on shelves as quick as four to six weeks from now and sell up to 200,000 copies. Revenue from the book could have been anywhere from $2.5 million to $4 million. Juror B37 herself could have received an advance of up to $100,000, he said. “I think the juror would see a big check really fast,” he said. “Then she would just have to finish the book.” Wilson said Juror B37 would have found a publisher despite the outrage, but it would have depended on the company’s values. “The University of Alabama Press would not at all even consider doing a book like that,” he said. “It’s considered sensational and it’s not advancing scholarship, it’s not contributing anything positive to the national conversation about race or law enforcement or anything of the sort.”
Ken Hare In Depth: Impact of race in politics not the same as racism
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – July 19
State Sen. Vivian Figures stirred up a hornet’s nest when she said that racism was a factor in Republicans gaining political dominance in Alabama since President Obama took office. But, of course, any public discussion of race and politics in Alabama — or almost anywhere, for that matter — is certain to stir strong feelings. Race and politics cannot be separated in this state. It’s been that way for a long, long time, and sadly, it’s likely to continue to be that way for a long time to come … Another respected political scientist, William H. Stewart (professor emeritus at the University of Alabama), said of the current debate: “I don’t like the term ‘racism’ to be used too freely. Historically, blacks (when they have been able to participate) and whites have mostly been in different parties. In the beginning it was the GOP for blacks and the Democratic Party for whites. As blacks moved overwhelmingly to the Democratic Party, more whites felt uncomfortable in it — not necessarily because of anti-black attitudes.”
LEND A HAND: City schools system honored for its anti-bullying program
Tuscaloosa News – July 21
The Tuscaloosa City Schools system on July 12 was honored with the international HERO Award for its work to address bullying. Paul McKendrick, the system’s superintendent, led a group of administrators to accept the award, presented as part of the Anti-Bullying Summit, sponsored by Auburn University in Mobile. HALT, or Harassment Awareness/Learning Together, will mark its second year of implementation and is an early-intervention program aimed to prevent bullying…The system’s efforts were enhanced through a partnership with University of Alabama public relations students and recognized by Mayor Walt Maddox with a proclamation.
LifeTrack program meeting scheduled
Gadsden Times – July 21
A community meeting to provide more information about the New College LifeTrack program at the University of Alabama Gadsden Center is set for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the center. The program is structured to allow students 25 and older a great deal of flexibility in designing their curriculum, said Beverly Dyer, director of the College of Continuing Studies. “It’s a flexible degree format,” Dyer said. Through New College LifeTrack, students can earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree from the university and move at their own pace. “You basically create your own degree,” Dyer said. LifeTrack was established in 1973 and is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program through which adults can complete requirements toward a bachelor’s degree. An interdisciplinary degree, Dyer said, is one that allows students to blend several areas of educational interests into meaningful curriculums to suit individual needs.
Student News
Winter Haven News Chief – July 19
Chandler Melton, a 2011 graduate of Lakeland High School, was named to the spring semester dean’s list at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James D. Melton III.
Al Benn’s Alabama: Granddaughter inspired after uncovering details of late grandfather’s life
Montgomery Advertiser – July 21
Madolyn Price was 9 years old when her grandfather took her to a ritzy Democratic Party function in Birmingham and had her slip into a canine costume he had made just for the occasion. “I thought he was kidding, but he said he wasn’t because he wanted everybody to know that’s what he was — a ‘Yellow Dog Democrat,’ ” the University of Alabama graduate student said Friday. Her unexpected doggy appearance got plenty of attention from well-dressed attendees at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner that night. It wasn’t long before she learned from Tom Radney that a “Yellow Dog Democrat” was someone so loyal to the party that he or she would vote for a “yellow dog” before ever voting for a Republican.