OTL: Charter Schools
This week on WBHM we’re exploring Charter Schools — how they operate, whether they’re effective, and what political forces shape the debate over legalizing charter schools in Alabama. Friday (3/12) at noon on WBHM we discuss all this and more during On The Line: Charter Schools.
Join the conversation by calling 1-800-444-9246 during the program or emailing your comment or question to [email protected].
David Stout is Public Relations Manager for the Alabama Education Association and the managing editor of the Alabama School Journal, which is circulated to AEA’s 105,000 members, legislators, school boards, and uperintendents.
Since he became editor of the Alabama School Journal, the publication has earned numerous national newspaper and public relations awards from education peers across the nation. This year he received the prestigious NEA Public Relations Council of the States Public Relations Person of the Year.
Stout was twice elected to the State House of Representatives and subsequently was elected Mayor of Fort Payne for four consecutive terms before he joined the AEA staff in 1997. He is a former weekly newspaper owner and taught history in both high school and junior college. He received his undergraduate degree from Jacksonville State University and his master’s degree from the University of Alabama.
Gary Palmer is the president and co-founder of the Alabama Policy Institute, a research and education organization whose purpose is to identify, develop and promote sound public policies that emphasize a limited government, free markets and competition, the rule of law and the preservation of healthy families. Palmer is responsible for setting the strategic vision for the organization and managing its overall operations.
Palmer was appointed by Governor Bob Riley to the Governor’s Task Force to Strengthen Alabama Families. Prior to that he served as an advisor to the Alabama Aerospace, Science and Industry Task Force and served on the Governor’s Welfare Reform Commission during the James Administration. He is a founding director of the State Policy Network, the professional service organization for America’s state-based, free market think tanks and he served on the SPN board of directors for six years, the last two as president. Palmer was awarded the Roe Award, named in honor of the late Tom Roe who was so instrumental in the founding of state-based think tanks. The Roe Award recognizes effective think tank leadership, innovation, and accomplishment and pays tribute to those in the state public policy movement whose achievements have greatly advanced freedom.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
