Economy
Maker Spaces come to Birmingham
There's a myth in business of an inventor coming up with the next big idea tinkering in his or her garage. Well, the next big idea might not come from a garage, but from a maker space. These are part community workshop, part science club. While maker spaces have been popping up around the country for several years, they've come to Birmingham more recently.
A Look Inside the Thomas Jefferson Hotel With An Urban Explorer
Some of downtown Birmingham's iconic vacant buildings are about to see new life as retail and residential space. This summer, construction begins on a $59 million dollar renovation of the Pizitz building. Developers are also planning to revamp the Thomas Jefferson Hotel on Second Ave. North. It's no small undertaking. The 19-story building has been abandoned for three decades. What's it like inside an old luxury hotel that's been empty for over 30 years? WBHM freelancer Ashley Cleek takes a glimpse inside.
Interview: Birmingham Barons General Manager Jonathan Nelson
This Saturday, the Birmingham Barons kick off a five-game series against the Tennessee Smokies. The 2013 Southern League Champions are already off to a strong start for their second season at Regions Field. More than 35,000 fans attended the Barons season-opening homestand earlier this month. For more on what to expect this baseball season, WBHM's Rachel Osier Lindley caught up with Birmingham Barons general manager Jonathan Nelson. This is Nelson's 21st season working in professional baseball, and his 10th season as the Barons general manager. In this conversation, Nelson talks about the pressures of following the 2012-2013 season, the impact of the new Regions Field downtown and his favorite Barons mascot.
Student Group Helps Alabama Residents Sign Up for Health Insurance
The deadline to sign up for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act is March 31. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, many of Alabama's uninsured still don't understand how the new healthcare law works. But a group of Alabama college students are trying to change that. For WBHM, Greg Bass takes a closer look at Bama Covered, an organization that's getting Alabama residents signed up for health insurance.
3D Printing Pediatric Prosthetics: Changes For A Little Girl, And Much More
In Huntsville, there's a little girl who was born without fingers on one hand, but she now has an affordable prosthetic. Three-dimensional printing made it possible. That technology is spreading, which means her story is just one example of life-altering changes on the horizon. In this national story, with previously unpublished photos, WBHM's Dan Carsen has more.
INTERVIEW: Anne-Marie Slaughter
Writer and scholar Anne-Marie Slaughter has had a prestigious career in foreign policy and education. Slaughter served under Hillary Clinton in the United States Department of State. But after two years on the job, she realized it was too challenging to juggle high a powered-career and family. She now heads the New America Foundation, a group that focuses on the next generation of challenges facing the United States. Slaughter sat down with WBHM's Rachel Osier Lindley to talk about professional women, work-life balance, and caregiving. The conversation starts with Slaughter discussing what she's probably most known for - an Atlantic Monthly article entitled "Why Women Still Can't Have it All."
John Archibald: The View from Wilcox County
There are portions of Birmingham with significant poverty. But that pales in comparison with what some residents of Wilcox County experience -- arguably the poorest place in Alabama. Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald traveled there recently and shares his thoughts.
Hops for Honeys
Some might open a bottle of wine for Thanksgiving dinner or crack open a cold one for the football game. If that drink is a craft beer, there's a good chance the person enjoying it is a woman. Recent surveys have shown a major driver of Alabama's growing craft beer market is women in their 20's and 30's. As WBHM intern Hollie Parrish reports, one Birmingham group is tapping into this growing interest among female beer drinkers.
What does Trinity’s move mean for Birmingham’s Eastside?
Construction crews will soon be scurrying about Trinity Medical Center’s new building on Highway 280, preparing for the hospital to move to that location in 2016. Work on the new hospital, recently named Grandview Medical Center, comes after a four-year legal battle. While Trinity officials say the move is long-overdue, some residents of the eastside Birmingham neighborhood the hospital is vacating worry what the change means for their community.
Poverty on the Rise in Suburbia
Many people think of poverty as an urban issue, but a new analysis finds poor families are increasingly living in suburbs. In fact, in the last decade, poverty rose more than twice as fast in suburban communities as it did in urban centers. It’s a trend in Birmingham as well, although the metro area is not at the leading edge of the shift.
Top 10 Places to Live in Alabama
What do you like about where you live? Maybe it’s your neighbors or the schools. A favorite restaurant or shop. Birmingham News columnist John Archibald has been crunching the numbers and his list of Top Ten Places to Live in Alabama.
The Fiscal Cliff Deal And Your Taxes
Wondering how the new fiscal cliff deal will hit your family budget? Here's a breakdown of tax increases by salary.
Are Resumes Worthless?
If your New Year's Resolutions include getting a job or finding a better one, Dale Callahan says throw out everything you know about job searching. He’s a UAB professor and author of the book Resumes are Worthless: How to Find the Work You Love and Succeed.
Alabama Unemployment Rate Goes Down
Alabama's unemployment rate dropped to 7.5% in November, below the national average of 7.7%. Officials say hiring in two sectors increased.
Instagram’s New User Agreement: Social Media Suicide?
100 million people use the photo website Instragram to share snapshots of everything from their dinner to their cats and their children. But Instagram unveiled a new user agreement this week that has many critics crying foul. Find out why....
Alabama, Auburn Among Wealthiest Athletics Programs
Alabama is Number 4 and Auburn is Number 9 nationally in survey of athletic department revenues. The Southeastern Conference dominates.
UAB Medicine Institutes Tobacco-Free Policy
UAB Medicine is instituting a new tobacco-free hiring policy. Starting July 1, 2013, all new hires will have to be tobacco abstainers -- no smoking, sucking/dipping, chewing or snuffing any tobacco product.
Alabama Eyes Homeowners Insurance Reform
As the Northeast begins to rebuild after SuperStorm Sandy, many Alabamians probably can't help but think: been there, done that. From Hurricane Katrina to last year's deadly tornadoes, the state has taken a beating. So has the insurance agency.
First Black Member of U.S. Federal Reserve Dies
“If, as Booker T. Washington asserted, a man should be judged by the obstacles he had to overcome in life, then Dr. Andrew F. Brimmer was indeed a giant and his lifetime accomplishments should continue to be an inspiration to future generations.”
Rev. Al Sharpton To Protest Cooper Green Closure
The Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to appear at a rally protesting the closure of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital's inpatient care unit. Critics say poor patients will be denied treatment at other local hospitals.
John Archibald on Changes at Birmingham News
The Birmingham News shifted to three day a week print editions this week and public reaction has been mixed, though largely negative, on social media sites. John Archibald discusses what the change means for news reporters and consumers and addresses other thorny issues like the status of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital.
Alabama’s High Gender Wage Gap
A new analysis of U.S. Census data finds that Alabama has one of the largest gender wage gaps in the country. In 2011, the typical working woman in Alabama was paid only 74.2 cents for every dollar the average man made.
September 20 News
Hoover could get three free-standing emergency departments and infant mortality rate is at an all-time low in Alabama, but the news isn't all good.
The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera
The beaches that run from Mobile Bay to Panama City are some of the most beautiful in the world. Prior to World War Two they were sparsely populated and undeveloped. But that began to change after the war when the beach became a tourist destination.
September 13 News
New numbers show poverty is down slightly in Alabama, but median income still lags national average. Also, efforts to reopen Alabama's oldest licensed abortion clinic are dealt a blow.
Andrew Yeager to Deliver Keynote Address at Samford Univ.
WBHM Host/Reporter Andrew Yeager will talk to high school students about the future of journalism at a workshop Thursday at Samford University.
New Panels for Storm Shelters
Alabama has escaped the brunt of Hurricane Isaac, but the storm does serve as a reminder that severe weather can bring danger and even death. So researchers at UAB are developing new building materials intended to create safer storm shelters. Recently a high-tech panel they created passed the National Storm Shelter Association’s tornado threat test, a key step to making such panels commercially viable. WBHM intern Will Dahlberg spoke with the project’s leader, Dr. Uday Vaidya, who says the material in these panels in rather unique.
The New Children’s of Alabama
Doctors, staff and patients are getting used to their new digs, now that the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children is open for business. CEO Mike Warren says thanks to careful planning, the move to the building earlier this month went very well. So with Childen's of Alabama in its new home, WBHM Intern Aditi Jani spoke with Warren about how the facility positions the hospital for the future.
Kids Count Data Mixed Bag for Alabama
The annual Kids Count data book is out and it carries mixed news for Alabama’s youngest residents. Overall, the state ranked 45th for child well-being, with nearly a third of kids living in poverty in 2010.
Lessons of the Little River Canyon Center
On a high plateau in rural northeast Alabama, there's a multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art education complex. Campus, museum, community center, and event spot, Jacksonville State University's Little River Canyon Center is becoming a destination for students, tourists, and regular local people. How this unlikely place came to be is a twenty-year story of politics, money, celebrity, and inspiration. But for this first of two reports, WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen focuses on what people are learning there now:
Carsen and Ott on All Things Alabama Education
We've had a short break from Birmingham Board of Education fireworks, but that doesn't mean that story or the Alabama education beat has slowed down at all. In this week's Edu-Chat, WBHM's Tanya Ott inverviews Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen on No Child Left Behind, the Education Trust Fund, local kids in China, and "meatless meetings."
John Archibald on Airbus Facility in Alabama
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley is in Europe this week trying to drum up business for Alabama. The move comes after Airbus announced it will build its first ever U.S. manufacturing facilities in Mobile. John says Alabama is attractive to foreign businesses for a number of reasons, all of which may not be good for Alabamians.