Issues
Immigration Law and Schools: Trying to Calm Fears
Across Alabama, people have been marching to spotlight children affected by the state's strict new immigration law. The measure requires schools to record the immigration status of newly enrolled students. After more than 2,000 Hispanic students were absent from Alabama schools early last week, activists and educators are reaching out to families worried about what the law will mean for them. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM.
StoryCorps
StoryCorps is an oral history project based on the idea that the stories of everyday people are the most important and interesting of all. Listen to stories from Alabamians.
Remembering Fred Shuttlesworth
Flags are at half staff across Alabama in memory of Birmingham civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth. Shuttlesworth died Wednesday. He was 89. Shuttlesworth fought for integration in schools and on buses in the 1950s. He also was arrested many times. Mobs attacked him. Ku Klux Klansmen bombed his home and church. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager reflected on Shuttleworth's legacy with biographer Andrew Manis.
Deciphering Alabama’s Immigration Law
Now that a federal judge has allowed most of Alabama's tough new immigration law to go into effect, lawyers, police and immigrants themselves are trying to figure out just how the law is applied. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke about what some parts of the law mean with Zayne Smith. She's the immigration policy director with Alabama Appleseed.
Immigration Law and Schools
Students, parents, and school officials are reacting to Alabama's new immigration law, the toughest in the nation. The law went into effect last week after a federal judge upheld many of its most controversial provisions, including a requirement that schools check the immigration status of newly enrolled students. And that extra layer of administrative responsibility may pale in comparison with the fear it's engendered. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Hilary Hahn interview
Not only is Hahn one of the world's top violinists, but several years ago she gave the world premier performance and recording of the Violin Concerto by Edgar Meyer. This weekend, with the ASO, Hilary Hahn revisits the Meyer Violin Concerto - a work that was specifically commissioned for her.
Part 3: Walking School Bus
What has bright colors, traffic signs, dozens of feet, and provides exercise, companionship, and a safe way to school? It's a new community-oriented health and safety strategy called a "walking school bus." In the last of a three-part series on school transportation, Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Pt2-RuralChallenges
Safe transportation to and from school is a challenge across the country. Roughly 800 children die making that trip each year, and the dangers vary by location. The rural south has its own challenges, some preventable, some not. In Part Two of a three-part series on school transportation, Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
School Transpo Safety Pt 1 – Urban Trains
It's no secret that kids trying to succeed in school face hurdles, some more than others. But for students in many of Birmingham's urban neighborhoods, serious safety challenges involving massive moving machines start before they even get to school. In Part One of a three-part series on school transportation, Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Justin Brown interview
In his sixth and final season, Justin Brown conducts the opening weekend of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra's Masterworks Series.
Tragic City Rollers
You're probably familiar with the Blazers and the Barons. But have you heard of the Tragic City Rollers? If not, you're missing out on another home team to root for.
Birmingham Bus Cuts
The Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority's motto is "We'll get you there." But they might not be able to due to a lack of funding.
The Sewer and the Legislature
Jefferson County Commissioners have two weeks left to reach a settlement with creditors over the county's more than three billion dollar sewer debt. Commissioners have been negotiating directly with Wall Street banks in hopes of avoiding what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. While approving a settlement is an important part of resolving the sewer debt crisis, that's not the end. As WBHM's Andrew Yeager reports, it just means a trip to Montgomery.
FEMA Payments Delayed
As the east coast dries out following Hurricane Irene, the storm is causing financial snags for Alabma. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will delay certain payments for existing disaster operations, such as rebuiling after April's tornados or the twister in Joplin, Missouri. Instead money will be directed to Hurricane Irene response. Alabama Emergency Management Director Art Faulkner says this restriction does not affect individual payments or debris clean up. It will affect longer term projects.
AP-update
At Alabama public high schools that first implemented the A+ College Ready Program in 2010-2011, A.P. exam pass rates increased by 111 percent. The pass rate for minority students increased even more. But how did that happen? Click here to read Dan Carsen's web-exclusive report:
A Challenge to Alabama’s Immigration Law
Opponents of Alabama's new immigration law spent Wednesday in federal court trying to convince a judge to block the measure from going into effect on September first. The legal showdown over what's been called the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration in the country pits the U.S. Justice Department, a coalition of civil rights groups and church leaders against attorneys for the state of Alabama. They argue there's no reason the law shouldn't take effect as planned. NPR National Correspondent Debbie Elliot is watching the action at the federal courthouse in Birmingham and spoke with WBHM's Andrew Yeager.
Gulf Economy Rebounds
Quarterly revenue reports show spending along the Alabama Gulf Coast is up significantly over previous record years. Although the BP oil spill is not forgotten, tourists are back.That's good news for the coastal businesses, but state officials note this doesn't mean BP is off the hook.
Defibrillators
All Alabama public high, junior high, and middle schools now have defibrillators. So, in a state with tightening education budgets, how did this come about? Click here for education reporter Dan Carsen's web-exclusvie story:
AdvancedPlacement
The Alabama State Department of Education has won a $1.3-million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support the state's improving Advanced Placement programs. And at least one reason for that improvement is controversial. Click here for education reporter Dan Carsen's web-exclusive story:
A Verdict in Alabama’s Gambling Corruption Trial
Prosecutors with the Justice Department are contemplating their next move after the jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial returned no guilty verdicts. The partial verdict still leaves VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor and six others facing unresolved charges. While defense lawyers were glad to have acquittals on some counts, WBHM's Andrew Yeager reports they're still gearing up for what could be another court battle.
Alabama’s Gambling Corruption Trial
This summer nine defendants including Alabama casino owner Milton McGregor go on trial. They're accused of buying and selling votes around a pro-gambling bill in the state legislature. The case draws on hours of secretly recorded wiretaps and promises to reveal the underside of wheeling and dealing in Montgomery. WBHM's Andrew Yeager will follow the month's long case and offers updates of the unfolding action.
Open Meetings Law
Jefferson County Commissioners will meet tomorrow to determine their next move as the county struggles with more than three billion dollars of sewer debt. They could reach a settlement with creditors or file what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. But they'll hold the meeting in executive session. That means meeting with lawyers, behind closed doors. And as WBHM's Andrew Yeager reports that has some questioning if they're violating Alabama's open meetings law.
Jones Valley Tutorial
Birmingham City Schools kitchen staff recently got a tutorial on nutrition and locally grown, sustainable food at Jones Valley Urban Farm. They picked herbs and vegetables and helped bury stereotypes in the process. Dan Carsen covered the event for WBHM and the Southern Education Desk. Click here for the web-exclusive first-person account:
Polluted Schools
[The EPA has named five prominent Birmingham firms liable for pollution in several North Birmingham Neighborhoods. The following is our award-winning story on the subject from two years ago:] The Walter Coke plant in North Birmingham makes high-grade coke used in blast furnaces and foundries. But according to a class-action lawsuit, that's not all it makes: property owners allege carcinogens from the plant have drastically lowered their property values. But for people living and going to school in this industrial area, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Our Southern Education reporter Dan Carsen has more.
Teach For America in Alabama
The national service program Teach For America has been in Alabama for a full school year. As it gears up to send our state more than 50 new teachers, it makes sense to check on the group's progress here. Dan Carsen, a former TFA teacher, asks around for the Southern Education Desk at WBHM.
Alabama and the Oil Spill: The Domino Effect
It's been more than a year since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and still, businesses across Alabama's Gulf Coast are struggling to rebound. Sales are off for everyone from seafood processors to charter boat operators. And there's a domino effect that's sweeping up other, less obvious industries across the gulf and beyond.
Alabama’s New Immigration Law and Schools
Alabama's new immigration law has been at the center of heated debate in the state, across the country, and beyond. Of many controversial provisions is one that requires schools to determine the immigration status of students, and in some cases, their parents. Some educators are uneasy with that new role. That's to say nothing of the feelings of many immigrants, legal and otherwise.
The 2011 Tornadoes: Phil Campbell
People from around the world will converge on tiny Phil Campbell, Alabama, this weekend. And not just any anybody. People named Phil Campbell. They're coming to help rebuild after an April tornado flattened half of the town, killing 26 people. As WBHM's Andrew Yeager reports, it's a celebration that's taken on new meaning after the disaster.
Driver’s Education
If you're over a certain age, there's a good chance you took driver's education in your high school. So why isn't that true for today's young drivers? From the Southern Education Desk at WBHM, Dan Carsen reports on a significant shift:
Alabama Organic Agriculture
In the United States, sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to nearly $25 billion in 2009. There are five million certified organic acres in the U.S.. But you won't find many in Alabama because, as WBHM's Tanya Ott reports, a combination of cultural and market forces means this state has the fewest certified organic farms per-capita in the country.
Boman interview
Alabama state representative Daniel Boman has done something rare: he has left the Republican Party to become a Democrat. The reasons, he says, are Republican stances on educational and other issues.
Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes
In Alabama and other states, education budgets are being squeezed. Teachers and support staff are facing layoffs and cuts in benefits and supply money. Seen against that background, it's not surprising that states are looking harder at a tricky but increasingly attractive source of funding. From the Southern Education Desk at WBHM, Dan Carsen has this report:
