News
On the Line: Mass Transit
On buses in Birmingham, getting from point to A to point B means mostly obstacles and frustration. Leaders have talked aboout mass transit for years, but putting it to work and funding it has been the real speed bump, despite calls to the contrary. On November 6th, WBHM broadcast a special two-hour discussion on the future of mass transit in the Birmingham area.
Street Smart
Rush hour in the Birmingham-metro area now averages 6 hours per day. You've no doubt been caught in the gridlock either on 280 or I-65 or U.S. 31. From 1992 to 2002, the delay per traveler increased from 11 hours per year to 26 hours per year! But Gabriel Roth says there's a solution. He's the editor of a new book called 'Street Smart' that advocates 'privatizing' roads. You get your electricity and telephone service from private companies - why not transit? Roth explained the concept to WBHM's Tanya Ott.
Organ Donation
Today, thanks to medical advances, most kidney transplants are successful. But people continue to die every day because of organ shortages. A recent survey indicates that as many as 40% of potential kidney donors decide not to donate because of financial concerns. But one UAB doctor is proposing a system that he says could help solve the shortage problem.
Elder Exploitation
Each year in the U.S., an estimated 5 million older adults become victims of financial abuse. In 2004, older consumers reported 152 million dollars in fraud-related losses. But most of these crimes - particularly those committed by family members - go unreported. Brigid Galloway reports on how UAB doctors and the Department of Senior Services are finding unique ways to address the complex issue of financial exploitation.
General Wesley Clark
State and local Democrats have been spending time over the remaining weeks of this election cycle trying to bolster the party's image as being tough when it comes to national defense and offsetting attacks by Republicans - including President Bush - who say they are nothing but a party of 'Cut and Run' when it comes to Iraq. Helping in that effort was retired General Wesley Clark - NATO's Former Supreme Commander and a former presidential candidate - who was in Alabama over the weekend speaking on behalf of Democratic candidates.
Paying for Progress
It is a difficult place to be, in between fertile and fading. Urban areas - parts of Birmingham included -- that were once 'hot spots' are now 'not-so-much-spots'. Businesses have a hard time staying afloat because people have left or are shopping someplace else. But increasingly, developers see green in those places as local governments pony up to lure business back. As WBHM's Steve Chiotakis reports, tax incentives and infrastructure improvements are carrots in a new kind of economic development model.
North Korea Nukes
The U.S. and its allies have confirmed that North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon in the northern part of the country. Calling it a defense against invasion, the rest of the world looks warily on believing a nuclear North Korea puts other nations -- particularly those geographically close -- at risk. One Asian expert and UAB history professor, Dr. John Van Sant, tells WBHM's Steve Chiotakis that what complicates a diplomatic resolution is the history of bad blood - not only with the U.S., but with North Korea's neighbors.
Green Tea and DNA
It seems almost everywhere you look these days -- in magazines, newspapers or grocery store aisles -- you're assaulted by the message that tea is good for you. Studies have shown the leaf may prevent ovarian and breast cancers as well as skin cancer. Now a study out of UAB shows that green tea may actually repair DNA damaged by UVB radiation. WBHM's Rosemary Pennington has details.
Selling Geology’s Gems
The rise in oil prices is fueling a tremendous demand for oil industry workers. Among the beneficiaries: geology graduates trained to find new drilling sites. There's just one problem: geology is a tough sell to the college crowd. But officials at the University of Alabama recently launched a program to try to chisel away at geology's one-dimensional image.
Katrina: One year later
One year ago, Hurricane Katrina roared ashore the central gulf coast, killing hundreds, causing billions of dollars in damage and displacing more than a million people from New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. More than 3-thousand headed for the Birmingham area. Coordinators of one project went out and talked to those who fled, and WBHM's Steve Chiotakis talked to them about the project.
On the Line – education
Standardized testing... school overcrowding... teacher pay. WBHM's listener call-in program 'On the Line' tackled The State of Education in Alabama.
The New, New Normal
Security measures in Britain and the US -- already tightened after the September 11 terrorist attacks -- were made even more stringent after British authorities announced that they'd foiled a terror plot to blow up U.S.-bound aircraft. Twenty-four suspects are in custody; more are being sought. The men were allegedly planning to use liquid explosives on board the planes to bring them down over the Atlantic. U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials placed the air transportation system on high alert and travelers all over the country were affected.
Caught in Beirut
Fighting continues between Isrealis and Hezbollah militants. Infrastructure inside Lebanon keeps getting pounded by Isreali bombs while Hezbollah sends rockets into northern Israel. Hundreds have been killed on both sides. For a time, 22-year old Birmingham native Jay Saxon -- a university student studying Arabic -- was caught in the middle of the violence with other American students. But before he left Beirut, WBHM's Steve Chiotakis spoke with him about all that was going on around him. (Full update and map inside)
North Korean missiles
This week, North Korea test fired more than half a dozen short and medium range missiles. One of those missiles could've reached the west coast of the United States had it not failed. Talks and sanctions about North Korea's nuclear program haven't yielded much in past years. A history professor at UAB who studied and lived in Asia tells WBHM's Steve Chiotakis that what complicates diplomacy is the history of bad blood between North Korea and its neighbors.
AIDS Epidemic Timeline
A timeline of the AIDS epidemic.
AIDS: The Epidemic in Alabama
More than 9-thousand Alabamians are living with HIV or AIDS; if you take into account those who've died from the illness, then more than 14-thousand Alabamians have been infected with the virus. And infection rates are expected to go up as the AIDS epidemic, so often thought of as a big city issue, becomes increasingly a rural issue and a southern issue. There are myriad challenges to getting the word out about HIV/AIDS -- there's the stigma, religion and a money shortage for starters. In a special report, 'AIDS: The Epidemic in Alabama', WBHM's Rosemary Pennington examines what people here in the state are doing to combat HIV.
Meth and AIDS
Methamphetamine is a cheap to make, cheap to buy drug. Its use is exploding in some parts of the country; the drug is called the biggest drug threat to Alabama by one agency. Some researchers are worried the increasing abuse of meth will spike another flare in the transmission of HIV. WBHM's Rosemary Pennington has more.
The MOMS Project
HIV infection rates among women are increasing at alarming rates. When a woman becomes infected and she's a mother, it changes her life and that of her children as well. A program at UAB is working to help HIV positive moms better manage stress so they can be better moms and live healthier lives. WBHM's Rosemary Pennington has more.
Mockingbird
She was a tomboy who would grow up to write one of the seminal novels of the 20th Century. Published in 1960, Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' catapulted her into fame -- a fame from which she made a hasty retreat. There's a new biography out about Lee and the creation of her only novel. WBHM's Rosemary Pennington spoke with the author, Charles J. Shields.
Faith-based Voting
It's been more than a year-and-a-half since the election of 2004, the campaign that brought moral values to the political lexicon. Polls showed a close race - and it was. But in exit surveys, a slim majority of voters said they chose to re-elect President George W. Bush because of moral issues - gays, abortion and integrity over his Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry, who received votes for economic and foreign affairs issues. And that begs the question: does religion have a sustainable stranglehold on politics?
One Woman’s Story
HIV, once thought of as a virus that affected mainly men, is becoming more of a women's issue. The women who do become infected typically get the virus from a husband or boyfriend. Marvelyn Brown talks about her life as an HIV positive woman in the South.
Alabama’s AIDS Orphans
You can't really have a discussion about AIDS in Africa without talking about AIDS oprhans. But a researcher here in Alabama thinks, when it comes to AIDS orphans, we should be looking closer to home.
On The Line: Election 2006
On June 6th Alabama voters go the polls to choose candidates for Governor and vote on a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage. On Tuesday, May 30th, at 6:30 p.m. we took your questions and comments about the election, the legislature, and political reform.
Regions and AmSouth
Two Birmingham banking behemoths say they will join forces for a merging of equals. Regions and AmSouth Banks have announced that, in a 10 billion dollar deal, they will combine to create one of the nation's largest banks. The Regions name will stay, but the AmSouth name, some overlapping employees and bank branches will go. The city is still feeling the effects of the Wachovia purchase of Southtrust Bank a couple of years ago. WBHM's Steve Chiotakis spoke with a financial and banking analyst about what's ahead.
Howell Raines
Howell Raines says his leaving The New York Times was part of a long journey that brought him back to doing what he wants to do: write and fish. Over four decades, Raines climbed the print journalism ladder, starting in Birmingham and making his way to The Times. He tells WBHM's Steve Chiotakis that his new book, The One That Got Away, uses some scaley metaphors to highlight those turn of events.
Latino Mental Health
The immigration protests in Birmingham and around the country have put a very public face on what has traditionally been a very private community. If you ask activists, they'll tell you many Hispanics have been isolated from mainstream society because of cultural reasons -- Fear of authority, language barriers, along with strong -- and sometimes isolating -- family bonds. That's also why domestic violence is such a difficult problem for the community, according to mental health experts working with immigrated hispanics. We sent John Sepulvado into the community to find out what's being done to curb abuse in Latino households.
Kenyan Student Group
UAB has a very visible international student population at the graduate level -- but increasingly, more undergrads are coming from other countries. And the largest group of foreign undergrads comes from - of all places - Kenya. WBHM's Roseanne Pereira spoke with UAB student Pauline Kamau about her efforts to bridge the divide between the US and the African nation.
International Women
Ever since September 11, 2001, enrollment of foreign graduate students in U.S. schools has been in decline. Until this academic year, when there was a slight uptick in the numbers. Foreign students play a vital role in higher education, particularly in some of the sciences, where they serve as researchers and instructors at higher rates than American-born students. The students are mostly male, and some bring with them families from their home countries. The transition to a new culture can be a challenge for many wives, as WBHM's Roseanne Pereira reports.
Technology and Trademarks
According to recent surveys, more than two-thirds of Americans have some sort of online access, whether at home or at work, and that means a wealth of information...and prose...and pictures...and art is available to anyone who seeks it. And that's creating a whole new world of problems in trademark and copyright realms. Now, intellectual property laws aren't something most of us spend much time thinking about as we tool around the web, but a new bill before Congress could change all that. WBHM's Steve Chiotakis explains, or, tries to explain.
Hurricane Katrina: Asian-American’s Mental Health
The plan for crisis counselors is almost always the same: get in -assess -and refer. Some joke they're the commandos of the mental health world, running to the front lines to help people who are trapped by really bad circumstances. And in South Alabama, that bad circumstance was Hurricane Katrina. Most counselors say they've been successful in helping people that need or want care -- As long as you don't count the Asian Community.
Student Docs Debut
Documentary films are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. The big story at last year's box office, a documentary about penguins. UAB students are currently unveiling their forays into the format -- which include stories about Birmingham's Muslim community and one Native American group's struggle to retain its culture.
Lobbying the Statehouse
From 1995 to 2004, companies and special interest groups spent nearly a billion dollars lobbying state legislators... and that number may actually be much higher, because eight states don't track overall spending on lobbying. Alabama is one of those states - -and try as they might, critics have been unable to pass legislation that would require more reporting on lobbyist efforts. WBHM's Tanya Ott reports.
