Sections
US 280: Local Governments React
If you've ever driven down Highway 280 you know how congested it can be. The state wants to build an elevated toll road and expanded lanes, but municipal leaders are split on the plan.
Legislative Review and Preview 2010/04/23
The Alabama legislature begins its 2010 regular session tomorrow. Legislators will be meeting in the midst of a weak economy with lower tax receipts. It's also an election year. Birmingham-Southern Political Scientist Natalie Davis previews the session with WBHM's Andrew Yeager.
2010 Legislative Interviews
Fridays during the legislative session, WBHM's Bradley George speaks with an Alabama lawmaker
The Parable of Grog and Zog
A national group representing atheists and agnostics is calling on the Birmingham City Council to stop beginning its weekly meetings with a prayer. The Freedom from Religion Foundation says the prayers are specifically protestant Christian in theme and they step over the church-state line. The debate has commentator Dan Carsen thinking about the Parable of Grog and Zog.
Children’s Mental Health: Alabama’s Foster Care System
In the late 1980's, a child who's come to be known as R.C. was removed from his home because of allegations of abuse and neglect. R.C. was sent to a series of psychiatric institutions, even though he was not diagnosed with any serious emotional problems. Lawyers sued the Alabama Department of Human Resources on behalf of R.C. And in 1991, a federal court issued the R.C. Consent Decree. It required a massive overhaul in the way DHR provides mental health treatment to foster children in Alabama. The state is now lauded as a national model, but there are still big challenges.
Children’s Mental Health: the Juvenile Justice System
Each year thousands of teens across the country find themselves in jail. For some, their only "crime" is they suffer from a mental illness. Well-meaning parents who are at the end of their rope are convinced the juvenile justice system is one place their teens will get treatment. But as Les Lovoy reports in the first of a two part series on children's mental health, it doesn't always work out that way.
Bingo Bill Investigation
Alabama lawmakers are being extra careful what they say and do after federal investigators revealed they're looking into corruption around a gambling bill. This bill and the issue of electronic bingo have already created a firestorm as WBHM's Andrew Yeager reports.
Seagrass Beds in Crisis
Alabama is losing sea grass beds at an alarming rate, according to researchers at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. A new aerial survey indicates that Mobile Bay lost nearly 1,400 acres of sea grass in recent years. That comes on top of significant grass losses over the last quarter century.
Dr. Craig Witherspoon
Today is the first day on the job for Craig Witherspoon. He's the new superintendent of the Birmingham City Schools. Witherspoon takes the helm of a school corporation plagued with poor academic performance and declining enrollment. On top of that, the schools face significant budget cuts. Witherspoon tells WBHM's Andrew Yeager he'll address those issues first by listening and learning.
Legislature Mid-Session Progress Report
This week is spring break for school children and college students throughout Alabama. The state's lawmakers are taking a break, too. After dealing with the legality of electronic bingo, funding for road projects, and charter schools, legislators return to Montgomery next week for the second half of the 2010 session.
Faith & Fitness
Many churches teach that the body is a temple for the spirit. As a result, faith-based fitness programs have exploded over the last two decades. No one tracks religious fitness centers, but the magazine Faith and Fitness estimates that Southern Baptist churches alone operate more than 20,000 fitness centers nationwide. But this holy union of faith and fitness is raising some questions, as WBHM's Tanya Ott reports.
Charter Schools: The Texas Example
Alabama is one of only ten states that don't allow charter schools. Many states, including Texas, adopted charter schools in the 90s. Today, more than 113-thousand Texas children attend charter schools.
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.
Charter Schools: Politics
Advocates of charter schools in Alabama are getting a do-over. A bill to authorize such schools has been reintroduced in the state legislature after lawmakers killed a similar proposal last month. But if the topic of charter schools weren't controversial enough, mixing it with Alabama politics makes for a potent combination. WBHM's Andrew Yeager continues our look at charter schools by examining the political context.
Charter Schools: Do They Work?
There are nearly 5,000 charter schools across the country. They educate more than 1.5 million students. And President Obama wants more. But do they work? There are a handful of charter schools in wealthy communities and, perhaps not surprisingly, they tend to have high test scores. But most charter schools are in low-income, often minority neighborhoods. How do they fare? WBHM's Tanya Ott has our report.
Charter Schools 101
A bill to authorize charter schools in Alabama is dead in the state legislature, but don't expect the debate to die down anytime soon. President Obama is pushing charter schools, and several of the gubernatorial candidates say they support the idea as well. But just what is a charter school? They've been around for more than a decade in some other states, but here in Alabama there seems to be a lot of confusion.
Open Secret
The Alabama Legislature is about to reach the two month mark of its 2010 session. So far, lawmakers have devoted much of their time to the legality of gambling and the future of the state's prepaid college tuition program. This week, another big issue got some attention in the House--reform of Alabama's 1901 Constitution.
Southern Environmentalism
When Forbes Magazine ranked states by their "greenness" the usual suspects topped the list - Vermont, Oregon, and Washington, all progressive states known for their environmental movements. Seven out of the ten "least green" states were in the South, the land of coal mines and timber plots. But as WBHM's Tanya Ott reports there's a growing environmental movement down south and some of its members might surprise you.
Electronic Bingo Showdown
There's a new development in the showdown between Alabama Governor Bob Riley and the state's casino owners over electronic bingo machines. A judge will conduct a hearing next week on issues surrounding the closed Country Crossing casino in Dothan. Part of the debate is whether electronic bingo machines are allowed under state law. Riley says they're illegal slot machines. Casino owners insist they are perfectly legal. The face-off has prompted early morning raids of some high profile casinos. And as WBHM's Andrew Yeager report, many other operations have shutdown to avoid such a clash.
Dr. Freida Hill
Today is two months on the job for Freida Hill. She is the new chancellor of Alabama's two year college system. Hill spent 18 years working for Georgia's technical colleges. But in Alabama she steps into a system facing increased enrollment with shrinking budgets, plus lingering fallout from a corruption scandal. Hill spoke to WBHM's Andrew Yeager about some of those issues as well as her goals for the state's two year college system. She says she wants to improve the transition for students who transfer from a two year school to a four year school.
Girlyman: “Really good, really unexpected, and really different.”
Imagine a modern-day Peter, Paul & Mary, only edgier...and with a quirky sense of humor, and you get the band Girlyman. Their songs are described as leading edge three-part harmony folk-pop. WBHM's Michael Krall spoke to Ty Greenstein about the group...
Childhood Obesity Grant
Jefferson County is now one of 41 communities across the country to receive the Healthy Kids, Healthy Community grant to combat childhood obesity. The grant, awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides $360,000 over four years to address key factors that contribute to childhood obesity. WBHM's Jason Moon talks with Drew Langloh, President and CEO of United Way of Central Alabama, about what this grant means for Jefferson County.
The Race for Mayor: The Runoff
Birmingham voters elected a new new mayor on Tuesday. William Bell won the runoff election with 54% of the vote.
Restoring Wetlands on Farmlands
Hundreds of years ago the Mississippi Delta was covered with hardwood forests that could withstand seasonal flooding. In the early 20th century, levvies and dams were installed to drain land for row crops. Some of that land has since been turned back into wetlands, and a new study tracks how that's effected wildlife.
Shelter and Cold
The cold weather gripping the south isn't just uncomfortable, it's dangerous. In Tennessee, police believe an 81-year-old man with Alzheimer's Disease froze to death after wandering outside in his bathrobe. In Birmingham, low temperatures in the teens make having a reliable source of heat essential. The city of Birmingham will open a warming center at Boutwell Auditorium this evening, but some people have already been looking for comfort in the area's homeless shelters. Ruth Crosby is head of First Light, a shelter which houses women and children. She tells WBHM's Andrew Yeager they have already been stretched thin by the economy.
Greening the Greens
This time of year golf might be the farthest thing from your mind. But during the off-season golf course managers get to strategize how to best treat their million dollar turf. Some golf courses have a bad rap with environmentalists. But as WBHM's Tanya Ott reports there's a budding green movement in the golf industry.
Magic City Marketplace
The Birmingham marketplace is connected by people who have to grapple with numbers and projections and spin. We try and slice through the psychobabble that can be business news with our occasional segment featuring the editor of the Birmingham Business Journal.
Timber Theft
From Washington State to New York timber theft is on the rise. Perhaps it's the bad economy. A load of wood chips is worth up to $600. States are starting to crack down and many are watching Alabama, where proposed regulations are causing a dust-up. Tanya Ott reports.
John Archibald
Our weekly segment features The Birmingham News columnist John Archibald, discussing the city politic (and county and state politic too). Instead of being unplugged as he is in the newspaper, we offer him a bullhorn. Sort of.
Mayoral Forum
WBHM presents a web exclusive of Catalyst's Birmingham Mayoral Candidates Forum. It was recorded at Workplay on Tuesday evening, December 1. Speaking at the forum was Emory Anthony, William Bell, Scott Douglas, Steven Hoyt and Carole Smitherman. Catalyst also invited Patrick Cooper but he said had a prior engagement. The forum included questions from the audience as well as from moderator Natalie Davis of Birmingham Southern College.
Estrogen Contamination in Waterways
A recent report from the U.S. Geological Survey confirms past findings that fish are in trouble. They're turning up with lesions and intersexed, meaning they have both male and female characteristics. What does this mean for humans?
Mercedes Moves C-Class
Automakers across the globe are looking for ways to save money. Mercedes Benz thinks it's found a way. It will move some production of its popular C-class sedan from Germany to Vance, Alabama.
