Issues/Program Report 3rd Quarter 2023
October 1, 2023
Per the FCC, this is a list of the most frequently cited issues of concern to the people in the WBHM listening area during the last quarter. The list details the most significant programs addressing these issues. All of these programs were published at WBHM.ORG and broadcast on WBHM 90.3 FM between July 1, 2023 and September 30, 2023. The list includes the following issues:
Government
2023-09-30 07:00:00If a shutdown arrives, millions of federal employees will be furloughed and many others — including those working in the military and the Transportation Security Administration — will be forced to work without pay until it ends.
2023-09-28 09:46:25The indictment accuses Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, and his assistant of offering additional grant money as a bribe to persuade a person to give false information to federal agents who were investigating possible kickbacks that prosecutors said were paid to Rogers' assistant.
2023-09-26 11:26:10The justices, without any noted dissent, rejected the state's plea to retain Republican-drawn lines that were turned down by a lower court.
2023-09-25 20:58:43The three proposals all create a second district where Black voters comprise a majority of the voting age population or close to it — something that state lawmakers refused to do when they drew lines this summer.
2023-09-25 10:56:37In the House District 55 race, voters will select a replacement for Rep. Fred Plump. The District 16 seat is vacant after former Rep. Kyle South stepped down June 30.
2023-09-23 07:00:00The outcome could determine what map the state uses in the 2024 elections and whether the high court will revisit arguments over the role of race in redistricting.
2023-09-20 06:21:18State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who is representing band director Johnny Mims as his attorney, said Tuesday that the incident is an “alarming abuse of power” that instead “should have been should have been deescalated.”
2023-09-14 08:51:33Among the concrete changes made by the council, it is requiring companies that run private parking lots to post signs within 60 days that clearly state parking rates and give clear information about what to do and whom to contact if your car is booted or towed.
2023-09-12 08:52:18Despite losing at the Supreme Court earlier this year in the long-running redistricting case, Alabama is pursuing another appeal, hoping for a different result with the most recent GOP version of the map.
2023-09-08 05:00:00Top defense officials are accusing Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville of jeopardizing America's national security with his hold on roughly 300 military promotions, raising the stakes in a clash over abortion policy that shows no signs of easing. Tuberville brushed off the criticism, vowing he will not give in.
2023-09-06 08:31:32Major League Baseball chose Rickwood Field, the country’s oldest surviving baseball field, to host its “2024 MLB at Rickwood Field, A Tribute to the Negro Leagues” game next June.
2023-09-05 09:55:00The three-judge panel blocked use of the state's newly drawn congressional map in next year's elections. A special master will be tapped to draw new districts for the state, the judges said. Alabama is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
2023-09-01 09:02:13Republican Rep. David Cole, of Huntsville, resigned from the Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday. He will plead guilty to a charge of voting in an unauthorized location, according to a plea agreement filed in state court.
2023-08-30 12:00:00The state described the procedures for the proposed new execution method in a redacted court filing. Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner using nitrogen.
2023-08-22 13:46:02The loop would connect Ruffner Mountain, Railroad Park and Red Mountain Park.
2023-08-21 17:15:09A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a judge’s temporary injunction against enforcing the law. The judge has scheduled trial for April 2 on whether to permanently block the law.
2023-08-15 16:13:21It’s not about Birmingham-Southern College; it’s about the residents of Birmingham. That’s what Birmingham City Council President Wardine Alexander said Tuesday in her dissent from passage of a resolution pledging city dollars to support BSC.
2023-08-14 19:24:34Lawyers for the state defended Alabama’s new congressional map before a panel of judges who previously ruled the 2021 map violated the Voting Rights Act.
2023-08-05 06:16:33Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to crimes related to his efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss. Although it's his third criminal indictment this year, this case is the most serious.
2023-07-31 16:55:32U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Monday that Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness
2023-07-31 11:16:47Plaintiffs in the high-profile redistricting case accused state Republicans of flouting a judicial mandate to create a second majority-Black district or “something quite close to it" and enacting a map that continues to discriminate against Black voters in the state.
2023-07-28 21:58:18Carlee Russell was charged with false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident, both misdemeanors that carry up to a year in jail. Russell turned herself in to jail Friday and was released on bond.
2023-07-24 20:02:55The Hoover Police Department announced the development five days after casting doubt on Carlee Russell’s story. It is possible Russell could face charges.
2023-07-24 06:00:00The outcome could have consequences across the country as the case again weighs the requirements of the Voting Rights Act in redistricting. It could also impact the partisan leanings of one Alabama congressional district in the 2024 elections with control of the U.S House of Representatives at stake.
2023-07-23 10:00:00Anthony Mitchell allegedly froze to death after spending 14 days in a concrete room at the Walker County Jail according to a federal lawsuit his family filed in February. The case is drawing attention to how law enforcement treats those struggling with addiction.
2023-07-22 10:00:00Alabama, the only state that doesn't fund public transit, passed on another opportunity this legislative session. Thanks to car dependence, the state has the nation's highest per-capita gasoline use.
2023-07-21 17:04:18The legislation now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who is expected to sign it.
2023-07-21 05:46:41James Barber, 64, was pronounced dead at 1:56 a.m. after receiving a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison.
2023-07-21 05:39:47The Republican-controlled state House and Senate will meet Friday and could advance separate plans increasing the share of Black voters in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. Legislative leaders say they intend to meet the deadline, meaning the two chambers must compromise on one plan.
2023-07-20 06:40:46James Barber is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening at a south Alabama prison. Gov. Kay Ivey paused executions in November to conduct an internal review.
2023-07-20 06:09:41The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate advanced separate plans that increase the number of Black voters in the state’s 2nd congressional district, but do not establish the second majority-Black district sought by plaintiffs who won the Supreme Court case last month.
The 25-year-old's return home Saturday following her Thursday disappearance prompted intense speculation about where she had been and what had happened to her.
2023-07-19 02:36:51Mike Bolin is retired no more. The former Alabama Supreme Court justice has a new job as the newly elected District 5 representative on the Jefferson County Commission.
2023-07-19 02:18:00Lawmakers must adopt new maps by Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld a finding that the current state map likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
2023-07-17 15:22:51Lawmakers must adopt a new map by Friday after the high court in June affirmed a three-judge panel's ruling that Alabama’s existing congressional map likely violated the Voting Rights Act.
2023-07-17 12:00:44The vote will decide whether former judge Mike Bolin or developer David Silverstein will fill the term of former Commissioner Steve Ammons, who resigned recently to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance.
2023-07-17 07:01:57Alabama lawmakers convene in special session Monday tasked by the court with adopting a new map by the end of the week. The directive comes after a surprise U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the lower court's ruling that Alabama's existing congressional map likely violated the Voting Rights Act.
2023-07-14 07:49:02Jeff Wise’s decision to drop out leaves only Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin and developer David Silverstein in Tuesday’s election.
2023-07-12 08:42:18Tuberville’s brief comment follows several media interviews in which he has repeatedly declined to describe white nationalists as racist. The furor started with a May interview on WBHM
2023-07-11 20:53:00Birmingham’s $5 million investment in the project is expected to be matched by equal contributions from Jefferson County, the BJCC and venue promoter and operator Live Nation.
2023-07-11 15:00:00Tuberville has stalled all nominations for senior military jobs because he disagrees with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to have the Defense Department pay for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. Abortion is now illegal in Alabama.
Economy
2023-09-07 07:00:00Dolabriel Curry-Hurst’s January power bill in Alabama jumped above $700 — more than twice of what she owed the previous year.
2023-09-06 13:52:37The seven strikes in the region signify a slow-growing labor movement that gained momentum in 2021.
2023-08-03 06:00:00Rural water customers typically pay more for the same water that city residents use. Some residents, like Jason Clayton, believe the upcharge is unfair.
2023-07-19 12:36:33Watch a replay of the Gulf States Newsroom's virtual listening session and discussion on Stephan Bisaha's series on The Dollar Store Takeover.
2023-07-12 13:46:12The Gulf States Newsroom will host a listening session and conversation on Stephan Bisaha's four-part audio series examining the spread of dollar stores.
2023-07-07 07:00:00Power bill disputes usually sway in the utility company's favor. But as this New Orleans renter's story shows, there are ways customers can get answers.
Health Care
2023-09-27 11:58:28Dr. Mark Wilson is well-known for leading residents through the COVID-19 pandemic, but his legacy includes a larger effort to expand the role of public health.
2023-09-21 07:00:00Delaney Nolan discusses her report for The Guardian that revealed a spike in heat-related illness calls among New Orleans’ unhoused people this summer.
2023-09-18 11:56:50The number of opioid overdose deaths among Black men in Jefferson County has quadrupled since 2019, sparking action from residents and health experts.
2023-09-13 07:00:00For one family of farmers in Louisiana, this year’s record-breaking extreme heat is taking a toll on both their crops and their health.
2023-09-08 07:41:23The Claiborne Avenue Alliance hopes a study on the health impacts caused by the expressway will support efforts to remediate and potentially remove the highway.
2023-08-28 14:08:00Despite its well-documented advantages, many regions in the US — especially in the South — continue to grapple with low breastfeeding rates. States like Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have some of the the lowest rates in the country.
2023-08-21 17:15:09A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a judge’s temporary injunction against enforcing the law. The judge has scheduled trial for April 2 on whether to permanently block the law.
2023-08-16 10:25:22Aeroflow Healthcare has been pushing state lawmakers to end sales tax on necessary items such as diapers, breast pumps and other incontinence products.
2023-08-09 08:49:13Alabama state health officials are asking workers in the region’s poultry industry and their close contacts to get screened for TB after the outbreak.
2023-08-09 07:01:00The lawsuit — filed by the operators of one birth center that closed and two others that paused plans to open — asks a judge to block the Alabama Department of Public Health from requiring the facilities be licensed as hospitals.
2023-08-08 19:16:18Factors like the cost of treatment, the location of clinics and a lack of specialized doctors have contributed to the lack of care across the country.
2023-08-02 12:41:58Marrazzo, who has led UAB's Division of Infectious Diseases since 2016, served as a national expert throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
2023-07-23 10:00:00Anthony Mitchell allegedly froze to death after spending 14 days in a concrete room at the Walker County Jail according to a federal lawsuit his family filed in February. The case is drawing attention to how law enforcement treats those struggling with addiction.
2023-07-18 07:01:58After experiencing a 20% increase in patient volume over the past five years, the hospital plans to double treatment capacity in its emergency department.
2023-07-13 06:00:00While the results showing an increase in rates may seem alarming, researchers say it could be a sign of better access to mental health services.
2023-07-12 07:00:00The free program in Clarksdale, Mississippi teaches young parents how to better care for their children while filling in the gaps of the social safety net.
2023-07-03 08:00:00The Commonwealth Fund’s new report includes 12 new measures that evaluate and rank states on reproductive services and women’s health care.
Education
2023-09-20 06:41:13Piedmont City schools notched significant improvement in math, landing in the top spot among school districts across the country in a comparison of scores from before and during the pandemic. Nationwide, students on average fell half a year behind in math, researchers say.
2023-09-20 06:21:18State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who is representing band director Johnny Mims as his attorney, said Tuesday that the incident is an “alarming abuse of power” that instead “should have been should have been deescalated.”
2023-08-29 15:01:23At least three forest schools have opened across Alabama in recent years. It's part of a nationwide movement to teach kids in nature.
Science and Technology
2023-09-29 10:48:40In an effort to better understand the biodiversity of north Alabama, scientists are conducting a “tree census,” with the goal of studying roughly 100,000 trees for 50 years.
2023-08-30 05:00:00Heat kills more people than any other type of weather. Human-caused climate change stands to make that worse. Alabama is one of the few places where temperatures have not increased. But that appears to be changing. It's the latest in our series, “Alabama’s Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring.”
2023-08-29 15:01:23At least three forest schools have opened across Alabama in recent years. It's part of a nationwide movement to teach kids in nature.
2023-08-28 14:58:46Two Alabama researchers study ice cores and fossil records from Antarctica, helping connect an alarming increase in the earth’s temperature to rising levels of carbon dioxide.
2023-08-28 10:33:52This summer, headlines have screamed climate change. Globally, July was the hottest month on record. Smoke from forest fires choked many parts of the U.S., and the Gulf of Mexico hit a record high for average weekly sea surface temperatures. Here in Alabama, we’ve been spared many of the effects of climate change, but that appears to be changing. We take a look in a new series on climate change called “ Alabama's Hot Topic.”
2023-07-15 11:43:25National and international news outlets in recent days have cited a local news report in Alabama claiming four people drowned attempting the stunt. But the state’s public safety agency says the claim is false.
Arts and Culture
2023-08-11 07:30:00Delrico Gibson's new art collection on display at UAB ties together different threads, emotions and stories of his recovery from a life-threatening accident.
Environment
2023-09-29 10:48:40In an effort to better understand the biodiversity of north Alabama, scientists are conducting a “tree census,” with the goal of studying roughly 100,000 trees for 50 years.
2023-09-19 08:00:00The singer, who died Sept. 1, grew up in Mobile and had a huge following in Alabama, even if many of his devotees in the state were less than thrilled by his liberal politics.
2023-09-01 10:18:55Alabama’s State Climatologist John Christy is no stranger to controversy and doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. His critics say his work has been plagued by errors and many of his conclusions dismissed.
2023-08-31 10:44:05The connection between climate change, hurricanes and tornadoes is not so clear. But data is beginning to show some relationship. That's the topic of the latest story in our series "Alabama's Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring."
2023-08-30 16:41:30Climate change is spurring more big rain events, when several inches fall in a short amount of time. Meanwhile, climate change also makes droughts more frequent, longer, and severe. There's more the latest installment of our series “Alabama’s Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring.”
2023-08-30 05:00:00Heat kills more people than any other type of weather. Human-caused climate change stands to make that worse. Alabama is one of the few places where temperatures have not increased. But that appears to be changing. It's the latest in our series, “Alabama’s Hot Topic: What Climate Change Could Bring.”
2023-08-29 15:00:00The entire Gulf of Mexico wind lease sale has the potential to produce 3.7 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 1.3 million homes.
2023-08-28 14:58:46Two Alabama researchers study ice cores and fossil records from Antarctica, helping connect an alarming increase in the earth’s temperature to rising levels of carbon dioxide.
2023-08-28 10:33:52This summer, headlines have screamed climate change. Globally, July was the hottest month on record. Smoke from forest fires choked many parts of the U.S., and the Gulf of Mexico hit a record high for average weekly sea surface temperatures. Here in Alabama, we’ve been spared many of the effects of climate change, but that appears to be changing. We take a look in a new series on climate change called “ Alabama's Hot Topic.”
2023-08-24 11:40:03Earlier this month, a researcher debuted a new tool that maps pollution in Mississippi and Louisiana. Some environmental groups are already using it.
2023-08-11 07:00:00Three years after Hurricanes Laura and Delta, Lake Charles residents are anxious about the chances of a new storm.
2023-08-08 10:04:03The EPA’s proposed denial claims Alabama’s proposed standards are too lax and don’t meet federal guidelines under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
2023-07-31 09:49:12Tornadoes in the United States are disproportionately killing more people in mobile or manufactured homes, especially in the South, often victimizing some of the most socially and economically vulnerable residents.
2023-07-28 07:55:55Dow Chemical says the air quality at a plant in Louisiana is safe following a July 14 explosion, but nearby residents remain skeptical based on past incidents.
2023-07-22 10:00:00Alabama, the only state that doesn't fund public transit, passed on another opportunity this legislative session. Thanks to car dependence, the state has the nation's highest per-capita gasoline use.
2023-07-21 13:00:00The American Lung Association’s 2023 State of the Air report used research from the Environmental Protection Agency to measure air quality by year-round particle pollution, short-term particle pollution and ozone quality.
2023-07-18 10:28:44The industrial plant has 60 days to clean up contaminated water in Five Mile Creek before it faces a federal lawsuit, local environmental groups warn.
2023-07-13 08:00:00The zoo has filed for a permit with the Alabama Historical Commission to professionally exhume the graves and reinter them nearby.
2023-07-07 09:06:40Wildfire season around the U.S. continues to grow while minorities remain underrepresented in forestry and firefighting.
Religion
2023-07-06 08:45:00Roughly half of churches in the United Methodist Church North Alabama Conference have voted to disaffiliate within the last year, according to new study.
Crime
2023-07-16 08:53:28Police said Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell had returned to the home she shares with her parents in Hoover. Russell was the after being the focus of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after she stopped to check on a child who was walking along a highway.
Race and Culture
2023-09-22 07:00:00John Eisenberg talks with the Gulf States Newsroom about the Black quarterbacks who helped change the NFL, as well as the players who never got the chance.
2023-09-15 19:50:20We spoke with several residents on Friday, asking for their reflections on the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
2023-09-15 15:23:21Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, spoke at the 60th anniversary of the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church. She said the country should celebrate the great strides that have been made since 1963 but that there is still work to do.
2023-09-15 14:11:25The event, which centered around Christopher Paul Curtis’ novel “The Watsons Go to Birmingham,” was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the attack.
2023-09-15 08:34:31On the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members exploded at the church, killing the girls and shocking the nation. The large, prominent church was targeted because it was a center of the African American community and the site of mass meetings during the Civil Rights Movement.
2023-09-14 20:35:00Lisa McNair's sister Denise was one of the girls who lost their lives. Tammie Fields’ father was questioned as a possible suspect in the church bombing but never charged. Decades after the bombing, the two women met at a Black History Month event and forged a seemingly unlikely connection and friendship.
2023-08-13 12:00:00A week after multiple videos showing the now-infamous brawl at a Riverboat in Montgomery and valiant defense of the outnumbered co-captain were shared widely on social media, it’s clear the event truly tapped into the psyche of Black America and created a broader cultural moment.
2023-08-09 06:01:00Three white boaters in Alabama’s capital city will be charged with misdemeanor assault for a riverfront brawl with a Black boat captain that drew nationwide attention, with more charges likely to come.
2023-07-27 13:11:11A national monument for Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley has put a spotlight on the work Mississippi historians have been doing to keep the story alive.
2023-07-25 09:36:11President Joe Biden is expected to officially recognize two locations in Mississippi to honor Till’s life and death on what would have been his 82nd birthday.
2023-07-17 13:18:38Black farmers in Mississippi are aging. Now, they’re connecting with next-gen farmers to keep their ancestral practices of sustainable farming alive.
2023-07-11 10:10:58Jameia Boone grew up in a home of structure and stability in Mississippi, but that all changed once she moved to Troy, Alabama, for college.
2023-07-10 11:39:31Delena Chappel works to extend a sense of community to her students and other Black women.
Weather
2023-09-26 10:11:56As national attention wanes and volunteers head to other disasters, residents of Rolling Fork and nearby Silver City have been left to recover on their own.
2023-09-21 07:00:00Delaney Nolan discusses her report for The Guardian that revealed a spike in heat-related illness calls among New Orleans’ unhoused people this summer.
2023-09-13 07:00:00For one family of farmers in Louisiana, this year’s record-breaking extreme heat is taking a toll on both their crops and their health.
2023-08-11 07:00:00Three years after Hurricanes Laura and Delta, Lake Charles residents are anxious about the chances of a new storm.
2023-07-05 07:23:46The Fourth of July holiday brought sweltering temperatures to the Gulf South. Here’s how some of the people most vulnerable to the heat are dealing with it.
Sports
2023-09-22 07:00:00John Eisenberg talks with the Gulf States Newsroom about the Black quarterbacks who helped change the NFL, as well as the players who never got the chance.
2023-09-06 08:31:32Major League Baseball chose Rickwood Field, the country’s oldest surviving baseball field, to host its “2024 MLB at Rickwood Field, A Tribute to the Negro Leagues” game next June.
2023-09-01 19:00:00This has been a record-breaking summer across the country and particularly in the Gulf South in August. Several cities between Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama shattered their all-time high temperature records.