Search Results for Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Thousands of Students Compete in Birmingham to be Top Speaker

Thousands of high school students are in Birmingham this week for the National Speech and Debate Association’s national tournament. WBHM's Andrew Yeager follows one Alabama student through the competition.

She Brought Water to the Freedom Riders: “I Couldn’t Let It Pass”

There’s a new national monument to the “Freedom Riders, the civil rights activists – black and white – who challenged segregation by riding buses across the South. In 1961, a mob set one of those buses on fire and beat some of the riders. But there’s a lesser-known wrinkle to the story: a little white girl, whose family feared the Ku Klux Klan, brought water to the injured passengers.

Alabama GOP Leader on Trump, Protests and More

There's been no shortage of controversy about President Donald Trump's first days in office, but the Republican grass roots of Alabama generally support what he's done so far. So we checked in with state Republican party chair Terry Lathan to get her perspective.

Lawsuit Says Alabama Appellate Court Elections Violate Voting Rights Act

The civil rights group Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Alabama NAACP and four individuals challenging how Alabama elects appellate judges. The suit alleges the at-large elections violate the Voting Rights Act.

Brighton Elects Brandon Dean One Of Alabama’s Youngest Mayors

Brighton, Alabama's Mayor-elect Brandon Dean may face hurdles because of complaints about absentee ballot applications.

Remembering April 27: Pratt City Sees Progress, Setbacks

Walk around Pratt City, a northern Birmingham neighborhood, and you’ll see rolling hills and meet proud residents. But you’ll also see many vacant lots, reminders of a tornado that struck five years ago this week. It was part of a tornado outbreak that killed more than 250 people statewide. The community has rebuilt, but there’s still a lot of be done. Five years later, some residents think the recovery is taking far too long.

Taking on Tests: Opting Out in Florida

Millions of Florida’s public school students, from third grade through 12th, are preparing to take the Florida Standards Assessment. The test has drawn scorn from parents, teachers, school administrators, and even lawmakers—yet it remains the main measure of how schools and districts are graded, kids promoted, and teachers evaluated. Lynn Hatter of WFSU reports about how some parents and children are protesting -- choosing a form of civil disobedience by opting out.

Crime in Greater Birmingham: Impact of Social Media

Elizabeth Sanfelippo is an energy consultant who lives in Birmingham’s upscale Highland Park neighborhood. She grew up outside of Birmingham, and lived in Vermont and New York before coming back to her beloved hometown. When she wants to know what’s happening in the area, she picks up her smartphone and presses a green icon with a white house on it, opening the Nextdoor app.

Hoover School Board Could Approve Rezoning Proposal Monday Evening

On Monday, March 7, the Hoover School Board will vote on a rezoning plan that redistributes about 2,200 Hoover students to different schools. WBHM's Sherrel Wheeler Stewart talked to Hoover Sun reporter Jon Anderson about the rezoning proposal, submitted by Superintendent Kathy Murphy.

Correspondence That Shaped the Jefferson County Courthouse Murals

Since last Fall, the Jefferson County Commission has been debating what to do about the murals in the foyer of the county courthouse.

Birmingham Mayor, Councilman Involved in Altercation

Details are still coming in, but Birmingham Mayor William Bell and City Councilman Marcus Lundy reportedly had a physical confrontation in a back room during the council's meeting this morning. Both men received medical treatment.

Support For Trump in Alabama Still High Despite Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

From a pig’s head left outside a Philadelphia mosque this week to mounting threats in other parts of the US, the backlash against Muslims has intensified. In Alabama, the Ku Klux Klan is reportedly distributing fliers urging recruits to “fight the spread of Islam in our country.” This, along with Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s heated rhetoric, has many of the state’s Muslims on edge.

Churches Could Be Key To Ending HIV Stigma In Rural Alabama

According to the Centers for Disease Control, African Americans account for 75 percent of Alabama's HIV cases, but only about 25 percent of the state's population. In many neighborhoods, HIV is a disease spoken about in whispers. People are scared to get tested, and scared to be seen going to a clinic. In order to combat stigma and increase awareness, doctors and academics are going to an unlikely place -- the church -- in an attempt to break down some barriers. Ashley Cleek traveled down to the Black Belt to see how it's going.

Alabama Versus The Volcano

Climate change is forcing some Alabamians to consider a move. Coastal areas and islands like Dauphin are losing land as the sea rises, flooding is more frequent, and hurricanes could be more dangerous than ever. But for one couple, natural disasters are no deterrent. They've left the Yellow Hammer state for a new life in one of the riskiest places on earth.

Corruption and the Economy

Over the last several years, Birmingham and Jefferson County have experienced a tsunami of political corruption. From the HealthSouth accounting scandal to the convictions of several former county commissioners. And, of course, next month Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford goes on trial in a 101-count federal bribery and conspiracy case. Les Lovoy reports on the toll political corruption takes on the our local economy and what the local business community people are plan to do about it.

Vipassana Behind Bars

Just outside of Birmingham lies what's arguably Alabama's toughest prison. The maximum security Donaldson Correctional Facility holds death row inmates, murderers, rapists...the worst of the worst some might say. But in the midst of this environment, and in the Bible belt of Dixie, some inmates are practicing an incredibly intense eastern meditation from the Buddhist tradition. And it's winning fans from prisoners and prison officials alike. WBHM's Andrew Yeager reports.

Air Quality: a history

Birmingham's air quality has improved significantly over the last century. But you wouldn't know it. The area still has problems with smog and other particulate matter, exceeding federal standards. WBHM's Steve Chiotakis harkens back to a time when bad air meant big Birmingham business.

Taking Mental Health to the Streets

For thousands of people with serious mental illnesses, daily living is an excruciating experience. They have no support system to remind them to take their meds, or make and keep appointments. No one is there to help them shop for essentials, or provide them with a safe place to live and enough food to eat. Consequently, they often live on the street and drift in and out of the city's hospitals and jails. But, as Les Lovoy reports, there's a team of psychiatric professionals here in Birmingham, who are determined to give these troubled individuals a fighting chance.

Unclaimed Baggage

NPR News and Classical Music for North Central Alabama

For the Birds

On a quiet Sunday morning, the parking lot of the National Guard Armory is already filled with cars and vans and RVs, bearing tags as far away as Louisiana and […]