Search Results for King
Alabama Gets National Attention, Working Across Political Lines
Today on Morning Edition, NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with Alabama State Sentator Cam Ward and attorney Maria Morris of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The theme of the story - working across political lines to reduce overcrowding and other critical issues in Alabama's Prisons.
Kyle Whitmire: Who Is Looking Out For JeffCo Ratepayers?
This week Jefferson County successfully defended its bankruptcy plan from four objectors in federal court. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett said the objectors did not have standing to object to the county's plan because they were not creditors. Kyle Whitmire explains what this week's hearing means for ratepayers in Jefferson County.
Kyle Whitmire: Who Is Looking Out For JeffCo Ratepayers?
This week Jefferson County successfully defended its bankruptcy plan from four objectors in federal court. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett said the objectors did not have standing to object to the county's plan because they were not creditors. Kyle Whitmire explains what this week's hearing means for ratepayers in Jefferson County.
Controversial Student Training Includes Taking On Gunmen
Jonesboro, Columbine, Virginia Tech. Those names and others have become tragic shorthand for school shootings. Today, when there’s a threat, the typical lockdown plan that most schools follow is sound the alarm, call police, lock doors, and stay put. But a growing number of schools are adopting controversial training that includes how to fight back against a gunman. WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has the story.
BREAKING: Birmingham BOE Conducts Civil, Productive Meeting
The Birmingham School Board conducted a civil and efficient meeting Tuesday night, perhaps cowed by a judge's ruling that the state does have authority over the district and that Superintendent Craig Witherspoon will keep his job during the takeover. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has this surprising web-exclusive.
State Taking Over Birmingham Schools
In developments that many saw coming, the state education department is seizing control of Birmingham City Schools. Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has this late-breaking web-exclusive.
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:
Alabama Making Progress in Child Well Being, But Still Lags Behind
Alabama ranks 48th in child well-being. That's according to the annual Kids Count report, released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The reports measures well-being through a number of benchmarks--from babies with low birthweight to the number of children in single parent families.
Making Do: Vanishing Pages
So you're tired of all the grim economic news. You want to relax, sit on the couch and flip through a good magazine. Only trouble is that favorite magazine may not be there any more. Magazines across the country have folded in recent months, including titles in Birmingham. As we conclude our series "Making Do: Alabama's Economy," WBHM's Andrew Yeager takes a look at an industry not just reeling from the recession, but dealing with a change in the medium itself.
Making Do: School Lunch
Want to know if times are tough? Look at the number of kids eating school lunch. Birmingham area schools report that since the economic crunch, fewer children are brown bagging it. School nutritionists say for the price, you can't beat school lunch. But is cheaper better?
Making Do: Elder Care
26,000 Alabamians live in nursing homes. Many of them depend heavily on financial support from relatives. But as the economy stumbles, families have to make tough choices about how to care for aging relatives. Les Lovoy prepared this report for our series 'Making Do: Alabama's Economy'.
Making Do: The McCoys’ Housing Dilemma
The economy continues to weaken and Moody's credit rating company reports nearly 10 million homeowners are having trouble making their mortgage payments. People who track the housing industry say another wave of foreclosures is on its way. All the while, some homeowners are treading water, trying to stay afloat. WBHM's Tanya Ott has one Hoover family's story.
On The Line: Making Do
The economy continues to dominates news headlines. Ten million homeowners are having trouble making their mortgage payments. People who track the housing industry say another wave of foreclosures is on its way. Alabama's bankruptcy rate is among the highest in the country. Gas prices have stabilized, but high food prices continue to strain family budgets. Tonight at 6:30 on WBHM we discuss all this and more during On The Line: Making Do .
Willie King Remembered
Fans remember Alabama bluesman Willie King, who died of a heart attack at his home in Pickens County on Sunday. Before his death, King talked with WBHM's Greg Bass about his life and music.
Bunking in Bartow
More than 12,000 people are making Alabama their temporary home today, fleeing the destruction of Hurricane Gustav. That doesn't count those who may be staying with relatives or in hotels, outside the official numbers of the state's shelters. One of those shelters is UAB's Bartow Arena. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke to evacuees bunking at Bartow. He heard plenty of frustration, anxiety, and anger. As well as plenty of talk about a hurricane other than Gutav.
Banking Woes
It's been a sour housing market of late with rising mortgage defaults and consumer debt. And big banks have been feeling the hurt too. Birmingham's Regions Financial reported second quarter profits are down by more than 50% and cut their dividends by an even higher percentage. Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia had losses approaching $9 billion and is cutting more than 6,300 jobs nationwide, including some jobs in Alabama.
Alabama Obesity Ranking
Alabama has once again been ranked as one of the most obese states in the country. The latest survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Mississippi was the most obese state, followed closely by Alabama.
Smoking ban legislation
A final push to ban cigarette smoking in many public areas and workplaces is set for Monday, the last day of the regular session of the Alabama Legislature. We hear from both sides of the debate: public health and restaurants who say it unfairly targets them.
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.
Rethinking Violence: Is it a Disease?
The homicide rate in Birmingham is on the rise. A recent study ranked the Magic City as the 6th most dangerous city in the country. A group based in San Francisco is working to fight violence by taking a public health approach and treating it as a disease; they're bringing their message to Birmingham.
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.
Making Sense of Mental Health: Rebecca’s Story
Women with Turner's Syndrome live with symptoms including infertility, depression and health problems, such as brittle bones and heart ailments. Rebecca Shaney wasn't diagnosed with Turner's until she was 28, and ever since she's had a hard time finding a job. She shares her experience through an audio diary...
Making Sense of Mental Health: On the Line
Underlying many of Alabama's societal challenges, from homelessness to prison overcrowding to school failure to unemployment, is undiagnosed or mistreated mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that only one-third of Americans with mental health problems get care. Monday, March 13th, WBHM will conclude our year-long special project Making Sense of Mental Health with a live call-in program. We'll talk to mental health experts and consumers, and we'll take your phone calls.
Hurricane Banking Troubles
NPR News and Classical Music for North Central Alabama
Ken Dryden, Hall of Fame goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, dies at age 78
Dryden backstopped the NHL's most successful franchise to championships in six of his eight seasons in the league from 1970-71 to '78-79. He died after a fight with cancer.
As opposition to an Alabama medical waste treatment facility boils over, a mysterious Facebook page weighs in
Dozens of residents opposed to Harvest Med Waste Disposal’s site in Remlap packed the Blount County courthouse to voice their concerns. Online, a paid campaign supporting the facility has been active, though its backers have remained anonymous.
20 years later, is it time to quit ‘Brokeback Mountain’?
Back in 2005, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal captured lust shading into love, and love decaying into heartbreak. The movie got a lot of things right — but not everything.
Russ & Daughters in NYC celebrates ‘100 years of appetizing’ and family
At Russ & Daughters, it takes three months to learn how to slice salmon. NPR's Scott Simon visits the 100 year-old appetizing store to try his hand at the fine art and talk about their new cookbook.
In April NPR profiled people who couldn’t get their HIV drugs. How are they faring now?
In Zambia, we met people who are HIV positive, couldn't get drugs to suppress the virus after U.S. aid cuts and were seeing symptoms. We checked in on them — and the man who's been their champion.
Amid debate about U.S. history, Harlem Hellfighters receive Congressional Gold Medal
The Harlem Hellfighters, who became legends for their service during World War I, were honored this week with a Congressional Gold Medal.
HHS responds to report about autism and acetaminophen
A report that health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has promised will come out this month will look at the causes of autism. Many worry it will have claims unsupported by science.
Concerned about federal vaccine policies, states are crafting their own
As federal health agencies change their approach to vaccine policy leaving access for COVID shots uncertain, some states are taking things into their own hands.
