Alabama
Kyle Whitmire: Why the Legion Field Box is so important?
Two Jefferson County Commissioner deny a report they're split over a proposed redistricting plan. But there's no denying that which district Legion Field ends up in has major political implications. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire explains.
A New Direction for Alabama’s Medicaid System
When Alabama lawmakers kick off the new legislative session next month, they’ll have to tackle Medicaid. The program provides healthcare for almost a million low income residents. It takes up about a third of Alabama’s non-education spending and the costs keep rising. As WBHM’s Andrew Yeager reports, a panel met this week to recommend changes to Medicaid, but whether they’ll work is still unclear.
Snow Arrives in Birmingham
Snow is falling in Birmingham and across north central Alabama, with forecasters predicting between one and four inches of accumulation. That's prompting many schools to close early and cancel activities. UAB will suspend normal operations and cancel classes after 3:30 pm today and will resume a regular schedule at 10 a.m. Friday.
Kyle Whitmire: Inching out of Bankruptcy
A big question this year is whether Jefferson County will exit municipal bankruptcy. County commissioners spent a good deal of time this week working toward that effort in closed door meetings. We talk about it with The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire.
Kyle Whitmire: RSA vs. AEA
There's a battle playing out in Montgomery between the leaders of the Retirement Systems of Alabama and the Alabama Education Association. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire explains the talk of a board "power play."
Kyle Whitmire: A New Year for Cooper Green
With the new year comes a new set up for Cooper Green Mercy Hospital. The Jefferson County-owned facility turned its emergency room into an urgent care center on January 1st. The hospital also closed inpatient care and laid off more than 200 people. We talk about it with The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire.
Two-Year College System Chancellor Mark Heinrich
Mark Heinrich is finishing 2012 in a much different place than he started it. The former president of Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa was selected in September as the new Chancellor of Alabama’s two-year college system. It’s a system that’s moving past a far reaching corruption scandal. It's also a system dealing with a revolving door of leaders.
Backpack Buddies Fighting Student Hunger
As we reported yesterday, about 17 million kids in the U.S. are in danger of malnutrition, which can trigger behavior problems and stunt brain development. Given the scope of the problem, the importance of subsidized school meals becomes clear ... but what happens to needy kids from Friday night through Monday morning? In his second story on student hunger, our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen looks at one solution in Shelby County.
Holiday Hunger: Harder To Address When School’s Out
Roughly 30 million students in the United States rely on federally subsidized school meals. Even so, more than half that number are in real danger of malnutrition. So many kids depending on school for food may seem troubling enough ... but what happens when school's closed? Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has more on that deceptively simple question as districts across our area prepare for the holidays.
Kyle Whitmire: A Subpoena for GOP Financial Records
Alabama's attorney general has subpoenaed financial records from the State Republican Party, ones that show a company co-owned by House Speaker Mike Hubbard benefited from party spending. We talk about that with the Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire.
Kyle Whimtire: Birmingham’s Mayor Caught in a Shootout
It's not every day a city leader is in a roadside shootout. But that happened to Birmingham Mayor William Bell on Friday. And while the mayor is okay, The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire says police aren't being forthcoming with details.
Turnaround Schools: Alabama’s George Hall, Pt. 2
Sometimes, poorly run disadvantaged schools defy the statistics and turn themselves around. Sometimes, they even achieve at a level so high they become national models for education in any neighborhood. In the conclusion of our series on "Turnaround Schools," Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen picks up the story of an elementary school that did just that. How did it happen? It wasn’t easy, but persistence, teamwork, and a belief in the students is winning out.
Turnaround Schools: Alabama’s George Hall, Pt. 1
Imagine a school in a poor, crime-ridden neighborhood. It has discipline problems, a dismal reputation, and some of the worst test scores in Alabama. That was Mobile's George Hall Elementary in 2004. Now imagine an award-winning school known around the country for its innovative teaching and high student performance. That's George Hall Elementary now. So how'd it happen? In Part Four of our five-part series on "Turnaround Schools," WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen takes us there to find out.
Kyle Whitmire: The Fight over the BJCC Board
There are three open seats on the BJCC Board. The problem is four people have been appointed. It's a dispute that's embroiled the Jefferson County legislative delegation and is now spurring legal action. The Birmingham News' Kyle Whitmire has details.
Appellate Court Declines to Review Immigration Ruling
A federal appeals court has handed a new victory to opponents of Alabama’s tough immigration law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta turned down a request by the State of Alabama Tuesday for the full court to review the decision made in a challenge brought by a coalition of individuals and groups.
Jefferson County First Anniversary Bankruptcy Check-up
Friday is the first anniversary of Jefferson County filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The $4.1 billion dollar filling last year, mostly debt on the county’s sewer system, attracted a lot of attention. But with the case now working through bankruptcy court, it’s fallen off the radar a bit. We have a check-up with Samford University law professor Michael Floyd.
Your Guide to Alabama’s Constitutional Amendments
Voters will see many candidate names on November's ballot. But they'll also see eleven statewide constitutional amendments -- ranging from reauthorizing a popular conservation program to changing how state lawmakers are paid. Here's your guide to those ballot issues.
Alabama 2012 Election Results
Watch for results here as WBHM updates statewide and federal election from Alabama.
Cooper Green and UAB Reach Agreement on Inpatient Care
UAB Health Systems has agreed to help Cooper Green Mercy Hospital now that the county-owned facility is ending inpatient care. Jefferson County manager Tony Petelos announced at a press conference Thursday the county came to an agreement with UAB. That hospital will expand to take patients who need inpatient care.
Alabama’s Only High-School Freethinkers’ Club
A recent national poll shows a vast increase in the number of non-religious Americans. Roughly a fifth are now atheist, agnostic, or 'nothing in particular.' But polls also show non-believers are the least-trusted group in the country. So the trend is a prescription for some tension, tension that sometimes plays out in the nation's schools. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has more on one example -- the story behind Alabama's only high-school 'freethinkers' club.
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.
Bentley says No to Affordable Care Act
Governor Robert Bentley said Monday he won't implement part of the federal Affordable Health Care Act in Alabama. Bentley's aides announced he has sent a letter to the Obama administration saying he's an opponent of the act.
Wayne Flynt on Selma Monument Controversy
Protesters backed by several civil rights groups will march in Selma Tuesday afternoon, protesting a planned monument to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The project is supposed to replace a bust of Forrest which was stolen earlier this year. While supporters say he was a military genius, Forrest was also an early Ku Klux Klan leader, making him a symbol of hate according to opponents. Alabama is no stranger to these types of conflict, so we asked for some perspective from former Auburn University history professor Wayne Flynt.
September 18th Referendum
Voters in Alabama will go to the polls next Tuesday to vote on a referendum state leaders say is vital to the financial health of the state. The vote would authorize moving money from the Alabama Trust Fund to shore up the state’s general fund budget. That budget supports many services from child protection to prisons. But if the referendum does not pass, one of the biggest programs to feel the effects is Medicaid, as WBHM’s Andrew Yeager reports.
Tropical Storm Isaac Update
Tropical Storm Isaac is churning across the Gulf of Mexico and while its current path won’t mean a direct hit for Alabama, the state will still feel the effects of this storm. Governor Robert Bentley has declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations of low lying areas along the gulf coast. WBHM intern Will Dahlberg spoke with John DeBlock with the National Weather Service in Birmingham about the latest storm forecast.
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.
The New Children’s of Alabama
Doctors, staff and patients are getting used to their new digs, now that the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children is open for business. CEO Mike Warren says thanks to careful planning, the move to the building earlier this month went very well. So with Childen's of Alabama in its new home, WBHM Intern Aditi Jani spoke with Warren about how the facility positions the hospital for the future.
Judge Extends Orders Against Birmingham School Board
One round of testimony is over, but the long road to legal closure in the battle over Birmingham Schools is not. After two sometimes arcane, sometimes fiery days of testimony, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Houston Brown on Thursday extended two temporary injunctions against the Birmingham Board of Education by 10 days or until further notice. Our Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has the latest in this web-exclusive story.
August 2 Morning Newscast
Attorney alleges Birmingham school board president doesn't live in Birmingham; Former Governor Don Siegelman is likely headed back to prison; and UA gets approval for $9 million athletic facilty.
Birmingham Board Turns Down State Financial Plan, Bice Overrides
The Birmingham Board of Education voted against a state-backed plan of cuts Tuesday. But with the Birmingham City Schools under state control, State Superintendent Tommy Bice simply overrode the board. WBHM will update this unfolding story.
Tuscaloosa Shooting Updates
Tuscaloosa police have charged Nathan Van Wilkins with attempted murder in Tuesday's early morning shooting at a bar in downtown Tuscaloosa. Wilkins reportedly walked into a Jasper store and confessed. Police then took him into custody WBHM will update the story as more information is available.
Tranquil Resource, Contentious Beginnings
About seven miles from Fort Payne is the northern gateway to a vision, a vision of a nearly hundred-mile "central park" between Birmingham, Atlanta, and Chattanooga. Decades in the making, the conservation, tourism, and education opportunities are gelling in this huge green corridor. In Part Two of his series, WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen has the intriguing story behind this growing resource.
