“Realizing the Dream” concert celebrates King’s legacy
Crimson White – Jan. 16
Tomorrow evening the 20th annual “Realizing the Dream” concert, an event celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy, will take place at the Moody Music Building. The program will include music from seven local choirs, excerpts from one of King’s speeches and a presentation by guest speaker Clayborne Carson. Tickets are $15 and the show begins at 7:30.
Watchdog urged for tax-prep industry
Huntsville Times — Jan. 16
A grandson of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black is taking on tax preparation firms that he says prey on Alabama’s poorest residents. Stephen Foster Black, who heads the University of Alabama’s Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility, is pushing a bill that would require paid tax preparers to be licensed by the state and pass a proficiency exam. Alabama would become just the fourth state to regulate the tax-preparation industry, joining Oregon, Maryland and California. “To be a hairdresser in Alabama, an individual must complete certain training and obtain a license to do business,” Black told The Times’ editorial board Wednesday. “We should also expect Alabama’s tax preparers to have a basic level of competency and be accountable for their work.”
America’s Retirees Working to Protect Health Care Benefits They Earned
LocalNews8.com (Idaho) – Jan. 16
Retirees and baby boomers throughout the nation are wondering with great trepidation, what would happen to them if their health care coverage were simply taken away? Many fear that the current economic crisis in America will speed up that process. It has already occurred with retirees of some of America’s largest corporations, and municipalities are threatening to follow suit. . . . University Of Alabama School Of Law Professor Dr. Norman Stein, an expert on the nation’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pension law testified in favor of the proposal at a congressional hearing in the fall, saying Congress should pass legislation “that would make it difficult or perhaps impossible for an employer to terminate retiree health benefits after an employee has retired.” The long time advisor to AARP and the Pension Rights Center argued, “Congress could try to level the playing field for employees with clear, reasonable and consistent rules.”
Geology expert touts state’s unique formations
Montgomery Advertiser – Jan. 16
Giant amphibious creatures, 8-foot-long turtles and large saber-toothed “cats” once roamed in search of food in and around a watery landscape that today is known as Alabama. John Hall, an expert on geological formations, told a capacity crowd at the state Department of Archives and History on Thursday that prehistoric creatures “ruled” until their disappearance 65 million years ago. “Whatever did it — be it a meteorite, volcano or something else — it was profound and destroyed the ecosystem of the oceans,” he said. Hall, retired chief naturalist at the University of Alabama Museum of Natural History and now curator of the new Black Belt Museum at the University of West Alabama, launched a special series of lectures at the Archives building.
Fly-fishing class teaches more than how to fish
Crimson White—Jan. 16
Rods, reels and waders aren’t typically found on a list of school supplies, but for some students, those are at the top of their list. This semester, about 20 New College and Blount Undergraduate Initiative students attend a fly-fishing class once a week. However, Michael Steinberg’s students will learn more than just how to fish. “Fly fishing courses are often short, one hour recreation courses,” Steinberg said. “But those focus just on casting. This course combines literature, science and fishing.” “[The class] is more about what people and our destructive land use practices have on
fisheries,” Steinberg said.
Life-long Tuscaloosa residents talk about changes in city
Crimson White – Jan. 16
Mary Elsie Pow and Camille Elebash can remember when University Boulevard wasn’t called University Boulevard. Instead of being crowded with chain restaurants, the main street was filled with streetcars that ran on a track and small stores that charged a nickel for a soda. Pow, 88 and Elebash, 83 have called downtown Tuscaloosa home their entire lives and have seen the city evolve from a small, sleepy town, to the host of a rapidly growing university. Growing up in Tuscaloosa was idyllic, according to the tales of Pow and Elebash. There was always something to do and someone to play with. “Living downtown was, and is, so convenient. The stores were downtown, we could actually walk there when we were younger,” Pow said. . . . Pow went to the University in 1937 and became an English major and member of the Chi Omega sorority. At that time, there were only about 5,000 students attending the University. Although it covered less expansive grounds, Pow said that she is impressed with how beautiful the campus has remained.