Group finds errors in tax returns in Alabama probe
Tuscaloosa News (The Associated Press) – Jan. 23
A group that helps low-income Alabama residents sent undercover staff with recording devices to 13 commercial tax preparers across the state and says it found problems at each of them. “The undercover review revealed that many commercial tax preparation companies confuse and abuse their customers with poor disclosures, high fees and costly miscalculations,” Stephen Black, president of Impact Alabama, said Thursday. Impact Alabama is a student service organization that works with the Internal Revenue Service to train college students to prepare tax returns for low-income, working families for free. More than 350 students are doing that at 16 locations across the state this tax season…Black, who is director of the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at the University of Alabama…
Birmingham News – Jan. 23
Huntsville Times – Jan. 23
How Some Firms Boost the Boss’s Pension
Wall Street Journal – Jan. 23 (Subscription required)
…Using the PBGC rate to calculate executive pensions “borders on the scandalous,” says Norman Stein, a pension-law professor at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. “It’s a gimmick to pay executives even more than the pension plan suggests they should be getting.”…
Realizing the Dream” and SCLC host 1st annual Legacy Banquet
Crimson White – Jan. 23
The Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference partnered with the “Realizing the Dream” committee to host the first annual Legacy Banquet at the Hotel Capstone to honor outstanding members of the Tuscaloosa community. “In 1990, the University of Alabama, Stillman College and the SCLC joined together to present the first ‘Realizing the Dream’ concert in order to celebrate the goals and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King with the community,” said Samory Pruitt, chair of the “Realizing the Dream” committee. Over the past 20 years, “Realizing the Dream” has grown from a concert into a year full of activities including a lecture series in the fall and spring semester, a performing arts presentation, and now a banquet to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the community in continuing with King’s dream. The committee has also grown to include Shelton State Community College as a partner in planning events. Those honored at the banquet include the original founders of the “Realizing the Dream” Committee, along with Kendra Key, a junior majoring in political science, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, the Rev. T.W. Linton and several community organizations and businesses…
Sophomore earns Miss UA title
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 23
Nicole Jordan, a sophomore at the University of Alabama from Memphis, Tenn., has been selected Miss UA for 2009. Jordan will represent UA at the Miss Alabama Pageant in June at Samford University. She is pursuing a double major in nursing and musical theater, is a member of several honor societies, including the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and was recently selected as a delegate to the Presidential Inaugural Conference in Washington, D.C. The runners-up in the competition were Jennifer Marshall of Albertville, first runner-up; Kelly Brown of Brent, second runner-up; Barri Elizabeth Stephenson of Hoover, third runner-up; and Abigail Harden of Clinton, fourth runner-up…The Miss UA Program is sponsored by the UA National Alumni Association. The winner receives a full-tuition scholarship for her year of service, book scholarships and other gifts from businesses, alumni and university supporters…
Education briefs
Birmingham News – Jan. 23
Artists represented in the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art will speak during the spring semester at the University of Alabama. The series, called the Paul R. Jones Artist Lectures, begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday with Fahamu Pecou. The event in 205 Gorgas Library is free and open to the public; a reception will follow. Details: Richard LeComte, 348-3782. — The Ninth Annual Commercial Real Estate Conference will move from the University of Alabama campus to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Sheraton Hotel and will feature David Bronner, chief executive officer of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, as keynote speaker. The host is the Alabama Center for Real Estate at UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The conference is Jan. 30. More information: Grayson Glaze at ACRE, 348-4117.