Rain won’t stop Moundville festival activities
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 7
Even though the day was gloomy with intermittent rain showers, Moundville Archaeological Park was a beehive of activity Tuesday in preparation for the 21st annual Moundville Native American Festival, which starts today. Tent stakes were being driven into soggy ground, artists and vendors were setting up shop and a steady stream of RVs rolled into the campground area of the park, which 700 years ago was the site of one of the largest Native American settlements on the continent. Today the park and the large ceremonial mounds that give it its name are under the auspices of the University of Alabama Museums.
Bragg discusses new book
Crimson White – Oct. 7
Rick Bragg’s office was dark Monday afternoon, but a sense of warmth and light filled the room as the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer discussed the sadness and victory detailed in his new book, “The Most They Ever Had,” scheduled for release later this week. The book is a collection of essays about people who worked in a cotton mill in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Jacksonville. The mill was located in Calhoun County and operated from 1902 until 2001 when it shut down…Bragg is a UA journalism professor but said he will always consider himself a writer and not a professor. His wife, Dianne, is working on her dissertation for her doctorate in communications at the University.
Wired: Internet addiction center growing quickly
Times Daily (Florence, Ala.) – Oct. 4
Rosanna Guadagno types away on her iPhone, and usually has her work or home computer at her fingertips. To say she’s wired (or wireless) is an understatement. The social psychologist at the University of Alabama, studies online behavior, a topic that often covers Internet addiction. Ben Alexander knows it well. He spent nearly every waking minute playing the video game “World of Warcraft.” As a result, he flunked out of the University of Iowa. Alexander, 19, needed help to break an addiction he calls as destructive as alcohol or drugs. He found it in this suburb of high-tech Seattle, where what claims to be the first residential treatment center for Internet addiction in the United States just opened its doors. . . . Because of its lack of studies and lack of acceptance by the American Psychiatric Association, the addiction likely will not lead to more centers opening, Guadagno said. There are two schools of thought about Internet addiction in the psychological community: that it’s a legitimate addiction or a harmful form of escapism, according to Guadagno. “There’s not a lot of research out there that’s differentiated (the addiction), and there is some debate on whether it is like other addictions,” she said.
Health reform getting noticed now in Capitol
Gadsden Times – Oct. 6
State officials are beginning to react to the national health insurance reform debate in Washington. Gov. Bob Riley wrote Alabama’s congressional delegation expressing concern about the effect of national health care on Medicaid, the combined state-federal health plan for the poor. And a state representative said Tuesday he plans to introduce a constitutional amendment to prohibit forced health insurance coverage. . . . University of Alabama political science professor David Lanoue said Gipson’s and Riley’s sentiments are part of conservative concerns and opposition to the federal government potentially requiring people to purchase insurance. “Obviously, Gov. Riley is expressing a political view, and I doubt he knows any better than anyone else the impact the national health-care plan will be on Alabama,” Lanoue said. “We don’t even know what national health care will look like.”
FDA bans flavored tobacco, aims to reduce teen smoking
Crimson White – Oct. 7
A federal ban on the sale of most flavored cigarettes, including fruit, candy and clove flavors, went into effect Sept. 22. The ban is the first action taken by the Food and Drug Administration since being granted more power to combat smoking under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed by President Obama in June. . . . r. Alan Blum, a professor and endowed chairman in family medicine at the University and director of the UA Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, said the ban does not change the situation. “The FDA’s ban on flavored tobacco products changes very little,” Blum said. “This will have no effect whatsoever in reducing teen smoking.” Blum said it bans only products labeled with the names of flavors such as “grape,” and very few products like that exist and are mostly little cigars.
Community colleges face challenges of recession
Crimson White – Oct. 7
Though many headlines have focused on the plight of public four-year universities’ funding, a new report from the UA Education Policy Center, shifts the focus to another, less-covered area of higher education – community colleges. The report, titled “Funding and Access Issues in Public Higher Education: A Community College Perspective,” surveys state directors of community college from every state but South Dakota on the state of their systems. Stephen Katsinas, a professor of higher education, director of the Education Policy Center and an author of the report, said he thinks it’s fair to say public higher education nationally, like all of state government-funded institutions, is hurting.
Business leader confidence about stable
Montgomery Advertiser – Oct. 6
Montgomery business leaders anticipate a stable economy in the fourth quarter, according to the latest Alabama Business Confidence Index. The index is produced quarterly by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. It asks leaders questions on the economy, sales, profits, hiring and spending. Montgomery leaders scored 49.7 on the index for the fourth quarter, up 0.1 points from the third quarter. A score above 50 indicates overall confidence and one below 50 shows a lack of confidence.
Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger Food Drive
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Oct. 6
The love of a good competition runs deep between Alabama andAuburn fans, which is probably why students at the Capstone take the Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger campaign so seriously. It’s a competition pitting the two schools against each other, to see who can collect more canned food to donate to their local food bank.
Susan G. Komen Bus in Tuscaloosa
WVUA-TV, Oct. 6
Maybe you noticed an out-of-the-ordinary vehicle in Tuscaloosa Tuesday. It’s bright pink, but the color is for a cause. The Susan G. Komen Foundation brought its bright pink trailer to the University of Alabama Tuesday to help spread the message about breast cancer. It’s more than just your average trailer. It’s full of interactive information about breast cancer, plus a graffiti wall for sharing memories and pledging support.
History lectures open to public at conference
Natchez (Miss.) Democrat – Oct. 7
The public is invited to take a journey through time Thursday, when the 2009 Historic Natchez Conference kicks off at the Natchez Eola Hotel at 9 a.m.…Graduate students from the University of Alabama, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and California State University, Northridge will present research topics ranging from antebellum Natchez to historic mounds in Jefferson and Warren counties.
Students have different plans for fall break
Crimson White – Oct. 7
As fall break begins Thursday, UA students are preparing to take a break from class and the rigorous demands of college life. A number of students have a multitude of wide-ranging options on how to spend their four-day weekend. Classes are dismissed on Thursday and Friday for students, but the campus will remain open. John Cogdell, a senior majoring in aerospace engineering, said he plans to use the break like a vacation. “I’m going rock climbing at Horse Pens 40 [a nature park located in Steele],” Cogdell said.