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UA In the News — Nov. 28-Dec. 2

Why Does Time Slow Down and Speed Up?
Gizmodo – Dec. 2

Time contracts, expands, swallows and spits you out into this instant, which feels—depending on your perspective—either impossibly remote from where you were two years ago or barely removed from it at all. Flight delays, breakups, bouts of serious illness—all can bring you back to the high school classroom where it’s somehow slo-mo clock. You feel every tick. Meanwhile, an uneventful year can spool out in what feels like six days. Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Experimental Psychology at the University of Alabama, whose research focuses on attentional scope, memory and time perception, among other things.
CHEPA.net

How churches fight the stigma of HIV
New York Times – Nov. 21
When Pamela Foster moved to the South in the early 2000s, she immediately noticed a difference in the volume of H.I.V. activism. “The first thing I realized was the advocacy around H.I.V. was very loud in New York City, and in rural Alabama, it was totally silent. I was like, ‘What is going on here?’” she said. “‘Maybe it’s because there’s more stigma in the South, it’s more religious in the South.’” Those questions drove her research at the University of Alabama, where she led a study from 2012 to 2016 that involved 12 black churches in rural Alabama. She and her team developed a faith-based, anti-stigma course built on curriculums used by the Christian Council of Ghana (one of the few such curriculums available) and the N.A.A.C.P.

Electronic Digital Billboards Signs Sparks Debate In Milford
Patch – Dec. 2

A local attorney Kevin Curseaden is seeking a regulation change that would allow for electronic digital billboards signs in Milford, and numerous residents opposed the proposal at a recent Planning and Zoning Board meeting, according to lengthy meeting minutes. Mr. Qian agreed that the FHA study results should be evidence-based. He referenced a series of 8 studies analyzed by the University of Alabama in 2014 with a conclusion consistent with the handout provided.

University of Alabama research: What aged often want for Christmas is … you
Alabama Newscenter – Dec. 1
Christmas arrives yet again and with it that familiar seasonal joy but also stress. Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa are getting older, and ideas for gifts have run thin – very thin – for quite some time. What could they possibly want? Christina Pierpaoli-Parker, a University of Alabama student pursuing her doctorate in clinical geropsychology has conducted research that provides some answers.

New federal funds could boost Georgia’s mental health care for toddlers
Marietta Daily Journal – Dec. 1

Federal funds could be available next year to address the mental health needs of very young children, but a House study committee found state Medicaid policies don’t cover assessments. It started with a grant that paid for hiring Rabig, who worked with the University of Alabama to create a model. Early intervention pilot sites were established in 2015, through home visits, Pre-K and daycare settings. Pediatricians were added this year.
Rome News-Tribune

UA researcher says retail is ‘evolving,’ not dying
The Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 1
Retail isn’t dying, said economist K.C. Conway. It’s just finding a different path. The directions of these industry-wide changes were the results of research that he and a team at the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Institute discovered when they sought to determine whether the end of retail was upon us. Conway, who also serves as director of research and corporate engagement at the Alabama Center for Real Estate, headquartered in the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama, said the evidence of this evolution is already being seen in Tuscaloosa.

William Barr Could Face Impeachment After Apparently Lying To Congress About FBI Spying On Donald Trump
Inquisitr – Nov. 30

Donald Trump may not be the only one facing the prospect of impeachment after reports indicate that Attorney General William Barr may have knowingly lied to Congress about the FBI spying on Donald Trump. University of Alabama law professor Joyce Alene Vance accused Barr of feeding into Trump’s narrative that he is under fire from the “deep state,” which refers to a shadowy set of top government officials that Trump supporters claim are trying to stymie his presidency.
Law and Crime

Drivers urged to be aware of deer along Alabama roadways
NBC 13 – Nov. 30
As you make your way back home this weekend, experts are warning you to keep an extra eye out for wildlife along the road. Rhonda Stricklin with the University of Alabama says you’re more likely to be involved in a deer-related crash around Thanksgiving or Christmas, compared to other times of year. Stricklin recommends dropping your speed as soon as you see a deer in case one decides to dart out in front of you.

State’s anti-human trafficking laws among best in nation
Mountain Eagle – Nov. 29

Alabama’s laws regarding the sex trafficking of minors rank sixth in the nation, according to a national report card released this week by the nonprofit Shared Hope International. Alabama was one of 15 states to receive an A on the Protected Innocence Challenge, an annual comprehensive study of state laws on child sex trafficking. Alabama received a 66 on the first Protected Innocence Challenge report card released in 2011. The score has improved to 94.5, making Alabama one of 12 states to improve by three grade levels since the initial report.

Alabama cities seeing uneven economic growth. Just count the restaurant jobs.
Al.com – Nov. 29

Alabama’s two largest metros have added roughly the same number of jobs over the past five years, but not all jobs are created equal. The Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area added a total of 21,912 jobs between 2015 and 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than 3,200 of those jobs, or 14.6 percent, were classified as “food services and drinking places” jobs by the BLS. “Ever since we came out of the recession back in 2009, most of the new jobs, not just in Alabama, have been jobs in leisure and hospitality sector,” said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist with the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. “That’s one reason the recovery has been slow.

Thanksgiving, Christmas Have Different Causes for Car Crashes
NBC (Huntsville) – Nov. 29
All new tonight, results from a new study showing how the causes of crashes may vary from holiday to holiday. The Center for Advanced Public Safety at the University of Alabama looked at 5 years of crash data from sources like ALEA. Researchers found that Thanksgiving car crashes tend to happen around rush hour. Meanwhile, between Christmas and New Year’s, drunk driving crashes happened more often.
ABC 33/40 – Nov. 27 & 28
CBS (Dothan)
Fox 6

University of Alabama student veterans take part in Operation Iron Ruck
CBS 42 – Nov. 30
The veterans left Tuscaloosa earlier this week. They walked all the way from Bryant-Denny to Jordan-Hare to raise awareness for veteran suicide.
NBC 13 – Nov. 28 & 29
NBC (Columbus, Ga.)
CW (Springfield, Mo.)
NBC (Davenport, Iowa)
Tuscaloosa News
Alexander City Outlook
…and many more

Dean Kay Palan discusses how UA supports entrepreneurs (live interview)
WVUA – Nov. 27
Our special guest tonight representing The Edge Center for Entrepreneurship is Dean Kay Palan from The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce. Thank you for joining us. Well, thank you. I’m glad to be here.

UA and Tuscaloosa prepare to celebrate Bicentennial – Live interviews with Craig Wedderspoon and Bill Bomar
WVUA – Nov. 28, 2019
Hello, everyone. I’m Mike Royer. Welcome to a special program today, in which we are talking about the city we love, the city of Tuscaloosa. Coming up in December, in the middle part of the month, the city will celebrate its 200th anniversary. We have two guests with us today, but we are beginning with Craig Wedderspoon.

TRUMP LAWYER RUDY GIULIANI CAN STILL REDEEM HIMSELF, SHOULD TELL INVESTIGATORS THE TRUTH: EX-U.S. ATTORNEY
Newsweek – Nov. 28

Rudy Giuliani should meet with investigators and tell them the truth in order to redeem himself, a former U.S. Attorney said, as federal prosecutors circle President Donald Trump’s beleaguered personal lawyer. Trump has attempted to distance himself from Giuliani’s activities by claiming he did not direct the former New York City mayor to dig up dirt on his political rivals or put pressure on Ukraine. The president is facing impeachment over alleged misconduct towards Ukraine. “Giuliani should do what the rule of law requires a former U.S. Attorney, just like any other American, to do in this situation,” Joyce White Vance, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and now a law professor at the University of Alabama, told Newsweek.