Jefferson County 20/20 Health Plan Aims to Improve Overall Health of Community
It takes 20/20 focus to identify the multitude of factors impacting the health of Jefferson County residents. After months of planning, the County Department of Health has developed a plan and is putting it into action. The county and community organizations are partnering to improve health and quality of life with its Community Matters 20/20 Plan.
“To Me, It Was A Good Thing” Feizal Valli Remembers How Hurricane Katrina Brought Him To Birmingham
Feizal Valli worked as a bartender in New Orleans for over a decade. When he first moved to the city back in the 90s, New Orleans was known as the murder capital of the country. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Valli was living on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. He talked to WBHM's Ashley Cleek about his life before and after the storm.
Arc Stories: August 2015 Edition
Stories that will make you laugh, make you cry, and perhaps both at the same time — hear what it was like growing up in the Civil Rights era; a woman risks her own dignity to get a chance at love; a guy raging against his own social awkwardness, and becoming a father to three […]
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Alabama High School ACT Results Show Increases And Some Disparities
Report from ACT reflects academic performance for the first full class of Alabama’s graduating seniors taking the college entrance test as an exit exam.
Vulcans on Parade, Unveiled
If you drive by Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham, you might notice two eight foot replicas of Vulcan, the city’s famous Roman god of fire and forge. They’re a part of a new civic art project called “Vulcans on Parade.” WBHM’s Gina Yu was at the unveiling yesterday morning.
Selma Civil Rights Leader Remembers Amelia Boynton Robinson
Amelia Boynton Robinson, a civil rights activist who helped lead the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” civil rights march in Selma, died Wednesday. She was 104. Boynton Robinson began her activist career in the 1930 championing voting and property rights for blacks in rural Alabama. In the 1960s, her Selma home became the headquarters for the civil rights movement there. And in 1964, she became the first black woman to run for Congress in Alabama. Longtime Selma civil rights leader Rev. F.D. Reese spoke to WBHM’s Andrew Yeager about his memories of Amelia Boynton Robinson.
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Civil Rights Activist Amelia Boynton Robinson Dies At 104
Amelia Boynton Robinson, a civil rights activist who nearly died while helping lead the 1965 Selma march on "Bloody Sunday," championed voting rights for blacks and was the first black woman to run for Congress in Alabama, has died. She was 104.
Jennifer Hatchett of YouthServe Talks Youth Empowerment and Radio
Jennifer Hatchett is the Executive Director of Youthserve, a group that empowers youth leadership through community service. The students worked with WBHM this summer to produce their own radio stories. She talked with WBHM's Gina Yu about the program.
Birmingham Native And Curator John Fields Recalls His Hurricane Katrina Experience
It has been 10 years since Hurricane Katrina, and John Fields, curator at the Abroms-Engel Institute of Visual Arts and Birmingham native, lived in New Orleans when the disaster hit. In honor of the tenth anniversary of Katrina, he talked to WBHM's Gina Yu about his experience and the way it changed his life and art.
Mental Health Commissioner Jim Perdue On State’s Shrinking Mental Health System
State legislators still haven’t figured out how to fix a $200 million budget deficit for the upcoming year – and time is running out. Many in Alabama who work in mental health worry that public services could be on the chopping block again, after years of cuts and the closure of three state psychiatric hospitals. Perhaps most concerned is Alabama’s new Mental Health Commissioner, Jim Perdue, who was sworn in this summer. He says with more budget cuts, mentally ill Alabamians may end up in jail rather then getting the help they need.
Why Republican Presidential Hopefuls Need Alabama’s Support
Alabama has been in the political spotlight after GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump spoke to some 20,000 people in Mobile on Friday. But Trump isn't the only candidate visiting the state. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was in Talladega on Saturday. Today, retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson is in Montgomery and Texas Senator Ted Cruz speaks in Tuscaloosa. On Wednesday Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, is scheduled to be in Birmingham. For more on why Alabama matters to Republicans vying for the presidential nomination, WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley spoke to UAB professor Larry Powell. Powell has studied presidential campaigns since the seventies, and is co-author of a book on political campaign communication. Powell says this time around, Alabama looks very different from the way it has at this point in previous campaign seasons.
Construction Begins on I-20/59 Bridge Replacement Project
Work started this month on a major road construction project to expand one of Alabama’s busiest highways. It's the elevated portion of Interstate 20/59 that runs through downtown Birmingham. The highway is at twice designed capacity and is at the end of its useable life. The redesign will change how drivers can access the city center. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager spoke with Alabama Department of Transportation Director John Cooper about the project which generated strong pushback from some portions of the community. He asked Cooper what he anticipates when that stretch of highway is closed.
