Mounds Trail

Rebuilt earthworks land Oxford on historic mounds trail: Anniston Star – Oct. 22

Nine years ago, the city of Oxford almost bulldozed a set of earthworks built by the people who lived here before the arrival of Columbus. On Thursday, city officials will celebrate those mounds as one of the area’s tourist attractions …  “A lot of people have heard of Moundville, but they aren’t familiar with the other sites,” said Brian Rushing of The University of Alabama’s Center for Economic Development, which organized the trail initiative.
ABC 33/40 – Oct. 25

Haunting at the Museum

Preview: Haunting at the Museum: Crimson White – Oct. 23

What: The Alabama Museum of Natural History and the Gorgas House Museum are hosting “Haunting at the Museum” to celebrate the Halloween season. The event will include ghost stories inside the museum, guided candlelight ghost walks around the Quad and Halloween crafts.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 24

Halloween Events

A look at Tuscaloosa Halloween events open to the public: Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 23

University of Alabama athletes welcomed young trick-or-treaters Monday during the 16th annual Halloween Extravaganza at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility. More than 2,600 people attended, exceeding last year’s record total by at least 500, and more than 250 Crimson Tide athletes participated.

Election Turnout

Abortion, Ten Commandments amendments could boost Alabama turnout: Al.com – Oct. 23

There’s sharp disagreement about the merits of Amendment 1 and Amendment 2 on the Alabama ballot for Nov. 6 but at least some consensus that the proposals could draw more voters to the polls … University of Alabama political science Professor Richard Fording said it’s likely the amendments will lead to a small increase in turnout. “Certainly, I would expect that the boost would largely come from evangelical Republicans, but it is also possible that this will also help mobilize some Democrats as well,” Fording said in an email.

Nationalist Definition

The definition of a nationalist: CNN Politics – Oct. 23

During a rally Monday night in Texas, President Donald Trump used a word he had never before uttered publicly to describe himself: nationalist. After telling the crowd that a globalist is someone who “wants the globe to do well” at the expense of the country, Trump made it clear he’s not one of those … George Hawley, a political scientist at The University of Alabama, said a sense of white victimhood is key to the movement. “There is a sense that whites are under siege and being deliberately dispossessed by hostile elites who wish to usher in a new multicultural order,” Hawley said.
KIMT 3 (Rochester, New York) – Oct. 24
WTVA (Tupelo, Mississippi) – Oct. 24
Fire News Feed – Oct. 24
ABC 7 (Fort Myers, Florida) – Oct. 23
Erie News Now (Pennsylvania) – Oct. 23
WENY News (Wellsboro, Pennsylvania) – Oct. 23
WRAL (Raleigh, North Carolina) – Oct. 23

Legal Landscape

Pensacola cross: Does Kavanaugh’s rise change the stakes?: Al.com – Oct. 25

Court rulings have cut away the ground under a Christian cross in a Pensacola public park — but has the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court changed the legal landscape enough to save it? . . . “We’re about due” for a re-evaluation of the Lemon test, said Mike Altman, an assistant professor in The University of Alabama Department of Religious Studies. “We have a very conservative court now.” Altman’s classes include “Religion, Politics and the Law,” so he’s familiar with the territory. “I think the landscape has definitely changed,” he said of Kavanaugh’s appointment.

Gas Tax

Gas tax hike likely to dominate 2019 session: Al.com – Oct. 25

President Donald Trump, after being elected in 2016, pledged to roll out a massive nationwide infrastructure program and signaled support for increasing the federal gasoline tax for the first time since 1993. A federal tax increase would require a state match, something which Ivey has said she wants to support. “Although there are important issues that our state legislators should be focused on, there are few that enjoy bipartisan support and generally speaking, infrastructure spending is one of those,” said Richard Fording, a political science professor at The University of Alabama. “There seems to be widespread agreement that Alabama’s roads and bridges are outdated and in need of improvement.”

Mussel Biodiversity

UA leads effort to understand imperiled mussel biodiversity: WBHM-FM (Birmingham) – Oct. 25

A research team led by The University of Alabama has received $1.8 million to study biodiversity of freshwater mussels. The National Science Foundation announced the award today. Carla Atkinson is an assistant biology professor at the University of Alabama and one of the principal investigators on the study. She says Alabama has an abundant variety of mussels.
NSF – Oct. 26