The Forgotten History of the Voting Rights Act
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on a challenge by Shelby County, Alabama, to a portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. It’s legislation that in a certain sense was born in Alabama because of what’s known as Bloody Sunday. On March 7, 1965, police brutally beat protesters on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge which spurred President Lyndon Johnson to push for the bill. But University of Delaware history professor Gary May says there’s much more to the Voting Rights Act. He writes about the law in his book Bending Toward Justice: The Voting Rights Act and the Transformation of American Democracy. May tells WBHM’s Andrew Yeager work was well underway before Bloody Sunday.
~ Andrew Yeager, June 07, 2013
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
