Alabama is delaying its planned severe weather preparedness day because of the very real severe weather much of the state is experiencing.
Tomorrow was supposed to be "Ready Alabama Preparedness Day." Events would have included thousands of schoolchildren gathering in downtown Birmingham for weather education sessions. But the state says it's delaying the event out of caution and concern for the safety of both students and the first responders who would be teaching the sessions.
The National Weather Service says Alabama is due for the season's coldest weather yet. More winter precipitation is also possible across northern counties. Single-digit wind-chill values could make it dangerous to be outside for very long.
A storm preparedness sales tax holiday is still being held despite the state's delay. Shoppers can purchase various storm-preparation items without paying the state sales tax Friday through Sunday.
The University of Alabama is looking at what its own future might look like.
The College of Communication and Information Sciences is hosting a series of speakers to help set a course to better serve its student body. The first of those speakers is Jerry Michalski. He’s a technological futurist who has advised companies like Best Buy and tech startups like Twine and Evernote.
Michalski spoke at the University last week. He says some of the problems facing universities today actually start far earlier in our country’s school system.
“It turns out that we imported the Prussian military education system from Bismarck into the U.S. And we wiped out a whole bunch of highly productive one-room schoolhouses all over the country, educating pretty good citizens. And then we industrialized the whole thing.”
Michalski argues that this industrialization of the school system bleeds into higher education as well, and causes a marked decline in students’ interest and creativity in solving large problems.
The next speaker in this series will be Clifford Lynch, director of the Coalition for Networked Information, who will be on the UA campus February 25 and 26.
Gulf coast fishermen are hoping for a bigger Red Snapper season this year.
A committee from the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council meets today. The full board is considering a plan to increase the number of snapper that amateur and commercial fisherman can take from the gulf each season.
The Science and Statistical Committee meeting today writes two reports for the council that helps to determine the catch limit. The Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council is one of eight board created by federal law to manage fishing from where state waters end to two hundred miles out.
States including Alabama are lobbying to gain control of Red Snapper season from Washington. The snapper fishing season starts June first. The current limit is two fish per day.