Visual Arts Gallery opens first exhibit
Student newspaper of The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
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Scope It Out Power plants rank in arsenic ash BIRMINGHAM — Two Birmingham-area coal-fired power plants are among the nation’s top three for the amounts of arsenic deposited in onsite ash ponds and landfills, according to a new report. A report the Environmental Integrity Project released Thursday listed the Gaston Steam Plant in Shelby County and the Gorgas Steam Plant in Walker County as ranked No. 2 and No. 3 for the amounts of arsenic deposited from 2000 to 2006. Environmental groups are calling for tougher regulation of the waste generated by burning coal after the dike on an ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant near Knoxville ruptured in December. Michael Sznajderman, a spokesman for Alabama Power Co., which operates the two plants, said ash ponds and dams at its six coal-fired plants are monitored and engineered to keep toxic materials on the site. Source: Assoicated Press
Birmingham nurse faces charges MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision Friday and ruled a Birmingham nurse charged with illegally performing abortions can claim she acted with a doctor’s permission. Janet F. Onthank King faces misdemeanor charges of wrongfully performing abortions at Summit Medical Center in Birmingham, which was closed in 2006 after health officials found numerous violations there. Attorney Richard Jaffe said his client had a collaborative practice agreement with Dr. Deborah Lyn Levich that allowed her to administer an abortion-inducing drug without the physician being there. Prosecutors had appealed a circuit judge’s ruling allowing the agreement to be entered as evidence. They argued the agreement was irrelevant because the state’s Women’s Right to Know Act says abortions can only be performed by doctors. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals sided with the state in July, but King appealed to the Supreme Court. The justices noted King’s assertion that the order of the Court of Criminal Appeals was without precedent in “any other court at any other time in the history of our Republic.’’ Jaffe said he and his client were “ecstatic that the appropriate ruling was made.’’ “It would have created some pretty dangerous precedent if the government could do that. Basically they would be micromanaging the trial court, and the trial court is the forum who rules on evidentiary matters,’’ he said. “That’s why this case is so important not just for Janet King, but for all of us.’’ Chris Bence, chief of staff for Attorney General Troy King, said the agency was reviewing the court’s decision. “We are disappointed in the court’s ruling,’’ he said. “We think it is a bad precedent and it will be somewhat of a setback for the prosecution, but we are fully committed and intend to see this through and hold Ms. King accountable for her actions.’’
No easy way out: Obama caught between Israel, Palestine and the expectations of a nation Monique Jones News Editor uabkscopenews@yahoo.com
Although the battle over the Palestine-Israel area will not be an easy situation to solve, President-elect Obama seems more receptive to learning about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in its entirety, said Renato Corbetta, Ph.D., assistant professor for the Department of Government. The Arab and Israeli people of the area have been involved in conflict since 1948. Due to the nature, length and scope of the conflict, it leaves its mark on every president, said Corbetta. “It has been damaging to every president,” he said. According to Corbetta, almost every initiative presidents implement looks like failure in the beginning. But there have been a few bright spots of hope. According to Corbetta, the 1994 Oslo Peace Agreement, yielded positive results. “[The peace agreement] was largely mediated by Norwegians supported by the U.S.,” he said. “It’s not up to date, but it’s not scrapped.” The conflict could potentially be more devastating to Obama, who has
built up the expectations of his presidency to staggering heights. Corbetta said people should think honestly about Obama’s presidency. “People need to be realistic,” said Corbetta. “There are the expectations of his presidency, but there are also the problems left by the last administration. Obama could be able to set in motion a movement to lead to a resolution to the conflict.” Hamas, the biggest and most influential militant Palestinian group is seen as a terrorist group by the United States and is not recognized by the government; government leaders only speak to the official Palestinian political leader. But in an effort to stop the conflict, Obama might engage enemies of the United States in talks. “It’s hard for any president to move away from Israel,” said Corbetta. “[But] Obama may be more open to Hamas at some level. Obama has more willingness to understand [the Palestine-Israel conflict].” Critics have asked about Obama’s foreign policy plan, wanting to know if he has a better idea than past presidents have had. Some critics have already said Obama does not have any better ideas. In response, Corbetta said, “If someone said that to me, I would say ‘Who has a better idea?’”
Monique Jones and UAB Media Relations News Editor uabkscopenews@yahoo.com
King, who is a registered nurse and certified nurse practitioner, was serving as the clinic’s medical director at the time and was later charged with three misdemeanors: Two counts of knowingly or recklessly performing abortions as a nonphysician, and a third for making false entries into equipment sterilization reports. The Summit case cast light on a rash of problems at abortion clinics in Alabama and led to increased inspections at the clinics, some of which hadn’t been reviewed in more than five years. Source: Associated Press
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An Israeli soldier walks by a sign showing a tank muzzle firing on a city with a mosque. The sign was set up by a tank unit along the Gaza Strip border as it prepared on Dec. 30, 2008, for a possible ground offensive into Gaza to destabilize Hamas.
Pratik Talati second student representative at National Collegiate Honors Council in UAB history
Investigators said a Summit nurse gave a pregnant woman the RU 486 abortion drug even though her blood pressure was too high and the baby was nearly full-term. The woman later went to an emergency room and delivered a stillborn infant.
Thursday
Dion Nissenbaum/MCT
Student to represent UAB at national honors council
Levich and King were working at Summit when it was closed in June 2006 after an investigation by the Alabama Department of Public Health revealed “egregious lapses in care.’’ Levich surrendered her Alabama medical license last July but hasn’t been charged in the case.
Tomorrow
page 3
Volume 42 Issue 2, 10 pages
James McConatha/Photo Editor
Pratik Talati after being named Mr. UAB 2009.
Serving UAB since since 1967 Serving www.UABkscope.com 1967
Pratik Talati, a UAB University Honors senior majoring in chemistry and mathematics, has been elected by the National Collegiate Honors Council, the professional association of undergraduate honors colleges and programs, to serve a one-year term as a student representative. Talati is the second student from UAB to be elected to the national board. Talati was elected in a nationwide ballot election by directors of honors programs and honors colleges. He was one of five students nominated for board membership. Talati learned about the NCHC through his honors program. “I had the opportunity to serve as a student vice-president for the Southern Regional Honors Council Conference. From there, I learned more about the position through my honors program director, Dr. Mike Sloane, as well as through the NCHC Conference,” he says. “I talked with my honors program, and he [Sloane] was willing to nominate me, especially based on my experience with the regional honors conference.” Along with representing the interests
of honors students across the United States, Talati will be an integral part of the annual NCHC conference in Washington, D.C. this fall. “NCHC’s goal is developing, implementing and expanding Honors education through curriculum development, program assessment, teaching innovation, national and international study opportunities, internships, service and leadership development and mentored research. As a student representative on the NCHC board, I am entrusted to advance undergraduate education via the proposals made by honors students and faculty on the committee,” Talati said. “[This fall] I will probably be presenting a poster or a panel presentation. Also, being part of the Board of Directors, we will meet to discuss a lot of proposals that will be brought to the table and make decisions in the best interest of NCHC and honors education. It truly was an honor to be elected in this position, and I will do my best to represent the University Honors Program and UAB well.” Along with being the former vice president of the Southern Regional Honors Council, Talati is also a recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, as well as a member of the UAB Ambassadors, the Undergraduate Student Government Association’s Finance Committee and the UAB Trailblazers.
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