APR Local News Reports

There’s a new addition to the line of shops of restaurants known as The Strip near the University of Alabama. That includes a new bar called Unique. But, that’s not how locals remember this watering hole on the corner of University Boulevard and Red Drew Avenue. For over four decades, it was known as Egan’s. People who worked there and drank there say it will take more than a name change to erase this landmark in Tuscaloosa. Thick smoke. Dim lights. Loud music. Welcome to Egan’s. That’s how...

“ Forgiveness ” Author: Phillip Kendrick Publisher: Archway Publishing Pages: 195 ( Hardcover) Price: $33.95 Novel Explores the Civil War Through a Young Doctor’s Eyes The d ust jacket copy says that P hillip Kendrick of Mobil e ’s Eastern Shore has published s cientific articles on n u rse anesthesia and pa tient care and has a lifetime interest in the American Civil War . In his Author’s Note, he writes of bicycling often past the Confederate Rest Memorial cemetery in P oint Clear where...

The 2021 Hero Dog Awards seek to find and recognize dogs who help people in many important ways. Dogs are nominated in one of seven categories: Service Dogs, Shelter Dogs, Law Enforcement and Detection Dogs, Therapy Dogs, Military Dogs, Guide/Hearing Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs. A Guide Dog is trained to lead, follow commands, ignore distractions, and even disobey a command that would put its human partner in danger. A Hearing Dog is specially trained to alert its deaf owner to sounds we...

In today's Keepin’ It Real commentary, Cam Marston relives a tough weekend of when he dropped off his oldest child at college... Edited by Corey Carpenter

An APR news feature Cuba has been in the news in recent weeks due to people protesting the government’s response to growing COVID-19 cases. Food, power, and water have all been in short supply across the island nation. Much of the United States has been cut off from Cuba for many years but Alabama has maintained a connection. Near the fountain of Cooper Riverside Park in Mobile stands statue of a man in colonial era clothing looking out across the river, onto the Gulf of Mexico. The monument...

In today's Keepin’ It Real commentary, Cam Marston tells the story of a church bell that was donated to a small church and how it changed that community. It looked like a gift, but it wasn’t... Edited by Corey Carpenter

The 2021 Hero Dog Awards seek to find and recognize dogs who help people in many important ways. Dogs are nominated in one of seven categories: Service Dog, Shelter Dog, Law Enforcement and Detection Dog, Therapy Dog, Military Dog, Search and Rescue Dog, Guide/Hearing Dog. Dogs began helping our military forces as early as World War I, but it wasn't until World War II that the Army established its first K-9 Corps. They serve as scouts, detection specialists for explosives, and assist on...

Emergency managers in Alabama say we’ve entered what’s traditionally the roughest part of the hurricane season. While forecasters watch for new storms, local disaster officials are taking part in the first of its kind weather drill in the continental United States. The crowd filling the Baldwin County Emergency Operations Center watched the storm track as a major hurricane approached the Alabama coast. While the scenario was a drill, the activity in the EOC and other locations was as...

“ The Heathens ” Author: Ace Atkins Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons Pages: 400 Price: $27.00 (Hardback) Ace Atkins Novel Features Dangerous Road Trip Eleventh in the Sheriff Quinn Colson series , “ The Heathens ” i s as strong as any. After a rambunctious childhood in Tibbehah County, Mississippi– somewhere near Oxford — Colson spen t several tours as an A rmy R anger in the M iddle E ast and returne d to become sheriff in his home town, a steaming pile of despair and corruption. Ten years...

The 2021 Hero Dog Awards is seeking to find and recognize dogs who help people in many important ways. Dogs are nominated in one of seven categories: Service Dogs, Law Enforcement and Detection Dogs, Therapy Dogs, Military Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs, Guide/Hearing Dogs, and Shelter Dogs. The Service Dog category includes animals that are trained to perform specific tasks for people with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) other than sight and hearing. Most...

In this Keepin' It Real commentary, Cam Marston talks about spotting a redfish in tidal pool on the North Carolina coast and all he’s done to try to catch another one... Edited by Corey Carpenter

Alabama has an official State bird, an official tree, and even an official state vegetable. Now, it has an official State aquarium. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is also marking its 50th anniversary. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab sits on what once was the site of a Cold War military radar installation at the extreme southern tip of Alabama. Now thousands of students ranging from kindergarten to doctoral candidates come to the lab each year. They’re here to learn about the state of Alabama and the...

“ Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light: Essays ” Author: Helen Ellis Publisher: Doubleday Pages: 176 Price: $23.00 ( H ardback) Essay Collection Takes Mostly Comic Look at Women and Aging Helen Ellis , originally from Tuscaloosa , had a wildly creative and comical debut novel in 2000, “ Eating the Cheshire C at , ” then a volume of stor ies , “ American Housewife, ” 2016, then a volume of essays , “ Southern L ady Code , ” only two years ago. It is my understanding that she w r ote a...

“ Fugitives of the Heart: A Novel ” Author: William Gay Foreword by Sonny Brewer Postscript by J. M. White Publisher: Livingston Press Pages: 241 Price: $28.95 ( H ardcover) A Posthumous Novel by a Unique Southern Writer There is no way to exaggerate the singularity of Will i am Gay’s life and career. Born in 1939 and raised in Lewis County , Tenn essee , just north o f Huntsville , in a home without electricity or plumbing, after high school Gay served in the N avy where he read constantly...

Pets don't sweat to cool themselves like humans do - they pant. And when the air temperature is high, they cannot cool their bodies enough to be safe. It's up to you to keep your best friend comfortable and healthy in the summer heat! **********************

The forecast this week calls for highs in the 90s. Considering the heat, this may seem like an odd time to talk about quilts. These stitched blankets typically come out of the closet during cold winter nights. But, this story isn’t about average quilts. It’s about Gee’s Bend quilts, which are prized by collectors and featured in museums. This stitching tradition began in the town of Boykin, southeast of Selma back in the 1920s. Generations of women stitched Gee’s Bend quilts by hand to keep...

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit nearly every industry in Alabama. One of the hardest hit appears to be tourism. That includes attractions connected to Alabama’s civil rights history, like Tuscaloosa’s Civil Rights History Trail. The pandemic slowed down these tours in the Druid City barely a year after they began. Now, historic sites like bloody Tuesday and the Stand In the Schoolhouse door are seeing visitors again. Willie Wells was a foot soldier in the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights movement in...

While they may seem insignificant, plastic toothbrushes add up to a lot of long-lasting plastic waste. In this week's Living with Less Plastic commentary, Mary Liz Ingram explores several options other than the usual toothbrush...

Almost every veterinary technician or veterinary nurse will tell you they do what they do because they love animals. What they do every day can help animals live longer and stay healthier, which means they also help pet owners, making sure they understand what to do for their furry friends. When a vet tech does their job well, everybody wins! ********************************

The states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been fighting over water for decades. Water use around the city of Atlanta is causing problems downstream in Alabama and Florida. The U.S. Supreme court sided with Georgia in a lawsuit with Florida earlier this year. But that doesn’t mean the water war is over. Alabama and Florida both accuse Georgia of using too much water. “As human activity in the basin has grown it has put economic and ecologic stresses on the system," said Gordon Rogers,...