Behind The Star

This weekend in The Star

2008-07-18T17:23:00.002-05:00

Check out The Anniston Star for these stories:

On Saturday:

Nick Cenegy follows up on any new developments in Wednesday's bank robbery.

An Anniston contingent traveled this week to a lead-contaminated Idaho town seeking ideas about how Anniston can monitor its own environmentally remediated properties in the future. Megan Nichols has this story.

On Sunday:

John Fleming profiles Josh Segall, the Democratic challenger in the race to represent Alabama's Third Congressional District.

The FBI says bank robberies are on the rise in Alabama, while decreasing nationwide. Nick Cenegy will have this story.

JSU hosted a workshop to train high school students as mentors for their classmates when school resumes. Dan Whisenhunt has this story.

On Monday:

Teachers get fresh training in the math, science and technology initiative that education leaders hope will lead to improvements in students' skills and better test scores. Dan will have this story.

Alex Scarborough-Anderson will cover former Crimson Tide star Siran Stacy's visit to Meadowbrook Baptist Church.

Friday in The Star

2008-07-17T17:05:00.002-05:00

Check out Friday's Star for these stories:

We'll have a follow-up on the bank robbery and kidnapping, looking for any new developments. The FBI has named one suspect they are looking for and Wachovia Bank is offering a $10,000 reward for information.

A new study by the Justice Department suggests as many as three in every 100 inmates at jails across the country are victims of sexual violence, a problem local law enforcement agencies say they must remain vigilant to combat. Graham Milldrum has this story.

Graham will also have a story on the Dixie Youth Baseball state tourney. Local organizers are taking the personal approach to being good hosts. They're identifying local families to pair with those visiting from around the state.

Regional Medical Center holds its annual cancer survivors celebration. Alex Scarborough-Anderson will be there and will have a story on the event which draws hundreds of cancer survivors.

Thursday in The Star

2008-07-16T17:34:00.002-05:00

Check out Thursday's Anniston Star for these stories:

Police are seeking two men who allegedly robbed an Anniston bank, then kidnapped two women from a Lenlock home, forcing the women to drive the suspects to Gadsden, where they let the women go. Nick Cenegy will have this story and Megan Nichols will have a story looking at reaction from the neighborhood.

Andy Johns will have a list on the folks who are running in municipal elections in the surrounding counties.

The housing-renovation volunteer charity group makes its annual visit to town with about 300 volunteers. Megan will have this story.

Dan Whisenhunt looks at the Dixie Youth Baseball tournament beginning this weekend in Anniston. The tournament is expected to lots of kids and their families to town, filling hotels and the field at McClellan.

Tuesday in The Star

2008-07-14T17:12:00.003-05:00

Check out Tuesday's Star for these stories:

With the rising cost of gas, are auto repair shops seeing more repairs to older cars? Graham Milldrum takes a look at this issue.

Nick Cenegy has a roundup of upcoming court trials.

The JSU Board of Trustees met and announced $1 million in cuts because of budget issues. Dan Whisenhunt has this story.

Anniston got more than two inches of rain on Sunday. That's good news as we're in the midst of a drought. Andy Johns will have this story.

Friday in The Star

2008-07-10T17:20:00.002-05:00

Check out Friday's Anniston Star for these stories:

Developers are planning a professional office park in Alexandria, to house doctors, dentists, accountants and perhaps a bank branch. How does this fit into the development already occuring along 431 in this growing community? Nick Cenegy has this story.

Alex Scarborough-Anderson takes a look at the Calhoun County drug rehab center and its success rate. They say they have seen a good success rate: very few graduates of the prorgam have resurfaced in the justice system with drug problems.

We've got the results of the Anniston City Council's evaluation of the city manager. Megan Nichols will let you know what they had to say.

Thursday in The Star

2008-07-09T16:47:00.003-05:00

Oxford Mayor Leon Smith said he will charge City Council members $2 per page for financial reports. Does he have the authority to do that? What does state law say? Dan Whisenhunt has this story.

Hannah Dame looks into another bad side of the home foreclosure trends: pets abandoned by their owners along with their homes. Are our shelters - already full - filling up with animals like these?

The former owner of an Oxford insurance company is out on bond after his July 2 arrest on 14 counts of theft. A co-defendant, also indicted in the case, has not yet been arrested. Nick Cenegy has this story.

Megan Nichols will have this story: The JPA has planned for several years to construct a road that would connect the Eastern Parkway to Alabama 21 via Iron Mountain Road. JPA Vice-Chairman and Anniston Mayor Chip Howell said work on the road could begin as early as next year

Wednesday in The Star

2008-07-08T18:04:00.003-05:00

Check out these stories in Wednesday's Anniston Star:

On the heels of the contested family court judge election, Nick Cenegy takes a look at the rules surrounding candidates who file contribution reports late.

JSU has announced the contractor who will take over its child development center at McClellan. Dan Whisenhunt has this story.

The Fight Back Express was in town, spreading its message of the need for increased funding in the fight against cancer. Graham Milldrum has this story.

George Smith has a profile of A.G. Baggett.

From a reader in Massachusetts

2008-07-07T11:35:00.003-05:00

Like most daily newspapers, The Star receives feedback and comments from its readers on a consistent basis. It's part of the lifeblood of any good publication.

Recently, The Star received a letter to the editor from a former Calhoun County resident who now lives in Massachusetts. His desire was to tell young residents of Hobson City and other parts of the county that getting an education and working hard was critical to their futures.

Here's his letter, which we printed last week:

To Calhoun County's youth: Keep the American dream alive

I was born in Hobson City and attended Calhoun County Training School, receiving an excellent education. My places of employment were both in Anniston and Oxford. Prior to retirement as a clinical social worker, I was a drug and alcoholism counselor for district court programs, hospitals and residential mental health programs.
I served four years in the U.S. Navy and was also employed as a federal civil service employee with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
This letter is to encourage the youth of Anniston, Oxford and Hobson City and nearby areas to devote the full measure to their education and service to the country, and they, too, will enjoy keeping "The American Dream" alive.
Now at age 72 1/2, I am so very, very proud of the early education that I received that gave me the greatest foundation to become a productive citizen.
Levi M. Wright
Worcester, Mass.

And here's the letter we received from Mr. Wright today:

To whom it may concern:

This brief note is to thank the staff at The Anniston Star for printing my letter so promptly. Today I received three very positive telephone calls from citizens in Hobson City.

I shall remain forever grateful,

Levi M. Wright

Center for Responsible Lending responds to critics of predatory series

2008-07-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

Leslie Parrish, a senior researcher from the Center for Responsible Lending, responds to the previous post outlining complaints from a pro-indsustry group, Borrow Smart Alabama.

Payday lenders can no longer market their worst products to military families because the Department of Defense went to Congress and asked for the 36% interest rate cap, testifying that payday lending was the worst financial problem for their troops in a hundred years and that it was affecting our nation's readiness for war.
In 2006, the Military Lending Act (MLA) limiting interest rates on small loans to 36% annual interest for active duty military members and their families was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. This law took effect October 1, 2007.
The MLA was introduced out of concern by the Department of Defense that servicemembers were being targeted by payday lenders and other financial predators lining bases. The Defense Department was especially worried about servicemembers losing their security clearances because of the high level of indebtedness to these lenders, and its effects on troop deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Wall Street Journal published an article on high-cost lenders preying on elderly populations earlier this year. As a result of this and other concerns, the Social Security Administration recently held a comment period to address the extent to which Social Security benefits were being taken to repay these loans. In addition, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing yesterday on this subject.
The industry says that payday loans are not "conducive" to people on fixed incomes, but that doesn’t stop them from marketing them. The debt trap is particularly hard for those on a fixed income to escape, because they can't work another job or extra hours to pay off their payday debt.
In North Carolina, a 69-year-old man had been in an Advance America loan for five years - it was a loan of about $300 flipped repeatedly first on every payday for his job as a warehouse worker and then once a month when he received his Social Security benefits. He paid over $5,000 in fees for this loan and was referred to the Center for Responsible Lending by his bankruptcy attorney.
We compiled demographic information reported by the industry and state regulators on payday borrowers and found that payday borrowers are more likely to be:
- below median income, with a significant portion of borrowers earning less than $25,000
-African-American or Latino
-female
-renters

Further, payday lenders advertise themselves as helping folks who have nowhere else to turn and a lack of other options. They defend their high fees by noting that their borrowers cannot get conventional credit.

You say (via CRL): Short term lenders are "allowed to charge the equivalent of 456 percent interest."
Under the Truth in Lending Act, the Federal Reserve requires an annual percentage rate (APR) to be disclosed on loans of any term—whether for one day or 100 years. The goal of this law is to allow consumers to more readily compare loans of differing terms to determine which best suits their needs. For example, using APR, a consumer can see the price differences between a two week payday loan, six month installment loan, or an open-ended credit card cash advance on an "apples to apples basis." Under federal law, payday loans must carry an APR disclosure.
As Borrow Smart Alabama notes, payday loans can be for terms of 10 to 31 days in this state, with the term generally depending whether the borrower is paid once or twice a month. Nationally, the average payday loan is for two weeks. APRs for a 10, 14, and 31 day loan term are calculated below. CRL’s calculation of APR is consistent with how this measure is described in federal law and in payday lending applications.
APR on a loan with a $17.50 fee per $100 borrowed, by loan term

APR
10 day term (min. loan term) 639%
14 day term (typical loan term) 456%
31 day term (max. loan term) 206%

Unfortunately, because overdraft fees are not considered an extension of credit, and therefore not covered under the Truth in Lending Act, banks do not have to disclose an APR for this service. We are in favor of having an APR disclosure apply to this product as well, as we believe that this is also an extension of credit.

Background on CRL and Self-Help Credit UnionThe Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to protecting homeownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices. CRL is affiliated with Self-Help, one of the nation's largest community development financial institutions.
Since 1980, Self-Help has helped over 60,000 borrowers buy homes, build small businesses, and strengthen communities in North Carolina and around the country. Self-Help was recognized as one of twelve high-impact U.S. nonprofits in the book Forces for Good, along with other organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, The Heritage Foundation, Teach for America, National Council of La Raza and YouthBuild USA.
Self-Help has never offered payday loans and does not benefit from CRL’s advocacy work in this area. Contrary to payday lending industry charges, Self-Help cannot profit from the shutdown of payday lending in states such as Georgia, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Oregon, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc…not only does Self-Help not offer payday loans, it does not make consumer loans in any of these states. In addition, Self-Help does not engage in high-cost overdraft loan programs of which the payday loan industry and CRL are critical.
The Center for Responsible Lending’s research is well-respected. The Federal Reserve Board notes that "CRL has produced ground-breaking research on the subprime mortgage market and has been a key advocate for state and federal protections that reasonably balance consumer interests with the goal of increasing sustainable homeownership with affordable loans."

A typical borrower pays back $793 in fees and interest to a payday lending, all
for the privilege of receiving $325 in cash

The payday industry has misled the public and policymakers about the nature of their product since it was conceived. The two-week loan is a myth, payday loans are closed and re-opened repeatedly even in states where immediate renewals are illegal.

Looking at state regulator data (including that supplied by Veritec Inc, which contracts with select states to collect data), we found that: (1) the average payday borrower took out nine loans every year; (2) the average loan size was $325 and (3) the average fee for this size of loan was $52.

While most states ban a direct renewal of payday loans, in which a borrower pays a fee to extend the loan out another two weeks, lenders routinely circumvent this law by what are called "back-to-back" transactions. With this type of transaction, the borrower pays back the loan and its fee and then—often before they even leave the store—they re-borrow the same amount from the lender. While this is not technically a renewal, it serves the same purpose for both the borrower and the lender.

Looking at data from Veritec, we found that most payday lending operates in this manner. A borrower pays back the loan, then takes out another within the same pay period, and often at their first opportunity, as evidenced in reports from Oklahoma and Florida. Back-to-back transactions are not providing borrowers with new credit; instead, they are a clever way to rollover a loan without falling under the legal definition of a renewal.

If an initial $325 loan with a $52 fee is taken and then renewed 8 times (a total of nine loans), then the borrower would pay back $793 ($325 in principal and $468 in fees).

Other research on the benefits/costs to payday lending
Donald Morgan, a staffer at the New York Federal Reserve, has drafted two working papers dealing with payday lending over the past few years. Neither has been published, nor are their findings endorsed by the Federal Reserve. The report finding North Carolina and Georgia residents bounced more checks, filed complaints with the FTC more often, and filed for bankruptcy more after payday lenders left has significant methodological problems. For example, the authors note that bankruptcy rates increased in Georgia after payday lenders left relative to the national average. However, other factors such as unemployment, divorce, or health care coverage which differ between states. The returned check data used to report increases for Georgia and North Carolina after payday lending was banned includes not only these two states, but also returned checks from Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, southern Mississippi, and Tennessee—states where payday lending is legal. The authors did not separate out Georgia and North Carolina-specific data from these others states which allow payday lending.

Overall, because payday borrowers make up a small portion of the overall population, it is somewhat dubious to expect large shifts in statewide data such as bankruptcy or bounced check rates if one particular credit option is removed.

Other research that looks at the experiences of actual payday borrowers yields far different results. Two economists—Paige Skiba of Vanderbilt and Jeremy Tobacman of Oxford—were granted access to several years of payday borrower data from one of the nation’s largest lenders. They found that taking out payday loans increased the chances of bankruptcy among borrowers, as compared to similarly-situated households who did not take a payday loan. In addition, the North Carolina Banking Commissioner asked UNC to do a study of the effects of the payday lending ban in that state. Researchers at UNC found that residents—including former payday borrowers—were glad that these loans were no longer available.
"[T]his problem with predatory lending, with payday lending, is the most serious single financial problem that we have encountered in [one] hundred years." Admiral Charles Abbot, Pres., Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society at the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Pentagon’s report on predatory lending, Sept. 14, 2006

Industry responds to predatory series

2008-07-03T12:30:00.001-05:00

We've heard plenty of reaction to The Star's weeklong series on predatory lending.

A spokeswoman from Borrow Smart Alabama, an industry group, contacted the newspaper early last week.
She wrote a lengthy response to the first installment. Above this post is a post with the response from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a predatory lending watchdog.

From Robin Oliver of Borrow Smart Alabama:

You say: "Their prey tends to be the working poor, the military, seniors, those on fixed incomes, without access to conventional credit."
The truth: The average payday loan customer is 39 years old with an average income of $41,000. Lenders do not “prey” on customers at all, and our loans are not typically conducive to seniors or to people on fixed incomes. Furthermore, following a federal law passed in 2007, short term lenders do not lend to people in the military or their families at all. Prior to the passing of this law, they made up an insignificant portion of our customers in Alabama. Last but not least, most of our customers have access to traditional loans and/or credit cards but choose not to use them because they prefer a small, short term loan to meet their needs. For proof, see the testimonials of some of our real customers at www.borrowsmartalabama.com.

You say (via CRL): Short term lenders are "allowed to charge the equivalent of 456 percent interest."
This interest rate is calculated by taking the fee associated with a two-week loan and multiplying that amount by 26 periods in a year. However, in the state of Alabama, a loan can only be renewed once. So, this calculation is extremely off base. Further, the state allows for loans of up to 31 days, which significantly reduces your quoted APR rate. So, these are short term loans typically of two weeks to a month. Applying an annual rate for a short-term loan is quite misleading. Bank overdraft fees, which often exceed $30, or credit card overdraft fees are not described with an APR rate and neither should a short-term payday loan. By any measurement, a $100 a payday loan in Alabama is much less expensive than a bounced check, or a credit card overdraft fee or less than paying $50 to $60 to have utilities restored because of a missed payment. Our customers know this. That is one reason why they choose short-term lending options like a payday loan over the more expensive alternatives. By the way, it should also be stated that the Center for Responsible Lending, which devised this calculation, is funded by a large credit union and a competitor of the short term lending industry. That should be disclosed.

You say (via CRL): "A typical borrower pays back $793 in fees and interest to a payday lending, all for the privilege of receiving $325 in cash."
This is an outright lie on the part for the Center for Responsible Lending. The maximum amount a borrower would pay for a $325 loan is $ $56.88. The State of Alabama does not allow more than one extension on a cash advance and the fee associated with the loan cannot exceed 17.5% percent. Veritec Solutions LLC, the company which supplied the data for the original Center for Responsible Lending report that included this figure, has said in a white paper analysis that CRL misinterpreted the data in order to generate flawed conclusions.

You say: "Short term lenders post revenue of about $6 billion a year."
Compare that to annual revenue of about $480 billion for commercial banks, $84 billion for savings banks and $36 billion for credit unions.

You say: "North Carolina, for example, capped interest rates at 36 percent, becoming one of the 12 states to essentially outlaw payday lending’s excessive fees and interest. Georgia similarly restricts it. … the CRL found that residents saved an estimated $1.4 billion in fees every year."
An independent report issued by the Federal Reserve late in 2007 concluded that consumers in NC and GA “do not seem better off since their states outlawed payday credit.” The report indicates that residents did not save money but ended up paying the anticipated savings and more to banks in overdraft charges and late charges to credit cards. Check it out online at http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr309.pdf.

Sincerely,
Robin Oliver
Director of Communications
Borrow Smart Alabama

The CRL's response is on the post above.

Wednesday in The Star

2008-07-01T17:16:00.002-05:00

You can find these stories in Wednesday's Anniston Star:

Nick Cenegy advances the state Republican party's executive committee hearing regarding Ray Bryan and the circuit court judge election.

Vacant lots have taken the place of dilapidated structures all over Anniston, as the city has ramped up its nuisance demolition program. Megan Nichols has this story.

A Georgia Kia auto plant will use metal pallets and racks to be made by a Korean company in Wedowee. Andy Johns has this story.

Wednesday in The Star

2008-06-30T17:02:00.003-05:00

Check out Tuesday's Anniston Star for these stories:

At 12 a.m. Tuesday, the territory covered by Anniston’s short-staffed police department shrank, while the area covered by Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputies grew. Several areas that have long relied on the city for protection will no longer be patrolled by Anniston police, including Saks, Golden Springs around Choccolocco Road, Central City, West 14th Street near the Thankful community, and Wellborn.Calls in the former police jurisdiction outside Anniston’s city limits are now handled by the Sheriff’s Office. Dan Whisenhunt will have this story and will explain what the change means for residents.

A Jefferson County judge Monday put the pending decertification of local lawyer Ray Bryan on hold so he can review the case and make a judgment by the end of the week. Nick Cenegy will have this story.

There's a neighborhood meeting planned to discuss the future of the homes at Noble Park, the historic houses next to Anniston High School. Hannah Dame will be there and will report on what was discussed.

This weekend in The Star

2008-06-27T17:24:00.002-05:00

Check out The Anniston Star this weekend for these stories:

On Saturday:

An Anniston High School parent is getting students and parents involved in the community and trying to get the community involved in the school. He's formed two new support groups for parents. Dan Whisenhunt has this story.

An 18-wheeler crashed off a bridge in Ohatchee Friday morning, killing two people. Andy Johns will have this story.

Andy will also have this story: The Randolph County District Attorney’s office will investigate complaints of voter fraud in a county commission primary race.

On Sunday:

Megan Nichols takes a look of the issues facing Anniston as an election approaches. What do current council members and candidates think about it?

The Weaver Police Department recently got a new Dodge Charger, one of the first to go into services locally. With Ford discontinuing the once-standard Crown Victoria, many departments are deputizing new types of vehicles. Nick Cenegy looks at the changing police car through history.

Dan Whisenhunt will visit the Piedmont Freedom Festival and Camp Fasola in Anniston.

And on Monday:

Drought conditions have improved and there is no burn ban, but fireworks can still be dangerous. How are sales this year compared to last? Andy will look at this story in advance of the fourth of July.

Friday in The Star

2008-06-26T16:47:00.002-05:00

Check out these stories in Friday's Anniston Star:

We'll check in with the old Calhoun Theater in downtown Anniston. Is there any movement on on a plan to do anything with it? Hannah Dame has this story.

We'll also check in with the status of summer nutrition programs for kids.

Alex Scarbourough-Anderson writes about local reaction to the Supreme Court decision on gun ownership. The Court struck down a Washington, D.C., law that prohibited handguns in the city. What do local folks think about the ruling?

The latest visitors to the Carver Branch Library's summer reading program are the JSU drama department who encourage reading and show the kids how words can be put into action. Alex also has this story.

Thursday in The Star

2008-06-25T16:38:00.003-05:00

Coming Thursday in The Anniston Star:

Judicial candidate Ray Bryan hosted a press conference on the courthouse steps over the election he won earlier this month. Nick Cenegy was there and will let you know what was said.

There are new plaintiffs being added to a lawsuit against the Anniston board of education over the way it hired Superintendent Joan Frazier. Dan Whisenhunt will have this story.

Jacksonville gets quiet in the summertime when all the students head out of town. What do locals think about the summer calm? Alex Scarborough-Anderson will check in with folks in Jacksonville about the summer months.

Tuesday in The Star

2008-06-23T16:36:00.003-05:00

You can find these stories in Tuesday's Anniston Star:

It's been awhile since we've had any substantial rain. Is the drought worsening again? Hannah Dame has this story.

Local attorney Ray Bryan may not become circuit judge, despite having won the June primary election, according to state Republican Party officials. Alabama Republican Party Executive Director John Ross said the party’s candidates committee has moved to decertify Bryan for failure to file forms required by the state’s Fair Campaign Practices Act. Nick Cenegy will have this story.

The Anniston City Council has on its agenda tomorrow night a few education issues: one calls for a referendum on a measure allowing the city to spend money on NextStart scholarships. The other calls for redirecting money it already gives the Anniston City Schools Foundation if the board of that group is not reconstituted. Dan Whisenhunt will preview what's on the meeting agenda.

Nick will be at the Stop the Violence meeting tonight. What will be discussed at the meeting?

Summer approaches ...

2008-06-20T11:54:00.003-05:00

... and burgers and dogs are hitting the grill for the Star newsroom's weekly feasts.
Yum, almost time for lunch.

Thursday in The Star

2008-06-18T16:47:00.002-05:00

You can find these stories in Thursday's Anniston Star:

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee has proposed a 2009 budget that doesn't cut the CDP's budget by 25 percent. There's a hearing tomorrow. Megan Nichols has this story.

Megan also looks into efforts to get film incentives passed in the state, a move that could benefit McClelllan.

Dan Whisenhunt profiles a Jacksonville High School program that allows seniors to conduct independent studies or enroll in college part time.

Dan also checks in with the status of expanding career tech programs in Anniston.

Wednesday in The Star

2008-06-17T16:43:00.004-05:00

These are some of the stories you can find in Wednesday's Anniston Star:

Nick Cenegy has a follow-up on the 28 drug indictments we covered in yesterday's Star.

A project to turn a rail spur into a connection from McClellan to the Chief Ladiga Trail could be delayed. The rail line is jointly owned by the JPA and the city was to manage the bidding process for removal of the tracks. But now the JPA is not sure it is satisfied with the bids. Megan Nichols has this story.

One Randolph County Commission candidate is contesting results in this month's primary election. The difference was seven votes. Andy Johns has this story.

Ode to a copy editor

2008-06-17T08:45:00.004-05:00

Monday's New York Times editorial page included a piece by Lawrence Downes, In a Changing World of News, an Elegy for Copy Editors.
Downes' ode to copy editors included this:

As for what they do, here’s the short version: After news happens in the chaos and clutter of the real world, it travels through a reporter’s mind, a photographer’s eye, a notebook and camera lens, into computer files, then through multiple layers of editing. Copy editors handle the final transition to an ink-on-paper object. On the news-factory floor, they do the refining and packaging. They trim words, fix grammar, punctuation and style, write headlines and captions.
But they also do a lot more. Copy editors are the last set of eyes before yours. They are more powerful than proofreaders. They untangle twisted prose. They are surgeons, removing growths of error and irrelevance; they are minimalist chefs, straining fat. Their goal is to make sure that the day’s work of a newspaper staff becomes an object of lasting beauty and excellence once it hits the presses.

Reading those words early Monday morning, one name came to mind: Alan Cochrum, a copy editor at the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, at least he will be until Friday. According to an e-mail he sent me this morning, Alan is a victim of recent cuts at the McClatchy Newspaper chain, which owns the Star-Telegram.
I worked with Alan several years at the Fort Worth newspaper. He was exacting about prose, searching out and destroying poorly written copy. The old joke about copy editors is that they tend to pose revelatory questions like, "Does anal retentive have a hyphen?" Yep, that's Alan.
But he often saved the newspaper from embarrassing mistakes. He once caught a guest columnist (who would later become a Bush administration political appointee - naturally) plagiarizing a little-known passage by C.S. Lewis. Commas, and their placement, were very important to Alan. He took the job of guarding over newspaper copy (read: stories) very seriously. He took it to a level that often frustrated the rest of us, even those who love the language and its proper usage. Still, it's a valuable service. One done with equal fervor by many hard-working journalists here at The Star.
The Times' Downes concluded Monday:

As newspapers lose money and readers, they have been shedding great swaths of expensive expertise. They have been forced to shrink or eliminate the multiply redundant levels of editing that distinguish their kind of journalism from what you find on TV, radio and much of the Web. Copy editors are being bought out or forced out; they are dying and not being replaced.

With the news of Alan's pending departure from the newspaper he worked at for 20 years, that passage has more poignancy Tuesday than it did Monday.

Tuesday in The Star

2008-06-16T16:40:00.003-05:00

You can find these stories in Tuesday's Anniston Star:

Federal prosecutors and Calhoun County law enforcement agencies announced this morning that a four-year undercover investigation netted 26 people for alleged involvement in an Anniston and Oxford area drug ring. Two more have been charged but are still at large.

Megan Nichols checks in with City Manager George Monk. He told her last week that he was planning to make a decision concerning whether he will stay in his position, accepting a six month contract extension, or will leave at the end of June.

Andy Johns checks in with the Jacksonville trees. Will Alabama Power appeal a judge's ruling that said they couldn't cut them down?

This weekend in The Star

2008-06-13T17:07:00.003-05:00

Check out this weekend's Star for these stories:

On Saturday:
Megan Nichols takes a look at flag day and also explains proper flag display and handling.

Megan also has a story about the Anniston City Council's discretionary funds. What are they used for and what's the philosophy behind them?

Anniston used to have a curfew. Reviving some form of a curfew has come up as an idea at recent Stop the Violence meetings. Nick Cenegy takes a look at the history of curfews in Anniston.

On Sunday:

Todd South's final story for The Anniston Star is an analysis of declared candidates, issues and recent history in Oxford's upcoming municipal election.

We'll have coverage of Juneteenth as well as Music at McClellan's finale and a father-son lookalike contest at Quintard Mall.

Reporter Todd South rides into the sunset

2008-06-13T12:15:00.004-05:00

Instead of a cake, a card and the usual going-away trappings, Anniston Star reporter Todd South had another idea. He asked the newsroom if we could help him fulfill his dream of getting together for a game of flag football before he left for his new job in Chattanooga. So we found ourselves sweating and tossing the old pigskin Thursday evening at the football field at McClellan.

We learned many things. 1. A 43-year-old (me) has no business wrestling around with these 20-something reporters. Ouch! I'm sore. 2. As is his natural ability, Todd has the knack for getting people together. 3. Todd thinks differently; who else wants a football game for a going-away party?

What we already knew: Todd is a top-notch person, a fine reporter with a bright future and a heck of an athlete. I will miss him. This newspaper will miss him. I wish him well and encourage him to keep in touch.

Thursday in The Star

2008-06-11T16:44:00.002-05:00

Check out Thursday's Star for these stories:

The tomato salmonella scare is affecting local restaurants and grocers, some of whom are not getting shipments of tomatoes from their suppliers. Others who rely on locally or regionally grown produce say their shelves still are full. Hannah Dame has this story.

Alex Scarborough-Anderson has a profile of the Opportunity Center program that refurbishes donated, used medical equipment.

Rep. Mike Rogers has inserted language into the defense authorization bill, still to be passed by the Senate, that would require military working dogs to be bred in the U.S. Are there potential contracts in this for Auburn's Canine Detection Training Center at McClellan?

The Disabled American Veterans Chapter of Piedmont is trying to raise money to fix/replace a defaced memorial to fallen soldiers at the veterans' park. Andy Johns has this story.

Wednesday in The Star

2008-06-10T17:00:00.002-05:00

Coming Wednesday in The Anniston Star:

Nick Cenegy takes a look at the cost of the circuit court race between Ray Bryan and Mannon Bankson. One expert on political finance says Calhoun County bucked a trend of even more expensive, increasingly negative judicial races.

As students buckle down to catch up over the summer, some of them will also be plugging in and logging on at Jacksonville High. The school is using a new online summer school curriculum to share resources with other schools, making it cheaper to offer classes during the summer. Alex Scarborough-Anderson has this story.

The Anniston City Council meetes. We'll see if there's any news regarding the city manager contract. George Monk has said he hasn't decided whether he will accept a six-month extension.