National & International

Metro & State

The economy again dominates news headlines this week. Nationally, Congress will vote on a massive bailout plan, and locally the Jefferson County Commission grapples with missing another bond payment deadline and filing for possible bankruptcy. The strain trickles down to a very personal level with high gas and food prices hitting everyone in the wallet and the mortgage meltdown leaving some people homeless. Tonight at 6:30 on WBHM we discuss all this and more during On The Line: The Alabama Economy.

Join the conversation by calling 1-800-444-9246 during the program or emailing your comment or question to news@wbhm.org.

Kai Ryssdal took the reins as host of Marketplace in August 2005. He previously hosted the Marketplace Morning Report and served as a reporter/host for The California Report. After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Ryssdal spent eight years in the United States Navy, first flying from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and then as a Pentagon staff officer. Before his career in public radio, Kai was a member of the United States Foreign Service and served in Ottawa, Canada, and Beijing, China.

Elaine S. Jackson is President and CEO of the Birmingham Urban League, an affiliate of the nation's oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African-Americans and other underserved individuals. Jackson holds a B.S. degree from Alabama A & M University and a Masters of Public and Private Management from Birmingham Southern College, where her concentration was Public Sector Management. In addition to her work with the Urban League, Jackson serves on the board of the American Cancer Society, the Alabama Workforce Investment Board and as a leadership team co-chair of Yes We Can! Birmingham.

~September 29, 2008