Embedded Files
Next Meeting: 02/09/26, 7 PM, Ozark-Dale Library
Focus On Alabama and Alabama State Officials (Post 2024 Election):
Video: Alabama democrats react to Governor Ivey's final State of the State address - January 13, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9md0yArP2NA
AP: Alabama communities among those losing federal funding for water improvements
Comment: "Scores of communities around the United States have aging and decrepit wastewater systems that can put residents' health and homes at risk. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and former President Joe Biden's administration promised hundreds of millions of dollars to address the problem, but much of that has been undone in President Donald Trump's return to office."
"For example, that included $14 million to install septic systems in majority-Black Alabama counties where many residents must pipe sewage from their homes onto their own property because it has nowhere else to go. Another example was a $20 million grant where almost half the money was going to address aging sewer lines in historically Black neighborhoods in Thomasville, Georgia. When the EPA canceled that grant, the agency said it didn't align with administration priorities."
"Some of the Trump administration's cuts have come as he has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion. Advocates say that will likely widen inequality, as many of the worst wastewater systems are in poor communities."
19 Alabama counties designated as primary natural disaster areas by USDA
Comment: "The counties included in the disaster designation are Barbour, Bibb, Butler, Chambers, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale [emphasis added], Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Monroe, Pickens, Pike, Shelby and Tuscaloosa."
" 'The drought severely affected several Alabama counties, impacting row-crop yields and forage availability,' said Pate. 'Many cattle producers were unable to harvest sufficient hay for the winter months, which resulted in the need to provide supplemental alternative feed sources earlier in the fall.' "
Comment: Is climate change to blame?
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting ends: What’s next for Alabama Public TV
If You Want a Country to Be Proud Of, Let’s Build One
https://alpolitics.com/if-you-want-a-country-to-be-proud-of-lets-build-one/
Comment: "Alabama lawmakers are proposing new constitutional amendments that would require public schools to broadcast The Star-Spangled Banner weekly and conduct daily recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance, alongside policies allowing voluntary prayer and religious readings."
"Supporters frame these measures as efforts to restore patriotism, unity, and respect for American values."
"But here’s the uncomfortable truth:"
"You don’t create pride by mandating performances."
"You create pride by building systems worth believing in."
"What we are watching is not a resurgence of civic confidence. It’s a substitution — ritual in place of repair."
"Rituals don’t fix broken systems"
"If patriotic rituals worked on their own, we wouldn’t be facing:"
"chronic teacher shortages
unsafe, overheated school buses
underfunded employee health insurance
rising classroom disorder"
Comment: "Those are not symbolic problems. They are functional ones."
"When institutions stop delivering outcomes, they often pivot to optics. Flags. Songs. Slogans. Loyalty displays. It looks decisive from the outside, even while nothing material improves on the inside."
"That’s not leadership. That’s stagecraft."
Even after parole, some Alabamians can remain on supervision for the rest of their lives
Comment: "People sentenced to life in prison in Alabama may receive parole."
"But the almost 1,200 Alabamians who have done so are on supervision for the rest of their lives; are required to pay a $40 monthly fee and can lose their freedom for slightest infraction, even if they remained trouble free for decades."
" 'We are talking about people who have been released, the parole board reviewed their files, determined they were safe to release, and they have been out in the community,' said Carla Crowder, executive director of Alabama Appleseed, a nonprofit that focuses on criminal justice reform. 'They have been granted parole. And they are revoked and sent back under these flimsy circumstances."
Comment: Please read the linked article to see examples of folks dealing with revoked paroles resulting from the most outrageous circumstances. Unbelievable.
Meet the candidates running for Alabama State Auditor in 2026
https://www.alreporter.com/2025/12/30/meet-the-candidates-running-for-alabama-state-auditor-in-2026/
Even after parole, some Alabamians can remain on supervision for the rest of their lives
Alabama expands CHOOSE Act school options: See which schools accept $7,000 credits
Alabama bills propose patriotic and religious changes in schools
https://abc3340.com/news/local/alabama-bills-propose-patriotic-and-religious-changes-in-schools
Pre-filed bill would allow Alabamians with disabilities to receive absentee ballot help
Report: Alabama cut environmental funding in half over 14 years
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/report-alabama-cut-environmental-funding-130150730.html
Comment: "States with the deepest budget cuts to environmental agencies from 2010–2024, according to the report, are:
Mississippi—71 percent
South Dakota—61 percent
Alabama—49 percent
Texas—33 percent
Montana—32 percent"
Alabama prison inmates lose in what they call fight against modern-day ‘slavery’
Comment: "The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Friday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged that inmates were being forced to labor in involuntary servitude in violation of the state constitution."
"The three plaintiffs, currently incarcerated by the Alabama Department of Corrections, said in the lawsuit that they were assigned additional work duties without pay and lost phone and canteen access; visitation hours and good-time credits, while receiving unfavorable disciplinary reports."
Comment: "The appeals court said the term 'involuntary servitude' means 'a condition of servitude in which the victim is forced to work for the defendant by the use or threat of physical restraint or physical injury, or by the use or threat of coercion through law or the legal process.' "
" 'None of the punishments the prisoners alleged were imposed by EO 725 and AR 403 for the prisoners’ refusal to work involved physical acts or the threat of physical acts to compel them to work,' the ruling states."
" 'There were no allegations that the prisoners would be beaten or otherwise physically abused if they refused to work or that they would be threatened with physical harm if they refused to work. Moreover, the prisoners did not allege that they would be coerced through law or the legal process if they refused to work.' "
Alabama library at center of culture war clash receives over $98,000 in donations
Video: Rep. Phillip Ensler speaks after announcing bid for Lt. Governor - December 19, 2025
https://www.wsfa.com/video/2025/12/20/rep-phillip-ensler-speaks-after-announcing-bid-lt-governor/
Video: AJ McCarron ends bid for lieutenant governor - December 17, 2025
https://www.wsfa.com/video/2025/12/18/aj-mccarron-ends-bid-lieutenant-governor/?outputType=amp
State audit flags compliance failures at the Agriculture and Industries Department
Comment: "Audit found Alabama Agriculture Department failed to properly verify lawful presence and had no uniform bad check fees, repeating previously cited compliance problems."
Alabama Republicans’ silence ‘disappointing’ as Trump is slammed over Rob Reiner comments, Democrats say
About 130,000 Alabamians at risk of losing health care without ACA tax credit
Will Doug Jones pull off another Alabama miracle in 2026?
https://www.salon.com/2025/12/16/will-doug-jones-pull-off-another-alabama-miracle-in-2026/
Doug Jones to launch 2026 gubernatorial campaign Friday with Birmingham kickoff rally
Comment: "Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones will officially kick off his 2026 gubernatorial campaign Friday evening at The Theodore in Birmingham, marking the most significant Democratic entry into a statewide race in more than a decade."
Comment: "The campaign says Friday’s event is designed to evoke the broad coalition that powered Jones’ 2017 victory—young voters, suburban moderates, African American communities, and independents frustrated by political dysfunction. 'Doug has always believed Alabama is at its strongest when people come together across lines that normally divide us,' a close ally said. 'This campaign will reflect that belief in every county we visit.' "
Alabama representative plans bill to protect professional degree classifications
Comment: "An Alabama lawmaker is planning to introduce a bill that in next year’s legislative session would recognize licensed workforce jobs the Trump administration recently excluded as professional degrees."
"The Alabama Professional Workforce Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Napoleon Bracy, D-Saraland, would recognize nursing, physician assistants; physical therapy; education; counseling; social work; public health; speech-language pathology; accounting engineering, and architecture as professional programs. All were excluded from recent decisions by the White House, which the Trump administration has said was an effort to cap maximum borrowing for certain degrees."
Comment: It is unclear whether the proposed protection of the professional degree classifications in Alabama would protect the earlier federal student loan caps for graduate students in the fields that the federal government has reclassified downward from their previous professional status. In other words, does this bill keep the federal government from capping "maximum borrowing for certain degrees?" Probably not.
100K Alabamians could lose health insurance overnight
https://www.wsfa.com/2025/12/07/100k-alabamians-could-lose-health-insurance-overnight/
Alabama reports fewer job openings in August, new data shows
https://www.al.com/business/2025/12/alabama-reports-fewer-job-openings-in-august-new-data-shows.html
Comment: "The number of job openings in Alabama dipped in August, according to new data released Tuesday. "
"The state reported 105,000 job openings this August, which was down nearly 5% from July and down 13% compared to the year before, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The data is seasonally adjusted."
"The job openings rate in Alabama, 4.5%, sat just above the national rate of 4.3% in August. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of August, that could start within 30 days and includes active recruiting from the employer."
Alabama AG candidates continue to haul in lots of money
https://www.alreporter.com/2025/12/03/alabama-ag-candidates-continue-to-haul-in-lots-of-money/
Comment: "The most ludicrously expensive race in Alabama this election cycle—the race to be Alabama’s next attorney general—continued to see massive amounts of money pour in through November."
"Both Jay Mitchell, a former Alabama Supreme Court justice, and Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the AG’s office, reported six-figure hauls. Robertson touted more total money raised in the month, while Mitchell bragged about his cash-on-hand funding lead."
"To be certain, the figures—for a job that pays just over $200,000 per year for an office that has never been considered the height of political prominence—are absurd."
"Robertson took in more than $300,000 in the month, pushing her total raised to more than $2.7 million. She currently has about $1.4 million on hand."
"Mitchell, in the meantime, reported $142,000 raised in November, and he now has $2.1 million sitting in his campaign account."
Comment: What do you suppose these special interest contributors want for the money they are contributing to these 2 GOP attorney general candidates?
70 years after bus boycott, Alabama grapples with how it remembers its past
Video: New, stricter requirements implemented for SNAP benefits - December 02, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24JQnlQ-guM
Would-be Alabama Gov. Doug Jones: ‘We are going to be OK’ - al.com
https://www.al.com/news/2025/12/would-be-alabama-gov-doug-jones-we-are-going-to-be-ok.html
Video: Doug Jones pushes for Alabama to pass lottery, end tax on overtime pay - December 01, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFWiFX8hKKQ
What Doug Jones can do for Alabama Democrats, win or lose | Alabama Reflector
Comment: "A Doug Jones gubernatorial campaign was always going to be a 'yes, but' proposition."
"Can Jones do the job? Yes. Absolutely. But competence is no guarantee of victory."
"Can Jones become his party's nominee? Yes. Almost certainly. But there are two other Democrats in the race —Will Boyd and Chad 'Chig' Martin — and Jones will first have to lock down his base. All three candidates should be mindful of Republicans crossing over for chaos purposes, especially if the GOP contest is noncompetitive."
"Can Jones raise money? Yes."
Comment: "Can Jones win?"
"Yes."
Comment: "But."
"There are more Republicans in Alabama who will vote for Tuberville with stone faces than there are Democrats who will cast their ballots with a smile. Straight-ticket voting means that candidate quality and even charisma are irrelevant. In 2022, straight-ticket ballots accounted for two-thirds of all the votes cast in Alabama. Straight-ticket Republican ballots were 44% of all votes cast."
Comment: Please read the entire linked article to see how the Doug Jones candidacy might help Democrats in down ballot races.
Comment: However, this will only be helpful, if Democrats actually run in down ballot races, including those in Dale Co. and the Wiregrass. We need viable candidates to step up.
Alabama lawmaker revives bill to ease voting rights restoration for those convicted of felonies
Comment: "An Alabama lawmaker pre-filed a bill that would streamline the process for formerly incarcerated Alabamians to get their voting rights restored."
"SB 24, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, requires the Board of Pardons and Paroles to inform those who have lost their right to vote how to register to vote."
Comment: "Under current law, certain people who have lost the right to vote due to a conviction can re-register once they serve their sentence and pay any fines related to the conviction. Current law does not require the Board of Pardons and Paroles to educate those people on how to get their voting status restored."
Alabama Power says it will freeze electricity rates through 2027: ‘We know budgets are tight’
Comment: Alabama Power's residential rates (per kWh) are already significantly higher than in adjacent states.
Video: Doug Jones announces campaign for Alabama governor - November 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrMAxYVz9Q0
Former Sen. Doug Jones jumps into Alabama governor’s race
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/24/doug-jones-alabama-governors-race-00666548
Comment: "Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones filed paperwork to run for governor of Alabama on Monday, setting up a high-profile race against Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville."
"Jones, a former U.S. Attorney, was elected to fill out the remainder of former GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions’ term in a 2017 special election after Sessions resigned his seat to serve as attorney general in the first Trump administration."
" 'What I know and what we have heard all along is that Alabama wants their next governor to be someone who lives here, who works here, who listens to the people of this state, who understands the people of this state,' Jones said in a video posted to social media. 'And Alabama wants their next governor to be someone who treats this state with grace and dignity and not just like a rest stop on the way to the Florida beach.' "
"His entry into the race sets up a rematch between Jones and Tuberville, who defeated him in the 2020 Senate election."
Comment: "Jones is looking to succeed Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who is term-limited, potentially making him the first Democratic governor of Alabama since 2003. Despite the state’s deep-red voting history, Democrats are hopeful that Alabama could provide a prime pickup opportunity in a year with three dozen gubernatorial races."
" 'We’ve won in tough states like Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina in recent years and are watching Alabama closely,' said Kevin Donohoe, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association."
"Jones will compete in the Democratic primary against Democrats Chad 'Chig' Martin, who owns a hemp business, and pastor Will Boyd, who has unsuccessfully sought office in Alabama several times."
"In a statement, Martin urged Democratic, Republican and independent voters to 'support someone with the enthusiasm and intention to unite the state.' "
Comment: "Elizabeth Callaghan, a spokesperson for the Boyd campaign, said in a statement that 'nothing has changed, or will change, for our campaign' and that Boyd remains 'committed to building a better Alabama for all.' "
‘No free rides for big tech’: Alabama PSC president cautions against data center push for power
Comment: "The newly appointed president of the board that regulates Alabama’s utilities is calling for limits on how the data center industry uses the state’s power resources."
"Alabama Public Service Commission President Cynthia Lee Almond issued a two-page letter on Friday afternoon, speaking on behalf of herself and not the rest of the three-person board."
" 'Our standards: no free rides for big tech. The entities driving up the costs must be the entities covering the costs,' she said. 'Data centers will be part of Alabama’s future, but that future must work for everyone, not just the companies building these facilities.'"
Comment: Citizens must hold Ms. Almond to her word, or hold her accountable at the polls. Most Alabama households already pay too much for electricity.
6 On Your Side Investigates: Alabamians pay some of the highest electric bills in the country
Federal judge approves new Alabama Senate map redrawing Montgomery districts
Comment: "A federal judge Monday ordered the implementation of a remedial map for two Montgomery-area state Senate districts."
"U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, a Trump appointee, ordered the implementation of Remedial Plan 3, which Secretary of State Wes Allen, the defendant in the case, said was the 'least bad of several bad options' in October to allow Black voters an opportunity to pick their preferred leaders in Senate Districts 25 and 26. The plaintiffs in the case said that the map was the 'weakest remedy' to Manasco’s August ruling."
" 'Ultimately, the record makes clear that Remedial Plan 3 unpacks District 26 by reassigning some Black voters to District 25 such that both districts are Black opportunity districts,' Manasco wrote. 'The court thus finds that Remedial Plan 3 completely remedies the unlawful vote dilution the court found in the Enacted Plan.' "
"Monday was the recommended deadline by Secretary Allen for a map to be implemented to be used for the 2026 midterm elections."
"The current map was drawn after the 2020 census. The state Senate map is one of two maps that were challenged in court due to Section 2 violations, in which plaintiffs argued that the drawing of the maps made it impossible for Black voters to have a meaningful voice in elections."
Comment: "Manasco ruled in August that Alabama’s Senate maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. That provision prohibits voting laws or procedures that purposefully discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group."
" 'The court orders the use of a remedial map that was prepared race-blind and affords Black voters in the Montgomery area an equal opportunity, but certainly not a guarantee, to elect Senators of their choice,' Manasco wrote in the Monday court filing."
"Manasco ordered new district lines to be drawn in Senate Districts 25 and 26, represented by Sens. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, and Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, respectively. She ordered a second district in Montgomery that had a 50% Black voting age population, or something close to it."
Comment: The redrawing of Alabama state Senate districts impacts only two state Senate districts near Montgomery. It does not impact state Senate districts in the Wiregrass or Dale Co.
Alabama Democratic Party names new executive director
https://www.wsfa.com/2025/11/18/alabama-democratic-party-names-new-executive-director/
Comment: "The Alabama Democratic Party has hired Mark Onorato as the organization’s new executive director, Chairman Randy Kelley announced Tuesday."
Comment: "Onorato has previously worked with the Montana Democratic Party, the Missouri House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, the North Dakota Democratic NPL."
Video: Protesters rally in Jemison after ICE sets up checkpoints - November 18, 2025
https://www.wkrg.com/video/protesters-rally-in-jemison-after-ice-sets-up-checkpoints/11276807/
Comment: "Dozens of protesters gathered outside Jemison City Hall on Tuesday night after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up checkpoints in Chilton County and used the city’s auditorium as a processing center."
Comment: Jemison, AL
Report ranks Alabama among worst states for maternal, infant health
Prefiled bill would improve absentee ballot process for disabled voters
Comment: "The proposed legislation would allow disabled applicants to deliver their absentee ballot application through a designated third party."
Comment: "Under current Alabama law, individuals who wish to vote by an absentee ballot must personally deliver their application to their county’s absentee election manager themselves, whether in person or by mail. However, a new bill prefiled for the 2026 Legislative Session could change that, allowing applicants with a disability to deliver their absentee ballot application through a designated third party."
"House Bill 45, introduced by state Representative Adline Clarke, D-District 97, would allow individuals who either have a disability or who require emergency medical treatment within five days before an election to designate an individual to deliver their absentee ballot application on their behalf. Additionally, if such a voter’s absentee ballot request is granted, they would also be permitted to submit the completed absentee ballot itself through a designee in the same manner."
PBS Survives in Alabama, for Now, After Move to Ax Funding Fails
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/pbs-alabama-funding-television-board-vote-1236430015/
Comment: "Alabama’s Public Television Board voted on Tuesday to keep its contract with PBS after the decades-long agreement that brings Sesame Street, PBS NewsHour, and other notable series into residents’ homes came under threat amid the Trump administration’s funding cuts to and commissioners aligned with the president floated the idea of dumping the programming altogether."
"The vote came after a Tuesday meeting that featured several impassioned public comments from Alabamians, who pleaded with board members to keep the educational and arts-oriented programming broadcasting into their homes. Funding will be provided through June of 2026. Had the board cut ties with PBS, Alabama would have been the first state in the U.S. to do so, as budgets are being crunched amid the federal cuts across the sector."
Video: Tuberville’s eligibility crisis, dark money surge and Jones wildcard - November 17, 2025
Comment: "This week’s episode of The Voice of Alabama Politics highlighted three developments shaping the early landscape of Alabama’s 2026 elections: a likely residency challenge against U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, growing speculation surrounding a potential Doug Jones gubernatorial campaign, and a new wave of dark-money funding in the race for attorney general."
Alabama SNAP recipients face new work requirements after shutdown
Comment: "Alabama SNAP recipients must meet expanded work requirements and provide additional verification to maintain food benefits."
Comment: Video is included with the article.
Teacher pay raises, insurance premium increases? Budget fight incoming in Alabama
Alabama can never spend enough money on a prison
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/alabama-never-spend-enough-money-125917618.html
Comment: "A state senator last week said the price tag on a new men's prison in Elmore County had grown to $1.2 billion, eating up nearly all the money the Legislature allocated in 2021 for the construction of two prisons."
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey urges delay on PBS decision by public TV board
https://apnews.com/article/pbs-elmo-alabama-kay-ivey-3567f6ee2ce610366acf1b3093cabf48
Comment: "Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday urged the board that oversees Alabama Public Television to delay any decision on severing ties with PBS until it has studied Alabamians’ opinions on the matter and developed a plan for what comes next."
"The Republican governor sent a letter to the Alabama Educational Television Commission ahead of a planned meeting Tuesday in which commissioners were expected to discuss disaffiliation."
"Some commission members had pushed the idea of dropping PBS due to federal budget cuts, President Donald Trump’s dislike of public broadcasting and accusations of bias raised against NPR and PBS news programs by Trump and other conservatives. A decision to separate from PBS would mean Alabama Public Television would no longer air PBS programs, including 'Sesame Street,' 'Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,' 'Antiques Roadshow' and 'PBS NewsHour'."
Comment: Is Kay Ivey pushing back a little against MAGA and introducing a little sanity into the decision making process?
Behind closed doors, GOP insiders question Tuberville’s residency and rapid rise to power
Comment: "Any ballot challenge questioning U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s residency in his run to be Alabama’s next governor will receive a full review by the Alabama Republican Party, and he will be expected to meet the requirements of the law, several GOP officials told APR. Party insiders say such a challenge is all but certain, raising questions about Tuberville’s residency and fueling unease within the party over his unopposed path to the nomination."
"Those with knowledge of internal discussions said the challenge would center on Tuberville’s ties to his beach home in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Some of his allies have reportedly dismissed the concern, claiming the party would refuse to hear such a case—a claim senior members say is false."
" 'The Republican Party will absolutely hear a case if one is filed,' one party insider told APR. 'That’s the law and that’s the obligation of the candidate committee.' Under party rules, any formal ballot challenge must be reviewed by the Alabama Republican Party’s Candidate Committee, which is required to conduct a hearing before issuing a decision."
"Under the Alabama Constitution, a candidate for governor must have been a resident citizen of the state for at least seven years immediately preceding the election. Over the last several months, Tuberville has been encouraged to demonstrate that he has filed taxes in Alabama during that period to clear up lingering questions about whether his primary residence is the beachfront mansion in Florida—rather than the modest home in Auburn he claims as his Alabama residence."
"Under party procedure, any ballot challenge would likely be filed shortly after the qualifying period closes in January, when candidate eligibility is formally reviewed before ballots are certified."
"Several legislators are said to be monitoring the issue closely, with at least one considering qualifying for governor in case Tuberville were to be disqualified. 'It’s not a likely outcome,' one person familiar with the matter said, 'but it’s not impossible either—and some people are willing to take that gamble.' "
"Even if the challenge fails, Republicans across the state say Tuberville’s approach to the race has left a sour taste. 'Sure, he’s going to win—but it’s not healthy for the political process,' one longtime Republican said. 'No one should be coronated and not have to answer questions or take a campaign seriously.' "
"Party members describe Tuberville’s campaign as insular and dismissive. He has declined invitations to speak before local GOP groups, opting instead for closed-door fundraisers. 'He acts like he doesn’t have to answer to anyone—not the party, not the voters,' another insider said."
Comment: Does anyone really believe that the Alabama GOP will not qualify Tuberville, even if he can't produce Alabama income tax returns for the previous seven years? It's very, very likely that the Alabama GOP will find a way to qualify him and that the GOP controlled Alabama government will refuse to hold him accountable if he hasn't met the state residency requirements.
Run, Doug, Run: In a real governor’s race, Tommy Tuberville might trip over himself
Alabama Democrat hints at 2026 rematch with Tommy Tuberville: ‘Stay tuned’
First-of-its-kind FBI facility opens in Alabama
https://www.al.com/news/2025/11/first-of-its-kind-fbi-facility-opens-in-alabama.html
Comment: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened the agency’s National Counter-Unmanned Training Center at Redstone Arsenal."
Comment: "The center is the first of its kind. It will serve as the nation’s hub for preparing law enforcement and security professionals to detect, assess, and counter emerging unmanned aircraft system threats."
Health care premiums to surge for Alabamians if Congress doesn’t reach ACA deal
Alabama Power sitting on ‘environmental bomb’ that threatens the whole state
Comment: "David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, recently called on state leaders to address the massive coal ash pond that sits along the Mobile River, calling it a 'huge environmental bomb'."
Comment: "The coal ash pod at Barry Electric Generating Plant, about 25 miles north of Mobile, contains around 22 million cubic yards of coal combustion residuals - that is what’s left after coal is burned for energy. It sits next to the Mobile River, and environmental activists argue that it poses a threat both to the river and the groundwater nearby."
" 'That problem hangs over all of Alabama, like a knife to your throat,' Bronner said in the newsletter. 'A breach of the Mobile site would clearly damage Mobile Bay for decades.'"
Comment: " 'We applaud David Bronner’s call to have Alabama’s leaders come together to see that 21 million tons of coal ash is removed from the banks of the Mobile River, once and for all,' said Cade Kistler, who runs the environmental nonprofit Mobile Baykeeper, in an email. 'The coal ash pit remains a ticking time-bomb and continues to leach arsenic and heavy metals into the Mobile River Delta, putting human health and ecological health at grave risk.' "
"Alabama Power said they couldn’t comment due to pending litigation. But Anthony Cook, a spokesperson for Alabama Power, added in an email: 'We are aware of Dr. Bronner’s comments. Alabama Power remains committed to operating in full compliance with environmental regulations and continuing to work constructively with regulators and community partners.' "
Alabama Public Television could lose millions, members and programs if they drop PBS
Comment: "Officials said the end of the PBS partnership could cost Alabama Public Television millions in funding, 90% of its content and thousands of audience members."
Comment: "APT, which became the nation’s first educational television network in 1955, has been in partnership with PBS since its founding in 1969."
"The end of the 56-year-old partnership would disrupt how APT operates."
"Reid said two Alabama Educational Television Commissioners, Les Barnett and Ferris Stephens, brought the idea of severing ties with PBS after the Trump administration cut $1.1 billion in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."
"CPB funded more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country."
"As a result, APT lost nearly $3 million in grant funding from the CPB, which is about 13% of the total annual budget."
Comment: "During the initial board meeting on Oct. 29,, APT Commissioners Barnett and William Green argued that continuing APT’s partnership with PBS could send a bad message to politicians like Trump and other Republican officials."
" 'That needs to be under consideration, PBS’s negative impact on Alabama Public Television, and how it affects our ability to get money from the more conservative leaders in this state,' Green said during the meeting."
"Barnett agreed."
" 'If the federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting money came back in, I still don’t want to stay with PBS. PBS has made themselves anathema to the president and a sizable chunk of the state legislature, and probably a sizable chunk of the 65% of people who voted for Trump, and I’m one of those people in both categories,' he said."
" 'I don’t want to fund it, PBS has made themselves the enemy of what I stand with, and so I do not like them, and I don’t follow the philosophy of feeding the beast.' "
Comment: "Most of PBS’ programming that APT carries is educational content for school-aged children including Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and PBS LearningMedia."
Comment: So, Commissioners Barnett and Stephens want to get rid of PBS because they don't like to hear perspective (like that presented on the PBS News Hour) that's different from that spouted by the likes of Faux News. In doing so, they would also propose getting rid of award winning "educational content for school-aged children." It's that type of censorship that hurts the education of all Alabama citizens. One might wonder if their intent is to make Alabama willfully ignorant, so as to better control us.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and foes out to become one of the nation’s most powerful utilities
Comment: "In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators."
Comment: Please read this article in its entirety before voting for the two Public Service Commission positions on the November 2026 ballot.
Comment: There's a lot of good evidence in this article to back up the article's claims.
My oath was to defend the Constitution — not to let Alabama rewrite it: op-ed
Comment: This is an editorial slamming the proposed legislation requiring that candidates for most Alabama state elected offices be natural-born citizens. The reader also may wish to refer to the article just below (and the comments) and the WSFA article of October 27th and our comments to the article and to the proposed legislation.
Comment: Please note that this terrible legislation was proposed by Secretary of State Wes Allen and sponsored by State Senator Donnie Chesteen, who happens to be the state senator for much of Dale County.
Related Article: Proposed Alabama constitutional amendment would ban naturalized citizens from state office
Comment: "Pam Karlan, a professor of law at Stanford Law School, said in an interview Thursday that beyond the unconstitutionality of the proposal, there is a question of what a natural born citizen is. People born in Indian tribes are considered citizens at birth since a law passed in 1924, she said, as well as children born outside the country to parents who are U.S. citizens."
" 'As a matter of morality and policy, this is a truly evil proposal, because some of some of our most distinguished citizens over time have been people who were immigrants to the United States,' Karlan said. 'This idea that even if the people of Alabama think that one of these people who’s an immigrant would be the best governor or be the best state legislator, they’re prevented from voting for this person by this law that says, well, because you weren’t born here, your citizenship is not good enough. It’s really kind of staggering.' "
"She said that regardless of what type of citizenship somebody has, they are protected equally under the Fourteenth Amendment and seen as citizens of the U.S."
" 'I don’t see the constitutional argument for why it is okay to treat these groups differently,' Karlan said. 'On top of that, I don’t see any normative argument for why you would want to treat them differently, other than, to my mind, nativism. That is really quite inconsistent with American values.' "
"If 60% of both houses of the Legislature approves the bill, it must get a majority approval from voters to be added to the Alabama Constitution. Currently, the Republican party holds 71% of the Legislature in both chambers. Chesteen said he has talked with the Republican caucus and the members are supportive of the bill."
" 'It could be a challenge working the bill through both sides of the aisle, but we’ll get to work on it in session,' he said."
For News Articles links from before November 1st, 2025, please go to one of the following, depending on the article date:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/old3-alabama-al-state-govt
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-alabama-state-govt
OR
https://sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/old-al-state-govt
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to November 1, 2025. The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/ (May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/ (Nov 2024 election - April 30, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/ (Prior to 2024 election)
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