BW Recommends is a rundown of stories you might have missed this week. It offers insight into issues important to our area and sometimes tickles your curiosity.

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Alabama Faces School Bus Funding Crisis, State Superintendent Warns (Alabama Daily News)

The rising cost of school buses and a shrinking share of state funding could push Alabama into a K-12 transportation funding crisis within five years, State Superintendent Eric Mackey told state board members Thursday.

Trump Aims to Fast Track Alabama Coal Build-Out, Citing US Need. Nearly All the Coal Is Bound for Export (Inside Climate News)

The Trump administration is fast-tracking permitting and review of Warrior Met’s Blue Creek mine expansion as part of a larger effort to “reduce our reliance on foreign nations.” But coal from that mine is almost entirely exported overseas to support foreign steelmaking markets, according to the company.

Gov. Kay Ivey Signs Grocery Tax Cut Into Law (Alabama Reflector)

Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a bill reducing the state sales tax on groceries. HB 386, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, will cut the state share of the tax from 3% to 2% effective Sept. 1.

What Passed in the Alabama Legislature: May 6-7, 2025 (Alabama Reflector)

What happened in the next-to-the-last week of the legislative session.

Federal Court Strikes Down Alabama Congressional Map, Citing Racial Discrimination, Defiance (Alabama Political Reporter)

The decision clears the way for continued use of a court-ordered map that, for the first time in state history, enabled two Black lawmakers to win seats in Congress.

Local Officials Brace for Loss of Disaster Preparedness Funding (New York Times)

President Trump’s proposed budget zeroes out funding to local health departments for public health emergency preparedness programs. In Alabama, the emergency response programs are funded entirely through federal grants.

Nearly 60 Cases Dismissed Due to Corruption in Alabama Police Department (Associated Press)

A grand jury threw out 58 felony criminal cases in Hanceville, in Cullman County, after four officers and the chief of the Hanceville Police Department were indicted on charges related to mishandling or removing evidence from the department’s evidence room. The indictment also recommended the department be “immediately abolished.”

Iranian Student in Alabama to Self-Deport Despite Withdrawal of Initial Charge Behind His Arrest (Associated Press)

After his release from six weeks in a Louisiana detention center, a University of Alabama student has decided to leave the country on his own.