Alabama legislators passed hundreds of new laws this year, but they also sent several decisions to Alabama voters in the form of proposed constitutional amendments. Among the proposals to be on statewide ballots are ones that would replace the elected board of education with an appointed one, allow the Legislature to recompile the state’s constitution and reiterate that only U.S. citizens may vote. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has replaced the three members of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The new members are Col. Alan Spencer of Tuscaloosa, Melissa Morrissette of Mobile and Walter Bell of Mobile. Mac Gipson, the ABC administrator, was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley. He said he didn’t have any conversation with Ivey about the new appointments, but she’s within her right to make the changes. “As far as I’m concerned, she’d done a lot of good work on other decisions, so why should I question this one?” Gipson said Thursday. Read more.
Navigate Affordable Housing Partners, a housing and community development nonprofit organization, has donated $50,000 to Washington K-8 School as part of its work in the North Titusville neighborhood. “Any development community effort is only successful it you have schools. Strong schools make for strong communities and strong communities have healthy families,” Lisa McCarroll, CEO of the group, said while presenting the donation during a Birmingham Board of Education board meeting June 11. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has replaced the three members of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The new members are Col. Alan Spencer of Tuscaloosa, Melissa Morrissette of Mobile and Walter Bell of Mobile. The appointments require confirmation by the Alabama state Senate, which won’t likely happen until the next regular session in February, but the new members begin serving immediately. Their terms expire in 2022. Read more.
A bill approved on the final day of the legislative session will require more regulation of a drug used in the outpatient treatment of opioid addiction. “What we’re trying to do is set up some guidelines of how opioid addiction ought to be treated in today’s world,” said Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, sponsor of Senate Bill 425. “(The goal is to steer) people toward buprenorphine and away from cash methadone treatment.” Buprenorphine, under the brand name Suboxone, is a low-grade opiate. It blocks cravings for opioids, without the same high level as methadone. But to treat addiction, its use needs to come with treatment, supporters of Stutts’ bill say. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to replace Municipal Court Judge Cathy E. Daniel with attorney Jermeria Moore, a move that Council President Valerie Abbott said might “politicize the court.” Daniel’s term as judge expired in January, but the council’s decision to replace her was unusual. “This council has never replaced a sitting judge in municipal court before,” Abbott said. “We have always allowed them to either retire, to move to another position if they get elected to another judgeship, or unfortunately, some of them pass away.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY— Gov. Kay Ivey did not sign a human trafficking bill meant to deter individuals from soliciting prostitutes because of a drafting error that could have weakened its intent, supporters said Tuesday. House Bill 262 would have prohibited without a court order the publishing of photos of those charged with prostitution, while allowing publication of photos of those charged with soliciting or procuring prostitution. Ivey's office said the bill as passed by lawmakers was not the sponsors' intended legislation. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Court-ordered chemical castration of child molesters as a condition of their parole will soon be required in Alabama, but exactly how the treatments will be administered is still being determined. The law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday, goes into effect in three months. It requires the Alabama Department of Public Health to administer the treatment. “We’re still reviewing (the law) to understand exactly how our role will work,” Public Health Officer Scott Harris said this week. “We’ve done some work looking at other states, trying to get an idea of how it works.” Read more.
A series of emails released by the University of Alabama System show the dispute that led to a parting of ways with mega-donor Hugh Culverhouse preceded the comments he made about abortion.
How much do average news consumers care about how stories actually come to be? The New York Times is banking on them caring enough to invest 30 minutes of television time a week to watch those stories come to life. “The Weekly,” which debuted last week on FX, chronicles the work of Times reporters as they chase down stories. Read more.
