Alabama top stories in brief

• According to AL.com, there are over 40 total athletes with ties to Alabama spread out amongst the different countries competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Eight of these athletes competed for the U.S. Among them, Mobile born and raised Paige Madden earned a bronze medal for the women’s 800m freestyle swimming and helped earn a silver medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay for the U.S. Madden was not the only athlete with ties to Alabama to win medals for the U.S. Suni Lee, a gymnast who attended Auburn University, helped the women’s team earn a gold medal and earned two bronze medals, one in the  individual all-around competition and the other for uneven bars. Matt King, who attended the University of Alabama, helped win a gold in the men’s swimming 4×100 meter freestyle event. Shelby McEwen, who attended UA, earned a silver in the men’s high jump. 

• After an administrative appeal, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission granted two new cultivation licenses to Pure by Sirmon Farms, LLC and Blackberry Farms, LLC. The new cultivation licenses have no effect on the ongoing litigation that has caused severe delays in the further implementation of the medical cannabis program. 

• The University of South Alabama is set to close its Diversity Equity and Inclusion office after Alabama legislatures passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, to limit the use of public funds for DEI initiatives in public institutions. USA follows several other schools in its DEI office closure, including the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Jacksonville State University and Auburn University. UAH is opening a new office called the Office of Access, Connections and Engagement and UA has opened the Division of Opportunities, Connections and Success. It is unclear if USA will open a new office.

• A recent monthly statistic report released by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows a 9.8% increase in assaults within Alabama prisons for the month of May. There were 179 assaults reported by ADOC in May. Increased rates of assault were also recorded for March, which saw a 7% increase, and April, which saw a 10% increase. In total, from the beginning of the fiscal year in October 2023, a total of 1,207 assaults have been recorded. However, these numbers and percentages have decreased since the last fiscal year, with a total of 1,337 cases of assault reported. Alabama’s correctional facilities have long held high rates of assault and violence with overcrowding, low release rates and a shortage of employees supplementing recorded numbers. ADOC has approached the shortage of employees by increasing salaries of correctional officer trainees from a maximum of $38,000 to $55,855, which was approved in February of 2023. In terms of overcrowding, two new prisons with a capacity of 4,000 each are in progress. However, as these prisons are constructed older prisons will be closed, so they will not necessarily solve ADOC’s overcapacity issue.

• The Alabama Literacy Act, first introduced in 2019, took effect this year and will require 1,800 Alabama students to repeat the third grade due to low reading scores. The act focuses on students in kindergarten through third grade with a goal of early intervention. Initially, 4,808 students were estimated to be held back, but with the aid of summer reading camps and an opportunity to re-test, that number dropped by roughly 3,000 students. The act’s implementation, which was delayed until this year due to pandemic recovery in Alabama schools, requires rising fourth graders to meet minimum standards and scores on standardized testing and reading requirements. State Superintendent Eric Mackey, who announced the preliminary total of students repeating the third grade for the 2024-25 school year, emphasized that early intervention not only has academic benefits but social benefits as well. “The later students are retained, the worse the social outcome. Third grade is not considered the beginning. It’s kind of the last effort,” said Mackey.

Our articles you might have missed

• Xander Swain takes us on his journey exploring the Great Smoky Mountains, including two memorable hikes, in this month’s edition of The Longleaf Hiker, available on our site.

• In July’s edition of The Breathing Room, Hannah Irvin invites readers to ask themselves how they are viewing those around them and whether it is how they want to be seen.  

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