As the month comes to an end, I find myself once again asking how time is passing so quickly. It feels especially fast when celebrating a month like Women’s History Month. I love Women’s History Month because I always get to learn about women who have had huge impacts on our world – or are making that impact now. One of the most incredible Alabama women I’ve learned about so far is a woman named Margaret Charles Smith. She was born in 1906, and had a very successful career as a midwife, delivering over 3,500 babies. In 1976, Alabama stopped issuing midwifery licenses, effectively banning midwives in the state. Licenses weren’t issued again until 2019. Black midwives like Smith were invaluable because many hospitals would not admit Black women as patients. Black midwives are still extremely important, as racial bias continues to permeate the medical field. Thankfully, midwives like Stephanie Mitchell are carrying on the torch that midwives like Margaret Charles Smith started. You can read more about Smith in her book Listen to Me Good.
Alabama top stories in brief
- No smoke has been observed at the site of the landfill fire in Moody since March 8, and as of March 24, odor is only present near the northwestern portion of the site. Seed, hay mats, rip-rap and fertilizer are being laid throughout the site to prevent erosion. Heavy equipment use is expected to finish by the end of this week, but an excavator and crew member will be stationed near the site for two weeks in case of any arising issues. The EPA expects its work will conclude at the end of March or early April, depending on weather conditions.
- Former Huntsville police officer, William Ben Darby, who was convicted in 2021 for the murder of Jeff Parker, had his conviction reversed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday. The case is being sent back to Madison county for a new trial.
- Preliminary reports from the National Transportation Safety Board said that some of the cars involved in the March 9 derailment in Anniston, Alabama weren’t equipped with the couplers that company rules required for them to have in that instance. Norfolk Southern has said they are taking action to update manuals and improve training to catch such errors during inspections in the future.
Gov. Kay Ivey releases budget plan for 2024
Gov. Kay Ivey sent out her budget proposals for the state general fund and education trust fund last week.
The total proposed budgets are $2.96 billion for the General Fund and $8.80 billion for the education trust fund. Many state agencies are set to receive budget increases under the proposed budget. This would include a 2% pay increase for all state employees.
One of the biggest talking points for the budget has been Ivey’s plan to send out $400 dollar one-time tax rebates to all tax filers from the education fund. Ivey mentioned this in her State of the State address and carried through with her budget proposal.
While the idea has some support among lawmakers, many others are still pushing for the money to be put towards allowing the state to permanently cut taxes on groceries. Both Democrats, some Conservatives and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth have expressed that they would prefer focusing on eliminating the grocery tax over one-time rebates.
Two of the largest increases for the general fund are due to increases for Medicaid and the Department of Corrections.
The $69 million increase for Medicaid is partly due to the expiration of federal public health emergency funds, according to Alabama Finance Director Bill Poole. The $58 million increase for ADOC is partly because of the state’s new prison healthcare services contract.
Our articles you might have missed
- In this month’s edition of The Breathing Room, managing editor Hannah Irvin takes a deep-dive into what we actually owe each other.
Important updates
- We’re considering creating some merchandise for The Sunrise News, and wanted to collect feedback from you. If you haven’t already, take a little time and complete this survey to help us better understand you and your interests.
- We’re launching a new column starting at the beginning of April. The Alabama Ramble is a column published every two months from our Alabama travel columnist, Wesley Miller. Wesley travels the state to visit sites both famous and obscure, meet with locals and revel in the many adventures to be had here in Alabama.
- We’ve decided to push back the deadline on restricting some of the content for our site. All content will now continue to remain free until July 31. Those who have already contributed to our $100 Ko-Fi will still receive a full year of The Sunrise News paid subscription starting after the restrictions are in place. Anyone who has contributed at all on Ko-Fi will have that amount counted towards the total cost of a subscription. The restriction will not stop readers from viewing our content, but some content will be available only to paying subscribers.
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