Alabama top stories in brief
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Huntsville plans to one day power its plant primarily through renewable energy. The plan is to accomplish this through a 168 acre, $49 million solar project that will be located in northern Huntsville. The project is expected to produce 62,000 megawatt hours annually.
- Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a recently passed bill into law that created mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl trafficking. Lawmakers have said that the goal of the penalties is to punish dealers, so the minimum sentencing starts at one gram of pure fentanyl. Lawmakers have said they want to avoid applying the minimum sentence to those who have purchased drugs that have been mixed with fentanyl.
- So far, there has been one confirmed death of an incarcerated person for the month of April in the Alabama Department of Corrections. Kevin DeWayne Bell was found unresponsive in his bed at Staton Correctional Facility, and later pronounced dead. This marks a total of at least 37 confirmed deaths in ADOC facilities for 2023.
- The school systems of Baldwin County, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa City are suing Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat. The lawsuit claims that the companies have created a “youth mental health crisis.” The lawsuit is seeking “equitable relief to fund prevention education and addiction treatment.”
- The Poarch Band of Creek Indians have donated $140,000 to assist the community of Flatwood. Several people lost their homes to tornadoes a few months ago in Flatwood, but did not qualify for FEMA aid. The money will go towards purchasing a new home for a community member whose home was destroyed in the tornado.
Lawsuit challenges the legality of Jefferson County Commission districts
A federal lawsuit was filed Friday that accused the Jefferson County Commission of illegally packing Black voters into districts 1 and 2, thus limiting their influence in districts 3, 4 and 5. According to the lawsuit, the commission has siphoned Black voters from the suburbs for years to keep them from influencing surrounding districts.
The lawsuit was filed by the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund and the law firm Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher and Goldfarb on behalf of Cara McClure, Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP.
“I believe Jefferson County should go back to the drawing board on its redistricting process to ensure a more accurate representation of all communities,” said McClure.
Jefferson County has a total of 5 districts, two of which have Black majorities. According to population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, Jefferson County currently has a population that is 43.8% Black and 52.6% white.
The Jefferson County Commission President, Jimmie Stephens has denied that the commission has in any way been illegally packing Black voters into the two districts.
Stephens said that the commission does not look at race when the commission goes through the redistricting process.
Our articles you might have missed
- An old opera house, a playground built out of recycled oil drums and delicious pie. If any of this caught your attention, you should read the first installment of The Alabama Ramble, by Wesley Miller. The first installment was just published this past Friday, and takes readers on an adventure through the fascinating city of Greensboro, Alabama.
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