Alabama top stories in brief

Montgomery Whitewater, a kayaking and rafting water park facility in Montgomery, has been placed on Time magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places 2024” list. The list was published on July 24 and includes 50 places in total, highlighting Alabama as having one of only three whitewater facilities in the country. Montgomery Whitewater has been operating since July 2023 and was designed by former Olympic kayaker Scott Shipley with a mission of providing accessible facilities for not only paddling but trails in green spaces, surfing and summer camps for children. The park is also sustainable, using a backwash recovery system to recycle and filter the 12 million gallons of water that fuel the rapids. Future plans for the park include activities such as rock climbing, ziplining and mountain biking.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing released information on July 25 stating that 1,655 patients’ personal information had been accidentally released. The breach was discovered on May 29 and included patients’ names, home addresses and diagnoses. The breached, personal information was gathered through postcards intended to increase participation in a survey regarding breast cancer diagnoses. Patients who experienced the breach of their information were residents of five different counties in Alabama, including Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker County. UAB sent notices to the affected patients and included both an apology and statement of commitment to privacy, alerting patients that the necessary steps were being taken to amend and prevent future breaches of private information.

On Friday, former Alabama House Rep. Fred Plump, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his role in a kickback scheme that also involved former Rep. John Rogers. Rogers had taken a plea deal for charges of obstruction, money laundering and wire fraud charges, agreeing to admit his involvement in the kickback scheme in exchange for 14 months of house arrest and paying around $400,000 in forfeiture fees and restitution. That deal is now in question, however, after a recent filing by his legal team claiming innocence for some of the charges to which he’d agreed to plead guilty. A hearing has been scheduled to determine if Rogers did violate his plea agreement. Rogers’s legal team filed a motion to enforce the plea agreement, stating that Rogers was unaware of the filing by his legal team claiming his innocence.

On July 23, the University of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama at Huntsville announced the closing of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices after the passing of SB-129. SB-129, which was passed in March and sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, reduced the amount of public funds that can be used for DEI offices and opposed the discussion of “divisive concepts.” The purpose of DEI, referencing UA’s previous DEI website, “will establish a holistic and integrated vision that fosters a welcoming and supportive environment for students, faculty, staff, visitors and the community at large—regardless of cultural differences, beliefs, values, ethnicity, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, gender identity, or religion.” SB-129 hovers over public institutions in Alabama such as UA, UAB and UAH, prompting the schools to open new offices under different names that focus on engagement and success. UA will open the Division of Opportunities, Success and Connection, UAB will launch the Office of Access and Engagement and UAH has opened the Office of Access, Connections and Engagement.

Our articles you might have missed

In the first of a series of articles coming out this month and stretching into July, our editor in chief, Harrison Neville published a review of the “Redwall” series, a popular series of children books written by Brian Jacques. In his review, Neville discusses what the books meant to him, what he loved about the series and who thinks would enjoy reading the series.

Both The Breathing Room and The Longleaf Hiker will be releasing this week, so make sure to pay attention to your emails so that you don’t miss them!

The Sunrise News will start to feature advertising in the future. We’re still working out the details of how this will work and what it will look like, but we will continue to keep readers informed as we develop our plans in this area. Currently, we are planning to implement this early in the fall.

Lucy Frost-Helms

Lucy Frost-Helms is an editor and writer for the Sunrise News. She graduated from the University of Montevallo in 2024 with a degree in social science, concentration in political science, and minor in philosophy. Lucy wrote for UM's student newspaper, The Alabamian, before becoming its copy editor during her senior year. In her free time, Lucy loves debating determinism, reading about ghosts, and watching National Treasure. She also loves her cats, Boris and Borat, and is convinced that they understand her. Lucy also loves copy editing for the Sunrise News, although she is secretly a staunch supporter of the oxford comma.
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Harrison Neville | Editor in chief

Harrison Neville is the editor in chief for The Sunrise News. He graduated the University of Montevallo with a BA in English and a minor in game studies and design. While at UM he worked for four years at the university’s collegiate newspaper, The Alabamian, and served as editor in chief his senior year. He is an avid outdoorsman who loves to spend time backpacking and hiking. He also has been a soccer referee for over 8 years. When he’s not on the trail or the field, you can probably find him reading books, writing or playing games with friends.
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