Alabama top stories in brief

State library director says new policy could hurt smaller libraries

• In September, the Alabama Public Library Service Board voted to eliminate the previous competitive grant process used to distribute federal funding to libraries and move to a more universal distribution process, but reversed this decision on Nov. 21.

• The funding will be distributed through the usual method of competitive grants, which APLS Director Nancy Pack argued has the potential to harm smaller libraries, particularly since the legislature cut 8.5% from the APLS budget this year. 

• The decision to continue using the competitive grant process was passed by a vote of 3-1, with a single member abstaining, and was supported by the Alabama Library Association.

Alabama executes Grayson

• Carey Dale Grayson, convicted of murdering Vickie Deblieux in 1994, was executed on Nov 21. by way of nitrogen hypoxia following a denial of his appeal to receive a sedative prior to the execution.

• Witnesses reported strained breathing for 10 minutes by Grayson before he was pronounced dead after the nitrogen had been flowing for 15 minutes.

• Deblieux’s daughter, Jodi Haley, objected to Grayson’s execution, saying, “State sanctioned homicide needs never be listed as cause of death. No one should have the right to take away a person’s possibilities, days, moments, life. I don’t know who we think we are.”

• Grayson’s execution was the state’s sixth execution this year, and the third execution carried out with nitrogen.

Alabama GOP made gains with minority voters compared to 2020 election

• According to exit polling from the Alabama GOP that was shared with Alabama Daily News, over 50% of Hispanic voters and 18% of Black voters supported the Republican Party in the 2024 election.

• In the 2020 election, 25% of Hispanic voters and 10% of Black voters supported the Republican Party, while during the 2022 midterm, 35% of Hispanic voters and 14% of Black voters supported the Republican Party.

• Statistics on voter ethnicity and party alignment have not yet been released from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office.

Birmingham metro top stories in brief

Three men shot within three hours in Birmingham 

• Three different shootings in Birmingham Thursday night led to the deaths of three men, with another critically injured, all within a span of three hours.

• The shootings took place in Woodlawn, Inglenook and the 300 block of 25th Street S.W.

• Birmingham now has 144 homicides on record for 2024, compared to 135 in 2023.

• Officer Truman Fitzgerald, spokesperson for the Birmingham Police Department, said “We have to make it uncomfortable for violent offenders in our city.”

Company owned by Poarch Band of Creek Indians to purchase Birmingham Racecourse 

• Wind Creek Hospitality, a company owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, announced last Monday that it had agreed to purchase the Birmingham Racecourse from the McGregor family, the family that own the property and still run VictoryLand. 

• The purchase is expected to be finalized by early 2025, according to a press release from WCH.

Mobile metro top stories in brief

Journalists and school officials sue for constitutional violations

• Don Fletcher, Sherry Digmon, Cynthia Jackson and Ashley “Veronica” Fore filed a federal lawsuit against the Escambia County District Attorney Stephen Billy, Sheriff Heath Jackson and four deputies, alleging that they violated their 1st and 4th amendment rights during their arrests last year. 

• Fletcher is a reporter for the Atmore News, Digmon is the publisher of the Atmore News and an Escambia County School Board member, Jackson is the board vice president and Fore is the school system’s bookkeeper. 

• Fletcher, Digmon, Jackson and Fore were arrested on charges of revealing grand jury secrets, after a news story published by Fletcher included information about a subpoena issued by Billy for information on COVID funding. 

• Billy recused himself from the investigation, and the charges were dismissed at the request of Assistant Attorney General Thomas Govan Jr., whose office took over the case. 

Alabama considers new regulations for saltwater fishing

• Some of the biggest potential changes currently being considered by the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources would be placing new limits on the fishing of common snook and skate and ray hunting.

• The common snook is a non-native species, which have begun overwintering in Alabama in response to rising global ocean temperatures, and they are currently unregulated. 

• The ADCNR is considering regulation that would limit anglers to one snook per day with a minimum limit of 24 inches, which according to AL.com, was largely supported by those in attendance at a public meeting on Nov. 19. 

• The ADCNR is also considering placing limits upon the hunting of skate and rays, which currently have no state or federal limits, and are often hunted by bow hunters at night using lights, who catch them, pull off their stings and throw them back in, which sometimes leads to their death.

• The current potential regulations being discussed for skate and ray hunting include setting a low bag limit for recreational hunters, prohibiting anglers from cutting off tails or parts of tails or requiring those using spear or bow to keep all those that they catch. 

• The ACDNR has held two public meetings thus far, and will have a third on Dec. 3 at Tillman’s Corner Community Center.

Huntsville metro top stories in brief

Huntsville Hospital system approved for $150 million expansion

• Approval for the expansion was given on Nov. 20 by the Alabama Certificate Need Review Board, a state health agency tasked with reviewing health care facilities and ensuring that only needed facilities are constructed.

• The new expansion will allow the Huntsville Hospital to convert double occupancy rooms into private rooms for individual patients. 

• The planned two year expansion will create new intensive care units for cardiothoracic, neurosurgical and stroke patients, and, according to CEO Jeff Samz, will create 350 new jobs. 

Space Command moving to Huntsville 

• Donald Trump said that he will move Space Command Headquarters to Huntsville once he is in office, according to US Representative Mike Rogers, R-Ala.

• The headquarters’ interim location is in Colorado Springs.

• Toward the end of his term in 2021, Trump supported the headquarters moving to Alabama, but the decision was reversed by President Joe Biden. Now, he plans on reversing Biden’s decision.

Our articles you might have missed

• In this month’s edition of The Longleaf Hiker, Xander travels to the hidden gem of Ruffner Mountain. Tucked away in Birmingham, Ruffner offers a wonderful place for local residents to spend time learning about nature, hiking beautiful trails and watching planes depart the Birmingham airport from stunning overlooks. 

This week’s Roundup changes

Since early this month, we have been testing changes to the Roundup and gathering feedback from you, our readers.

This week, we kept our bullet point format, and divided our stories into geographical categories to feature both statewide stories and stories more focused on individual metro areas.

Let us know what you thought about these changes by responding to this short survey here. Survey participants will be entered in the chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card in mid-December, just in time for last minute Christmas shopping! You must provide your email address in order to be a part of the raffle for the gift card. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and will inform how the Alabama Roundup will look in the future! 

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