Legislature Alabama Senate committee approves $400 million in COVID funds for new prisons Each of the bills was passed on to the Rules Committee, then on to the Senate for consideration on Friday. John H. GlennSeptember 30, 2021
Featured Opinion Opinion | Chief Justice Tom Parker was right about open records law "I, much to my surprise, agree with Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker, perhaps the court’s most conservative jurist." David PersonSeptember 30, 2021
Legislature Protest over use of COVID funds for prisons held outside Statehouse A group of protestors — many parents, siblings, or children of incarcerated individuals — demonstrated outside the Statehouse Wednesday afternoon. John H. GlennSeptember 30, 2021
Legislature Alabama House passes prison bid, including $400 million in COVID aid, limited reforms Three prison construction bills and one sentencing reform bill head to the Senate on Thursday. A second reform bill was killed by Republican opposition. Eddie BurkhalterSeptember 30, 2021
Opinion Opinion | A California solution to an Alabama problem? "In the early 2000s, California had a prison crisis that was analogous to what we're seeing in Alabama." Christopher EnglandSeptember 30, 2021
Legislature Alternate prison construction bill emerges to create smaller capacity facilities The bill, submitted Tuesday, would create two new correctional facilities within Elmore and Escambia counties, each holding up to 3,000 people. John H. GlennSeptember 30, 2021
State Activist coalition will hold its own redistricting public hearing on Oct. 13 Group members criticized the Committee on Reapportionment hearings as inaccessible to the public. Micah DanneySeptember 30, 2021
Local news Montgomery County Probate Court promotes Latoya Calhoun Barker She will have primary oversight of the probate court’s day-to-day operations. Barker is the first woman to hold this position. StaffSeptember 30, 2021
State U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 7 Alabama endangered species lost to extinction “We’re at risk of losing hundreds more species because of a lack of urgency,” said a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. Brandon MoseleySeptember 30, 2021
National Lawmaker calls for Civil Rights attorney Fred Gray to receive Medal of Freedom Fred Gray is a former state legislator, civil rights attorney, National Bar Association president and Civil Rights leader. Brandon MoseleySeptember 29, 2021