Presented by the

Alabama League of Municipalities

Good morning!

My apologies for not publishing a Weekend Digest on Sunday. I’m in Washington, D.C. for a wedding over the weekend. Speaking of, congratulations to newlyweds Seth and Hannah Morrow!

Here’s your Daily News for Monday, April 25.

1. Report: More than 50% of teachers leave classroom within 3 years

• In 2018, 3,291 first-time teachers entered Alabama’s public K-12 classrooms. By the end of 2020, 1,721 of them had left those schools.
• More than 50% of new educators leave their first classrooms within three years, according to a new interim report on teacher retention by the Alabama Commission on Evaluation of Services.
• By comparison, nationally, 44% of new teachers leave their first post within five years, according to the report.
• “There are some root causes that are making (Alabama teachers) leave and it probably needs to be dug into deeper,” Marcus Morgan, director of ACES, told Alabama Daily News. The commission was created in 2019 to assess the effectiveness of various state programs.
• Only 18 of 143 Alabama school districts have a first-time teacher retention rate above 60% since 2016, according to ACES.
• Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Legislature made headway addressing the problem during this year’s legislative session. The Fiscal Year 2023 budget includes a 4% raise for all educators and salary bumps for mid-career educators. Teachers with nine or more years of experience would get raises ranging from 5% to up to 21% for those with 35 years of classroom experience. Alabama’s average starting teacher salary is higher than any of its surrounding states, according to information from the Southern Regional Education Board.
• Read Mary Sell’s full feature story HERE.

2. Capitol Journal’s Week in Review

• Alabama Public Television’s Randy Scott took over the anchor chair to host Capitol Journal this past week as I took a few days off.
• The show included timely stories and conversations, including on the ribbon cutting for the new Perry County Reentry Education Program Center.
• Guests included Cam Ward, Director of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles; Joe Borg, Commissioner of Alabama Securities Commission; and Dr. Don Williams, President/CEO of the Alabama Hospital Association.
• Watch the full episode HERE.

A message from

the Alabama League of Municipalities

3. Democrats launch ‘Free Weed’ site for marijuana legalization

• The Alabama Democratic Party has launched a “Free Weed” website to support its effort to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state.
• The site, www.FreeWeedAL.com, argues that prosecutions for small amounts of cannabis are a waste of criminal justice resources and have disproportionately affected communities of color. The party argued legalizing marijuana could also bring economic benefits to the state.
• The Republican-dominated Alabama legislature has approved a medical marijuana program but rejected efforts to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
• Eighteen states have legalized the recreational use of small amounts of marijuana for adults, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, although none of those are in the Deep South.
• Read more HERE.

4. Oak Mountain State Park expanding

• New public access areas will be available later this year at Alabama’s largest state park, which is growing with the purchase of more than 1,600 acres of land in metro Birmingham.
• The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources plans to expand biking, hiking and horse-riding trails at Oak Mountain State Park with the addition of acreage acquired through the Forever Wild Land Trust, the agency said in a statement.
• The park, located in heavily populated Shelby County, will encompass more than 11,000 acres with the additional land, most of which is forested.
• Read more HERE.

5. Hunter Biden is prime target if Republicans win Congress

• As Republicans prepare for a possible return to power amid rising hopes of winning the House and the Senate in the November elections, they are laying the groundwork to make Hunter Biden and his business dealings a central target of their investigative and oversight efforts.
• Republican lawmakers and staff have discussed analyzing specific messages and financial transactions found on the laptop and have also discussed issuing congressional subpoenas to foreign entities involved in paying Hunter Biden. The conversations have been in the early stages but have included talks of bringing on Republican lawyers and former Justice Department officials to help lead the investigations.
• The White House in turn is preparing to defend the Democratic president from any allegations of wrongdoing and make the case that Republicans are driven by opportunism. Democrats are likely to point out how Republicans did not seek investigations into President Donald Trump’s own business pursuits in Russia and China or into the foreign dealings of his children and son-in-law while they held key campaign or White House roles.
• It all raises the possibility of a messy, politically explosive showdown between a GOP-controlled Congress and the White House, one that could delve deeply into the affairs of the president’s family and shape the contours of the 2024 race for the White House.
• Read more HERE.

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Report: More than 50% of Alabama teachers leave first classrooms within 3 years

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Watch: Capitol Journal, April 23

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Democrats start ‘Free Weed’ site for marijuana legalization

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Oak Mountain State Park expanding

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Hunter Biden is prime target if Republicans win Congress

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Inside Alabama Politics – April 21, 2022

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Internal poll shows Ivey with commanding lead in reelection bid

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Britt, Brooks challenge Durant to debate in U.S. Senate race

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Apollo 16 moonwalker reflects on mission’s 50th anniversary

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Suit claims city trying to limit Confederate statue protests

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Powell reinforces expectations of sharp rate hike next month

AL.COM – These Alabama counties have the fastest growing – and shrinking – economies

AL.COM – Alabama marking Holocaust remembrance with events

AL.COM – Feud with Disney World tests boundaries of Florida governor’s power

AL.COM – Mobile, state officials break ground on new $11 million ADEM building on Broad Street

AL.COM – Who owns the Cahaba? Alabama fights environmental groups over land near Birmingham drinking water intake

AL.COM – Alabama in top 5 states for affordable homes, options lacking for people earning lowest wages

Montgomery Advertiser – Live vote moves Montgomery’s Lady K and Pell City’s Tristen Gressett to Idol’s Top 11

Montgomery Advertiser – Montgomery police conducting death investigation

Montgomery Advertiser – Oliver! presented through May 8 by Pike Road Theatre Company

Decatur Daily – Hillsboro man jailed on murder charge

Decatur Daily – Mission completed: George Mills, veteran of World War II and Decatur resident, dies at 100

Decatur Daily – Fentanyl’s deadly presence surges locally, even threatens marijuana users

Times Daily – Volunteer helps change lives, 1 child at a time

Times Daily – Pruitt: COVID made Carver Commodore stronger

Times Daily – Mayor wants broadband district, council undecided

Anniston Star – Anniston Changers tackle debris around football stadium

Anniston Star – Keselowski, Buescher visit area of Oxford Lake, Civic Center

Anniston Star – NASCAR ties essential to Sunny King legacy

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Remembering Iderrika Finley on her 26th birthday

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – How to save fuel when traveling on the road

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Birmingham Police warning about guns stolen from vehicles

Tuscaloosa News – Social media has evolved into life-saving tool since April 27, 2011, meteorologist says

Tuscaloosa News – Stripped-down Willie Nelson set displays the good night life at the Amp

YellowHammer News – Dr. Daniel Sutter: Spending and prosperity

YellowHammer News – Big Dig: South Alabama archaeologists excavate Mobile Bay Bridge site

Gadsden Times – PET OF THE WEEK: Sweet, laid-back Lazareth enjoys belly rubs

Dothan Eagle – US says Russia is failing, promises more aid to Ukraine; Twitter, Musk in talks; this week’s weather

Dothan Eagle – Ukraine removes Hirohito from video after Japan protests

Dothan Eagle – Supreme Court tackling case about praying football coach

Opelika-Auburn News – Reports: Twitter in talks with Musk over bid to buy platform

Opelika-Auburn News – Live updates | Japan: Macron’s reelection key to G-7 unity

Opelika-Auburn News – Trial to begin in lawsuit over death of UVA lacrosse player

WSFA Montgomery – Death investigation underway following Wednesday Montgomery shooting

WSFA Montgomery – Man dead, another seriously injured in Saturday Eufaula shooting

WSFA Montgomery – Alabama prisoner serving murder sentence escapes in Montgomery

WAFF Huntsville – 1 dead in crash involving motorcycle, tractor-trailer near Hwy 72

WAFF Huntsville – Home heavily damaged in early morning fire

WAFF Huntsville – Financial Friday: Why you may need travel insurance

WKRG Mobile – Cullman Strawberry Festival returns in May

WKRG Mobile – Ukraine removes Hirohito from video after Japan protests

WKRG Mobile – French President Macron reelected: What’s happening next?

WTVY Dothan – Wiregrass resident runs the Boston Marathon

WTVY Dothan – UPDATE: One dead, another wounded in Eufaula shooting; suspect sought

WTVY Dothan – Police: Arby’s worker throws hot grease on customer

WASHINGTON POST – U.S. says Russia ‘failing’ in war aims; Biden taps Bridget Brink as Ukraine envoy

WASHINGTON POST – U.S. wants Russian military ‘weakened’ from Ukraine invasion, Austin says

WASHINGTON POST – Biden taps Bridget Brink to be U.S. ambassador to Ukraine

NEW YORK TIMES – Ukraine Live Updates: U.S. Says It Wants Russian Military Weakened

NEW YORK TIMES – Covid Lockdowns Revive the Ghosts of a Planned Economy

NEW YORK TIMES – Live Updates: Allies Hail Macron’s Re-Election in France

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Twitter, Elon Musk Are in Talks to Strike a Deal

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures, Oil Prices and Chinese Shares Fall

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Beijing Braces for Omicron Wave With Hoarding and Testing

Front Pages (images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)