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)