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Daily News Digest – December 6, 2021

Presented by the

Alabama League of Municipalities

 

Good morning!

I hope you weren’t counting on snoozing on Alabama politics this holiday season because it is coming full tilt to a theater near you!

Here’s your Daily News for Monday, November 29.

 

1. Supply chain, weather issues mean lean harvests for Alabama farmers

  • On the last day in November, Talladega County farmer Bob Luker was grateful for sunshine and working machinery.
  • In a normal year, Luker would be done harvesting his cotton by the end of November. This year, he was just getting started on his 800 acres. Weather delays — a cool spring and wet fall — and supply chain issues, especially on equipment parts, have slowed farmers across the state.
  • It’s another way the national supply chain and inflation issues are hitting home in Alabama. Instead of being able to order parts for quick delivery, farmers are having to wait weeks, or spend valuable time traveling to get a needed piece.
  • Carla Hornady, a division director at Alabama Farmers Federation, said across the state, there is still a lot of cotton in fields. That’s very rare for early December.
  • She said she’s heard of farmers driving to Indiana to get needed parts.
  • “They just can’t depend on shipping to get their parts here,” she said. And this time of year, time is not a farmer’s friend.
  • Read more from Mary Sell in her feature story HERE.

 

 

2. Blanchard to announce switch to governor’s race Tuesday

  • Yesterday, we learned that Tim James is putting his name in the hat to challenge Gov. Kay Ivey in the Republican primary.
  • One day later and it’s Lynda Blanchard’s turn.
  • The former U.S. Ambassador and current candidate for the U.S. Senate will officially switch races and announce her candidacy for governor on Tuesday, Alabama Daily News has learned.
  • Sources with knowledge of Blanchard’s plans say the event will take place in Wetumpka, the small town north of Montgomery where she was born and raised.
  • An email obtained by Alabama Daily News inviting guests to the event shows Wetumpka’s historic Bibb Graves Bridge and lists the Jeanette Barrett Civic Room as the location for the announcement. The invitation also lists “Lindy Blanchard for Governor” as the entity paying for the campaign materials.
  • Reached by email Monday, Blanchard declined to preview her speech, simply saying “I am excited and I look forward to Tuesday. I certainly hope to see you there.”
  • In her Senate campaign, Blanchard had gone by her full name of Lynda, but the updated materials show her going by Lindy, as she is commonly known by friends and family.
  • That’s not the only change coming to the Blanchard campaign.
  • Read more from me HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

A message from the

Alabama League of Municipalities

  • Over the years, the Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM) has created several essential programs to aid Alabama’s municipalities.
  • The Municipal Workers Compensation Fund, Inc. (MWCF) provides workers compensation insurance.
  • The Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation (AMIC) writes many lines of insurance and is owned by its member municipalities.
  • The Alabama Municipal Funding Corporation (AMFund) assists Alabama’s municipalities with refinancing existing debt and funding local projects and purchases.
  • The Municipal Intercept Services (MIS) allows local governments to recover a portion of monies owed from an individual’s state tax refund through the Alabama Department of Revenue.

 

 

 

3. Jo Bonner to skeptics: “Meet me halfway”

  • The new president of the University of South Alabama, whose appointment raised concerns among some because of his limited academic background, said he hopes to build relationships and learn from those already in the school community.
  • Addressing a trustees meeting after his formal acceptance on Thursday, Jo Bonner acknowledged that there were some on the faculty “who have raised concerns about the nontraditional background I bring.”
  • A former member of Congress who represented southwest Alabama, Bonner was the top aide to Gov. Kay Ivey before his selection. Unlike two other finalists for the position, he doesn’t hold advanced degrees or have experience in academic administration.
  • “All I can ask of those who still have doubts and concerns is to meet me halfway and give us a chance to show what we can do by working together,” Bonner said.
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

 

4. Early reports on Omicron encouraging

  • U.S. health officials said Sunday that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations.
  • President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that scientists need more information before drawing conclusions about omicron’s severity.
  • Reports from South Africa, where it emerged and is becoming the dominant strain, suggest that hospitalization rates have not increased alarmingly.
  • “Thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it,” Fauci said. “But we have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness, comparable to delta.”
  • Read more HERE.

 

 

5. Bowls take shape

  • By now you know about the College Football Playoff picture, where Alabama will face Cincinnati and Georgia will face Michigan, potentially setting up another SEC rematch for the national championship.
  • On Sunday the rest of the bowl picture began to take shape.
  • Auburn will face No. 20 Houston in the Birmingham Bowl at the new Protective Stadium.
  • UAB will travel to Shreveport to Play No. 12 BYU in the Independence Bowl.
  • Around the SEC, Ole Miss landed a New Years Six bid and will play Baylor in the Sugar Bowl; Kentucky will face Iowa in the Citrus Bowl; Arkansas earned a trip to the Outback Bowl to play Penn State; LSU will face Kansas State in the Texas Bowl; Texas A&M will play Wake Forest in the Tax Slayer Bowl in Jacksonville; Tennessee will play Purdue in the Music City Bowl; and South Carolina will take on North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
  • The state will host two other bowls in addition to the Birmingham Bowl. Montgomery will host the Camellia Bowl on Christmas Day, with Ball State facing Georgia State, and Mobile will host the Lending Tree Bowl on Dec. 18 where Eastern Michigan will face Liberty.

 

 

 

A message from

Adams and Reese LLP

  • We understand today’s global economy, where a wide range of regulatory and business issues converge and where leveraging federal funding is critical to the robust, long-term economic success of our clients.

 

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Supply-chain, weather issues mean late harvests for Alabama farmers

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Blanchard to formally announce candidacy for governor Tuesday

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Jo Bonner to skeptics: “Meet me halfway”

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Fauci: early reports on omicron variant encouraging

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Tim James running for governor

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Playoff set: Alabama vs. Cincinnati, Michigan vs. Georgia

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Auburn City Council member Hovey challenging Whatley for Senate seat

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama Farmers Federation marking 100th anniversary

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – BP oil spill fund: $103M to projects in 3 Gulf states

 

AL.COM – Moderna’s president says there’s a risk vaccines will struggle with COVID-19 omicron variant

 

AL.COM – Alabama native used pandemic downtime to start wine label

 

AL.COM – Meet the Alabamians who made a difference in 2021

 

AL.COM – Template set for scrutinizing industrial zoning in Africatown ahead of Clotilda-related tourism

 

AL.COM – Contributor Josh Carpenter: Painful for Birmingham to lose landmark castle

 

AL.COM – More than a year of delinquent invoicing by JCCEO led to loss of ADECA grants

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Frazer to hold service of hope for the hurting on Dec. 19

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Woman’s death makes third fatal shooting in one day, fourth in weekend

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Two men dead in separate Sunday shootings on Vaughn Plaza Road, Japonica Street

 

Decatur Daily – ‘Drive Electric Alabama’ campaign promotes EVs

 

 

Decatur Daily – Officials hope renovated Decatur City Schools central office inviting

 

Decatur Daily – SUNDAY SPECIAL: Nomad Decatur Youth Services needs central location, its director says

 

Times Daily – Near 2-year delay helped cast freshen up show

 

Times Daily – Supply-chain, weather issues mean late harvests for Alabama farmers

 

Times Daily – $10K donation boosts Empty Table Fund past halfway mark

 

Anniston Star – Oxford’s Main Street program expecting growth

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Birmingham police investigating five separate murders after deadly weekend

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Bessemer Police officer stabbed after fight with woman

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Birmingham Police investigating homicide at apartment complex

 

Tuscaloosa News – A season to remember: 2021 brought return to normalcy for Alabama football

 

Tuscaloosa News – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey lights State Christmas Tree during ceremony at capitol

 

YellowHammer News – Watch: Kay Ivey SEC Championship Game ad features Critical Race Theory, abortion ban, Trump

 

YellowHammer News – Tim James files paperwork for gubernatorial effort with Secretary of State

 

Gadsden Times – CommUnity Thanksgiving makes successful return

 

Gadsden Times – Boys and Girls Club offers invite to grand reopening Wednesday, has fundraising ride slated for Dec. 12

 

Gadsden Times – Closing arguments slated Monday in Anthony Hale Jr. murder case

 

Dothan Eagle – Gunmen kill town mayor, wound another in south Philippines

 

Dothan Eagle – Russia reports its first cases of omicron COVID-19 variant

 

Dothan Eagle – Saudi crown prince heads to Oman on tour of Gulf Arab states

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Turning outrage into power: How far right is changing GOP

 

Opelika-Auburn News – China attacks potential US diplomatic boycott of Olympics

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Unvaccinated Italians face new restrictions as holidays near

 

WSFA Montgomery – Police: Teen shot, killed in Montgomery shooting

 

WSFA Montgomery – 2 dead in 2 separate shootings in Montgomery Sunday

 

WSFA Montgomery – Child Protect continues seeing surge in area child abuse cases

 

WAFF Huntsville – Man found shot in grass field, later dies at hospital

 

WAFF Huntsville – Local woman calls for justice after son was shot at while playing basketball inside church gymnasium

 

WAFF Huntsville – Courtland community holds meeting to advocate against closure of R.A. Hubbard High School

 

WKRG Mobile – Myanmar’s Suu Kyi gets 4 years in trial seen as political

 

WKRG Mobile – Top UAE adviser makes rare trip to Iran amid nuclear talks

 

WKRG Mobile – Person shot following reported road rage incident in Cullman County

 

WTVY Dothan – Poleo Arms partners with Hannah’s Gifts for Hope to help childhood cancer victims and their families

 

WTVY Dothan – City of Hartford hosts Hometown Holidays

 

WTVY Dothan – Enterprise’s Whoville celebration brought thousands to the city

 

WASHINGTON POST – Seven days: Following Trump’s coronavirus trail

 

WASHINGTON POST – After Michigan school shooting, experts question what could have prevented it

 

WASHINGTON POST – Broad overhaul of military justice system being sidelined in favor of narrower focus on sexual assault

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Spike in Omicron Variant Cases Puts Europe on Edge

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Witty and to the Point, Dole Embodied ‘Shared Values’ in Washington

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Bob Dole, Old Soldier and Stalwart of the Senate, Dies at 98

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – High Inflation, Falling Unemployment Prompted Powell’s Fed Pivot

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – China’s Central Bank Cuts Reserve Requirement Ratio for Banks

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures Mixed; Oil Rises on Hopes of Milder Covid Variant

 

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

 

 

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