Presented by

the Alabama Bicentennial Commission

 

1. Navy, families recount heroics of fallen sailors

 

• Joshua Kaleb Watson, of Enterprise, had just graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and looked forward to a military career as a pilot. On Saturday, he was being hailed a hero, as his family recounted how the 23-year-old — in his last minutes of life — led first responders to an active shooter at the Pensacola naval base.
• In a Facebook post, his brother Adam said Watson saved countless lives with his own.
• “After being shot multiple times he made it outside and told the first response team where the shooter was and those details were invaluable,” Adam Watson wrote on Facebook.
• “He died a hero,” he wrote.
• The anguish spread from Pensacola and into communities across the country, as fellow Americans shared in the shock and grief of Friday’s shooting that left four people dead, including the shooter, and eight others injured.
• The Navy identified the other two victims as Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Georgia.
• The shooting is being treated as a terrorist attack.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

2. Bill would shorten county school board members’ terms

• A state lawmaker wants to reduce county school board members’ elected terms from six to four years.
• Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, said his Senate Bill 9, pre-filed for the 2020 legislative session, came out of discussions and proposed legislation to make county school system superintendents appointed rather than elected.
• “My thoughts is that if we’re going to end up with appointed superintendents, then the boards that appoint them should be more quickly accountable to the people,” Givhan told Alabama Daily News.
• “To me, that’s a fair trade.”
• He pointed out that besides some judgeships, most elected offices in the state have four-year terms.
• Legislation to end the elections of county superintendents and make them appointed, as city system leaders are, was approved in the Senate during the 2019 session but died in the House. Givhan was a co-sponsor on that bill. That proposal will likely return in the 2020 session.
• Full story from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

 

 

A message from

the Alabama Bicentennial Commission

• 10 a.m. Alabama Bicentennial Parade – Dexter Ave

• Noon: Alabama Bicentennial Park Dedication – State Capitol Steps

• 1 p.m. Alabama Bicentennial Festival – Capitol Complex & Downtown Montgomery

• 4 p.m.Alabama Bicentennial Concert and Finale Presentation – State Capitol Steps

3. State doesn’t appeal injunction blocking abortion ban

• Alabama did not appeal the court injunction that blocked the state’s near-total abortion ban from taking effect last month, according to the attorney general’s office. The state has previously acknowledged the ban is likely unenforceable unless the U.S. Supreme Court makes a major shift on abortion rights.
• The preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson temporarily stopped the ban from taking effect Nov. 15 while he hears a lawsuit challenging the ban as unconstitutional. The 2019 law would make performing an abortion a felony in almost all cases.
• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has said the state’s objective is to get the case to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to get justices to reconsider rulings such as Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Roe legalized abortion nationwide. Casey affirmed abortion rights, but said that the states could enact limited restrictions.
• Full story from Kim Chandler HERE.

 

4. Austal christens USS Mobile

• Thousands gathered in Alabama’s Port City Saturday for the christening of Austal USA’s latest Litoral Combat Ship: the USS Mobile.
• “This is the 20th ship we have christened over the last five years,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “We are blessed to have christened so many ships through the years but this one is special. It is a distinct privilege to build a ship named after your namesake city and this has truly been a community effort.
• “The support we have received from Senator Shelby, Senator Jones, Congressman Byrne, the county, and city has been incredible and has played a major role in our success to date.”
• Byrne, who represents the Mobile area in the U.S. House of Representatives, was the featured speaker at the event and his wife, Rebecca, had the honor of sponsoring the ship and breaking a bottle of champaign over its hull.
• Read more and see more photos HERE.

 

5. Roby honored with service to agriculture award

• U.S. Rep. Martha Roby was recognized with the Alabama Farmers Federation’s highest honor Sunday – the Service to Agriculture Award – for “being a champion for farmers since she was first elected to Congress in 2010.”
• Roby, who is not seeking reelection to a sixth term in the U.S. House, played a role in writing two farm bills as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, and also saw farm programs funded as a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
• Federation President Jimmy Parnell said Roby’s “grit and determination ensured farmers weren’t forgotten by other leaders in Washington and earned her the respect of agricultural leaders at home and in Congress.”
• Roby said she was honored by the award, but considered the work on behalf agriculture part part of her job.
• “Since agriculture and forestry are the largest employers in the district and in our state, I take the role as the farmers’ advocate very seriously. I have prioritized spending time with farmers over the years. Whether it was standing in a peanut field or meeting with farmers after a disaster, what they have to say is important to me.”
• Read more HERE.

 

 

Going bowling

• Neither Auburn of Alabama started the season aspiring to play in non-playoff Florida bowls, but that’s where they are heading.
• After being shut out of the New Years 6 games, Alabama got the SEC’s first pick in the Citrus Bowl versus Michigan in Orlando. Likewise, Auburn will play Minnesota in the Tampa Bay Outback Bowl. Both games are New Years Day.
• Interestingly, Auburn and Alabama finished dead even at No. 9 in the AP Top 25, but the College Football Playoff rankings weren’t even close to that. The CFP Committee ranked Auburn 12th and Alabama 13th, both dropping a spot as Oregon shot seven spots up the rankings.
• Still, with all the talk of playing and beating ranked teams, No. 11 Utah lost each of its two games against ranked opponents.
• Go figure.
• Also, a correction of my own mistake from yesterday: the national championship game will be played in New Orleans, not Atlanta.
• Did you know that each time LSU has played for the national championship, it has been in New Orleans? They were winners in 1958, 2003, and 2007, but lost to Alabama in 2011. All in their own backyard.

 

 

News Briefs

State starting Saturday service at 5 driver license sites

• MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says it is opening five additional driver license offices for Saturday service beginning this week.
• A statement from the agency says offices in Dothan, Jacksonville, Montgomery, Sheffield and Tuscaloosa will begin opening from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays.
• Drivers will be able to take driving and road-knowledge tests, renew existing licenses, and transfer out-of-state licenses to Alabama. Residents can also obtain the new STAR IDs that will be required for many people.
• The agency’s offices in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Opelika already are open on Saturdays.

Court: State can revoke teacher’s license despite acquittal

• MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s education department won a round Friday in its attempt to get rid of a teacher accused of making sexual advances on a student.
• The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals overturned a lower court decision that blocked the state’s attempt to revoke the teaching license of Edward Clinton Davis in Montgomery.
• Davis was acquitted on criminal charges linked to alleged sexual advances on a student, but the state tried to fire him for misconduct in 2016, the ruling said. A court blocked the action, ruling that the state’s firing process violated Davis’ rights against being tried for the same offense twice.
• The appeals judges disagreed, ruling that the dismissal process is an administrative procedure that’s separate from action in criminal court. They also said the state school superintendent appeared to have followed rules by reading the entire record of Davis’ dismissal proceedings.
• The decision sent the dispute over Davis’ teaching credentials back to circuit court.

City could put the brakes on student housing in Auburn

• AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — The mayor of Auburn is proposing an ordinance that would put the brakes on any new student housing developments.
• The Opelika-Auburn News reports that Mayor Ron Anders discussed the plan at a recent city council meeting.
• A student housing task force has heard complaints from residents and businesses over a rising number of student developments.
• The mayor said the number of beds in the city designed specifically for students is too high.
• The mayor is proposing a 90-day moratorium on new developments, citing the need to reevaluate traffic and safety issues, among other things.
• “We need to do something because I’m afraid we’ve outgrown our roads and streets and I’m also a little worried we may have outgrown our police division,” City Councilman Tommy Dawson said.
• Councilman Brett Smith wondered if 90 days would give city staff members enough time to consider the issue.
• “I just don’t want to put a Band-Aid on a shotgun wound,” Smith said.
• City Manager Jim Buston told the council members that 90 days would give the staff enough time to find a more permanent solution.
• “Staff has been working on a variety of options for some time now,” Buston said. “We have internally been discussing many of the things that the mayor read..”
• Council members agreed to ask the staff to draft an ordinance that would be introduced at the Dec. 17 council meeting.

New wave of suits linked to BP oil spill hitting courts

• MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A new wave of lawsuits against BP is hitting the federal courts nearly a decade after the Gulf oil spill.
• The new litigation is the result of a court ruling that blocks thousands of people from a medical settlement negotiated after the 2010 environmental disaster. It threatens to clog court dockets for years, and it means plaintiffs like Sherry Carney might have to wait a long time for their day in court.
• “It was a fine line between life and death; I can tell you that,” Carney told WALA-TV, reflecting on how the oil spill changed her life.
• Carney was a Dauphin Island city councilwoman at the time. She said she had planned to make her house on the island’s fragile west end her “forever home.” But she said that months of breathing in toxic fumes took a toll on her health.
• In 2012, she said she spent 34 days in the hospital, part of it the intensive care unit. She said the ordeal included four different stints on a ventilator. At times, she added, she was worried she would not make it.
• Even after recovering, she said deterioration of her lungs has killed her long-distance running hobby.
• Read more from Brendan Kirby HERE.

 

 

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