Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Thursday, June 3.

 

1. As prison lease plan fizzles, Ivey, lawmakers considering options

• As the clock ran out on Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to lease new prisons, several lawmakers said they want to consider using some of the more than $2 billion in new federal Coronavirus relief money on improved prison infrastructure.
• Earlier this year, Ivey signed lease agreements with Tennessee-based CoreCivic to build two large men’s prisons. Tuesday was the deadline for those agreements to be final and Ivey confirmed to reporters Wednesday that the lease-only route is no longer an option as support from potential underwriters has fallen away.
• “To that end, my team and I will meet with legislative leaders again in the coming days to review all that we have learned through this process thus far, including the complexity and depth of the multi-faceted challenge at-hand,” Ivey said in a statement. “Anyone who is serious about these issues understands that replacing our failing prison infrastructure with safer, more secure facilities that accommodate the rehabilitation of incarcerated people is essential. It is not a question of if this will happen, but how.”
• Reading between the lines on what Ivey said, a lease option could still be a part of what the state ultimately does, especially considering the time a bid process takes. But the deal as we knew it with CoreCivic isn’t happening.
• Meanwhile, lawmakers have signaled to Ivey they want another crack at a state-funded prison plan.
• Alabama budget makers and leaders are continuing to lay the groundwork for the distribution and spending of Rescue Plan funds. The state this summer will start seeing some of the more than $4 billion allocated to it and local governments in the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act.
• State government’s Rescue Plan funding includes $2.1 billion earmarked for state relief and $192 million for state capital projects fund.
• “We need to consider what we could do with some of these funds for prison construction,” Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, told Alabama Daily News.
• Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

2. Ivey announces reelection bid

• Gov. Kay Ivey has made it official: she’s running for reelection.
• Citing her record over the last four years that includes the state’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivey, 76, made the announcement in a video message released by her campaign.
• (Not for nothing, but ADN Insiders knew this was happening last Friday by way of Inside Alabama Politics)
• The governor emphasized her administration’s investment in infrastructure, job creation, Alabama’s pandemic recovery and its low unemployment rate.
• “Alabama is working again, and the best is yet to come,” Ivey said in her distinct Southern drawl. “The COVID crisis has tested us all, but together we’ve met the call with the same things that make us who we are — faith, resilience and a good old-fashioned bucket load of common sense. The result: a future brighter than any other in America,” Ivey said.
• Shortly after her announcement, Ivey made an unscheduled campaign appearance at Dirk’s Filet & Vine, a popular meat and three lunch spot in Cloverdale.
• Read more from Kim Chandler and see the video announcement HERE.

 

 

3. What is dead may never die: I-10 bridge returns to Mobile’s plans

• Almost two years ago, a proposal to build a redesigned Mobile Bay Way complete with a high-arching bridge over the Mobile River was declared dead after local opposition to tolls killed the project.
• However, as AL.com’s John Sharp reports, the project is now back on the table, as the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization voted Wednesday to place an alternative truck-only version of the bridge plan back on its local infrastructure agenda.
• The Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization, which nixed the original bridge plan, meets next week to consider reopening the proposal.
• To be sure, there are many officials who don’t like the idea of a truck-only toll bridge. Alabama Trucking Association President Mark Colson told planning officials that, while truckers agree a new bridge is needed, they can’t be the only ones on the hook to fund it.
• “We are willing to be part of the solution,” Colson said. “But a funding solution should be fair and equitable to all of those involved.”
• Some are saying this is just a way to get the project rolling again and that a truck-only toll isn’t be the end goal. Then there’s the prospect of federal money, including earmarks.
• Read more from John Sharp HERE.

 

 

4. Free beer, other new incentives for Biden’s ‘vaccine sprint’

• Dangling everything from sports tickets to a free beer, President Joe Biden is looking for that extra something — anything — that will get people to roll up their sleeves for COVID-19 shots when the promise of a life-saving vaccine by itself hasn’t been enough.
• Biden on Wednesday announced a “month of action” to urge more Americans to get vaccinated before the July 4 holiday, including an early summer sprint of incentives and a slew of new steps to ease barriers and make getting shots more appealing to those who haven’t received them.
• Among those efforts is a promotional giveaway announced Wednesday by Anheuser-Busch, saying it will “buy Americans 21+ a round of beer” once Biden’s 70% goal is met.
• “Get a shot and have a beer,” Biden said, advertising the promotion even though he himself refrains from drinking alcohol.
• Additionally, the White House is partnering with early childhood centers such as KinderCare, Learning Care Group, Bright Horizons and more than 500 YMCAs to provide free childcare coverage for Americans looking for shots or needing assistance while recovering from side effects.
• Read more from Zeke Miller HERE.

 

 

5. Trump toys with conservatives on 2024 run

• Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he’s planning a comeback bid for the White House. “We need you,” conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president.
• “Well, I’ll tell you what,” Trump responded. “We are going to make you very happy, and we’re going to do what’s right.”
• It was a noncommittal answer typical of a former president who spent decades toying with presidential runs. But multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say such remarks shouldn’t be viewed as idle chatter. Instead, they sense a shift, with Trump increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina.
• Read more from Jill Colvin HERE.

 

 

Headlines

INSIDE ALABAMA POLITICS – May 28, 2021

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – As prison lease plan fizzles, Ivey, lawmakers considering options

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey announces run for another term

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Free beer, other new incentives for Biden’s ‘vaccine sprint’

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump toys with conservatives on 2024 run

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Report: More data, tracking needed on prison education efforts

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Britt resigns BCA, readies Senate run

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Biden, Capito to meet as infrastructure deadline looms

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US formally ends policy for asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – OPEC to boost oil output as economies recover, prices rise

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Biden suspends oil leases in Alaska’s Arctic refuge

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – June 2, 2021

 

AL.COM – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces she’s running for reelection in 2022

 

AL.COM – Medicaid expansion could create 28,500 jobs in Alabama, advocates say

 

AL.COM – Mo Brooks avoiding service of Capitol siege lawsuit, plaintiff says

 

AL.COM – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says lease plan for prisons no longer an option

 

AL.COM – I-10 Bridge and Bayway project returns to Mobile’s plans

 

AL.COM – Mazda Toyota looking to hire 2,400 for Alabama plant. Here’s how to apply

 

AL.COM – Contributor Cameron Smith: Standing in a culture that wants us to bow down

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Late City Council member Richard Bollinger honored

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Here’s what election changes Pa. county commissioners want the Legislature to make

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Prattville Council OKs pay bonuses for some workers thanks to federal COVID relief money

 

Decatur Daily – Melson: Support of ‘solid legislators’ key for medical marijuana; what’s next for access

 

Decatur Daily – Metzgar receives Army commission, Auburn degree

 

Decatur Daily – Toyota to build entry-level SUV Corolla Cross at Limestone plant

 

Decatur Daily – Second interim president named for Calhoun

 

Times Daily – Shoals housing costs reach record amid high demand

 

Times Daily – Homebound now getting COVID vaccines

 

Times Daily – Leasing is no longer an option for prisons

 

Anniston Star – As prison lease plan fizzles, Ivey, lawmakers considering options

 

 

Anniston Star – Report: More data, tracking needed on prison education efforts

 

 

Anniston Star – City has new plan for proposed Satcher Institute

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Anniston teen uses bags of books to comfort children during stressful times

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Tutors see increase demand for services this summer

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Amistad Murals inside new art museum at Talladega College

 

Tuscaloosa News – Scott Holmes named new Tuscaloosa city attorney

 

Tuscaloosa News – As prison construction deadline passes, Gov. Kay Ivey plans meeting with Legislature

 

Tuscaloosa News – Lanier, McKinstry enter race as qualifying begins for District 7 special election

 

YellowHammer News – Mazda Toyota Manufacturing unveils first Alabama production model

 

YellowHammer News – Hometown Lenders’ second Back the Blue event to feature Alabama AG Steve Marshall

 

YellowHammer News – ‘The best is yet to come’: Gov. Kay Ivey makes it official, will seek reelection in 2022

 

Gadsden Times – Etowah sports authority discusses financing, getting soccer fields ready for fall play

 

Gadsden Times – As prison construction deadline passes, Gov. Kay Ivey plans meeting with Legislature

 

Gadsden Times – Moore talks need for more road and bridge projects in Biden’s infrastructure plan

 

Dothan Eagle – Police: 3 officers stable after being shot in Delaware

 

Dothan Eagle – The ultimate garage & estate sale guide for this weekend

 

Dothan Eagle – EU, Mideast nations look to train at Cyprus security center

 

Opelika-Auburn News – EU, Mideast nations look to train at Cyprus security center

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Police: 3 officers stable after being shot in Delaware

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Buckingham Palace barred minorities from office jobs in ’60s

 

WSFA Montgomery – Town Hall held to address concerns over violent crime in Montgomery

 

WSFA Montgomery – June is National Adopt a Cat Month

 

WSFA Montgomery – Rosa Parks Committee requests DOJ to investigate Huntsville Police Department

 

WAFF Huntsville – Mark C. Smith Concert Hall upgrades, Broadway Theater League announces 2021-2022 show lineup

 

WAFF Huntsville – Huntsville City Council members want to see action plan for HPD

 

WAFF Huntsville – Decatur Police Department welcoming community dog walk watchers

 

WKRG Mobile – Mobile MPO approves I-10 truck bridge plan

 

WKRG Mobile – ‘I’m broken to pieces:’ Vigil held for 25-year-old woman found dead in Saraland

 

WKRG Mobile – Man searching for 2 heroes who saved his life at Crab Island in Destin

 

WTVY Dothan – UPDATE: Missing Eufaula senior found safe

 

WTVY Dothan – Vietnam Vet graduates after 40 years

 

WTVY Dothan – Businesses looking to hire high school students

 

WASHINGTON POST – Trump has grown increasingly consumed with ballot audits as he pushes falsehood that election was stolen

 

WASHINGTON POST – Justice Dept. secretly obtained New York Times reporters’ phone records during Trump administration

 

WASHINGTON POST – Time could be running out for infrastructure deal

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Israel Live Updates: Fragile Coalition to Oust Netanyahu Faces Growing Pressure

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Tasked to Fight Climate Change, a Secretive U.N. Agency Does the Opposite

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Covid Live Updates: U.S. Nursing Home Deaths Drop Sharply

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Palantir and DoorDash CEOs Top List of Biggest Pay Packages in 2020

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Labor Shortage Draws Attention of U.S. Lawmakers

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Jobless Claims Expected to Drop to Another Pandemic Low

 

 

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