Presented by the

Alabama League of Municipalities

 

1. Session homestretch

• We’ve made it to the homestretch.
• Tanned, rested and ready, lawmakers are returning to Montgomery for the final leg of this 2022 regular session.
• About two weeks remain and several high-profile bills, including the state’s 2023 budgets and several potential policy changes regarding education, await votes.
• ADN’s Mary Sell and Heather Gann wrote about the legislation that will get attention in the remaining seven possible legislative days.
• Read their full story HERE.

 

 

2. State creates registry for elder abuse convictions

• A new state database, created by legislation called “Shirley’s Law” after a woman who survived elder abuse, will include the names of anyone convicted of mistreating senior citizens.
• It will be the nation’s first elder abuse registry.
• The law was named for Shirley Holcombe, who died in 2018 after becoming a victim of forgery by a caretaker, after a campaign by daughter Jo Holcombe.
• Following her mother’s death, Holcombe brought the idea for an elder abuse registry to Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile. Seeing it through to becoming a law was an emotional process, she said.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

A message from the

Alabama League of Municipalities

Municipalities are the foundation of Alabama’s economy. The Alabama League of Municipalities was formed in 1935 and currently represents more than 450 member municipalities.

Year after year, the League works to secure legislation enabling all cities and towns to perform their functions more efficiently and effectively; offers specialized training for both municipal officials and employees; and conducts continuing studies of the legislative, administrative and operational needs, problems and functions of Alabama’s municipal governments.

For more information, visit almonline.org.

 

 

 

 

3. Congressional Republicans, bullish on midterms, plot return to power

• The House majority seemingly within their grasp, Republican lawmakers huddling at a retreat in Florida last week turned to the architect of the “Republican Revolution” nearly three decades ago — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — for ideas on starting their own political revolt come November.
• Needing only a handful of seats to recapture the House, Republicans are exceedingly confident of their chances. With incumbent Democrats retiring in droves, and President Joe Biden’s poll numbers slumping amid deep voter pessimism about the economy, many in the party — including their leader Kevin McCarthy — are treating the Republican victory as a fait accompli.
• They see Gingrich, the man who swept away four decades of Democratic House rule with the “Contract With America” in 1994, as a model. He spoke to House Republicans Wednesday night as they gathered in Jacksonville, Fla., to prepare for the campaigning ahead. His message was simple: offer a contrast to what he called the failing Democratic agenda and then deliver to the American people.
• But while Republicans have numbers on their side in the election, what they would do with a majority is very much a work in progress. And it remained unclear at the three-day retreat what, if any, lessons Republicans have learned from the tumultuous eras of Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, John Boehner and Paul Ryan — the past four Republican House speakers, all of whom found it is easier to win power in the House than to control it.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

4. Biden returns after bumpy trip to Europe

• With the last nine, unscripted words of an impassioned speech about Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, President Joe Biden created a troubling distraction, undermining his effectiveness as he returned home to face restive Americans who strongly disapprove of his performance on issues that matter most to them.
• His comment that Russia’s Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” — an assertion that his aides were forced to quickly clean up — overshadowed his larger message of solidifying the Western coalition that’s confronting Moscow.
• It punctuated another frustrating moment for an administration that’s struggled to regain its footing — and the American electorate’s support — in the face of an ongoing pandemic, escalating inflation and an increasingly complicated foreign policy crisis that raises the specter of nuclear conflict.
• Although he’s forged a united front to punish Russia with sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine, polls show Americans feel no better about his leadership as the bloody war continues. Meanwhile, Democrats are in danger of losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, leaving Biden with limited opportunities to advance a progressive domestic agenda that remains stalled.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

5. Zelenskyy seeks peace ‘without delay’ in talks

• Ukraine could declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia to secure peace “without delay,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of another planned round of talks — though he said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia’s leader could end the war.
• While hinting at possible concessions in an interview with independent Russian media outlets, Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine’s priority is ensuring its sovereignty and its “territorial integrity” — preventing Russia from carving up the country, something Ukraine and the West say could now be Moscow’s goal.
• But, Zelenskyy added: “Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state — we are ready to go for it.”
• The Ukrainian leader has suggested as much before, but rarely so forcefully, and the latest remarks come as the two sides said talks would resume Tuesday.
• Russia has long demanded that Ukraine drop any hope of joining the western NATO alliance, which Moscow sees as a threat. Zelenskyy said that the question of neutrality, which would keep Ukraine out of NATO or other military alliances, should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

 

A message from the 

Alabama Council on Developmental Disabilities

The Alabama Council on Developmental Disabilities is dedicated to the vision that all Alabamians, regardless of disability, will live, learn, work, and play in inclusive communities.

To that end, we work towards system changes to promote better lives for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Learn more at www.acdd.org.

 

 

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Budgets, major bills pending in final weeks of legislative session

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama creates registry for elder abuse convictions

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Congressional Republicans, bullish on midterms, plot return to power

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Biden finds no respite at home after returning from Europe

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ukraine leader says he seeks peace ‘without delay’ in talks

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Mike Durant, Katie Britt interview on Capitol Journal

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Trump scrambles Alabama Senate primary

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Amazon tries to stave off union drive on two fronts

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Attack on Alabama pipeline prompts reward

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – ICE to stop using Alabama jail, limit use of 3 others

 

AL.COM – Doug Jones: ‘Bruising’ hearings prove Ketanji Brown Jackson ‘a justice for this moment’

 

AL.COM – As Orange Beach forms Alabama’s newest city school system, Gulf Shores prepares for ‘Next Wave’

 

AL.COM – Fired after a workplace injury, this Alabama man fought back and won $750,000

 

AL.COM – After Trump withdraws support of Brooks, will Alabama conservatives migrate toward Ron DeSantis in 2024?

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Pastor John L. Alford, Sr., honored posthumously with historic marker at Mt. Gillard church

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Man dies in accident involving pedestrian, car at I-85 South, Eastern Boulevard

 

Montgomery Advertiser – ‘Barbershop massacre’: Prattville’s deadliest crime wraps with guilty plea

 

Decatur Daily – Alabama school donates missile, launcher to veterans museum

 

Decatur Daily – Orr math-instruction bill headed for vote this week

 

Decatur Daily – More than 1,000 new homes being built or planned for city

 

Times Daily – Poll shows support for changes in math instruction

 

Times Daily – World War I project’s legacy takes center stage

 

Times Daily – Ag center bids could go out in June

 

Anniston Star – Janney Furnace event recalls work of longtime county commissioner

 

Anniston Star – DAR, Daughters of 1812 dedicate Oxford markers

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Etowah County Sheriff’s Office to soon house self-sustainable Digital Forensics Center

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Central Alabama food bank receiving less food from USDA

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Crews battle Stone Gate Fire in Shelby County

 

Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa leaders set to hire project manager for future Saban Center

 

Tuscaloosa News – PHOTOS: Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Half Marathon

 

YellowHammer News – UAH Space Hardware Club team’s robotic rover on its way to summertime competition in Utah

 

YellowHammer News – Oxford resident enjoys unique outdoor sport with her dogs

 

YellowHammer News – Constitutional carry increases demand for proper training

 

Gadsden Times – Immigrant advocacy groups celebrate decision to end ICE detention at Etowah County jail

 

Gadsden Times – PET OF THE WEEK: Cheerio loves to play, but is also a cuddly lap dog

 

Gadsden Times – Rainbow City Goodwill offering coupons for National Cleaning Week

 

Dothan Eagle – An unforgettable, pugnacious night at the Oscars; Zelenskyy’s latest plea; gas prices drop, slowly

 

Dothan Eagle – Arab, US top diplomats in Israel as Mideast dynamic shifts

 

Dothan Eagle – Canada Indigenous tell pope of abuses at residential schools

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Auburn alumnus Ed Packard has made election administration his life’s work, and now he’s running for Ala. Secretary of State

 

Opelika-Auburn News – She started baking as a little girl, and even after becoming an ER nurse she couldn’t stop

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Arab, US top diplomats in Israel as Mideast dynamic shifts

 

WSFA Montgomery – Dothan man drowns in Lake Eufaula boating accident

 

WSFA Montgomery – One injured in plane crash at Headland Municipal Airport

 

WSFA Montgomery – 2nd annual Tallapoosa Sheriff’s Girls Ranch Ride held in Valley

 

WAFF Huntsville – What’s the housing market outlook for spring?

 

WAFF Huntsville – Alabama unemployment rate drops again; hospitality industry sees biggest increase in workers

 

WAFF Huntsville – Emergency crews respond to car wreck in Huntsville

 

WKRG Mobile – Russia shifts focus to try to grind Ukraine’s army in east

 

WKRG Mobile – Kansas races past Miami in 2nd half, reaches 16th Final Four

 

WKRG Mobile – Will Smith confronts Chris Rock, then wins best actor Oscar

 

WTVY Dothan – Will Civic Center soon be fading memory?

 

WTVY Dothan – Opp hosts 61st Rattlesnake Rodeo

 

WTVY Dothan – Greenwood community enjoys first Western Roundup

 

WASHINGTON POST – Zelensky offers diplomatic opening as peace talks with Russia to resume in Turkey

 

WASHINGTON POST – Zelensky steps up criticism of West, demanding weapons and sanctions

 

WASHINGTON POST – Biden’s Putin remark pushes U.S.-Russia relations closer to collapse

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Live Updates: Zelensky Says Ukraine Is ‘Ready’ to Discuss Neutrality

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Biden Aims to Boost Military and Social Spending in 2023 Budget

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Live Updates: Israel, U.S. and 4 Arab Nations Hold Summit

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Ukraine and Russia Prepare for Talks in Turkey as Russian Missiles Hit Cities

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Putin’s War in Ukraine Tests Allegiances of Russian Speakers in Former Soviet Latvia

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures Rise as Bond Yields Tick Lower

 

 

 

 

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