Presented by

the Poarch Band of Creek Indians

1. Hyundai expansion to have 1,200-job impact

2. Battle lines harden in impeachment hearing

 

 

 

 

 

 

A message from

the Poarch Band of Creek Indians

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Leaders will meet to discuss future of LifeTech

• Last week, ADN reported that some lawmakers were concerned about possible changes to the LifeTech Transition Center in Thomasville, an education and training facility for state parolees.
• They had been informed that a “significant scale back” was planned amid the restructured Board of Pardons and Paroles evaluating various programs.
• Now, ADN’s Mary Sell and Caroline Beck report that several state officials plan to meet with Gov. Kay Ivey to discuss plans for the facility.
• Pardons and Paroles Executive Director Charlie Graddick, Alabama Community College System Chancellor Jimmy Baker and Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day all plan to meet with the governor soon, her office confirmed.
• Full story HERE.

 

 

4. Crowell appointed Probate Judge

• When Steven Reed was elected Mayor of Montgomery, he left big shoes to fill at the Probate Judge’s office, to say nothing of a plum public position.
• The state constitution gives the responsibility for filling such vacancies to the governor, and Gov. Kay Ivey yesterday appointed Gen. Ed Crowell as Montgomery County Probate Judge.
• Crowell also ran for mayor in a crowded field, but fell short of making the runoff.
• Ivey pointed to Crowell’s record of service in making the appointment. He served 35 years in the Air Force, retiring as a Brigadier General.
• Full story HERE.

 

5. An IAP update

• One of the top stories in the last two issues of Inside Alabama Politics has been the growing speculation that a high ranking state lawmaker would soon be hired on for a prominent job within the Alabama Community College System.
• It went well beyond speculation, really, to the point that folks were making plans to fill his shoes at the committee and district level.
• Now, those plans will have to wait as new information suggests no move will actually take place.
• Sorry to be cryptic, but this is one of those IAP paid subscription stories, and subscribers can read the update HERE.

 

 

News Briefs

Group stops search for Aniah Blanchard

• AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — A Texas-based nonprofit that works to find missing people across the country has called off its search for Aniah Blanchard.
• Destinie Duvall of Texas EquuSearch tells WRBL-TV the horse-mounted search group is heading home after using “every resource available” to search for the 19-year-old Blanchard in Auburn, Alabama.
• She was last seen on Oct. 23 at an Auburn gas station. Her damaged car was later found abandoned.
• Twenty-nine-year-old Ibraheem Yazeed has been arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping.
• Read more HERE.

Mother of missing Florida girl charged; human remains found

• DEMOPOLIS, Ala. (AP) — Police searching for a 5-year-old Florida girl who was reported missing last week by her mother found human remains in rural Alabama, authorities said Tuesday.
• Taylor Rose Williams’ mother, who said her daughter disappeared from home overnight, was later charged with child neglect and giving false information to investigators, according to investigators.
• The remains were located in a wooded area between two towns in Marengo County, located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Montgomery, police said.
• Read more HERE.

Alabama sheriff pleads not guilty to indictment

• ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama sheriff says he is innocent of ethics violations and theft.
• News outlets report Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely pleaded not guilty during a hearing Tuesday.
• Blakely is free on bond and remains in office after being arrested in August on charges that include accusations of taking thousands of dollars from campaign and law enforcement accounts.
• The plea came days after Circuit Judge Pride Tompkins refused to dismiss an indictment against the longtime sheriff. The Decatur Daily reports that the defense argued in court papers that the state’s ethics law is unconstitutionally vague, but the judge disagreed.
• The 69-year-old Blakely has been sheriff of the north Alabama county since 1983. Any felony conviction would automatically strip him of office.

Police: Broom-wielding clerk fights off Alabama thief

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Police say a convenience store clerk used a broom to fight off a knife-wielding man trying to steal from a cash register.
• Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams told news outlets they’re still searching for the suspect, who is accused of entering a store early Monday and approaching the counter as if he was going to make a purchase. Williams says that’s when the suspect pulled a knife and tried to jump behind the counter. Security camera video shows the man trying to get into the register drawer before the clerk scrambles around the corner with a broom, swatting at him until he runs away.
• Police say nobody was injured, but the suspect was able to grab a few items.
• They’re asking anyone with information to come forward.

 

 

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