Bill to force formal utility rate hearings for the first time in more than 40 years delayed
Alabama's Public Service Commission hasn't held a formal rate hearing for utilities since 1981. A bill that would force the commission to hold such hearings is under consideration in the state legislature, although the measure was delayed in a House committee this week. We get more details on our weekly legislative update with Todd Stacy, host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television.
Bernard LaFayette, Selma voting rights organizer, dies at 85
LaFayette laid the foundations of the Selma, Alabama, campaign that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act. He was a Freedom Rider and helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Mixed reactions, including relief, greet news the Coast Guard is buying BSC campus
The U.S. Coast Guard will take possession of the 192-acre campus in the northeast corner of Birmingham’s Bush Hills Neighborhood and will begin work to refit it as a training center for officers and enlisted personnel.
More News
As Mississippi waits to spend opioid settlement funds, children and families suffer
Mississippi will receive more than $400M to fight the opioid epidemic. So far, officials haven’t directed it toward programs that support addiction recovery.
Alabama’s new state climatologist takes the reins
The controversial John Christy is retiring as Alabama’s state climatologist. Lee Ellenburg now assumes the role and is already making a few changes, including declaring that climate change is real and caused by humans.
Alabama man, on death row since 1990, to get new trial
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the summer ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision paves the way for Michael Sockwell to receive a new trial.
NPR News
Bill making the Public Service Commission an appointed board is dead for the session
Usually when discussing legislative action, the focus is on what's moving forward. But plenty of bills in a legislature stall or even die. Leaders in the Alabama legislature say a bill involving the Public Service Commission is dead for the session. We get details on that from Todd Stacy, host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television.
Feds announce $4.1 billion loan for electric power expansion in Alabama
Federal energy officials said the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers.
Lack of transportation keeps many Alabamians from working. Rural public transit programs are trying to help
While lack of transportation is a major employment barrier in Alabama, few people take public transit to work. That dynamic is even more pronounced in rural areas.
Bill limiting environmental regulations goes to the governor’s desk
President Trump has taken steps to roll back environmental regulations. Some of that same action is taking place in statehouses, including Alabama's. Lawmakers gave final passage this week to a bill that would ban the state from enacting environmental rules more stringent than those at the federal level. That's where we start our weekly legislative update with Todd Stacy, host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television.
Following Trump’s lead, Alabama seeks to limit environmental regulations
The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday approved legislation backed by business groups that would prevent state agencies from setting restrictions on pollutants and hazardous substances exceeding those set by the federal government. In areas where no federal standard exists, the state could adopt new rules only if there is a “direct causal link” between exposure to harmful emissions and “manifest bodily harm” to humans.
Citing national security, Trump has abandoned fenceline monitoring at coke ovens
The administration ended a program that documented excessive levels of a carcinogen at industrial facilities across the country. Environmental groups who say the move leaves polluted communities behind have filed suit.
