Recorded state government meetings available through new League of Women Voters channel
The League of Women Voters has established a channel on which citizens can watch videos of the state Senate, House of Representatives and legislative committee meetings, searchable by keywords and phrases.
The Alabama Channel is a new project of the League of Women Voters of Alabama Education Fund.
“Ultimately, we anticipate that the Alabama Channel will improve civic engagement and government transparency,” Kathy Jones, president of the education fund said in a press release from the league. “Through the searchable digital archive of legislative proceedings, the Alabama Channel will help us all gain a big picture of Alabama’s legislative process and provide context for the complex issues that Alabama faces.”
Alabama livestreams legislative meetings but does not record them, making it one of four states that don’t record their meetings, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Alabama Channel will capture and save the live video recordings and make them available to the public online and on demand. Users will be able to enter a keyword or phrase to quickly find the point in any recorded meeting where the word or phrase is mentioned, then share the clips on social media or websites.
“Our legislature is elected by the people, yet as voters, we often feel disconnected from what our legislators are working on,” Tara Bailey, director of The Alabama Channel, said. “The Alabama Channel makes it simple for all Alabamians to quickly see what their legislators are saying about the issues they care about most.”
The channel used software created by the nonprofit Open Media Foundation, which is based out of Denver and focused on putting the power of the media in the hands of the people, according to the press release.
Visit The Alabama Channel.
Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation
Restoration workers are removing about 100,000 handbound books from their shelves and carefully placing them in crates, the start of a disinfection process that aims to kill the tiny beetles.
A military exercise drawing together 19 nations and 35,000 forces begins in Australia
The largest-ever war fighting drills in Australia is underway and expected to attract China's attention. Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a joint exercise between the U.S. and Australia.
Trump marks anniversary of assassination attempt at the FIFA Club World Cup final
The president joined the players on the field after the match to present PSG players with their runner-up medals and hand Chelsea their championship trophy.
Wildfire destroys a historic Grand Canyon lodge and other structures
A park official said the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing were among the 50 to 80 structures lost.
Jannik Sinner wins Wimbledon, Italy’s first singles champion
Italy's Jannik Sinner defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Wimbledon title. Sinner is the first Italian to win the tournament.
Senate committee details failures by Secret Service in preventing Trump shooting
The Senate Homeland Security Committee said the Secret Service's "lack of structured communication was likely the greatest contributor to the failures" at the Pennsylvania rally last summer.
