“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here. All sources remain confidential. 1. Bedsole for Secretary of State? Numerous Montgomery insiders have indicated to Yellowhammer that Birmingham investment banker Chess Bedsole is […]

Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey told media outlets today that they’ve reached a bipartisan compromise on background checks ahead of a gun control vote tomorrow in the Senate. Fox News says the compromise “would expand background checks for sales at gun shows and online but exempt some other transactions like personal sales among hunters […]

Rep. Martha Roby today introduced legislation that will remove an unnecessary federal restriction on the private sector and help Americans better balance family and work. The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) would allow private-sector workers to receive paid time off or “comp time” for overtime hours worked. For nearly thirty years, public-sector […]

Governor Bentley on Tuesday signed the Women’s Health and Safety Act, a measure that will improve and strengthen the standards of care at women’s clinics in Alabama. Some pro-life advocates say the bill will effectively shut down abortion clinics in Alabama as few, if any, clinics meet the health and safety standards the new law […]

Yellowhammer has teamed up with the Alabama Policy Institute to rank the business-friendliness of the state’s 50 largest cities. API’s researchers derived answers to the following questions: What cities have the best tax policy? Which have low costs of living and crime rates? What cities have experienced the most year-over-year population and job growth? What […]

AL.com’s coverage of yesterday’s Airbus groundbreaking in Mobile featured almost 100 pictures. Photographer Mike Brantley snapped some excellent images of Senator Jeff Sessions, Congressman Jo Bonner, 8th grader Victoria Corob who many said “stole the show” at the groundbreaking, and many others. But it wasn’t at the Airbus event that the best picture of the […]

Margaret Thatcher was one of the 20th century’s greatest leaders and one of the staunchest defenders of free markets and free people that the world has ever known. And on top of that, she was one of the best friends America has ever had. Don’t believe me? Watch the clip below. I’d also suggest you […]

By Senator Jeff Sessions Due to the enormous complexity of immigration reform and the profound consequences for American workers, taxpayers, and society at large, many have advocated for a step-by-step approach rather than a comprehensive one. The last attempt at comprehensive legislation was riddled with flaws and loopholes that made it unworkable—serving the special interests […]

Governor Robert Bentley was the keynote speaker Saturday at the annual Alabama College Republicans State Convention. UA’s student-run newspaper, The Crimson White, was the only media outlet in the room, but even they didn’t seem to catch what happened as Bentley spoke to the room full of college students. “WHEN I run for reelection in […]

Yellowhammer has teamed up with the Alabama Policy Institute to rank the business-friendliness of the state’s 50 largest cities. API’s researchers derived answers to the following questions: What cities have the best tax policy? Which have low costs of living and crime rates? What cities have experienced the most year-over-year population and job growth? What […]

Yellowhammer has teamed up with the Alabama Policy Institute to rank the business-friendliness of the state’s 50 largest cities. API’s researchers derived answers to the following questions: What cities have the best tax policy? Which have low costs of living and crime rates? What cities have experienced the most year-over-year population and job growth? What […]

Passage of SB 286, the Omnibus Gun Bill, Thursday night capped off months of debate and negotiations between Senators and multiple groups including the NRA, BCA, Sheriffs and the trial lawyers. The NRA and their supporters have to be extremely happy with the bill that ultimately passed the Senate. Among other things, the bill amends […]

Yellowhammer has teamed up with the Alabama Policy Institute to rank the business-friendliness of the state’s 50 largest cities. API’s researchers derived answers to the following questions: What cities have the best tax policy? Which have low costs of living and crime rates? What cities have experienced the most year-over-year population and job growth? What […]

The Baldwin County Republican Party is hosting their second annual summer dinner on June 14 and have chosen Dr. Ben Carson to be the keynote speaker (Get tickets HERE). Carson is the head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He made medical history in 1987 when he became the first surgeon to successfully seperate […]

“Rumors and Rumblings” is a weekly feature that runs each Wednesday. It includes short nuggets of information that we glean from conversations throughout the week. Have a tip? Send it here. All sources remain confidential. 1. Alabama Democrats dividing an ever shrinking pie Alabama Democrat Party Chairman Mark Kennedy and long-time Democrat Party power broker […]

As we announced yesterday, we’ve teamed up with the Alabama Policy Institute to rank the business-friendliness of the state’s 50 largest cities. API’s researchers derived answers to the following questions: What cities have the best tax policy? Which have low costs of living and crime rates? What cities have experienced the most year-over-year population and […]

In order to excel in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, Alabama must be as attractive as possible to emerging as well as expanding businesses. While Alabama’s business-friendly image is usually assessed at the state level, Alabama’s individual cities must consider how they compare in economic, social, and educational categories that attract new businesses and encourage […]

Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman told Yellowhammer this morning that she will not run for higher office in 2014. Chapman in 2010 received the highest number of votes of any Constitutional Officer in state history, including governor. Insiders have speculated for some time as to what her plans might be when her second term […]

One of the most contentious issues behind-the-scenes during the first half of the legislative session was a bill that, among other things, would allow employees to leave a gun in their car at their workplace whether their employer’s policies approve or not. Negotiations surrounding the bill have been ongoing for months between representatives from the […]

Rep. Joseph Mitchell made national and international headlines earlier this week when our story about his racially charged email correspondence with an Alabama citizen went viral. An internet poll posted by AL.com asked if Rep. Mitchell should resign over his comments. A staggering 89.4% of over 12,000 respondents said “yes.” But in spite of the […]

Dale Peterson doesn’t give a rip about much, but beer and cashews apparently do make the short list of things that are not only worth giving a rip about — but also going to jail for. Here’s what we’ve got right now: Cops. Cashews. and Cowboy hats. #alpolitics — Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) March 27, 2013 An […]

When a citizen sent a pro-2nd amendment email to the publicly available addresses of almost every member of the legislature, Rep. Joseph Mitchell (D-Mobile) decided it was time to get a few things off his chest. A Senator forwarded me the ensuing email thread, as both Mitchell and the citizen continued to CC pretty much […]

By Gary Palmer, Alabama Policy Institute In 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorium to block the “schoolhouse door” in order to prevent black students from enrolling at The University of Alabama. Fifty years later, there are still people trying block “schoolhouse doors.” This time, it is Alabama’s education union […]

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange is leading a national effort to convince the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to adopt broader religious exceptions to the ObamaCare mandate that all businesses and non-profit organizations purchase insurance for contraception and sterilization. Attorney General Strange wrote a letter sent today to Health and Human Services Secretary […]