Another Alabama city is threatening to create its own broadband network despite the folly shown by other municipalities that have lost billions in taxpayer money on such projects. Andalusia Mayor Earl Johnson told Mediacom, the city’s cable franchisee, that the city would invest taxpayer dollars in building its own broadband network if the company didn’t […]

An audit report from Opelika shows that the city’s municipal broadband network is a big money loser, dragging down the city’s otherwise healthy finances. John Boles, a local accountant who completed the audit for the City of Opelika, told the Opelika-Auburn News that the telecommunications fund, OPS One, has a negative balance of $13.4 million and “is the only […]

Alabama ranks 45th in broadband access for its residents, making internet growth a vital infrastructure issue and a topic of discussion in the upcoming elections. In advance of the June 5 primary, Alabama Policy Institute and Yellowhammer News queried candidates for governor and lieutenant governor on what they felt were important infrastructure investment projects and […]

A federal judge called “horrendously inadequate” the care of inmates in Alabama’s prison system, which has received national attention. Lawmakers have debated how to handle the overcrowded and understaffed prisons, including possibly privatizing the system. In advance of the June 5 primary election, Alabama Policy Institute and Yellowhammer News recently asked candidates for governor and […]

Lawmakers and political observers say the Business Council of Alabama still has plenty of pull in the state despite some loses in the State House and speculation about the future of the group’s chief executive officer. “I think it’s been effective,” said William Stewart, a political science professor at the University of Alabama who argues […]

As embattled Business Council of Alabama CEO Bill Canary’s time as head of the organization is debated among insiders, some of the state’s heavy-hitters are expressing dissatisfaction with the leadership of the group. State Sen. Slade Blackwell (R-Mountain Brook) told Yellowhammer News the BCA “is fantastic,” but its representation in Montgomery is not. “The current […]

Alabama’s highest-earning families are benefiting the most from the sweeping changes in the tax code that go into effect this year. The state’s highest earners – those making at least $150,000 a year – topped a WalletHub study released Wednesday comparing how various income levels in each state and the District of Columbia gain or […]

A bill that would provide grants to aid rural broadband expansion is on Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. The legislation was delivered to the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon after the Senate adopted changes to the Alabama Rural Broadband Act previously made in the House. Originally conceived as a bill that would offer tax incentives to companies […]

A bill that would help the expansion of rural broadband in Alabama passed a House committee Wednesday, but a big change in the legislation could affect the pocketbooks of state taxpayers. The Alabama Rural Broadband Act, sponsored by Sen. Clay Scofield (R-Guntersville), passed by unanimous voice vote in the House Education Committee after breezing through […]

Some Puerto Ricans have been without power for so long that when the lights come back on the celebration is intense. John Woody, an engineering supervisor with Alabama Power, said he’s seen residents step out onto their porches and bang pots and pans. You can’t really blame them when many have been without power for […]

    The chairman of the Alabama Legislature’s joint oversight committee on prisons says lawmakers must “have transparent oversight” of a health-care provider picked to service the state’s prisons that is embroiled in legal turmoil in Mississippi. The Alabama Department of Corrections recently selected Wexford Health Services, Inc. to provide medical care in state prisons. […]

  A state senator in Alabama hopes the third time is the charm in his effort to spur rural broadband development by creating tax incentives for providers. Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, told Yellowhammer News he plans to file legislation on Thursday that has the same three-pronged approach he’s tried in the past. The legislation would […]