Hurricane Sally Recovery Efforts As you know, Hurricane Sally made landfall in Alabama early Wednesday morning as a Category 2 hurricane. On Wednesday afternoon, the storm downgraded to a tropical storm but continued to produce significant flooding, wind damage and power outages across the Second District. My team and I closely tracked the storm upon […]

Last week when I wrote about some good news, I mentioned the recent peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates negotiated by the Trump administration. Just days after I wrote those words another Middle Eastern nation, Bahrain, reached a peace agreement with Israel, again negotiated by the Trump administration. What do these and […]

The summer of 1787 was a pivotal moment in American history. Our young nation had defeated the British in a bloody revolution but was struggling through the early years of independence. The Founding Fathers gathered in Philadelphia to determine how to put the nation on better footing, with a government that would function capably while […]

Throughout the pandemic, most of Alabama state government has continued to operate. There are still state troopers patrolling the highways, elections held, unemployment compensation paid and the state parks have stayed open in a limited manner. Roads are still being paved and the state offices have been back up and running this summer. Yet, one […]

“If you never change your mind, why have one?” A few weeks ago, I was dead set on how I would vote in the presidential election in November. More accurately, perhaps, I was dead set on how I would not vote. Today, I’m not so sure. Some might accuse me of being wishy-washy or uncommitted. […]

September 17 marks 233 years since the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, the document that sets up our form of government. It is the most impactful government charter in the modern world and is a model for many others. The final major battle of the Revolutionary War happened in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. […]

1987 was a quiet year for elections across America but not at Auburn. That was the year Harold Melton, a student in international studies and Spanish, launched and won a campaign to become the first African American president of the Auburn Student Government Association, winning with more than 65 percent of the vote. This was […]

Nineteen years ago, America awoke on a tranquil Tuesday morning only to have that peace destroyed by terrorists. We pause today to remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. We rise to honor the brave first responders who ran into harm’s way. We mourn with the thousands of Americans […]

No American will ever forget where they were and what they were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. The world changed in an instant before our own eyes, and it is hard to believe these tragic events took place nearly 20 years ago. Like many, I remember watching the horror unfold on television. […]

Labor Day is upcoming on Monday. In bygone days it was the benchmark day for campaign season to start. Historically, Labor Day barbeques were events where political campaigns had their roots. Camp stew and barbequed pork were devoured while folks listened to politicians promise how they were going to bring home the pork. The most […]

The police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha just months after the death of George Floyd sparked new protests. The video appears to clearly show another excessive and unnecessary use of force. What can we do to enact the reforms needed to curb police misconduct? Numerous sound reforms have been offered. Secrecy laws protecting officers’ […]

Summer is peaking and so are utility bills. Historically, the July-September months are always the most expensive electric bills of the year. You’re most likely using more power in a time when so many are crunching their budget, due to COVID-19. Your utility has likely implemented measures for delayed payments and waivers for late fees, […]

When many of us were growing up, Labor Day was the traditional end of summer, and we started back to school the next day. Back in those days, political campaigns did not really begin until Labor Day. I recall President Reagan kicking off his 1980 campaign on Labor Day with the Statue of Liberty behind […]

America’s essential workers continue to work tirelessly and selflessly throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Over 55 million workers in various industries are deemed “essential” at this time. Almost half – 48.7% – of Alabama’s labor force works in essential industries. From doctors, nurses, first responders and law enforcement officers to grocery store employees, manufacturers, truckers, educators […]

Much has been written about the latest rankings from Business Facilities magazine, which gave Alabama overall high marks and cited Birmingham and Huntsville as having the best business climate among all metro areas their size. That Huntsville ranked No. 1 in the small-sized metro category comes as no surprise. The northern Alabama region has been […]

Portland … Seattle … Chicago … New York City. Scenes of rioting, looting, lawlessness and utter chaos in these once-great American cities have become commonplace on television news channels over the past several months. Liberal Democrat mayors like Bill DeBlasio, Lori Lightfoot and Ted Wheeler have ceded control to mob rule, and Alabamians are joining […]

Seventy-five years ago today, World War II officially ended. After six years of global conflagration, the guns fell silent and the lights, a barometer of civilization, began to once again chase the darkness from the world. The war left Europe decimated with 60 million people dead and the islands of Japan smoldering piles of rubble […]

Alabama has a proud and storied military tradition. Our citizens have fought, died and shed their blood in every war our nation has fought since Alabama achieved statehood, and veterans from every conflict, including the American Revolution, have been laid to rest within our soil. The military bases located in Alabama – from Rucker to […]

In a span of just a few months, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we function as a society and has fundamentally altered our healthcare delivery system. It has exacerbated weaknesses in the infrastructure of health care and exposed limitations in current policies at a time when costs are rising and access to care […]

Ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft almost exited California last week over a dispute regarding their drivers’ legal status. In 2019, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5) making the companies’ drivers employees and not independent contractors. A judge stayed an August 20 compliance deadline. Politicians’ efforts to restrict contractors could arrest the development […]

Recently, the number of daily new Coronavirus cases has declined nationwide. Several experts credit an increase in mask wearing for this recent decrease. Governor Kay Ivey implemented the statewide mask order on July 16, and Alabama has seen a sharp drop in the percentage of positive tests over the past month. The number of daily […]

The Alabama Conservation Advisory Board approved a three-day extension of the red snapper season and tabled a motion to change the season dates and bag limit for wild turkeys at its recent meeting in Mobile. Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), recommended a three-day extension of the red […]

It is time for the people of Alabama to file a “motion to dismiss” Democrat Senator Doug Jones from office. Time and time again, Jones has consistently opposed conservative judges that have been nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, and with each vote he has failed to represent the wishes of Alabamians from […]

“We will never accept political gridlock as our fate.” — 2020 Democratic Party Platform Last Saturday, the House of Representatives met to pass a bill blocking the reform of our troubled Postal Service, reform which is desperately needed for a failing agency hemorrhaging billions of dollars each year. It was just a political show as […]