West Alabama Monday Briefing
It is Monday, October 16, 2023, and it is "Squeeze the Big Orange Week" in T-Town. The Tennessee Vols pays a visit to Bryant-Denny Saturday afternoon and Bama fans need to spend the week charging up for pay back for last year's loss and field storming by UT students in Knoxville.
The early forecast says it is going to be a perfect fall day for the game Saturday with sunny skies and 72 degrees at game time. Dress in red to counteract that daisy orange Tennessee uses as a school color.
The Forecast:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 66. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 42. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 45. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the evening.
Remainder of the Week: Clear to partly cloudy skies with highs in the lower to mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s are forecast through the day Thursday as a cold front begins moving through the state. The front will bring a 50% chance for scattered showers Thursday night and 30% chance during the day on Friday. However, skies should clear in time for high school football Friday night.
Topping the News:
Tuscaloosa County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Alabama, a state with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 2.1%. The county’s August rate was 2.3% with a total of 2,464 unemployed out of a labor force of 105,217. The rate is down just less than one percentage point from a year ago. Perry, Greene and Sumter counties are in the top 10 in the number of unemployed. The lowest unemployment rate belongs to Lee County, the highest to Wilcox County.
That Fire Alert continues for West Alabama, except for Perry and Marengo counties. There are currently ten wildfires burning in the state. All but one is in North Alabama, including one southeast of Belk in Fayette County and one northwest of the Walker County town of Townley, just off Yellow Jacket Road. Bibb and Eastern Perry continue in severe drought conditions while the remainder of West Alabama is still in Moderate Drought.
A man who died in a single vehicle crash in Lamar County Saturday has been identified as 28yo Deric McGee. The truck he was driving left Highway 96, hit a culvert and overturned some 20miles west of Millport. He was not wearing seatbelt, was thrown from the truck and died at the scene.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Gov. Ivey has recognized some local individuals and companies that have been at the forefront of provide opportunities. Tuscaloosa’s American Christian Academy was named as Small Business Employer of the Year, State Rep. Cynthia Almond for the Public Service Award and Woodstock’s Schnellecke Logistics Company is the Large Business Employer of the year.
Alabama's 2.1% unemployment rate is the lowest in the southeast but 57% of the work force is still not working. A legislative committee is attempting to figure out why. Alabama Labor secretary Fitzgerald Washington believes it is a combination of some people still afraid of COVID19, retirements and people looking to change professions.
Several hundred Alabama residents remain in Israel as the war between the IDF and Hamas heats up. At least 200 have already made it home, including at least six from Tuscaloosa. The U-S State Department has organized charter flights and is removing as many as 800 Americans a day from the war zone.
In Sports:
Depending which odds you go by, Alabama football is anywhere from an 8 ½ to 10 ½ point favorite over Tennessee for the 2:30 kickoff Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. You can hear the game Tide 100.9 or 95.3 Th Bear on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Eli Gold.
Major League Baseball Playoffs:
In the American League Championship Series Texas has taken an early 1 game to nothing lead over instate rival Houston after a 2-0 win in Houston last night. Game two is at 2:37 Tuscaloosa time this afternoon.
The National League Championship series between the Phillies and Diamondbacks gets started in Philadelphia tonight. First pitch is set for 6:07pm.
Have a wonderful and successful week!!
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