West Alabama Monday Briefing
Good Christmas Eve, Eve! It is Monday, December 23. 2024.
Monday Morning Observations:
It is yet another big holiday travel week. The number of travelers has increased virtually every holiday since the pandemic began to fade. Record numbers have traveled on the highways, airways and railways. Cruise lines are even reporting significant hikes in the number of Americans reserving cabins, especially in the Caribbean and Alaska.
AAA predicts that 119.3 million American will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday season from this past Saturday thru January 1, 2025. This would surpass the previous record set in 2019 by 64,000 travelers
7.85 million passengers will be flying but 90% of travelers are hitting the roadways. That number of motorists will put pressure on ALEA and other State Troopers across the nation to keep everyone safe. That is what prompted ALEA's "12 Days of Safety" Campaign.
“We know people go out and you shop, but really the greatest gift that you can give to your family is you, but to be able to do that you’ve got to show up,” said Sgt. Jeremy Burkett.
The search for 1-year-old Kahleb Collins continues in Fayette County. The Fayette County District Attorney's Office is seeking access to records for the family amid child abuse claims.
The child’s grandfather John Bailey reported the boy missing after a crash killed the child’s father and 2-year-old sister and critically injured his mother. But that missing report came weeks, if not months, after the child disappeared. Bailey is being held on charges of failure to report.
President Biden has signed a $10 billion Christmas present in farm aid and over $20 billion in disaster aid for farmers. Alabama Ag Commission Rick Pate has told APTV Capitol Journal it is critical because farmers in Alabama are in dire straits, especially row crop farmers who are in danger of losing their farms.
Pate identified the continuing drought, hail from severe storms and underpriced foreign competition as the culprits in destroying family farms.
Fall officially ended this past Saturday and figures show it was the warmest on record. Alabama, Louisiana, Maine and Mississippi each saw their record-warmest November, with an additional 25 states experiencing a top 10 warmest November on record. Temperatures were 3.6 degrees above average.
In Walker County, Tristan Zayne Anderson is facing child pornography charges in connection to an Internet Crimes against Children investigation. He has been indicted on 93 counts of child pornography.
34-year-old Fayette resident Jacori L. Whitson was fatally injured after his vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene at Alabama 17 near the 217-mile marker in Pickens County.
Read More: Fayette Man Dies in Saturday Wreck Outside Reform in Pickens County
At a special meeting last Friday, the University of Alabama Board of trustees voted to spend $10 million to purchase the residential building Clara Verner Tower, at 101 Hackberry Lane in Tuscaloosa, mineral rights for a coal company in Jefferson County, and buildings at 1402 University Blvd. and 431 Reed St., along the Strip which houses shops, bars and restaurants.
An 8.75-acre parcel on Second Street Northeast was also purchased. The property is near the new intercollegiate golf course facility.
Most of the properties purchased will eventually be repurposed.
In the wake of announcing the closure of its Tuscaloosa store and all locations across the nation, Party City has fired its employees without severance pay or benefits resulting is a difficult holiday season.
Some Party City employees received letters stating they would lose their jobs when the company officially closes stores on Feb. 28.
Big Lots, Inc. plan to complete its previously announced asset purchase agreement with Nexus Capital Management has been unsuccessful. So, the company has announced it is commencing it's "Going Out of Business Sale" and hopes to complete it by early January.
The company is continuing to serve customers at its Northport Store and online.
Beulah Baptist Church along with its primary partners of Temporary Emergency Services, the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority met their goal of giving away more than 300 bikes. It is part of their third annual drive to ensure children without much will have something under the tree this Christmas.
Each month Session Cocktails sponsors a "Cocktail for a Cause" fundraiser for local non-profits. It is done with the sale of a speciality drink. This month's non-profit is Tuscaloosa's One Place, which supports families across West Alabama. One dollar from the sale of each "Cocktail for a Cause" will go to Tuscaloosa's One Place this month.
According to a story in the Crimson-White UA student newspaper, this month's specialty drink is call "Yippee Chai Yay", a chai-infused Old Forester 86 cream bourbon whisky and spiced pecan demerara.
Topping Sports News:
The Bama Women’s basketball team is expected to move back into the AP Top 25 this week after beating Richmond and upsetting 15th ranked Michigan State to win the West Palm Beach Classic over the weekend.
Read More: Alabama Women’s Basketball is Continuing to Make History
There are two bowl games on tap today:
- At 10:00 CST am it is the Myrtle Beach Bowl matching Coastal Carolina against Texas San Antonio.
- At 1:30 CST this afternoon Northern Illinois takes on Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potatoes Bowl on the blue turf at Boise.
Click TuscaloosaThread.com for the latest West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.
Have a magical Monday! Remember, Santa is watching.
More From 95.3 The Bear
