West Alabama Monday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Monday, April 28, 2025. This is the 118th day of the year with 247 days remaining. State offices in Alabama are closed today to commemorate Confederate Memorial Day.

In Monday's Morning Briefing:

Weather
News
Sports
Morning Observations:

Weather:

Rain chances are low for the first half of the week according to the National Weather Service Birmingham. Rain chances increase for Thursday and Friday. Rain free conditions are then anticipated for next weekend. High temperatures will be in the 80s for Tuesday through Thursday with slightly lower temperatures for Friday and Saturday.

The Forecast:

Today

Sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 66. Southeast wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.

Remainder of the Week:

Rain chances begin Thursday evening through Friday night. Highs will be in the mid 80s.Lows near 60s.

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News:

Security for Thursday Trump Visit Will Be Tight

Security will be tight for Thursday's special commencement address at the University of Alabama. The address will be open only to ticket holders. Tickets are free and non-transferable according to UA.

There will be several security sweeps of Coleman Coliseum by officers and K9s. Traffic may also be backed up due to some streets being blocked due to security checkpoints.

All regular commencement ceremonies will be held as scheduled.

Trump will meet protests from various left-wing groups from billboards sponsored by Blue Dot that call the president a "monster" and "felon" to protests by various UA student groups like UA Democrats who refer to the presidential visit on their website as an insult that "...will not go unanswered."

UA has announced it will discipline students who attempt to disrupt the presidents' address.

Stabbing Believed at Tuscaloosa Apartment

Details remain scarce but Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Commander, Capt. Jack Kennedy reports that Tuscaloosa Police Department and VCU investigators responded to Brookhaven apartments on James I. Harrison Parkway this morning.

Sellers said the VCU currently believes a woman stabbed a man there, and he said he was not sure of the severity of the injuries the victim suffered.

This is a breaking story that will be covered by Tuscaloosa Thread as additional information becomes available.

Two Bodies Found Over the Weekend, Investigation Continues

Circumstances surrounding the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in a car over the weekend is continuing. The car was parked outside the Crunch Fitness of on McFarland Boulevard. There were no obvious signs of injuries.

The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit continues to investigate but report there were no obvious signs.

Read More: 2 Bodies Found in Car at Tuscaloosa’s Crunch Fitness Saturday, No Obvious Injuries

Shooting on Tuscaloosa's Southside Could Have Been Self-Defense

A fatal shooting in the early Sunday morning hours at the Links at Tuscaloosa, an apartment complex and golf course off Highway 69 South, may have been self-defense according to the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit.

VCU investigators responded to the scene after TPD officers found an adult male who had been shot to death - VCU Commander Capt. Marty Sellers said the victim was a Tuscaloosa resident.

Read More: Self-Defense Possible in Overnight Homicide at the Links in Tuscaloosa

State Education Budget Goes Back to Senate for Concurrence

The state's $9.9 billion Education Trust Fund (ETF) will go back to the senate this week to bring each chamber's SETF into concurrence.

The budget includes $135 million for the CHOOSE Act, a voucher-like program that will award students with funds to be used for education-related expenses, including private school tuition. The program was initially slated to get $100 million.

Sports:

Big Weekend for Bama Baseball and Softball

Both the Alabama baseball and softball teams swept Missouri on campus this past weekend.

Alabama baseball (35-10 overall, 12-9 SEC) began their series with Mizzou Thursday night, picking up a hard fought 7-5 win. UA won the Friday contest 7-3 then wrapped up the series sweep Saturday with a run-rule 12-1 victory in seven innings.

Bama is now in a four-way tie for fourth place in SEC baseball standings.

Tide baseball visits Nashville for three games with Vanderbilt next weekend. The Friday matchup begins at 6:00pm CDT.

Alabama softball secured their series sweep Sunday afternoon at Rhoads Stadium, shutting out the Tigers 2-0. The Tide also won 4-2 Friday and 7-6 Saturday.

The series sweep is Alabama's (35-18, 11-10 SEC) first this season and its first since taking three games over Ole Miss April 5-7 last year.

The Tide is in a four-way tie for 7th place in the SEC standings.

Alabama is at 11th ranked South Carolina for three games this coming weekend beginning Thursday at 5:00pm CDT.

Stillman Baseball Looks to Post Season

After celebrating Senior Day with a couple of comeback wins over Southern Baptist College this past weekend, the Stillman baseball teams now turn their attention to post-season play.

The Tigers will begin preparation for the upcoming 2025 Hope Credit Union HBCU Athletic Conference Baseball Championships, going from beginning Wednesday at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Tigers are 25-20 overall and 21-9 in conference play.

Monday Morning Observations:

The duty of government is to safeguard its people, all of its people. Little of that is happening when it comes to rural healthcare. In Alabama we will spend millions to finance private education under the guise of "school choice" but ignore the healthcare of vulnerable rural populations.

For the last several years rural hospitals have been closing, and ambulance services have been struggling to stay in operation in rural Alabama. Nowhere has this been more a crisis that right here in West Alabama in Pickens County.

First, they lost the hospital, including the important emergency room services. Then their ambulance service fell apart. Had it not been for Lamar County coming to the rescue there would have been no emergency medical service in Pickens County.

Rep. Ron Bolton has led the effort to restore ambulance services and now it is up to the voter to add an additional cost to the annual tag renewal to continue with EMS.

But it is not just Pickens County struggling with healthcare in Alabama. More than half of the state’s remaining 52 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, with 19 identified as being at “immediate risk” of shutting down within the next three years, according to a release by the Alabama Hospitals Association.

44% of Alabama's population depends on rural hospitals for their healthcare. That is a about 2.2 million people.

Rural areas are also losing basic healthcare by pediatricians, dentists and general practitioners. That means they are losing jobs, population, businesses and a future for high school seniors.

There are bills in the Alabama House and Senate that will help with a tax credit for contributions. The plan is for the "Rural Hospital Investment Act of 2025" seeks to improve the financial stability of rural hospitals in Alabama by creating the Rural Hospital Investment Program.

The act will establish tax credits for state income, excise, premium, and utility taxes in exchange for donations to eligible rural hospitals. To qualify, hospitals must be licensed, serve Medicare and Medicaid patients, and provide care to indigent individuals, while also submitting a five-year financial plan detailing their use of donations.

This act MUST pass this term. This tax credit could generate millions of dollars to support rural hospitals and more importantly, it could save lives.

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