West Alabama Thursday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama. It is Thursday, December 26, 2024.

Thursday Morning Observations:

Tis’ the day after Christmas and the garbage cans are overflowing. The holiday changed the garbage pickup calendar so when will the truck be around in your neighborhood?

City of Northport: Residents who normally have their garbage, trash, and recycling picked up on Tuesday will be serviced on Friday, December 27th instead. Residents who normally have their garbage, trash, and recycling picked up on Wednesday will be serviced on Saturday, December 28th. No other routes will be affected by the holidays. Monday and Thursday's routes will be collected on their normal day.

Pink receptacles for Christmas lights and extension cord recycling will be placed at the 16 drop-off locations (including fire stations 2, 3 and 4, city hall, Northport Community Center and NPD HQ). Please bag your lights before placing in the drop-off container.

City of Tuscaloosa: Tuesday's garbage, trash and recycling routes will be collected on Thursday. Wednesday's routes will be collected on Friday. Thursday's routes will be collected on Saturday.

Free Christmas tree & live greenery recycling is available until January 6 at the Curry Environmental Services facility (3440 Reese Phifer Ave.)

Greenery may be dropped off at any time, and must be completely free of decorations and lights. A separate bin will be available for recycling lights.

A holiday garbage collection trailer and an additional cardboard recycling bin will be located outside of Curry Environmental Services facility as well as outside of Verner Elementary school during this time.

In Tuscaloosa County and counties surrounding Tuscaloosa, check with your garbage pickup service.

(Opinions expressed in Morning Briefing are those of the author and not necessarily those of the ownership, management, staff or sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)

Weather:

If you don't like the weather forecast just wait a few hours, it will change. Scattered show chances are still in the forecast today and tomorrow, but a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk severe potential has been introduced for Saturday afternoon and evening.

Isolated, brief tornadoes, damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph, and large hail up to quarter size will be possible across all of West and Central Alabama.

The Forecast:

Today

A 20 percent chance of showers before 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

A 20 percent chance of showers after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Friday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog after 4pm. High near 64. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 68. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Saturday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 57. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Sunday Night

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Topping the News:

Billion Dollar Lottery Triggers Renewed Effort in Alabama

Bills to establish an Alabama lottery are to be submitted in coming legislative session. The $1.5 billion-dollar Mega Millions Lottery is drawing thousands of Alabamians across state lines to Mississippi and other neighboring states to purchase lottery tickets. The sight of so many Alabama tags at lottery stores in other states is prompting a plan to renew efforts to get a lottery on the ballot in Alabama.

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels is in support of a lottery in Alabama. He looks at the state legislative session in February as an opportunity to try again and put the ball in the Senate’s court.

Daniels believes a lottery would maximize revenue and allow the state to invest in education through more scholarships. However, the senate has been a block for lottery legislation despite polling showing 70% of Alabamians want a lottery.

Alabama, the fifth poorest state, is one of five states in the U.S. that doesn’t have a lottery.

Fire Death Recorded in Pickens County

Fire investigators are attempting to determine the cause of a blaze that killed an elderly Pickens County woman Monday.

Pickens County Coroner Chad Harless identified the victim as 86-year-old Alberta Blair

whose mobile home was destroyed in the 5:00am fire on Valley View Road in Aliceville.

The woman's disabled son escaped the mobile home but received an injury that required transportation to a hospital out of county according to Harless.

No Breaks Yet in Case of Missing Toddler

The mother of missing 1-year-old Kahlib Collins is still in critical condition according to family members. She has not been able to give any information about her child. She was severely injured in a one vehicle crash that killed her husband and 2-year-old daughter.

Fayette County Sheriff's investigators, Alabama Bureau of Investigations, and the 24^th Judicial Circuit Court District Attorney’s Office are working together to find the missing 1-year-old wo was last seen on Sept. 4, well before the fatal crash.

No further information has been released by authorities.

Starbucks Strike not Impacting West Alabama, Yet

Employees in the fast-food industry over the years have shifted from training grounds for high school and college students getting work experience to fulltime workers in many cases. That has led to the ongoing battle over wages and work hours. Starbucks has again been hit by spreading strikes, this time it has spread to Alabama.

So far there has been no word of employee walkouts in the West Alabama area but Starbucks workers in Scottsboro have joined the national strike.

Food Insecurity a Daily Problem in West Alabama

The high need of providing food to those with food insecurity across West Alabama continues even though the Christmas Holiday Season is over. West Alabama Food Bank points out the need for volunteers and donations will continue in 2025.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, Alabama is the fifth poorest state in the nation, with 17% of adults and 23% of children (1 out of 4) facing food insecurity, or lack of regular access to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life. For those with low or no income, rent or mortgage and medicine are usually covered first, leaving little for the food budget and other, more flexible expenses.

You can contact the food bank at (205) 333-5353 or by going to the site at 401 65th Street in Tuscaloosa.

ALEA Continues to Stress Holiday Highway Safety

Because Christmas and New Years are in the middle of the week this year, ALEA says more people have taken more days off and more traffic is still on Alabama highways. That makes the state law enforcement agency's "12 Days of Safety" campaign that much more important.

The holiday travel season does not officially end until midnight next Wednesday and with record numbers of Alabamians on the road, highway safety is uber important.

“We believe that being responsible behind the wheel is the best gift you can give your family this holiday season,” ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor said. “Whether you're driving to a holiday gathering or heading home after a night out, keeping yourself and others safe is the greatest gift of all.”

In a press release ALEA noted that In Fiscal Year 2024, which began on Oct. 1, 2023, and ended on Sept. 30, 2024, ALEA’s Highway Patrol Division worked 32,308 crashes that resulted in 7,357 injuries and 490 fatalities. ALEA Troopers issued 283,509 citations and 143,662 warnings to reduce crashes, specifically those that could result in injury or death.

ALEA also note highway work zones will not be active over the holidays but speed limits through the zones still apply.

Topping Sports News:

Today's College Football Bowl Games (All times CST):

GameAbove Sports Bowl: Pittsburgh vs Toledo, 1:00pm
Rate Bowl: Rutgers vs Kansas State, 4:30pm
68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State vs Bowling Green, 8:00pm

Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Texas A&M will be SEC teams in action during Friday's bowl games.

Time to start getting ready for the Reliquest Bowl Tuesday between Alabama and Michigan. This will be the seventh meeting between Michigan and Alabama and the series is tied at three wins apiece. The Wolverines won the last matchup, a 27-20 victory in overtime in last season's CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl.

They have met twice in bowl games with the Wolverines winning 28-24 in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl and the Crimson Tide claiming a 17-14 victory in the 1997 Outback Bowl.

The game kicks off at 11:00am CST Tuesday morning.

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Have tremendous Thursday!