WEST ALABAMA TUESDAY BRIEFING
Tuesday, August 1, 2023, is expected to be a more typical summertime type day. Humidity will not be quite as high as it has been, and partly cloudy skies will keep temperatures in the lower to mid 90s.
Tonight, skies will become fair with lows in the lower 70s.
But don't become too attached to the more seasonal weather. Increasing heat stress is expected with peak heat index values as high as 110 degrees beginning Wednesday and lasting through the weekend and possibly into early next week.
Topping the News:
Alabama Junior Republican U-S Senator Katie Britt was rushed to a Montgomery hospital over the weekend suffering from non-life-threatening numbness in her face according to her office. The first term senator will be able to recover at home because the senate has begun a month-long summer recess.
The long promised West Alabama highway corridor, 4-laning the connection between Tuscaloosa and Mobile, will cost more than 700-million dollars but officials say it will bring renewed economic vitality to rural West Alabama counties. An ALDOT statement says the project would be funded by borrowing a billion dollars from future highway gas tax revenues. The first part of construction of the West Alabama Corridor is underway in the Linden area of Marengo County.
The Alabama Department of Transportation will hire contractors to maintain the pavement on a short stretch of Interstate 20/59 in Tuscaloosa County. The four-month project is expected to begin next week. John McWilliams, an ALDOT spokesperson in West Alabama, told local media that Midsouth Paving has been contracted to perform a "pavement preservation" project on the interstate from Exit 77 at Buttermilk Road in Cottondale east to milepost 81.
President Biden has ended months of speculation by choosing to keep the U-S Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs. Many observers blame Alabama GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville's hold on military promotions due to the Pentagon's abortions policy and Alabama's ban on abortions as the reason Biden went against advice to move the command to Huntsville. Republican Alabama Rep. Tommy Strong called Biden’s decision pure political retaliation against a Republican state. Numerous federal agencies backed Redstone Arsenal due to its proximity to the U-S Space program.
Newbern is a town in Hale County with a 2020 census population of 133 residents. According to the census, the percentage of black or African American population stands at 71.95% with a 28.05% white population. Despite the wide difference in population percentage, Newbern has never had a black mayor.
In a federal civil rights lawsuit obtained by CBS News, Patrick Braxton, who is black, alleges he was elected mayor of the southeast Hale County town in 2020 because he was the only candidate to fill out the appropriate paperwork. But he claims city council members Gary Broussard, Jesse Donald Leverett, Voncille Brown Thomas, and Willie Richard Tucker as well as former mayor Haywood Stokes III conspired to hold an illegal secret election to reappoint Stokes and keep the 57-year-old Braxton out of office. Stokes remains the acting mayor.
You may have already heard the CVS Pharmacy, which has stores across Tuscaloosa/Northport, is laying-off some 5,000 employees. However, the national chain has issued a statement vowing that most of the job eliminations will be corporate and not impact stores.
An analysis by Bankrate has placed Alabama as the 14th best state for retirees. Our state scored high on affordability and weather but very low on quality and cost of healthcare, well-being and crime rate. Iowa was tops followed by Delaware, West Virginia and Mississippi. California, New York the lowest.
In Sports:
Poor pitching and poor hitting doomed the Atlanta Braves to a poor outcome last night as they lost to the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 at Truist Park. The Angels are playing just above .500 on the season.
The US Women’s National Soccer Team will move on to the next round despite a poor performance this morning in the World Cup. They tied Portugal 0-0 today and could have been eliminated if a Portugal goal shot hadn’t missed by inches.
The U-S team has been plagued by descension as some players do not like the show boating being done by other players. Critics claim some members of the U-S team have disrespected the game and their opponents by their actions.
Have a happy beginning to National "Happiness Happens" Month. Click on: https://sohp.com/society-celebrations/happiness-happens-day/.
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