Ivey makes a change

Gov. Kay Ivey has made a change at the Alabama parole board, reports AL.com’s Ivana Hrynkiw.

With parole-board chair Leigh Gwathney supplying a nearly automatic “no” vote, the board’s 2023 parole rate tumbled well below the board’s own guidelines. It’s rebounded somewhat, although Gwathney has remained a reliable “no” in most cases.

That’s ignited the debate over just how tight the parole board ought to be. The board’s stated guidelines called for a parole rate around 80%, and some officials and former Alabama chief justices from both parties have called for parole to be more attainable for those who qualify. State Attorney General Steve Marshall was among those wanting to keep many of those inmates behind bars. Marshall just last week called on the governor to reappoint Gwathney to the chair of the parole board.

Instead, Ivey replaced Gwathney with Hal Nash, the chief corrections deputy for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Ivey called Nash a “tough-on-crime, fair and pro-law-enforcement candidate with leadership experience.”

He takes over the chair position immediately.

New school in Madison County

A new, big middle school is going up next to Hazel Green High School, reports AL.com’s Megan Plotka.

It’ll enroll 1,200 seventh- and eighth-graders in northern Madison County and cost $53 million to build. Builders will break ground this month, and the school is expected to open for the 2027-28 school year.

Other coming changes to that school district include a new 12-classroom wing for Hazel Green High School and the transition of Meridianville Middle School to an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grades.

Union fight

Officials with the International Motors powertrain-manufacturing plant in Huntsville apparently aren’t going to just idly watch the United Auto Workers union move into their work force.

AL.com’s William Thornton reports that the company has made a case to its employees ahead of a possible election. Last week employees received a letter that read, in part: “To be clear, we strongly believe that selecting an outside organization like a union to represent you in your dealings with the Company (and having to join the union and pay union dues) is not necessary here in Huntsville.”

The UAW has spent time and money over the past couples years trying to get footholds in the South. In Alabama, it’s found disappointment, with an election loss at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance and a stalled effort at Hyundai in Montgomery.

Later, Legislature

A couple of state lawmakers are stepping aside.

Tom Butler, a Republican who’s represented parts of Madison and Limestone counties in the state legislature since 1982, is retiring from the Senate, reports AL.com’s Scott Turner. Butler is an 81-year-old retired pharmacist. Among other things, he’s been credited for his roles in road projects such as the four-laning of Alabama 53 to the Tennessee line and the future widening of Highway 72.

Also, the Alabama Daily News reported that state Rep. Debbie Wood, a Valley Republican, is moving out of her district (parts of Chambers and Lee counties) and will resign. She told Alabama Daily News that her husband landed a job in the Florida Panhandle so they’re moving near the state line.

By the Numbers

$800,000

That’s new University of Alabama President Peter Mohler’s salary. He’ll also receive a $30,000 relocation bonus and is in line for performance bonuses of $75,000 in 2025 and $150,000 in 2026.

More Alabama News

The podcast