A costly map

The bill has come in for having that court-assigned team that re-redrew Alabama’s Congressional district map.

That team was given the work after the Alabama Legislature did not produce a new map that went far enough toward producing a second Black district according to the court.

The Alabama Reflector reports that the bottom line to the state for the work is $515,000. The special master charged $90,000 for 236.6 hours of work; the cartographer charged $105,600; and legal representation cost $317,600.

It apparently takes a lot of legal work to draw a map for the government.

New execution method

Gov. Kay Ivey has set a schedule for what would be America’s first execution by nitrogen hypoxia, reports AL.com’s Ivana Hrynkiw.

Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to die between 2 a.m. Jan. 25 and 6 a.m. Jan. 26. Smith faced execution a year ago by lethal injection, but the state wasn’t able to access a vein in time. Since then, law has been changed so the governor sets a time frame, not a date that expires at midnight.

The protocol for an execution by nitrogen hypoxia says the gas will be administered through a mask for 15 minutes or for five minutes after the condemned flatlines.

Eyes everywhere

The Birmingham Police Department is hoping to team up with residents and businesses with surveillance systems to help with law enforcement, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

Cameras can not only help in investigations but also, as BPD Chief Scott Thurmond says, provide officers with a real-time look at what’s going on at the scene of a call before they get there.

The city’s Real Time Crime Center would make use of two kinds of options: a camera registry, where police know where cameras are in case they might be helpful; and camera integration, which means that home and business owners could share streaming footage.

Cameras and footage won’t be accessed without permission from the owners.

Picture that

This is a rendering image of the planned new Alabama State House (on the upper right side of the image facing the circular green space).

The Alabama Capitol is on the lower left side of the image. The current State House is on the site that will become the circular green space. The rectangle on the left of the circular green space is a pavilion that will sit atop an underground parking lot for about 300 vehicles.

By the Numbers

$650 million

That’s actually a conservative estimate for the price Nick Saban and his partners in Dream Motor Group paid for two Mercedes Benz dealerships in Florida.

More Alabama news

Born on this date

In 1925, major-league player Bill Bruton of Panola and Birmingham. He was a stolen-base threat with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s.

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