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State of the State of the Union

If you love performances where half the audience is constantly interrupting with wild applause while the other half just sits there looking like the waitress just told them they were all out of hush puppies, then you were in your element Thursday night.

President Joe Biden gave his annual State of the Union address, and it was wonderful or awful depending on who you ask.

During the speech he acknowledged a guest in the first lady’s box seats. Latorya Beasley of Birmingham, the president said, has had one child through in vitro fertilization and was hoping to have another, but that the Alabama Supreme Court “shut down IVF clinics across the state.” He also called on Congress to pass legislation protecting IVF.

The state high court, of course, had issued a ruling that led some IVF clinics in Alabama to suspend services to avoid legal jeopardy. A day before the president’s speech, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a measure intended to protect IVF clinics from civil and criminal action over their handling of human embryos. It’s likely a temporary fix with more possibly coming next year.

Alabama’s U.S. Sen. Katie Britt delivered the traditional opposition response to Biden’s speech. She leaned heavily into the southern border issue, recalling a meeting with a trafficking victim and calling out Biden over policies she said allowed for the death of University of Georgia student Laken Riley. The suspect in that case is in the country illegally and had previously been arrested in connection with other crimes and released.

Criticism of her speech largely focused on the stylistic, that her delivery was overripe and that it was a bad idea to make her video backdrop the Britt family kitchen. Britt had explained at the top of her response that the kitchen table was a place where her family has had their tough conversations.

Med Money

The Insurance Committee from the Alabama House of Representatives approved a bill this week that’s likely to get a lot attention in the coming days. At issue is the possibility that it’ll drive up prescription prices.

Mary Sell of the Alabama Daily News reports that the measure requires pharmacy benefit managers for insurers to reimburse in-network pharmacies the full cost of a medication. It also adds a “dispensing fee” of $10.64.

The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Phillip Rigsby, a Huntsville Republican and former pharmacist.

The goal here is to keep pharmacies from losing money on these transactions. Rigsby said he sold his pharmacy because of losses he was taking on some drugs.

Now, that $10.64, according to Rigsby, would help cover the pharmacies’ costs of doing business — staff, utilities, etc. It’s also the bone that’ll be picked. Opponents from groups such as the Alliance of Alabama Healthcare Consumers are calling it a tax on prescriptions, and, according to the Alabama Daily News Story, Rigsby told others on the committee that those costs could show up in higher insurance premiums or co-pays.

A sheriff denied

AL.com recently did a reporting series called “Denied” on how fewer and fewer Alabama prison inmates are being paroled. And I don’t mean a little decrease: In five years the parole board went from a parole rate of more than 50 percent to an 8-percent rate in 2023. That year, the board even turned down all 10 people up for parole who were over 80 years old.

So it’s not particularly shocking that the Board held firm despite dozens who showed up to support the former Limestone County sheriff of 38 years.

AL.com’s Savannah Tryens-Fernandes reports that Mike Blakely has been denied parole just a year into his three-year sentence. He was imprisoned after being convicted of felony theft and abuse of power.

Former Athens DA John Plunk was among those who showed up to speak on Blakely’s account. He said they weren’t arguing about the former sheriff’s guilt but spoke on his remorse and his longtime service.

“There will never be a TV program about cold cases from Limestone County because he solved every single murder case in his 40 years.”

Gold’s gigs

He may no longer be the Voice of the Crimson Tide, but Eli Gold is setting out on new broadcasting adventures.

Last month it was reported that Gold will be the radio voice of the new Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League.

Now he’ll be calling Jacksonville State TV baseball games.

Quoting

“Why are Republicans allowed to (expletive) all over liberal cities while Democrats never (expletive) on red states? … You never hear Joe Biden (expletive) all over Tuscaloosa.”

Late Night host Seth Meyers, defending New York City’s low homicide rate after Donald Trump’s criticism of safety in the city.

More Alabama news

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