Members of the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commission during their March 7, 2024 meeting. The commission on Thursday approved Phase II of Savannah Estates, a 121-lot subdivision outside of Daphne. Many of the homes on the subdivision will be built over a reclaimed dirt pit. (Photo by Margaret Kates | [email protected])Margaret Kates
A slew of new rules proposed for Baldwin County’s Subdivision Regulations will make housing in the county, one of the fastest growing in the state, more expensive, members of the county’s development community say.
Alabama football has another must-win game on Saturday, when it travels to Norman to face Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide will be expected to prevail against the Sooners, who have only won one SEC game, but a slip-up would likely cost UA a chance at a College Football Playoff spot.
On Wednesday ahead of the game, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is scheduled to make his weekly appearance on the “Hey Coach” radio show, on the Crimson Tide Sports Network. He’ll be speaking live from Baumhower’s Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa.
Tim Keenan will be the player guest on Wednesday’s show.
DeBoer’s appearance is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. Follow along here for live updates once he takes to the airwaves.
— DeBoer notes that the season has gone by fast. Says it was nice to get some of Alabama’s non-starters in during Saturday’s game against Mercer.
— Mentions Alabama’s one drive where it fell short of scoring against Mercer, but praises the offense and defense for doing their jobs against Mercer.
— Host Chris Stewart asks about Alabama visiting an unfamiliar venue. DeBoer says he shows a picture of the stadium during his Tuesday meeting. Notes that there’s not much room behind the bench.
— Stewart mentions that the weather could be cooler for Saturday’s game. DeBoer says it will be excellent football weather for those playing in the game.
— DeBoer praises Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. Says the Sooners play hard, and find ways to win when they take care of the ball offensively.
— The first caller question comes from Peewee in Grand Bay, as is tradition. He asks about young offensive linemen who stuck out in the Mercer game. DeBoer says the group is doing well developing. Says Alabama is confident in its young offensive linemen if they have to play.
— Stewart asks DeBoer about Geno VanDeMark’s play. DeBoer says VanDeMark was excited about the Alabama offensive line’s work ethic when he first arrived from Michigan State.
— Caller asks about defensive linemen Tim Keenan, Tim Smith and Jah-Marien Latham. DeBoer says the group is “rock solid” and a large part of UA’s defensive success has been that group controlling its area on the field. Says they’ve grown as players and people throughout the season.
— DeBoer is asked about his coaching mentors. Says he learns from people across the industry, including competitors and people on his own staff. Specifically mentions the head coaches he worked for as an assistant.
— Stewart asks what the keys to victory are for the Oklahoma game. DeBoer first mentions creating turnovers, and Alabama playing its style of football throughout the game.
— DeBoer says Alabama has done a good job scoring touchdowns in the red zone lately. Says that’s an important thing to do well, notes that Graham Nicholson hasn’t taken many field goals this season.
— After Keenan joins the show, DeBoer is asked about DL coach Freddie Roach. DeBoer says that Roach does an excellent job, and his passion for the program made him a no-brainer to keep around.
— DeBoer says Keenan is a leader in every possible way. Says Keenan is consistent in giving his best every day. He says Keenan is a leader when it comes to community service, and impacting the community outside of the football program.
Scott Bannon, director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, speaks at a meeting on possible changes to saltwater fishing rules.Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
The first of a series of public meetings on possible changes to saltwater fishing regulations showed that officials are considering changes that could affect how Alabama anglers go after shark, flounder and red snapper, among other species.
Most of the possible changes could be considered fine-tuning. But state officials also are looking at the possibility of setting limits on common snook, a species that has begun to establish a presence in Alabama as average water temperatures have risen. They’re also looking at possible limits on skates and rays to protect them from wasteful fishing by bowhunters.
Scott Bannon, director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), along with other Marine Resources personnel, held a session Tuesday night at Spanish Fort Community Center. Bannon said the division is weighing various concerns and wants public input on responses – which, in some cases, include letting the status quo stand.
Marine Resources will present its findings to a Conservation Advisory Board in early 2025, Bannon said. That board could recommend changes or further study by late spring.
The species involved, the concerns and the changes under consideration:
Sheepshead
Existing limits for sheepshead were set in 2012: 10 fish per person per day, with a minimum fork length of 12 inches. Officials say they’ve seen a decline in “recreational catch per unit of effort” as well as a decline in commercial landings.
One possible change would be to increase the minimum length. While Florida shares Alabama’s 12-inch minimum, Mississippi’s is 14 inches and Texas’ is 15 inches. Louisiana does not regulate sheepshead. However, officials have reasons to think that increasing the minimum size might not improve the spawning stock biomass, a term for the total weight of fish that are mature enough to reproduce. The average length of sheepshead caught by Alabama anglers is 15.5 inches.
Another possible change would be to lower the bag limit, possibly from 10 to eight. Mississippi’s limit is 15, while Florida’s is eight and Texas’ is five. Officials think this would “allow for more fish to be released and potentially increase the overall spawning stock and reproductive output.”
Red drum/redfish
Slot limits are higher in all other Gulf Coast states, starting at 18-inch minimums. Louisiana and Florida do not allow anglers to keep any oversize fish.
The possible change under discussion is to end the allowance for oversize redfish.
Common snook
Snook puts regulators and anglers in an interesting situation. It’s not a species native to Alabama, so it isn’t regulated. However, for more than a decade now, people have been catching snook in the waters around Perdido Bay. There’s a definite upside to this: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission describes the common snook as “one of Florida’s most popular inshore game fish because of its spectacular fighting ability and merit as table fare.”
Early on, officials thought the snook were visiting but not overwintering in Alabama waters. Now “they seem to overwinter,” said Anson. This is part of a larger trend of warm-water fish extending their habitat northward as global ocean temperatures rise. It’s called “tropicalization,” and what could be healthy for some species might be harmful for others. Anson said Alabama conservation officials have been talking to their counterparts in Florida, who’ve seen snook rising from south Florida and spreading across the Panhandle.
“Here’s the deal. There’s two ways to look at it,” said Bannon. “They’re not from here. There’s no regulation, you could catch them all, we could go ahead and be done with it. But most people that are catching them don’t want that, they want some form of protection. As much as people think we’re a ‘no’ agency, our job is to provide access to the fisheries. So, this is a new fishery, people are enjoying it, they should get to enjoy it. So to come out with no data and say ‘no,’ I don’t think really falls in line with the way we view how we do conservation.”
“They’re not a native species, so in theory we could wipe them out and it’s okay, it has no impact on the environment,” said Bannon. But there’s also the possibility that protecting the new snook fishery could help it develop into a boon for coastal fishing.
The potential action put on the table by Marine Resources is a one-fish limit with a minimum total length of 24 inches. This would be lower than Florida’s limit of one fish with a 28-inch to 33-inch total length.
The audience on hand at Tuesday’s meeting seemed to favor taking action to nurture the snook fishery, possibly even the institution of a catch-and-release protocol or a tagging program.
Tripletail
Officials say they’re picking up on concern about the tripletail population and are waiting on more data. While it’s too early to say, that data could lead them to tighten up the existing recreational and commercial limit of three fish per person per day, with a minimum total length of 18 inches. One course of action might be to impose a boat limit as well as an individual limit. “There may not be a need for anything,” said Bannon. “This is one that just comes up a lot, so we wanted to just put that out there for you guys to provide us some feedback about what you are seeing on the water.”
Skates and rays
Anson said there currently are no state or federal limits on skates and rays. But he said they’re a slow-reproducing class that is under pressure from a new source. “They have been an increasing target for bowfishing,” said Anson. “For bowfishermen, they have charters that go out at night and use lights to shoot them with bow and arrow.”
The problem, Anson said, is that in some cases hunters are targeting rays merely to collect their tails as trophies, returning the injured fish to the water with unknown mortality (rays can regrow their tails, though a ray without one is presumed to be at a disadvantage in the meantime).
“There is a role for skates and rays, they’re scavengers. They’re not crustacean killers,” said Bannon. “When we see stacks of them on shore … I’m going to use the reference to, everybody thought it was okay to ride on the train and shoot the buffalo, until they couldn’t. I don’t want to take away anybody’s business, I am very pro-business … but in order for that business to stay in business, they need those species to stay.”
Bannon said that if ray hunters are removing “35 to 70 tails per trip, that’s 35 to 70 critters that reproduce very slowly” that are dead or injured, with a potential long-term impact on the population. “I just don’t think that’s a sustainable practice,” said Bannon. “I definitely don’t think it’s good stewardship.”
Anglers present at Tuesday’s meeting spoke of the practice with some scorn, with one saying it was like “shooting a deer just to cut the horns off.”
Potential responses could be to institute a low recreational bag limit, such as two fish per person; prohibiting anglers from cutting off the tails or part of the tails; or requiring people using a gig, spear or bow and arrow to keep all the rays they catch.
Sharks
The Marine Resources Division is considering a change that would allow very limited longline commercial shark fishing in some state waters. Lines would be limited to 2400 feet of line and 50 hooks, among other constraints.
Flounder
The division is considering the possibility of increasing the commercial gillnet limit from the current 40 fish per vessel to 60 or higher. Bannon said this was aimed at providing some relief for the small and diminishing population of licensed commercial gillnet users.
Red snapper
Research suggests the “abundance is stable” when it comes to the red snapper fishery, so the changes under consideration have more to do with access than with limits.
In recent seasons the state has opened its red snapper season the Friday before Memorial Day and kept it open for four-day weekends, Friday through Monday, until the catch approached the year’s recreational quota. Graphs of the action show that snapper seasons get off to a fast start, with a lot of boats hitting the water in the first few weeks, then taper off dramatically through later summer and fall.
A change under consideration would be to open the 2025 season seven days a week through June, then switch to four-day weekends in July.
Captain and Crew
One area of discussion is not species-specific. Alabama law allows charter captains and crew to keep a daily bag limit of fish on one trip per day. Marine Resources figures seem to show that captains and crews have made relatively little use of the provision. Possible courses of action include ending the captain and crew allotment, or letting it stand.
The second meeting in the series will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Orange Beach Event Center at The Wharf, 4671 Orange Beach Parkway. The third is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the Tillman’s Corner Community Center, 5055 Carol Plantation Road.
After receiving state approval on Wednesday, the Huntsville Hospital system will move forward with its $150 million expansion plans, which include additional beds, more private rooms for patients and two new intensive care units.
The Alabama Certificate of Need Review Board, which evaluates hospital expansion proposals to avoid duplication of services, unanimously approved the initiative at its meeting Wednesday, the hospital said in a statement.
“The extra capacity will help us decrease wait times in the Emergency Department, and we’ll achieve another important milestone in our history – the end of double occupancy rooms at Huntsville Hospital,” CEO Jeff Samz said in the statement. “No one wants to share a hospital room, and we’ll finally be able to end this practice.”
The hospital said that the approval of 50 additional patient beds will bring the total to 931 at its flagship facility, Madison Street Tower, and the project will include turning 70 double rooms into single rooms.
“Expanding the Madison Street Tower will give us the space to meet the advanced health care needs of North Alabama and southern Tennessee for decades to come,” Samz said in Wednesday’s statement. “We are excited to now have the state’s approval so we can move forward with construction.”
The $150 million project will add 154,000 square feet at the northeast corner of the hospital facing Madison Street and St. Clair Avenue, the hospital said.
The two-year expansion will, according to the statement, include:
A new Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit
A new Neuro Intensive Care Unit for neurosurgical and stroke patients
Three floors of new acute medical space
120 new private patient rooms
A new and improved Emergency Department vehicle entrance
“The growth in the community is obviously the primary reason, and the growth of the hospital, the need for beds, is because of the high census we’re experiencing,” Ingram told AL.com.
A 13-year-old passenger was killed and three other teenagers were injured in a single-vehicle wreck Wednesday morning in north Alabama, authorities said.
The teen, who was not wearing a seat belt, was a passenger in a 2015 Nissan Altima that left the road and struck a tree stump, a sign post and then a fence around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday on Blessing Road near Arley Lacey Road, approximately two miles north of Boaz, in Marshall County, said Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Senior Trooper Brandon Bailey.
The driver of the Altima, only identified as an 18-year-old, was injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Two other teenage passengers — a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old — were also injured and taken to a hospital. They were not wearing seat belts, Bailey said.
Further information on the wreck was unavailable as state troopers continued to investigate the incident.
The Arizona Cardinals moved offensive tackle Jonah Williams from injured reserve to their 53-man active roster on Wednesday, making the former Alabama All-American eligible to play again for the NFL team.
But Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t guarantee that Williams would return to the starting lineup.
“We’ll kind of weigh all the variables and then decide what we think is best for the team for that game,” Gannon said, “so we’ll take it day-by-day.”
Williams sustained a knee injury in Arizona’s season-opening 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 8. He missed nine games on injured reserve.
Williams returned to practice on Oct. 30, which opened a window of 21 days during which the Cardinals could restore the tackle to the active roster. Wednesday was the last day that Williams could be activated. If that had not happened, he would have spent the remainder of the season on injured reserve.
Kelvin Beachum, Arizona’s starter at right tackle from 2020 through 2022, returned to that role with Williams sidelined.
“He’s been fantastic,” Gannon said about Beachum, “and he’s played extremely well.”
The Cardinals signed Williams to a two-year, $30 million contract as an NFL free agent in March after he’d played every offensive snap of the 2023 season at right tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Arizona had Paris Johnson, the sixth selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, at right tackle as a rookie but moved him to left tackle when they added Williams.
The Cardinals play the Seattle Seahawks at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle.
After earning unanimous All-American recognition in his final season at Alabama, Williams joined the Cincinnati Bengals as the 11th selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. Williams started all 59 regular-season and five postseason games that he played with th Bengals. He was Cincinnati’s left tackle before switching to the right side in 2023.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
Former Alabama center Seth McLaughlin is out for the season at Ohio State with a torn Achilles tendon, according to multiple reports.
The injury occurred during Tuesday’s practice, according to the Columbus Dispatch. McLaughlin was in his first season with the Buckeyes after spending the previous four years with the Crimson Tide.
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McLaughlin had well-documented snapping issues during his time at Alabama, including in the season-ending loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. He had apparently overcome those at Ohio State, however, and was named to several mid-season All-America teams.
Just last week, McLaughlin accepted an invitation to play in the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile. Now he faces what is sure to be a months-long recovery before preparing for an NFL career.
No. 2 Ohio State (9-1) had already lost starting left tackle Josh Simmons for the season with a knee injury. The Buckeyes host No. 5 Indiana (10-0) on Saturday.
AMC Theaters isn’t playing when it comes to the release of the much-anticipated “Wicked: Part One.”
The theater chain, in its 3-second advisory, reminds people with AMC’s trademark “silence is golden” that no singing along with the movie is allowed.
AMC spokesperson Ryan Noonan told “The Indianapolis Star” in a statement this week that the chain “has a long-standing policy that prohibits disruptive behavior.”
He also said AMC’s “Wicked” pre-show spot “incorporates the themes of the film as a fun, engaging reminder to moviegoers to not disrupt the experience for those around them as they enjoy the show.”
“No talking. No texting. No singing. No wailing. No flirting,” a voiceover for the spot says, humorously tailored to moments from the upcoming big-screen Broadway adaptation. “And absolutely no name-calling. Enjoy the magic of movies.”
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One fan’s TikTok post warned users that audience members singing during the movie will be “worse than you would expect” generating more than 500,000 views.
“I had been loathing the idea of having my first watch of this ruined by rowdy sing-a-longers days leading up to the screening … I just wanted to be able to take it all in the first time,” one Reddit user wrote in a comment.
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
It was nine years ago that Jacksonville State played Sam Houston for a chance to compete in the FCS national championship game.
The 2015 group would go on to down the visiting Bearkats in a 62-10 rout to advance.
On Saturday, Rich Rodriguez’s squad has a chance to make history again against a historic foe.
The Gamecocks will host Sam Houston on Saturday, with a victory clinching a spot in the Conference USA championship game for Jax State in just its second season at the FBS level and first season of being eligible to play in the conference title game.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium.
“Early in the week, which is today and Sunday, we remind the guys that they put themselves in a position now where you’ve got a chance to compete for a conference championship,” Rodriguez said. “So now, here we are; if we win this game, we have a chance to play for the conference championship, and then I’ll mention it again on Friday, and that’ll be it.
“I want their thoughts more on the process than a potential outcome. I’m proud of the way they’ve worked in the last couple of games. It’s been kind of crazy, but they’ve come a long way since the start that we had and we’re very fortunate to have the opportunities that we have in front of us.”
Fresh off of a 34-31, comeback victory over Florida International, the Gamecocks claimed sole possession of the conference lead after Western Kentucky lost to Louisiana Tech.
Should Jax State beat Sam Houston and Liberty beat Western Kentucky on Saturday, Jax State would claim the CUSA regular-season title and have the opportunity to host the conference title game.
“After the first three games of the year, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of people that probably wrote us off,” tight end Sean Brown said. “In a way, we all came together and we turned it around right at the right point when conference started, and those conference games matter a lot. Being on a seven-game winning streak with two conference games left, I think it gives us a little bit more confidence knowing that we can make it to that level and just showing what we’ve done for the past seven weeks.”
While Saturday’s victory over FIU marked Jax State’s first time since 2010 winning back-to-back games when trailing in the fourth quarter, it sealed a seventh-straight win and kept the Gamecocks in the top 10 among all FBS schools in points per game (38.7).
Tre Stewart ran for his sixth-straight 100-yard game after piling up 136 yards and two touchdowns in the win, with Jax State leading all FBS teams in rushing touchdowns (38) and ranking fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game (258.2).
“I’m proud of the way they’ve worked,” Rodriguez said of his group. “They’ve come a long way since the start that we had and we’re very fortunate to have the opportunities that we have in front of us.”
The Gamecocks will go against a Sam Houston defense that has allowed just 12 points per game in its last three games and ranks 25th in the nation in allowed yards per game (319.3).
Defensive lineman Chris Murray is tied for the CUSA lead with 5.5 sacks and ranks third in tackles for loss with 9.5, while defensive back Caleb Weaver leads the conference with four interceptions on the season.
“One of the best in the league; very, very athletic,” Rodriguez said. “They have probably played more guys up front than anybody on our schedule. Rotate seven or eight guys in on the defensive line and are all very athletic. One of the most athletic teams, probably the most athletic defense, that we have seen, including some of those teams early in the year that were really good.
“It’s a big challenge, and if you look at some of their games, they’ve won some tight ballgames and their defense has kind of pulled some of that out.”
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday against the Bearkats, with the game to be broadcasted on CBS Sports Network; with next Saturday’s game against WKU being picked up for a national broadcast, there will be eight nationally-televised games for Jax State this season.
“We use that in recruiting,” Rodriguez said. “We say, listen, you’re going to get a lot of exposure if you come to Jax State because our conference has their TV deal and our guys are having some success. It’s neat that those eight games, and it’s not just exposure for our program, it’s exposure for the school. Whether you win or not, you still get a lot of positive exposure for the school, so I think it’s been a big, big boom for all of us.”