Gambling â24, I-59 shootout, BSC hope: Down in Alabama
Welcome back. Hope y’all had a great weekend.
Don’t forget to take this week’s quiz down at the bottom of this post.
Also, if you want this delivered to your email every weekday, sign up for the Down in Alabama newsletter here.
Now let’s get to some news (more beneath the podcast player) …
Gambling 2024
Gambling packages introduced in the Alabama Legislature have been big, broad outlines of a potential future gaming industry that Alabama voters would find palatable. They’ve been made up of things such as whether to pair casinos and a lottery, or the number of casinos and where they’ll be located.
And they’ve all failed.
In next year’s legislative session you might expect to see legislation come at it from a different direction. AL.com’s John Sharp reports that some state lawmakers are considering the creation of a regulatory body that would help rein in illegal gambling.State Rep. Andy Whitt, a Harvest Republican, chairs a group of House members who are taking a long look at gaming. He said the state already has so many forms of illegal gambling that local law enforcement officers often aren’t sure who’s operating inside the law and who’s operating outside it — and that sometimes officers even work security shifts at establishments in question.
Anti-gambling groups say this is all a smokescreen for legalization, and they say that won’t clean up the problem gambling.
Greg Davis is the president of the Alabama Citizen’s Action Program. “Gambling operators who are currently breaking the law, and those who allow it to happen, will likely continue to do so,” he said. “Illegal operators are not going to just line up to be regulated and pay taxes.”
Interstate 59 shootout
Police say that a stolen car led to that shooting during Friday’s rush hour on I-59 in Birmingham, reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.
Officer Truman Fitzgerald said police believe that people in one group thought they spotted a vehicle of theirs that had been stolen in another city. That group followed the car in question until it stopped, and then the gunfire started in the southbound lanes.
Four people were shot, and hundreds were stuck in traffic.
Fitzgerald said everybody who was shot were involved in the shooting. Two were picked up on the scene and two showed up at UAB Hospital.
Hope for Birmingham-Southern College
Birmingham-Southern College ended last week with more optimism than it’s had in a while, so much so that school officials told students to enroll in spring courses with full confidence the school will remain open, reports AL.com’s Rebecca Griesbach.
Last month, with the private college facing financial ruin, Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer turned down its $30 million loan application.
BSC might still get the help it says it needs, between private donors and last week’s $2.5 million, one-year investment from the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Looking ahead, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin plans to include support for BSC in a $5 million economic development plan he’ll present to the city council Nov. 21. And there’s a chance the Legislature could rewrite a loan law during the session so that BSC would clearly qualify.
School president Daniel Coleman said the school is still seeking donations and considering its options.
“We are making steady progress, and we will continue to fight for the future of this college,” he said.
By the Numbers
21
$775 million
More Alabama news
Born on this date
In 1837, Congressman James T. Rapier of Florence. He was a Black man who served in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 1870s.
In 1899, “World’s Greatest Archer” Howard Hill of Wilsonville.
In 1910, writer and publisher William Bradford Huie of Hartselle.
Week in Review Quiz
The podcast