And this, folks, is our last news briefing of 2023.

Thanks so much for your months of support here (and more than five years on the podcast) for Down in Alabama — support that has come from all around the state, from Lookout Mountain to Mobile Bay and the Shoals to the Wiregrass, but also from well beyond the Alabama line. We’ve heard from folks all over who use us to keep up with what’s going on back home, and we appreciate every one of y’all.

I hope you’ll give us a chance to be part of your new year. I suspect it’ll be a big one.

Read the newsletter below. Sign up to get it in your inbox each day here.

Ike Morgan

Medical Marijuana

Unless a court steps in, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission is issuing licenses to businesses today as state’s medical-marijuana industry tries to get started, reports AL.com’s Mike Cason.

Today ends a 28-day period since licenses were awarded. The issuance of those licenses is the next step, coming after the businesses were given time to pay for inspections and license fees.

These are business that will be involved in cultivating, processing, transporting, testing and dispensing medical cannabis.

You’re probably not shocked that this hasn’t been a completely smooth process since Alabama passed a law that authorized the production and use of medical cannabis.

The commission also approved a motion to hire a hearing officer for the investigative hearings requested by companies that were denied licenses. The state law limited the number of licenses that would be available, leading to some predictable conflicts in this process.

The cost of higher learning

The Wall Street Journal, in a story that looked at Auburn University’s budget documents over 20 years, called the school one of the nation’s “priciest public colleges,” reports AL.com’s William Thornton.

According to Education Department data, the average in-state freshman pays $25,000 a year in tuition, a 60-percent increase over 15 years ago. Auburn’s budget has grown from around $600 million to $1.7 billion over the past 20 years.

Former university president Jay Gogue told the Journal, “It costs money to deliver quality education. You’ve got to have the facilities, you’ve got to have the faculty. It takes a lot of things.”

State Sen. Arthur Orr, a Decatur Republican, said one thing missing from the story was a heavy reduction in state education appropriations as a result of the 2009 economic recession.

Remembering Elbert Peters

North Alabama political figure and former state GOP chair J. Elbert Peters has passed away, reports AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz.

Peters’ grandson, David Wisdom, announced the passing on social media.

Peters led the state Republican Party from 1992-95 and the Madison County Republican Executive Committee from 1970-74. His passing was acknowledged by both of Alabama’s U.S. senators and other state Republicans.

State Rep. Matt Simpson of Mobile: “He was a stalwart in Alabama politics. I will miss him.”

Elbert Peters was 90 years old.

Picture that

Before-and-after images from an AL.com video show progress in a major effort to restore beaches from Gulf Shores to Orange Beach in late 2023 and early 2024.

Quoting

“After again consulting with our Legal Department I have conceded to what they and law enforcement have been advising me from the beginning, that the right to protest should not and may not infringe on the rights of others and the rule of law must be restored to allow peace for all of our citizens.”

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling, announcing that those demonstrating over the Stephen Perkins shooting will need to obtain permits for future protests. Some of the demonstrations have taken place outside the mayor’s house.

More Alabama news

Born on this date

In 1959, comedian Paula Poundstone of Huntsville.

In 1967, former NFL player Tony Tolbert of Tuskegee.

On the calendar

1 p.m. Saturday: Music City Bowl, Auburn vs. Maryland at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

4 p.m. Monday: Rose Bowl, Alabama vs. Michigan at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.

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