A round-up of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A round-up of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: The Anniston Star – Missed opportunities for fairness in Calhoun County Activists’ efforts urging the Piedmont City Council to formally ban LGBT discrimination have failed. Their brief flurry of political activity in that northern Calhoun County locale is, apparently, over. They presented their case. Residents’ opposition was immense. The council took no vote. That’s unfortunate. Piedmont, a small city in a mostly rural part of Alabama, missed an opportunity to send a message of equality and fairness. Anniston may be the activists’ next stop. There’s no guarantee, but the co-president of the local PFLAG chapter told The Star this week that its members have discussed their options for Calhoun County, which includes seeking a city more receptive to codifying the legal rights of gay, bisexual and transgender residents. “Anniston, I think, is gonna be our best demographic,” PFLAG’s Sterling Fiering said. Compared to Piedmont, Anniston is larger and more diverse, though that hardly proves the county’s biggest city wouldn’t have a similar reaction. Anniston’s religious conservatives who share views in line with those voiced in Piedmont might also protest a move to become a more LGBT-friendly community through a discrimination ban. The wildcard, if you will, would be the reaction of Anniston Mayor Vaughn Stewart and the Anniston City Council. Regardless of residents’ opinions, the council would be the ultimate test of any effort to import a discrimination ban into the city. The Birmingham News – ‘Black Like Who?’ panel, exhibit prove hip-hop is part of the American experience It’s an undeniable fact – hip-hop culture has been permanently woven into America’s tapestry. What was once considered rebellious fringe music is now simply a piece of the American story. Need proof? Well, numbers don’t lie: Last week “Straight Outta Compton,” F. Gary Gray’s biopic about rap pioneers NWA, grossed $60.2 million opening weekend, becoming the fifth-highest grossing August opener for any film in history. It’s currently hovering at about $80.2 million worldwide. With the eyes and ears of the nation tuned into sounds of hip-hop culture, the Birmingham Museum of Art’s latest exhibit provides perfect synergy: Hip-Hop You Don’t Stop, a daylong celebration of hip-hop’s impact and influence, begins Saturday, Aug. 22 at noon. Dance instruction, lectures, a screening of the film “Style Wars,” and of course, lots of music will coincide the museum’s current exhibition, “Black Like Who?: Exploring Race and Representation.” The exhibit shatters stereotypes that tend t fence hip-hop into one segment of our population. “Black Like Who?” masterfully combines the works of black and white artists, from Gilbert Gaul’s Civil War depictions of the early 20thcentury to Iona Rozeal Brown’s unique blend of hip-hop culture with 19th-century Japanese art. The exhibit defies conventions and embraces diversity – the stories it tells are integral to both hip-hop and American culture at large. We got a head start on those stories Friday evening. The Decatur Daily – Around the state Montgomery Advertiser on General Fund budget, educational funding: There’s much to lament about the Legislature’s failure during the special session to produce a workable General Fund budget to pay for critical state services. But at least the Republican supermajority wasn’t able to raid the state’s separate Education Trust Fund in a maneuver to avoid the hard work of good fiscal governance. Not that they didn’t try, with a number of faulty proposals to divert education dollars to other areas. As the Advertiser’s Brian Lyman reported, both chambers looked at moving $225 million in use tax dollars from the ETF to the General Fund. Senate leaders said they’d find a way to replace the money next year. We’ve heard that one before. The idea of the transfer is not without merit. Gov. Robert Bentley included it in his proposals for shoring up the General Fund during the regular session. But he paired it with new revenue measures to replace the lost funds for schools. Good for House Ways and Means Education chairman Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, who helped stall the irresponsible bill by opposing any plan that doesn’t come with a replacement method. The fight isn’t over yet, however. You can bet on similar attempts in the second special session. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, doesn’t believe restoring the loss to the ETF is a priority, perhaps because he wants to increase pressure on other lawmakers to support his gambling proposals. That’s a risky political game he’s playing with Alabama’s students. State Superintendent Tommy Bice warned taking the money from the ETF without replacing it could force the education department into proration, with harsh across-the-board cuts to schools. Advocates for education in the Legislature must refuse to pass any transfer of use taxes until a reliable revenue back-fill source is identified. Dothan Eagle on open government: One of the basic tenets of our representational government is the concept of inclusion for members of the public. The business conducted by those appointed or elected to governmental bodies is expected to be open for public scrutiny. Deliberations and votes are to be made in public meetings that have been adequately announced and advertised to the public at large. The product of the work these governmental entities produce is to be available to anyone who wants to examine it. There are few exceptions, but generally speaking, the Open Meetings and Open Records laws of Alabama ensure the people of our state have access to meetings and documents, and assurance deliberations of matters of public interest are not conducted in private. The intent is crystal clear, but the execution often is muddied. Earlier this year, the Alabama Legislature considered legislation that would tighten language in the law, which contained a loophole that could be interpreted to allow secret meetings between two or more members of a board, but less than a quorum. That’s responsible government. However, in the otherwise fruitless special session that recently ended, the Legislature passed a measure that would allow members of public boards to phone in their votes to public meetings in
