Judge seals Alabama governor’s divorce file from public view
A judge has ordered that Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley‘s divorce case be sealed from public view. Tuscaloosa Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hamner issued the order Monday after the couple’s attorneys jointly requested that the records be kept private. Lawyers told the judge that it would be in the best interest of both parties to keep the divorce records private. The request noted the governor’s position as a prominent public office holder. Dianne Bentley filed for divorce on Friday, saying the couple’s 50-year marriage had suffered an irretrievable breakdown. The divorce filing said the couple separated in January. Court records show that the governor is represented in the divorce by Birmingham attorney Lisa Lynn Woods. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across the state
One of the world’s most popular video games is teaming up with Alabama to help vets — find out which one. How close is UAB to restoring their football program? There’s a degree for brewing beer? See which Alabama company is suing the EPA. All this and more inside today’s business roundup of headlines from across the state: Birmingham Birmingham Journal: UAB hits initial $2M goal toward restoring football The University of Alabama at Birmingham has exceeded its $2 million goal toward restoring its football program. According to AL.com, Hatton Smith – the Royal Cup executive tasked with leading efforts to raise $13 million toward facility improvements – said the fundraising committee already has more than $2 million cash in hand. Last month, prospective donors were asked to submit their initial donations by Sept. 1, instead of the original Dec. 31 deadline for first payments. Smith said in the report that the accelerated timetable was “to meet requirements set forth by the (University of Alabama System) Board of Trustees. Smith is leading a team of heavy hitters who are raising money for the program’s reinstatement following the school’s controversial decision to cut the football program following the 2014 season. Several business leaders were critical of the initial decision, saying UAB football was a missed opportunity for Birmingham, specifically its potential impact on downtown development. Birmingham Business Journal: Alabama leads some, lags others for average debt Debt is a problem that plagues much of America, but for Alabama, it could be worse. A recent study from NerdWallet.com showed that Alabama ranks near the middle of U.S. states for debt, with the exception of debt caused by student loans. On the low end of the spectrum, Alabama’s average student loan debt was $28,895 – the 12th highest among states. Neighboring Mississippi ranked 19th for average student loan debt ($27,571), while Georgia ranked 37th ($24,517). However, Alabama ranked at 24th overall for states with the highest average credit card debt, at $3,784. Mississippi ranked 47th for the highest credit card debt ($3,416.53), while Georgia came in at 12th ($4,060.44) These numbers are small, though, when considering U.S. citizens have $703 billion in credit card debt alone. Alaska finished with the highest credit card debt for each state, with residents having an average revolving card balance of $5,081, Alabama’s best ranking was 34th highest average mortgage debt – $136,154.26. Georgia topped Alabama in this category ranking as the 20th highest ($162,916.66.) Mississippi also finished well for average mortgage debt, ranking 44th overall ($119,129.52). AL.com: Call of Duty video game teams with Alabama group to help vets The philanthropic heart behind one of the world’s most popular video games has found one of the best ways to put action to its money is to hook up with an Alabama-based veterans organization. The Call of Duty Endowment – the veterans-aid foundation behind the video game that features war-like scenes produced by Activision Blizzard – has bestowed the seal of distinction on Still Serving Veterans, a non-profit organization based in Huntsville that also has locations in Birmingham and Phenix City. Still Serving Veterans focuses in helping vets transition into their post-military lives. That certification has turned into real money for Still Serving Veterans, according to Dan Goldenberg, executive director of Call of Duty Endowment. During a recent visit to Still Serving Veterans in Huntsville, Goldenberg said the foundation began working with the Alabama group five years ago. Still Serving Veterans first received an award of $25,000 from the foundation. Then by meeting a series of metrics, the allotment has increased to a high of $777,000 last year, Goldenberg said. Altogether, the foundation has donated $1.75 million to Still Serving Veterans. “It’s only because they get better and better at what they do,” Goldenberg said. In 2013, Still Serving Veterans was among the 11 organizations to receive the first seals of distinction from the Call of Duty Endowment. There are now 18 veterans groups carrying the CODE seal of distinction. “These are organizations that can expand and find way to serve under-served vets,” Goldenberg said. “Still Serving Veterans has done a great job with that with their expansion all over the state.” For Still Serving Veterans, the partnership with CODE is confirmation that their process is effective. “We appreciate as a business-oriented, business-focused non-profit, a partner that is savvy enough and also business-oriented to give us that leeway,” said Will Webb, co-founder and president of Still Serving Veterans. “I came up with a way to explain it as verify by trust. Which is kind of a flip on President Reagan’s trust but verify. What they do is they verify you are the best, most efficient, effective and integrity-based organization. But once done, they trust them to do the right thing if they make the metrics. “For an organization that is similarly focused, we love that. We love for somebody to check us out, give us the thumbs up and give us the ball and let us run with it — an increasingly more lucrative ball. With a partner like that, then we can go to the next level and really leverage what we’ve done. It’s a great partnership.” CODE has set a goal of placing 25,000 veterans in jobs by 2018 by working through partners such as Still Serving Veterans. Goldenberg said 14,700 vets have found jobs through CODE and its partners so far. “It’s not us doing it,” he said. “It’s our grantees. We’re vetting them and writing the checks and trying to support them if we can but they are the ones doing this amazing hard work.” Dothan Eagle: Grants that helped Todd Farms expand could be cut from Alabama budget “Coffee’s ready,” 78-year-old Joe Todd alerted visitors before an event with city and state officials on Monday. His hospitality and will to grow the family’s seven-generation syrup business into a viable regional attraction on U.S. 431 are what Headland Mayor Ray Marler said the city considered in providing funds to help with a sewer line project that aided Todd Farms’ creation of a
Blue Bell resumes selling ice cream after listeria recall
Blue Bell ice cream is back. Blue Bell Creameries resumed selling its products at some locations Monday, four months after the Texas-based retailer halted sales due to listeria contamination at some plants prompted health concerns that drew the regulatory scrutiny of federal and state officials. Blue Bell ice cream is available again at stores in the Houston and Austin areas, including in the company’s hometown of Brenham, plus in parts of Alabama. Some retailers limited purchases as Blue Bell brought out flavors including homemade vanilla, Dutch chocolate, cookies ‘n cream and a side-by-side blend of chocolate and vanilla. A Blue Bell delivery truck rolled up Monday to the Texas Capitol in Austin, with complimentary half-gallons for Gov. Greg Abbott, who shared the ice cream with his staff, said Cait Meisenheimer, an Abbott aide. A grocery store in the Houston area held a Blue Bell ice cream-eating contest Monday. The company had voluntarily recalled its products in April after they were linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas. Listeria bacteria can cause serious illness, especially in older adults, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. The company, according to its website, collected approximately 8 million gallons of ice cream and ice cream products. Production plants in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama underwent an extensive cleaning and decontamination, under the regulatory oversight of health officials. Hundreds of Blue Bell workers were laid off. The Blue Bell plant in Sylacauga, Alabama, began producing ice cream in July. The company announced plans on Aug. 17 to resume distribution to some markets. Officials with the U.S. Department of Commerce were in Brenham on Monday to announce a nearly $1.4 million grant to build a workforce and technical training center. The money goes to the Brenham Economic Development Foundation. Federal authorities cited Blue Bell issues and recent downturns in the oil and gas industries. Texas billionaire Sid Bass became an investor in Blue Bell Creameries after the privately held company was unable to raise enough capital from existing shareholders, according to CEO and President Paul Kruse. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Bradley Byrne: Agriculture key to local economy
You often hear a lot about how the United States economy is becoming more and more dependent on manufacturing. The same holds true for us here in South Alabama with big companies like Airbus and Austal setting up operations in our area. With the growth in manufacturing, it is easy to lose focus on the fact that agriculture remains the top industry in Alabama. 580,000 jobs in our state are related to agriculture and forestry. Agriculture’s impact on the state’s economy is over $70 billion a year. Right here in the First Congressional District, over 100,000 jobs are tied to agriculture. With this in mind, last week I set off on a two-day, six county “Ag Matters” tour to visit with farmers and foresters in Southwest Alabama. I was happy to be joined on the tour by Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan and representatives from the Alabama Farmers Federation and the Alabama Forestry Association. We started things off in Baldwin County at a farm outside of Robertsdale. From there, we stopped by farms in Uriah, Leroy, and Grand Bay. We also held a roundtable with local forestry leaders in Brewton, visited private timberland in Evergreen, and toured the Scotch Plywood facility in Clarke County. At each stop, I learned new information about some of the challenges facing our nation’s farmers and foresters. One common theme at all the stops was that federal regulations from Washington are making life harder for our local farmers. For example, the EPA’s recently proposed “Waters of the US” rule will greatly expand the agency’s ability to regulate bodies of water. Some legal scholars believe the regulation is so broad that it could lead to the EPA regulating bodies of water as small as ditches or puddles in a farm pasture. If this regulation goes into effect, our local farmers and foresters would be required to seek special permits or face outrageous fines. Instead of being able to focus on farming, they would have to spend precious time and money complying with frivolous federal mandates. Any additional costs would likely be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher grocery bills. Just last week, a federal judge issued a ruling that puts the future of the regulation in question, Regardless of what the courts say, I will keep working in Congress to get rid of this silly regulation. Another concern I heard a lot about during my “Ag Matters” tour related to the Endangered Species Act. Farmers and foresters often have to suspend operations due to new species being declared endangered or threatened. These species range from things like the black pine snake to the gopher tortoise. I am all for protecting our nation’s wildlife, but it is clear the Endangered Species Act isn’t working. In fact, the Endangered Species Act has had very little success in recovering and protecting key domestic species and instead the law has resulted in excessive litigation. That is why I supported a bill last year to reform the Endangered Species Act to ensure more accountability and transparency in the process. No one is going to be a greater steward of the land than those who depend on our natural resources in order to make a living. Our farmers and foresters don’t need federal regulators from Washington – who have never even been to Alabama – telling them how to run their farms. Ultimately, when our “Ag Matters” tour wrapped up in Mobile County last Friday, I had an even greater appreciation for the challenges facing our agriculture industry, but I took great hope in the dedicated and hardworking farmers and foresters who call Southwest Alabama their home. Bradley Byrne is a member of the U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
In new web ad, Scott Walker takes a shot at Jeb Bush on Iran deal
Jeb Bush opposes the proposed nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Iran. He’s made that quite clear, as has every other Republican running for president. Unlike the others though, Bush said that he may not tear the deal up on “Day One” of his presidency. “At 12:01 on January, whatever it is, 19th [2017], I will not probably have a confirmed secretary of state; I will not have a confirmed national security team in place; I will not have consulted with our allies. I will not have had the intelligence briefings to have made a decision,” Bush said in a foreign policy speech in Carson City, Nevada. “If you’re running for president, I think it’s important to be mature and thoughtful about this.” That line was considered a rebuke to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who days before during his speech announcing his candidacy said that, “We need to terminate the bad deal with Iran on the very first day in office.” Walker hits back in a new web ad, with footage from a campaign speech where he says, “Unlike others, I don’t need months, or years to hold this over. If Congress fails to stop the nuclear deal, I will terminate it on day one.” “America will not be intimidated,” he says later in the ad. “And neither will I.”
Donald Trump lapping the field in the Jeopardy! primary
According to an analysis by the University of Minnesota’s Dr. Eric Ostermeier, businessman Donald Trump is leading his Republican presidential primary opponents in terms of number of mentions on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! – and it isn’t even close. Findings posted on the Ostermeier’s Smart Politics blog showed Trump as having a far larger footprint in the public’s pop cultural unconscious as measured by mentions on the trivia show, now in its 31st season. “A search through the Jeopardy! Archive yielded 59 mentions of Trump on the program (29 as a Jeopardy! clue and 30 as an answer) – by far the most in the GOP field,” wrote Ostermeier. For those of you keeping score at home – “Jeb Bush is next with 23 mentions followed by George Pataki (15), Rick Perry (11), Chris Christie (9), Bobby Jindal (9), Rick Santorum (8), b (7), Lindsey Graham (6), Marco Rubio (4), Carly Fiorina (3), Ted Cruz (2), Rand Paul (2), and Scott Walker (2). “The names of Ben Carson, Jim Gilmore, and John Kasich have not yet come up on the program.” Jeb, besides coming in at No. 2 on the list, also emerges with another feather in his cap: he is the only Republican candidate to have been featured in a Final Jeopardy! clue or answer. In 2003, then-Florida governor Bush’s name was the correct answer to this query, with the category 2001 NEWS: “On May 9, 2001 he signed a state law banning punch-card voting.” Trump’s name was evoked on the show in a variety of colorful contexts mostly relating to his tenure as host of NBC’s The Apprentice, notable New York City real estate holdings, his hairstyle (called the “pompad-over” in one clue) and his former high-profile marriages. “In 2000 Marla Maples auctioned off for $110,000 the engagement ring she got from this ex,” read one $200 clue from 2001. The answer of course: Who is Donald Trump? Marco Rubio, who came in at No. 9, was given more sober consideration by host Alex Trebek. The name of Florida’s junior senator was the correct answer to the $200 clue in the category PEOPLE ARE READING… ““An American Son,” by this senator whose parents left Cuba in the 1950s,” read the clue.
Presidential Primary Brief: 435 days until Election Day
181 days until AL Presidential Primary 435 days until Election Day Convention Dates: Republican July 18-21 2016, Democratic July 25-28 2016 Weekly Headlines: Hillary Clinton summons top campaign bundlers to New York Poll: Biden outperforms Hillary in general election; Trump leads GOP field Rick Perry presidential run on death watch Press Clips: Scott Walker to outline foreign policy blueprint (NBC News 8/28/15) After a week of calling on the White House to cancel next month’s state visit for the Chinese president, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will lay out his own foreign policy blueprint, laying out a plan to take on terrorism and saying “America will not be intimidated.” During a speech to cadets at the Citadel in South Carolina, Walker will continue his attacks against what he has called the “Obama-‐Clinton” foreign policy, calling it filled with “delusion and wishful thinking,” according to excerpts released by his campaign. Huckabee lands Aaron Trost as Iowa director (Politico 8/27/15) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will announce Thursday that Aaron Trost, who managed the insurgent campaign of Sen. Deb Fischer (R-‐Neb.), will be his Iowa state director. Trost comes to Iowa after making his name in neighboring Nebraska, where he engineered a come-‐from-‐behind primary victory for Fischer in 2012, then managed her general-‐election victory over former Sen. Bob Kerrey. Gov. Dan Malloy questions Sanders’ stance on guns (Politico 8/26/15) Connecticut Gov. Dannell Malloy questioned Bernie Sanders’ record on gun control during a meeting Tuesday with New Hampshire organizers for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Campaigning for Clinton in the Granite State, the Democratic governor contrasted the former secretary of state’s record on guns with that of the independent Vermont senator, according to a report from Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Carly Fiorina’s camp cries foul in attempt to get on debate main stage (Politico 8/26/15) Faced with the very real possibility that she will again be relegated to a lower-‐tier debate, GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina’s campaign is going after the Republican National Committee and the news organization the RNC picked to host the next debate, CNN. Fiorina has surged in the polls since a widely praised performance in the “happy hour” debate earlier this month. But she has a problem: There haven’t been enough polls to catapult Fiorina from 14th place, where she stood going into that debate, into the top 10 ranking for CNN’s Sept. 16 debate. Donald Trump’s newest media brawl (Politico 8/26/15) The Univision anchor in the front row of Donald Trump’s pre-‐rally news conference in Iowa on Tuesday night piped up to ask a question as the Q&A began. Then Jorge Ramos quickly became the surprise star of the news cycle, the latest to present itself in Trump’s unapologetic, take-‐no-‐prisoners spectacle of a campaign. “Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump!” said Ramos, one of the country’s most influential Hispanic journalists. “Sit down, sit down. You weren’t called,” Trump responded gruffly. As stock market drops, so do Hillary’s chances (Politico 8/25/15) U.S. stocks continued their sharp decline on Tuesday, fueling talk of a worst-‐case scenario for both Wall Street and the broader U.S. economy heading into 2016. And it is one that could make it all but impossible for Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat to win the White House. Under this scenario, a further collapse in China reignites fear in U.S. markets. A strengthening dollar hurts exports while job growth, which is already slowing, stalls out completely. Meanwhile, Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve make a huge policy mistake and raise interest rates too soon, choking off what little growth we have. Tom Vilsack endorses Hillary Clinton (Politico 8/25/15) Hillary Clinton scooped up a key endorsement from the Obama administration’s agriculture secretary on Tuesday. Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor who had a brief run in the 2008 campaign, endorsed the Democratic front-‐runner in an op-‐ed in the Cedar Rapids-‐based Gazette. Vilsack said he will proudly caucus for Clinton and praised her record on the economy, energy and education.
