National lynching memorial and slavery museum sets open date in Alabama
The original capital of the Confederacy, a city once mired in racism, will soon redefine its legacy when it opens the nation’s first memorial dedicated to lynching victims and a new museum dedicated to slavery in the spring. The Equal Justice Initiative on Monday announced it will open the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. on April 26, 2018. The memorial, devoted to 4,075 blacks EJI’s research shows were killed by lynching in the U.S. from 1877 to 1950, will acknowledge an era of racial terror in the United States when thousands of African Americans were lynched and publicly tortured, sometimes in the presence of thousands of people. Designed with hundreds of six-foot, corten steel monuments aligned in a structure that sits above the city of Montgomery, EJI’s memorial will feature new sculptures from African and African American artists that explore slavery, segregation, and contemporary issues of racial inequality. The spacious park holding the memorial will include a monument for every county in America where a racial terror lynching took place that can be claimed by community groups and installed locally. “Our nation’s history of racial injustice casts a shadow across the American landscape,” Bryan Stevenson, director of EJI, said in a statement. “This shadow cannot be lifted until we shine the light of truth on the destructive violence that shaped our nation, traumatized people of color, and compromised our commitment to the rule of law and to equal justice.” The six-acre site will also feature a museum, From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, a few blocks away from the memorial that will be situated within 150 yards of one of the South’s most prominent slave auction sites, near the Alabama River dock and rail station where tens of thousands of enslaved black people were trafficked. Check out a preview of the memorial below: Tickets for admission to the museum and the memorial are now available at museumandmemorial.eji.org.
Toyota, Mazda said to narrow choice to North Carolina, Alabama for $1.6 billion plant
Alabama and North Carolina are the final states in the running to win a prized Toyota and Mazda car factory worth $1.6 billion, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The automakers have been narrowing the list for weeks, knocking out almost a dozen other contenders that until recently included Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina, the sources said. Mazda and Toyota plan to announce their final choice by early next year, Akira Marumoto, Mazda’s executive vice president, told reporters in Tokyo earlier this month. Scott Vazin, a Toyota spokesman, and Jeremy Barnes, who represents Mazda, both declined to comment. The shared factory, scheduled to open in 2021, is the first new auto assembly plant to be announced during the tenure of President Donald Trump, who has pressured Toyota and other carmakers to make more of their vehicles in the U.S. During his recent visit to Tokyo, Trump thanked executives from the two companies for planning 4,000 new jobs at the plant. “That’s big stuff,” Trump told them, according to The Washington Post. Toyota and Mazda are pressing for an incentive package valued at $1 billion or more for the factory that is such a hotly contested prize. Mazda, which imports all the models it sells in the U.S., plans to produce crossovers alongside Toyota Corolla compact cars at the new plant. In October, Toyota reduced the size of its initial investment in a new plant in Mexico. The company will spend $700 million on the Guanajuato factory instead of the $1 billion it originally pledged, and production will be 100,000 vehicles a year instead of 200,000. Trump had criticized Toyota’s Mexico plans in a tweet in January, demanding Toyota build a plant in the U.S. instead. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter
Kay Ivey announces $33 million for Ala. restoration and conservation projects
Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has approved more than $33.5 million for five new projects and amendments to two existing projects that focus on the restoration and conservation of Alabama’s natural resources. “The harm caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill remains ever-present in our minds today,” Ivey said. “This additional $33 million in funding for Alabama from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will further strengthen our long-term recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. The commitment of our local, state, and federal partners to ensure the long-term sustainability of our coastal areas is greatly appreciated.” In 2013, a U.S. District Court approved two plea agreements resulting from the criminal charges against BP and Transocean as responsible parties to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The settlement directs a total of $2.54 billion to NFWF to establish a Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF) over a five-year period to support ecological projects in all five Gulf States. A total of $356 million will be paid into the GEBF for conservation projects dedicated to the State of Alabama. Alabama 2017 projects Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Acquisition: $5.9 million This project proposes the acquisition of a 251-acre property identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as among its highest priorities in the state of Alabama. The parcel will be deeded to the USFWS for inclusion and management within Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge (BSNWR). The property represents an important priority area within the authorized acquisition boundary of the Refuge and includes scrub/shrub, pine flatwood, saltwater marsh, and tidal creek habitats, with permanent and semi-permanent wetlands scattered across the parcel. Dauphin Island Bird Habitat Acquisition and Enhancement Program: $4.5 million This project will enhance coastal bird habitat along one mile of recently restored beach that is immediately adjacent to a 200 acre bird sanctuary on Dauphin Island. The project will include sand fencing, dune plantings, signage, stewardship, and, if necessary, additional sand placement. Additionally, funding is included to acquire and enhance important bird habitats on Dauphin Island to benefit shorebirds, wading birds and seasonal migrants. Due diligence and landowner outreach will be undertaken as the first step to acquire an estimated 13 acres of undeveloped habitat to protect critically important migratory stopover habitat and facilitate management of contiguous blocks of conservation lands. Lands acquired through this project will be deeded to and managed by the Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary (DIBS). DIBS will also undertake prescribed fire and invasive species management to enhance the ecological value of these newly-protected habitats. Little Dauphin Island Restoration Assessment: $1.4 million This project will provide funding to study both nearshore and onshore restoration options for a future project to enhance and protect Little Dauphin Island. Included in the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Little Dauphin Island is an important nesting and foraging area for several coastal bird species, including several imperiled shorebird species. Mobile Bay Shore Habitat Conservation and Acquisition Initiative – Phase II: $6.9 million Phase II of the Mobile Bay Shore Habitat Conservation and Acquisition Initiative will acquire, restore and preserve intact high‐priority, undeveloped properties within three specific areas of the City of Mobile. These three priority intertidal habitat areas include riparian, wetland and upland habitats that are used by a variety of fish and wildlife species injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Salt Aire Shoreline Restoration: $12.7 million This project leverages the earlier acquisition of the 233-acre Salt Aire property (2015 GEBF) and proposes protection of degraded shoreline and restoration of 30 acres of associated coastal marsh on the western shore of Mobile Bay. Construction of wave attenuation structures and the beneficial use of dredge material for marsh creation are both envisioned. The 2015 GEBF award funded both the acquisition of the property and engineering and design of the requested restoration work. “Today’s announcement brings the total amount of NFWF GEBF-funded projects in the State of Alabama to $148 million, and it represents the culmination of close to a year-long process of coordinating with our local partners to identify those projects which will significantly enhance and restore our natural resources into the future,” Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Blankenship said. “We appreciate the hard work of all involved to bring these projects to fruition.” Additional information on each project will soon be available online.
Democrat Richard Lindsey announces retirement from Alabama House
Centre-Democrat State Rep. Richard Lindsey announced his retirement Monday saying that he will not run for another term in the House of Representatives next year. First elected to the State House in 1938, over 34 years ago, Lindsey serves District 39, which includes parts of Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb counties. “I truly love serving the people of my district, and making this decision was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” said Lindsey. “I wrestled with this decision for months. I turned to God’s word for guidance and the third chapter of Ecclesiastes came to mind: ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven…’ These words helped me find peace with the decision that required divine guidance.” Elected when he was only 27 years old, Lindsey is the seventh most senior member in the Alabama Legislature. “We have been very fortunate to have Richard in the Legislature all these years,” said Gadsden-Democrat, State Rep. Craig Ford. “He’s certainly earned his right to retire, but I sure do hate it for the people of our area because, now more than ever, we need people of his integrity and caliber in the Legislature.” During his tenure in office, Lindsey served for ten years as chairman of the Education Finance and Appropriations Committee, which was responsible for writing the education budget. He also served for three terms as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and also served on several regional and national legislative committees.
New report ranks Alabama 47th most burdensome occupational licensing laws
Jeff Sessions on Roy Moore: ‘No reason to doubt’ Roy Moore accusers
On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said during testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives he has “no reason to doubt” the women who have accused Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct. “I have no reason to doubt these young women,” Sessions told the House Judiciary Committee. Sessions, whose seat Moore is seeking in the U.S. Senate, made the remark during his testimony following a question from Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee asking him whether or not he believed Moore’s accusers, and whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) would investigate the allegations against Moore should he win the seat Sessions declined to weigh in on whether or not he believed Moore should drop out of the Dec. special election, citing federal ethics restrictions at the DOJ. He went on to say the department “will evaluate every case as to whether or not it should be investigated.” Moore has been under fire since The Washington Post published an explosive report Thursday afternoon with the accounts of four women who claim he sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. The news has caused rapid fallout from dozens within the Republican Party who have called on him to withdraw his name from next month’s special election if the allegations are true. Moore faces the Democratic nominee Doug Jones on Dec. 12.
Opelika fallen soldier Dusty Hiller featured in new National Geographic mini-series
He died serving his country, now his story is being shared with America. Thirteen years ago, the First Cavalry Division deployed from Fort Hood, Texas. They were supposed to be on a peacekeeping mission, but four days later, an Iraqi militia ambushed one of their platoons. Eight Americans, including Army Spc. Stephen “Dusty” Hiller, 25, of Opelika, Ala. died that day in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq. Now, Dusty’s life is being remembered in a National Geographic television network mini-series called The Long Road Home.
Royal Technologies kicks off $14 million, 25-job expansion in Cullman
Royal Technologies Corp. announced a $14 million expansion of its Cullman manufacturing operation, a project that will create 25 jobs. The company produces polymer products, primarily plastic and foam, for the automotive, furniture and consumer goods industries. The 176,000-square-foot expansion will allow for the addition of plastic injection molding lines. “When a company chooses to expand in your community, it is a reinforcement of their original decision to locate there,” said Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer. “Your workforce is performing, and the community has proven to be a good choice for them.” Greer said Royal Technologies also has gotten business with several new Alabama manufacturers in recent months, which shows the state’s recruitment efforts have paid off for existing companies. Construction has already begun on Royal Technologies’ expansion, and the company expects to be producing parts out of the new addition in June. Hudsonville, Michigan-based Royal Technologies has invested nearly $27 million since starting up its Cullman facilities in 2010. The company employs 128 people there. Hub for business Earlier this year, Cullman earned economic development accolades from Site Selection magazine. The publication placed Cullman at the No. 2 spot in its ranking of top U.S. small cities. Cullman has capitalized on its convenient location along Interstate 65, about halfway between Birmingham and Huntsville, and become a hub for a diverse array of businesses. The region has a strong base of automotive suppliers, as well as other manufacturers and distributors. Last year alone, Cullman County landed 40 economic development projects, for a total of 568 announced jobs and $68.4 million in planned investment, according to the 2016 New and Expanding Industry Report prepared by the Alabama Department of Commerce. “Cullman County has a rich economic landscape, where companies continue to prosper,” said Greg Canfield, state commerce secretary. “We congratulate Royal Technologies on their success in Cullman, and we look forward to many years of future growth.” This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
