ADECA says Alabama broadband plans are nearly ready for approval
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) was tasked with expanding broadband in the state prior to the pandemic, but COVID-19 revealed the necessity for expanding high-speed internet and has brought federal funds and increased urgency. ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell told Alabama’s economic developers the state is ready to spend $85 million in America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to expand broadband in the state and is seeking nearly $200 million more in Alabama’s Capital Projects Fund for further expansion. Speaking at the Economic Development Association of Alabama’s 2022 Summer Conference, Boswell said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey first sought to work broadband into ADECA’s mission in 2017. The Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition pushed for legislation in 2019. That legislation eventually passed, and Ivey signed it into law in July 2021. The ARPA funding was a response to the pandemic when quarantines exposed the need for connectivity for people working from home, doing distance learning for school, and needing telemedicine for health care. “(The pandemic) magnified how bad that we needed it,” Boswell said. “It’s quality of life, it’s health care, it’s education – in today’s world, broadband impacts and affects us in every way, shape, form, and fashion.” Boswell said there is a need for $4 billion to $6 billion to expand broadband in the state, but two plans are at least a start. Companies like C Spire, Point Broadband, and Tombigbee Communications have been working with Alabama Power and others to bridge the state’s digital divide since 2019. Boswell said systems with the infrastructure and networks have the main lines of access – known as the “first mile” – and local providers can connect homes and businesses with what is known as the “last mile.” The need is the “middle mile” between the two, and that is where ADECA plans to spend the $85 million in ARPA funds. “We have five applications in-house right now, and we hope to have those graded, and an announcement made hopefully in the next two weeks,” Boswell said. The other ADECA plan seeks to use funds from the state. “Our second process is the actual Capital Projects Fund with $191 million,” Boswell said. “We have the plan complete. We’re doing all of our checks and balances as we speak. We will submit that to (the Alabama Department of) Commerce. They have up to a year to actually approve the plan, but we’re hoping that because of our advancements with our plan program that we will actually get that done quicker, by hopefully six months.” Those expenditures are in addition to the billions more being spent by private companies helping to expand broadband throughout Alabama. Learn more about Alabama Power’s Economic and Community Development initiatives at AmazingAlabama.com. Republished with the permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
Rep. Terri Sewell votes for CHIPS and Science Act
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell announced that she voted for the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, a bill she believes will deliver investment in America’s global competitiveness—creating jobs, slashing kitchen table costs, ending dependence on foreign manufacturers, and turbocharging American innovation. The bill passed the House today by a vote of 243 to 187. Previously passed by the Senate, this legislation now heads to Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. “The CHIPS and Science Act is a victory for Alabama and our nation!” stated Sewell. “This major legislation is all about ensuring that America remains a world leader in science, technology, and innovation. By turbocharging our production of semiconductors, the CHIPS and Science Act will strengthen American manufacturing, lower costs, and bolster our independence from foreign suppliers, all while creating good-paying jobs here at home. I’m also thrilled that this bill will bring research investments to our local communities to help diversify our STEM workforce. I look forward to seeing President Biden sign it into law!” According to Sewell’s press release, a nationwide shortage of semiconductor chips has severely disrupted American manufacturing, slowing down production, spiking prices, and increasing dependence on unfriendly foreign nations. Only 12 percent of semiconductor chips are currently manufactured domestically—a dramatic drop from 37 percent in the 1990s—while foreign competitors are investing heavily to dominate this critical national security industry. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly championed the legislation for over a year. Kelly spoke on the Senate floor immediately following the passage of the CHIPS Act of 2022, stating, “While this process has been long, it has also shown what we can accomplish when we work together, Republicans and Democrats,” Kelly said during his speech. “And as a result, our country is going to once again be a leader in microchip manufacturing, creating tens of thousands of great paying jobs, strengthening our national security, and lowering costs for everyday products.” This legislation aims to: Lowers costs for American consumers – by making more critical semiconductor components in America, helping end the shortage of chips that have driven up the price of everything from cars to consumer goods. Creates 100,000 new good-paying jobs – creates strong Davis-Bacon jobs building hi-tech manufacturing facilities here in America. Ends our dangerous dependence on foreign manufacturers –bringing critical semiconductor manufacturing back to America instead of overseas where it can be threatened by our adversaries. Turbocharges American R&D – powering America’s preeminence in both basic research and next-generation technologies and ensuring that the technologies of the future are made here in America. Diversifies and expands the innovation workforce – broadening the pool of brainpower and talent so that we are embracing the full potential from all our communities, helping to diversify our STEM workforce, and advancing regional technology hubs to ensure communities across the country can help in American research and development.
Joe Nathan James Jr. executed despite calls from victim’s family to spare him
An Alabama inmate convicted of killing his former girlfriend decades ago was executed Thursday night despite pleas from the victim’s family to spare his life. Joe Nathan James Jr. received a lethal injection at a south Alabama prison after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his request for a stay. Officials said he was pronounced dead at 9:27 p.m. after the start of execution was delayed by nearly three hours. James, 50, was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1994 shooting death of Faith Hall, 26, in Birmingham. Hall’s daughters have said they would rather James serve life in prison, but Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that she planned to let the execution proceed. Prosecutors said James briefly dated Hall and he became obsessed after she rejected him, stalking and harassing her for months before killing her. On Aug. 15, 1994, after Hall had been out shopping with a friend, James forced his way inside the friend’s apartment, pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Hall three times, according to court documents. Hall’s two daughters, who were 3 and 6 when their mother was killed, said they wanted James to serve life in prison instead of being executed. The family members not attend the execution. “Today is a tragic day for our family. We are having to relive the hurt that this caused us many years ago,” the statement issued through state Rep. Juandalynn Givan’s office read. Givan was a friend of Hall’s. “We hoped the state wouldn’t take a life simply because a life was taken and we have forgiven Mr. Joe Nathan James Jr. for his atrocities toward our family. … We pray that God allows us to find healing after today and that one day our criminal justice system will listen to the cries of families like ours even if it goes against what the state wishes,” the family’s statement read. Ivey said Thursday that she always deeply considers the feelings of the victim’s family and loved ones, but “must always fulfill our responsibility to the law, to public safety and to justice.” “Faith Hall, the victim of repetitive harassment, serious threats and ultimately, cold-blooded murder, was taken from this earth far too soon at the hands of Joe Nathan James, Jr. Now, after two convictions, a unanimous jury decision and nearly three decades on death row, Mr. James has been executed for capital murder, and justice has been served for Faith Hall. She said the execution sends an,” unmistakable message was sent that Alabama stands with victims of domestic violence.” The execution began a few minutes after 9 p.m. CDT following a nearly three hour delay. James did not open his eyes or show any deliberate movements at any point during the procedure. He did not speak when the warden asked if he had any final words. His breathing became labored, with deep pulsing breaths, and slowed until it was not visible. Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm, responding to a question about why the execution was delayed, said the state is, ”very deliberate in our process in making sure everything goes according to plan.” He did not elaborate. Hamm also said James, who showed no movements at any point, was not sedated. The execution took place at a prison that houses the state’s death row. An inmate put signs in a cell window calling the execution a “murder.” A Jefferson County jury first convicted James of capital murder in 1996 and voted to recommend the death penalty, which a judge imposed. The conviction was overturned when a state appeals court ruled a judge had wrongly admitted some police reports into evidence. James was retried and again sentenced to death in 1999, when jurors rejected defense claims that he was under emotional duress at the time of the shooting. James acted as his own attorney in his bid to stop his execution, mailing handwritten lawsuits and appeal notices to the courts from death row. A lawyer filed the latest appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on his behalf Wednesday. But the request for a stay was rejected about 30 minutes before the execution was set to begin. James asked justices for a stay, noting the opposition of Hall’s family and arguing that Alabama did not give inmates adequate notice of their right to select an alternate execution method. He also argued that Ivey’s refusal violates religious freedom laws because the Koran and the Bible “place the concept of forgiveness paramount in this situation.” The state argued that James waited too late to begin trying to postpone his execution and “should not be rewarded for his transparent attempt to game the system.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Danielle Zanzalari: Passage of the CHIPS Act is not economically smart
Even during high inflation, Congress chooses to waste money by giving it to large corporations who don’t need it. This week, semiconductor firms convinced Congress to provide free money and tax credits for expanding their U.S. manufacturing business – business expansion they already started in 2020 and 2021. The logic for these subsidies is not rooted in economics. Subsidies only make economic sense for infant industries and for industries critical to national security. In this case, neither condition applies. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted for the CHIPS Act (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act) to incentivize producers in chip manufacturing to compete with China. As part of the bill, there will be $52 billion in subsidies provided to chip makers as well as an investment tax credit for U.S. manufacturing. Both Intel and the Semiconductor Industry Association are major lobbiers for the bill – and that’s no surprise. After all, they have the most to gain from this legislation. Sensing a handout, they have declared that they need subsidies in order to compete with China. It’s a prime example of the “infant industry argument” commonly used in trade policy to justify government subsidies. Some companies need protection from international firms until they are mature enough to compete, or so the argument goes. However, there’s no conceivable way Intel and its competitors could be considered an infant industry in need of help from the U.S. government. Intel is the world’s biggest chipmaker with a market capitalization of $164 billion and a net income of about $20 billion per year since 2018 – greater than the GDP of the entire country of Jamaica. Their market share is 64% bigger than Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s biggest semiconductor firm. As U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders asked about Intel, Micron Technology, and others: “Does it sound like these companies really need corporate welfare?” If the U.S. government truly wanted more competition and lower prices, they would actually support true “infant” firms in the semiconductor space to compete with Intel, Texas Instruments, and others. These already gigantic companies don’t need a handout; they need competition. Concentrating semiconductor production in only the largest firms will only lead to higher prices for chips. Some advocate providing these subsidies in the interest of national security – after all, what if China stops selling chips to the U.S.? Electronic goods production would stall, causing huge market disruptions, right? Wrong. U.S. firms already produce chips domestically, and Intel already has an incentive to manufacture in the U.S. due to increasing demand for U.S. made chips. In fact, they already started building a plant in Ohio and only shut it down as a political move to squeeze out money from Congress. Rather than subsidize large, existing semiconductor firms in the U.S., we ought to be inspiring domestic investment by private companies. There already exists incentives for firms that commonly use chips – like car companies – to enter into the semiconductor field or invest in these firms. Decreasing regulation to allow for more vertical integration can help create more chip producers. We can’t ignore the cost of these subsidies. For example, $52 billion is enough to give each state and D.C. $1 billion for schools – a 10% increase in New Jersey’s budget for K-12 education and a 5% increase for Texas. Another better use for the $52 billion could be immigration enforcement, which would be over a 15% increase for the Department of Homeland Security, or for state and local road repair, an increase of 28% in funding for most states. The government shouldn’t invest this money in companies that don’t need help – it ought to use it to help our public education system, overburdened immigration system, or neglected highways, among other viable options. Sanders is right to call out the CHIPS Act as crony capitalism. Danielle Zanzalari is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Seton Hall University and policy contributor for Garden State Initiative. She is a personal finance expert whose lesson plans are used in teaching financial literacy in high schools around the country. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Unexpected deal would boost Biden Administration pledge on climate change
An unexpected deal reached by Senate Democrats would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to address global warming and could help President Joe Biden come close to meeting his pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, experts said Thursday, as they sifted through a massive bill that revives action on climate change weeks after the legislation appeared dead. The deal would spend nearly $370 billion over ten years to boost electric vehicles, jump-start renewable energy such as solar and wind power, and develop alternative energy sources like hydrogen. The deal stunned lawmakers and activists who had given up hope that legislation could be enacted after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he could not support the measure because of inflation concerns. While analysts were still studying the 725-page bill, the deal announced late Wednesday includes a long-term extension of clean energy tax credits that “could plausibly put the U.S. on track to reduce emissions by 40% in 2030,″ said Ben King, associate director of the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Additional action by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states could “help close the rest of the gap to the target of a 50-52% cut in emissions by 2030,″ King said. But approval of the bill is far from certain in a 50-50 Senate, where support from every Democrat will be needed to overcome unanimous Republican opposition. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who forced changes in earlier versions of the plan, declined to reveal her stance Thursday. In the narrowly divided House, Democrats can lose no more than four votes and prevail on a possible party-line vote. Still, Biden called the bill “historic” and urged quick passage. “We will improve our energy security and tackle the climate crisis — by providing tax credits and investments for energy projects,″ he said in a statement, adding that the bill “will create thousands of new jobs and help lower energy costs in the future.″ Environmental groups and Democrats also hailed the legislation. “This is an 11th-hour reprieve for climate action and clean energy jobs, and America’s biggest legislative moment for climate and energy policy,″ said Heather Zichal, CEO of America’s Clean Power, a clean energy group. “Passing this bill sends a message to the world that America is leading on climate and sends a message at home that we will create more great jobs for Americans in this industry,″ added Zichal, a former energy adviser to President Barack Obama. Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters, summed up her reaction in a single word: “Wow!” Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., tweeted that she was “stunned, but in a good way.″ Manchin, who chairs the Senate energy panel, insisted that he had not changed his mind after he told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer two weeks ago that he could not support the bill because of inflation concerns. “There should be no surprises. I’ve never walked away from anything in my life,″ he told reporters on a Zoom call from West Virginia, where he is recovering from COVID-19. Manchin called the bill an opportunity “to really give us an energy policy with security that we need for our nation” while also driving down inflation and high gasoline prices. The bill, which Manchin dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” includes $300 billion for deficit reduction, as well as measures to lower prescription drug prices and extend subsidies to help Americans who buy health insurance on their own. Besides investments in renewable energy like wind and solar power, the bill includes incentives for consumers to buy energy-efficient appliances such as heat pumps and water heaters, electric vehicles, and rooftop solar panels. The bill creates a $4,000 tax credit for purchases of used electric vehicles and up to $7,500 for new EVs. The tax credit includes income limits for buyers and caps on sticker prices of new EVs — $80,000 for pickups, SUVs, and vans and $55,000 for smaller vehicles. A $25,000 limit would be set on used vehicles. Even with the restrictions, the credits should help stimulate already rising electric vehicle sales, said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. Electric vehicles accounted for about 5% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. in the first half of the year and are projected to reach up to 37% by 2030. The bill also invests over $60 billion in environmental justice priorities, including block grants to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change in poor and disadvantaged communities. Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, called the bill a step forward but said she was concerned about tax credits for “polluting industries” such as coal, oil, and gas. “We need bolder action to achieve environmental and climate justice for ourselves and future generations,″ she said. The bill would set a fee on excess methane emissions by oil and gas producers while offering up to $850 million in grants to industry to monitor and reduce methane. The bill’s mixture of tax incentives, grants, and other investments in clean energy, transportation, energy storage, home electrification, agriculture, and manufacturing “makes this a real climate bill,″ said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “The planet is on fire. This is enormous progress. Let’s get it done.” But not all environmental groups were celebrating. The deal includes promises by Schumer and other Democratic leaders to pursue permitting reforms that Manchin called “essential to unlocking domestic energy and transmission projects,″ including a controversial natural gas pipeline planned in his home state and Virginia. More than 90% of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline has been completed, but the project has been delayed by court battles and other issues. The pipeline should be “at the top of the heap” for federal approval, Manchin said and is a good example of why permitting reform is needed to speed energy project approvals. Manchin, a longtime supporter of coal and other fossil fuels, said environmental reviews of such major projects should be concluded within two years instead of lasting up
Steel company to make $5.5M investment in Alabama
A carbon steel and aluminum parts manufacturer plans to create jobs in rural Alabama, state officials announced. Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield announced this week that O’Neal Manufacturing Services is planning to invest $5.5 million in Fayettte for a 130,000-square-foot facility to make steel while planning to create 70 full-time jobs within three years of the project’s completion. The company is a subsidiary of Birmingham-based O’Neal Industries. “O’Neal Manufacturing Services’ investment will bring advanced capabilities to its new fabrication facility in Fayette,” Canfield said in the release. “This is a positive development for the community not only in terms of job creation but also for growth potential in the future.” The company plans to manufacture carbon steel and aluminum parts that will be used to produce equipment in the construction, agriculture, materials handling, transportation, and other industries. According to the release, the company, which will have ten facilities when Fayette is complete, plans to utilize robotic machine technology along with welding stations, beam-cutting equipment, a wet paint booth, press brakes, plasma, and saw cutting initiatives that will all aid medium- to heavy-gauge steel production. “We are thrilled to have acquired the facility, and we are even more excited to have the skilled workers that were available in Fayette. People have always been our most valuable asset,” OMS President and CEO Kent Brown said in the release. “In this time of unprecedented low unemployment and worker shortages across the country, good people have become even more valuable.” Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Groups approve $2.7B plan for new bridge, highway at Mobile
A $2.7 billion plan to ease traffic along the northern Gulf Coast in Alabama with the construction of a new Interstate 10 bridge and highway through Mobile has taken a step forward with approval from two key planning organizations. Stalled for years in part because of questions over tolls, the project won the endorsement Wednesday of metropolitan planning groups on both sides of Mobile Bay. Construction could begin as early as next year, officials said. The project, which includes construction of a tall bridge over the Mobile River and a replacement of I-10 over Mobile Bay just east of downtown, could be complete by late 2028 if work begins next year, state transportation officials have said. The work was estimated to cost $2.1 billion in 2019, but public opposition over plans to charge cars one-way tolls of as much as $6 led to delays. Under the new plans, passenger vehicles would pay a maximum toll of $2.50 and trucks would pay as much as $18, a state report said, but free routes would still be available. The price of the project — which officials say is needed in part to make hurricane evacuations easier — increased more than 25% as officials tried to work out a way to quiet opposition. Nearly 100,000 cars and trucks use the current system of tunnels and bridges that cross Mobile Bay and the Mobile River, contributing to snarls on roads that were designed for only 35,000 vehicles a day. The president of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, Casey Williams, said the new bridge is essential. “Business and industry are the heartbeat of our economy, and the bridge is critical to moving coastal Alabama forward,” he said in a statement. A report from Alabama’s highway department said work would be funded with $250 million from the state; $625 million in federal grants; $1.2 billion in bonds, and $1.1 in federal loans, with toll revenue used to pay the debt. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Steve Marshall issues statement after execution of Joe Nathan James, Jr.
Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement Thursday night after the execution of Joe Nathan James, Jr. The execution took place at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. Marshall cleared the execution to commence at 9:04 p.m. James’ time of death was 9:27 p.m. James, 50, was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1994 shooting death of Faith Hall, 26, in Birmingham. Hall’s daughters, who were 3 and 6 at the time of the murder, have said they would rather James serve life in prison. Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that she planned to let the execution proceed. James had been acting as his own attorney in a bid to stop the execution. However, a lawyer filed the latest appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. The request for a stay was rejected about 30 minutes before the execution was set to begin. “Justice has been served,” Marshall stated. “Joe James was put to death for the heinous act he committed nearly three decades ago: the cold-blooded murder of an innocent young mother, Faith Hall.” “In the years since, Joe James has tried to blame everything and everyone in an attempt to escape the consequences of his crime. He has claimed that his highly experienced trial counsel was “ineffective,” that his artful appellate counsel was “deficient,” and — in a demonstration of shocking cowardice and callousness — that his victim bore the blame for her own murder,” Marshall continued. “Tonight, Joe James finally received his just punishment.” The family issued a statement through state Rep. Juandalynn Givan’s office. “Today is a tragic day for our family. We are having to relive the hurt that this caused us many years ago. We hoped the state wouldn’t take a life simply because a life was taken, and we have forgiven Mr. Joe Nathan James Jr. for his atrocities toward our family. … We pray that God allows us to find healing after today and that one day our criminal justice system will listen to the cries of families like ours even if it goes against what the state wishes,” the statement read.
