Study finds Alabama worst state in South for women
A new study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research ranks Alabama as the worst state in the South for women. The study, “Status of Women in the South,” explores a variety of topics relative to women’s lives, including political participation, employment and earnings, work and family, poverty and opportunity, reproductive rights and health and well-being. In all seven categories, Alabama received a D or F grade. The study examined 14 states deemed “Southern” states — Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, and the District of Columbia — and, of those, Alabama ranked dead last overall. The breakdown of grading for the state was as follows: Political Participation: D- Employment and Earnings: F Work and Family: D- Poverty and Opportunity: D- Reproductive Rights: D Health and Well-Being: F Along with rating each state individually, the study notes that poverty rates among women in the South are some of the highest in the country and closing the gender wage, estimated to cost Southern women $155.4 billion annually, would reduce women’s poverty rate by more than half. But not all of the findings were negative: Women in the South generally have better access to affordable and quality childcare and Southern women are more likely to be business owners than women in other parts of the country. However, the poverty rate for Southern women, now at 16.4 percent, is higher than non-Southern states, which currently rests just over 13 percent, and women in the South are more likely to die from heart disease and breast cancer, and more likely to suffer from diabetes or AIDS. Further, maternal and infant mortality are startlingly high in the South and 11 Southern states accounted for more than one-third of all female homicides by males.
Marco Rubio to headline Samford University forum Saturday
Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is set to be the solo headliner at Samford University’s Republican presidential candidate forum Saturday after fellow presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz cancelled. Three other Republicans in the race, businessman Donald Trump, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson are also skipping the event. The forum is one of the last opportunities for candidates to plead their case to Alabama voters ahead of Super Tuesday next week, when Alabama and a dozen other states hold nominating elections. Event organizer Yellowhammer News said the sold-out event will still go on as planned, despite Rubio being the only candidate in attendance. Cruz’s cancellation came down from a political consultant not long after a new poll put out by Birmingham-based consulting firm Master Image showed the Texas senator in a third place among Yellowhammer State voters. The poll, released Wednesday, put Trump in the lead with 36 percent, followed by Rubio with 19 percent. Cruz got 12 percent support, with Carson taking 8 percent and Kasich landing in last place with 7 percent. About 17 percent of the 1,556 Alabama Republicans polled said they were still undecided. The poll may foreshadow a disappointing Tuesday for Cruz, whose campaign strategy relies on picking up delegates in the “SEC Primary” states, where evangelicals have a larger role at the polls. The junior senator from Texas had 17 percent support among Alabama Republicans in January, but his numbers had slipped to around 13 percent this month.
Kay Ivey: 2015 year in review
It began as a challenging, yet rewarding year. On Jan. 19, 2015, I took the oath of office for my second term as lieutenant governor. I’m grateful to the people of this great state for entrusting me with this responsibility. The year started at a rapid pace. A week before the Inauguration, the Alabama Senate convened in an Organizational Session, where new Senate leadership was elected and new rules were adopted to help the legislative proceedings operate more effectively for the next four years. The first Regular Session of the Quadrennium started in March with the looming challenge regarding the state budgets. Although intense debates surrounded the budgets, the Education Trust Fund Budget received priority and passed in May during the Regular Session. Two very contentious Special Sessions followed and took until September to finalize a balanced General Fund Budget with reforms and limited new taxes. One of my many proud moments came when I presided over a Joint Legislative Session honoring Alabama’s living Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, including the newest, Sgt. Major Bennie Adkins of Opelika, a true American hero. Throughout the year, I’ve met with several dignitaries from around the world, including leaders representing Canada, Hong Kong, Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as His Excellency Cui Tiankai, China’s Ambassador to the United States. Alabama continues to attract attention from global leaders interested in trade and investment opportunities. In my continued efforts to support our military missions in Alabama, I’m chairman of the Military Stability Commission to help our military bases in Alabama remail well positioned to meet future challenges. In addition, I participated in a welcome-home ceremony for 187th Fighter Wing members and their families. I’m grateful to the Alabama men and women who serve our country in global deployments. I also participated in a Wiregrass Sequestration Listening Forum hosted by the Department of Defense to help highlight the important role Fort Rucker plays in our national security. It’s vital we continue to improve our military assets and prepare to successfully face future evaluations of our force structure that could lead to reductions of federal military bases and missions in Alabama. After our final Legislative Session of the year ended in October, I hosted the National Aerospace Foreign Direct Investment Exposition in Los Angeles, California, as chairman of the Aerospace States Association, along with the U.S. Department of Commerce. My friend Barry Eccleston, president of Airbus America, began his presentation with “Sweet Home Alabama” playing on the sound system at the international conference, highlighting their investment in our state. Conference participants and the aerospace industries recognize our state’s rich aerospace history, as well as continued growth with over 400 aerospace companies in Alabama. Alabama students continue to compete at the highest levels in and out of the classroom. Most recently, the “Fort Payne Seven” from Fort Payne High School placed second out of 19 teams in the Real World Design Challenge National Championship with the successful design and development of an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to support precision agriculture. Alabama students have proven repeatedly they can compete globally. As we end 2015, I was honored with this year’s Service to Agriculture Award from the Alabama Farmers Federation. It was gratifying to receive it from the people who help make agriculture the largest industry in our state. Alabama continues to increase its presence in global markets and to be recognized as an attractive location for business investment. As a result, our unemployment rate has dropped to 5.9 percent, the lowest in our state in seven years. Even though we are not where we want to be, we continue to be trending in the right direction with more new jobs on the way. As I reflect over this past year and prepare for the upcoming year, I am reminded of how blessed we are as a state. Thank you for the opportunity to be your lieutenant governor. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Kay Ivey is the lieutenant governor of Alabama. Elected in 2010, she was the first Republican woman to hold the office in Alabama’s history.
Influence of churches, once dominant, now waning in South
Prayers said and the closing hymn sung, tea-drinking churchgoers fill Marble City Grill for Sunday lunch. But hard on their heels comes the afternoon crowd: craft beer-drinking, NFL-watching football fans. Such a scene would have been impossible just months ago because Sunday alcohol sales were long illegal in Sylacauga, hometown of both the actor who played TV’s Gomer Pyle and the white marble used to construct the U.S. Supreme Court building. While the central Alabama city of 12,700 has only one hospital, four public schools and 21 red lights, the chamber of commerce directory lists 78 churches. Yet few were surprised when residents voted overwhelmingly in September to legalize Sunday alcohol sales. Churches lacked either the heart or influence to stop it. That shift is part of a broad pattern across the South: Churches are losing their grip on a region where they could long set community standards with a pulpit-pounding sermon or, more subtly, a sideward glance toward someone walking into a liquor store. In metro Atlanta, youth sports teams regularly practice and play games on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights — times that were strictly off-limits a generation ago because they conflicted with church worship services. In Mississippi, dozens of businesses display anti-discrimination stickers distributed by a gay rights group rather than worry about a church-based backlash. “It doesn’t matter who wants to buy a house,” said real estate agent Diana Britt, who drives around Jackson, Mississippi, in a work vehicle decorated with one of the stickers. “If they want to buy a house, I’ll sell them a house.” Church-based crusaders against gambling also are on a losing streak as all but two Southern states, Alabama and Mississippi, have lotteries. And, perhaps most tellingly, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center showed 19 percent of Southerners don’t identify with any organized religion. That’s fewer “nones” than in other regions, but the number is up 6 percentage points in the South since 2007. The South is still the Bible Belt, and that same Pew survey found that church affiliation remains stronger in the states of the old Confederacy than anywhere else in the United States. Seventy-six percent of Southerners call themselves Christians, and political advertisements often show candidates in or near church. Religious conservatives remain a powerful force in many Southern statehouses. Still, the same South that often holds itself apart from the rest of the country is becoming more like other U.S. regions when it comes to organized religion, said Jessica Martinez, a senior researcher in religion and public life at Pew. And while race divides many things in the South, the trend is evident among blacks, whites and Hispanic adults, she said. “We’ve seen this sort of broader shift throughout the country as a whole with fewer people identifying as being part of the religious base,” she said. “In the South you see a pattern very similar to what we are seeing in other regions.” Thomas Fuller, a religion professor at Baptist-affiliated Samford University near Birmingham, said there’s no single reason churches are losing the cultural wallop they once packed. Migration into the region and the Internet are but two factors chipping away at a society that seemed much more isolated just a generation ago, he said. “The South is not nearly as homogeneous, is far more diverse culturally now than it’s ever been,” said Fuller. “In a way you’re a little hard-pressed now to talk about Southern culture in a singular fashion. It’s not nearly as one-dimensional anymore or easy to describe.” In Sylacauga, 45 miles southeast of Birmingham, Mayor Doug Murphree said the push for Sunday alcohol sales was linked to attracting new businesses. “We’re not really trying to promote drinking in Sylacauga. But if you look at a big chain restaurant like Ruby Tuesday or O’Charley’s, they’re open on Sunday and a big part of their business is alcohol,” said the mayor. Murphree, who attends a Baptist church, said he met with members of the local ministerial association before the citywide vote to explain the city’s economic situation and the need for Sunday alcohol sales. Pastors listened, and by and large they didn’t preach against it. “They said they were not going to try to block us,” he said. So now, Marble City Grill can sell alcohol after 1 p.m. on Sunday just two blocks up North Broadway Avenue from the white-columned First Baptist Church of Sylacauga. “Things have changed,” said Julie Smith, who owns the restaurant with her husband. “We’ve been open 10 years and at first we had people who wouldn’t come because we sold alcohol. They come now.” Around corner from the restaurant, Dee Walker said he’s attracting a larger crowd every Sunday afternoon at his craft beer and wine shop, The Fermenter’s Market at The Rex, named for the old hotel in which it is located. Walker grew up in neighboring Clay County, the last dry county in Alabama, and recalls the petition drives and fire-and-brimstone sermons anytime someone mentioned legalizing alcohol sales. Southern churches no longer have that kind of influence in many places, Walker said. “You’ve got some diminishing populations when it comes to the religious opposition,” said Walker, standing behind a bar with 36 taps for craft beer. Walker said his customers include church deacons and elders; a Baptist layman quoted Scripture while drinking a hoppy brown ale on a recent weekday afternoon. Joe Godfrey, a Southern Baptist minister and head of a group that calls itself “Alabama’s Moral Compass,” recalls a time when churches were the center of Southern society. “I can remember when schools looking to schedule an event would call the local churches to see if they had anything … that might conflict with the school’s tentative plans. If so, the school would find a different date to hold their event. That is no longer true,” said Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program. “Today, churches try to find a time to schedule their events when ball teams, schools and civic clubs
Daniel Sutter: Mickey Mantle, pensions and safety nets
Employer-provided pensions across the U.S. are changing. The old standard, the defined benefit plan, is rapidly disappearing. I suspect that this change will have significant consequences. Pensions typically take one of two forms, defined benefit and defined contributions. A defined benefit plan guarantees annual payouts in retirement, typically based on earnings and years worked, and employer contributions plus returns on investments pay these benefits. Under a defined contributions plan, employers contribute a specified amount to an employee account, and the accumulated contributions plus investment returns, however much this happens to be, is the employee’s retirement. The proportion of salaried, private sector employees covered by defined benefit plans fell from 38 percent in 1990 to 20 percent in 2008. Over this time, private sector workers with defined contribution plans increased from 8 percent to 31 percent. Most public sector employees currently have defined benefit plans, like the Retirement Systems of Alabama. But this is slowly changing; Michigan and Utah have switched new state employees to defined contribution plans. The form of the plan affects who bears pension risks. One risk is that contributions and investments will fail to yield sufficient funds for retirement. This could happen because of lower than expected investment returns, or because of mistakes in pension accounting, which is described as more of an art than a science. The potential also exists for someone to outlive their retirement funds. Employers bear these risks with defined benefit plans, versus employees with defined contribution plans. Both private and public sector defined benefit plans are often underfunded. Fewer than 10 percent of Standard & Poor’s 500 index firms with defined benefit plans, for instance, have fully funded pensions. Companies must make up the shortfall from an underfunded pension out of current revenues, which can drive an otherwise successful business into bankruptcy. Defined contribution plans avoid pension-induced bankruptcy, but result in people without funds for old age. As more companies and governments shift to defined contributions plans, this problem will only worsen. The life of baseball great Mickey Mantle illustrates the potential danger. I was in diapers when Mr. Mantle retired, but I learned early about his greatness as a player, and later about his famous carousing and drinking. Mr. Mantle often said that if he had known he was going to live so long (he died at age 63), he would have taken better care of himself. The progress and prosperity of our economy have supported modern medicine and a significant extension of life. Life expectation increased by 20 years between 1930 and 2010. Based on how economists estimate the value of years of life, living an extra 20 years is equivalent to a $2 million benefit for the typical American. I hope that progress in life extension continues, and even accelerates it if possible. We form expectations about life based on experience and available information. Mr. Mantle’s expectation was not unreasonable based on life when he was growing up in the 1930s. Before 1930, men did not on average to 60, and men in the Mantle family rarely saw 50. Many Americans never reached retirement age. Progress creates an imbalance between life plans based on yesterday’s world and a different, albeit better, future. For the lengthening of life, this imbalance takes the form of persons without funds for old age. Defined contribution pensions exacerbate this problem by placing the risk on people likely to make mistakes and possessing little ability to afford the consequences. Millions of persons without money for old age could lead to demands for a much expanded government safety net, perhaps an expanded Social Security designed to provide full retirement income. Ironically, defined benefit pensions provide a voluntary, contractual safety net. Pensions allow the sharing of risks involved in planning for old age. These pensions reduced the potential for people to save too little and voluntarily transferred wealth to those who live unexpectedly long lives. I do not know if defined benefit pensions will disappear. But if they disappear, I suspect that we will miss the market-based safety net they have provided for Americans as progress extended our life spans. Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. Respond to him at dsutter@troy.edu and like the Johnson Center on Facebook.
Complex, yet fascinating: A primer on Alabama’s March presidential primary
With the 2016 election less than a year away, and the first caucuses within the next 90 days, now is a good time for a review of what could be an interesting, yet complex, turn of events. Much of the situation will depend on the state of the Republican field come March 1. Here is a primer of Alabama’s primary delegation process: Alabama’s Presidential Preference Primary is March 1, 2016, and does not require voters to declare a party preference when registering to vote. The Yellowhammer State has an open primary, meaning any registered voter can vote in the primary for any party. Voters choose the primary in which to vote, and they are not required to be a party member in order to vote. According to the state Department of Elections, requirements to vote in Alabama is as follows: each applicant is a citizen of the United States; is an Alabama resident; a minimum of 18 years old on or before Election Day; is not barred from voting by a disqualifying felony conviction, and has not been declared mentally incompetent by a court. The state does not permit online voter registration, early voting or “no excuse” absentee voting. Since 2014, to cast a ballot in Alabama requires valid photo identification at the polls. Alabama’s delegation is 26 at-large (numbered At-Large #1, At-Large #2, etc.), 21-Congressional District and three automatic (“unbound”) for 50 total, which will be allocated proportionally, as a what is known as winner-take-most. The threshold for any candidate to qualify for delegates is 20 percent, both statewide and within each congressional district. This follows Republican National Committee rules stating elections held before March 15 will be assigned proportionately. Some conservatives believe the rule was designed to help well-funded candidates (establishment favorites) who are in the race for the long term, and is an obstacle for grassroots candidates desperate for a primary win to rally supporters (and funds). Delegates are bound to their qualifying presidential candidates until either a candidate withdraws from the race for the Republican Party nomination and releases the delegates or if – by a two-thirds vote – the total number of delegates bound to that candidate become “unbound” at the national convention. That closes the door to any potential abuse but allows just enough for delegates to wiggle out of a pledge, in a scenario with multiple ballots/votes to determine the nominee at the convention. Enforcement of original pledges is left to the head of the Alabama delegation and/or the RNC secretary. While the system is designed to release delegates if a battle on the convention floor occurs, there is no mention of a specific number of ballots taken before a delegate can be released. Compared to four years ago, there are no other substantive rule changes in Alabama elections, but unlike other early primary states – New Hampshire, for one – proportional allocation of Alabama delegates come from two different groups: at-large statewide and congressional district delegates. To get either type, candidates must meet the 20 percent threshold, twice the limit set in New Hampshire. If a single candidate receives a majority of the Alabama’s vote, then he or she will receive all 26 at-large delegates. If a candidate receives a simple majority in any Alabama Congressional District, he or she will win three of the district’s delegates. The Alabama GOP Delegate Information Process datasheet outlines that a delegate must vote for the candidate they pledged on their qualifying form. If the candidate releases his delegates/alternates, then they can vote for a different person. As it stands, with such a large field of Republican presidential candidates – now standing at 15 – the chances are unlikely that a single candidate will receive a majority either statewide or in congressional districts. However, there is a possibility that the southern GOP contest – the so-called “SEC Primary” – will be a game changer in the 2016 presidential race. There is a likelihood the field will narrow after the early primary states of New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. On the other hand, with a big group of candidates remaining March 1, it will substantially limit the probability of the rise of a consensus candidate. The bottom line: it might be a good bet that one person does not emerge on Super Tuesday with all 47 Alabama delegates. That said, there is a path (albeit a backdoor one) for a candidate to receive a majority of Alabama delegates, even in a large field. One only needs to meet the 20-percent threshold, either statewide or within a congressional district. If that is the case, where a particular candidate meets the 20 percent bar statewide, then they will control half (+1) of delegates, regardless of the results in the congressional districts. Understandably, Alabama’s allotment system has the potential to cause a considerable amount of political turmoil, overshadowing what should be a somewhat organized process. With a smaller number of candidates, though, the odds of one person picking up 20 percent of the vote increases. And as that number reaches two – it becomes almost assured that one (or the other) will meet the 50 percent threshold, receiving all delegates. Another case is when the vote triggers a potential winner-take-most scenario. In that situation, there would be a 20 percent bar for one and a 50 percent threshold for the other. With the current state of the race, there is a likelihood that more than one candidate will reach the 20 percent, thereby qualifying for delegates. Here is where math comes in. Since it is statistically impossible for a field of over five viable candidates to receive more than 20 percent each, the overall effect is somewhat limiting. Alabama’s delegate allocation system promotes narrowing the field of contenders – or at least accelerating the winnowing already taking place before March 1. Therefore, if (or when) these conditions are met, 26 at-large delegates will be spread out among candidates who get at least 20 percent of the vote. As for
Bill would recognize 9-mile offshore limit for 3 Gulf states
Since July 2013, Mississippi has claimed its state waters extend nine miles south into the Gulf of Mexico, but the federal government refuses to recognize the declaration. Mississippi’s senior U.S. senator is trying to change the government’s mind. The feds have been standing by a 1960 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined the offshore boundary for Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama was three miles out. The federal government also has not recognized Louisiana’s 2011 declaration of a nine-mile limit. On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee, headed by Mississippi Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, wrote the nine-mile limit for all three states in a funding bill for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other federal agencies. At stake is the Gulf states’ control of lucrative fishing rights and revenue from oil and gas production in near-offshore waters. “This would give these states greater influence in regulating Gulf state fisheries. Currently, only Texas and Florida enjoy nine-mile limits, and this provision would ensure parity among all Gulf Coast states,” Cochran said in a written statement. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration. “I am all for giving the state of Mississippi authority to oversee more of its own coast and allowing those with firsthand knowledge of the region’s needs, namely Mississippians, to have more influence its future,” Cochran said. The issue dates back to 1953, when Congress passed the Submerged Lands Act. The act established a coastal boundary for each state at three miles from the shore. The federal government retained control of water bottoms farther out. The act provided that Congress could vote to extend the boundaries up to 10 miles offshore if a state could prove the existence of a law or constitutional provision that established a boundary beyond three miles before that state joined the Union. In a 1960 lawsuit brought by the federal government, the five Gulf states argued that each qualified for an exception. The U.S. Supreme Court decided Texas and Florida had produced historical documents supporting a 10-mile boundary but it ruled Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana had not. After 30 more years of litigation, the government, the Supreme Court and the states in 1992 set a legal definition of where each of the three states’ coastline began — and from there the three-mile limit would be determined. The decree did not extend the three-mile limit. Louisiana wildlife officials said the state Legislature gave authority to extend waters in 2011, but only after it was recognized by Congress or approved in litigation. The Mississippi law of 2013 mimics the Louisiana law, but without the reference to Congress. Cochran said the bill recommends funding for an independent assessment of reef fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico, which will allow for an organization other than NOAA to conduct this research. He said NOAA is directed to count fish on artificial reefs and offshore energy infrastructure. The agency would also be required to incorporate this new, more accurate count into its stock assessments, which could potentially increase the allowable catch of red snapper for private anglers. “These provisions represent a straightforward effort to try to get past some of the contentious policies that have affected fishing in the Gulf,” Cochran said. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Once vilified, BP now getting credit for gulf tourism boom
With the Memorial Day holiday here, fallout from the oil spill that left Gulf Coast beaches smeared with gooey tar balls and scared away visitors in 2010 is being credited, oddly, with something no one imagined back then: an increase in tourism in the region. Five years after the BP disaster, the petroleum giant that was vilified during heated town hall meetings for killing a way of life is now being praised by some along the coast for spending more than $230 million to help lure visitors back to an area that some feared would die because of the spill. Questions remain about the long-term environmental effect of the BP disaster, with a report released just last week finding a definite link between the spill and a record die-off of the bottlenose dolphins that tourists love to spot along the northern Gulf Coast. Pockets of oil still blot the sea floor and spots along Louisiana’s coast. Meanwhile, many are still wrangling with BP over spill-related claims. Attorneys for businesses and individuals claiming damages from the spill announced a $211 million settlement last week with Transocean Ltd., owner of the failed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Yet, at the same time, parking lots are full outside the same coastal hotels and condominium towers that struggled for business and slashed prices while crude was pouring into the gulf off Louisiana’s coast in 2010. Visitors bob in surf where oil once washed in, and some restaurants have 90-minute waits for dinner on the weekend. Tourist business has doubled in Alabama’s largest beach towns since before the spill, officials say, and Pensacola Beach, Fla., is so clogged with visitors that traffic is a primary problem. Many attribute the change in large part to the millions of dollars that BP spent on tourism grants and advertising that promoted the Gulf Coast nationwide to people who previously didn’t even realize that Alabama and Mississippi had coastlines. “I’ve traveled as recently as the spring to California and there were people there who were saying, ‘Hey, I saw those commercials about Alabama,’” said coastal condominium developer Bill Brett. “I really think those commercials helped.” Brett is an owner of Brett/Robinson Real Estate, where he said business is up about 30 percent since the year before the spill. The company has developed 19 buildings with more than 3,200 condo units on the Alabama coast, including one that was finished with a $37 million settlement from BP after the spill. The tourism surge isn’t happening in a vacuum: Many U.S. attractions have seen big increases during the same period as the economy recovered following the 2008 financial crisis and Americans returned to the road. The theme parks of Orlando, Fla., helped draw a record 62 million visitors to the city last year, and the U.S. Travel Association expects Americans to spend about 5 percent more this Memorial Day than last. But back in 2010, there were questions and fears over whether the tourist economy of the northern Gulf Coast would ever recover from the spill. Residents feared that images of oil-soaked birds and blackened beaches would permanently change travel patterns and leave towns like Gulf Shores, and Destin, Fla., as the forgotten coast. Ted Scarritt, who offers tourist cruises in Orange Beach aboard his 53-foot catamaran “Wild Hearts,” remembers crying and praying while the spill was happening. Scarritt, who also owns a beach service company, purchased the sailboat only months before the spill and had to keep it out of the oil-marred waters that summer. Today all that seems like a bad, distant dream as he watches clear gulf waters slide past the hull during an afternoon of sailing off Alabama’s coast. “We’re just amazingly thankful,” Scarritt said. “I think our area has recovered profoundly. You can look at the water right now, you can look at the beach. We’re fine.” Picking up shells in the surf at Pensacola Beach, Autumn Ventling of Nashville, Tenn., didn’t realize the spill ever occurred; she was just 18 at the time. Today, she said the white-sand beach and emerald-colored water appear beautiful, just like so many other beaches on the Gulf Coast. “I can’t tell anything happened,” said Ventling, 23. Part of that is because of a massive cleanup program BP conducted on beaches after the spill. For months, big machines with metal sifters dug deep to remove remaining mats of tar from the sand, which was then spread back on the seashore. While the cleanup work was going on, BP was also shelling out cash to revive tourism. BP spokesman Jason Ryan said the company provided $179 million in tourism promotion grants to the gulf states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, and it aired commercials nationally touting the region as recently as early 2013. The company hasn’t disclosed the cost of the spots, he said. But under an agreement with plaintiff’s attorney who sued over the spill, BP provided another $57 million for private groups and government to promote tourism and seafood on the Gulf Coast. The rebound has been a relief to people like Jeanne Dailey, owner of Newman-Dailey Vacation Rentals in Destin. During the long summer of 2010, Dailey spent many sleepless nights fearing oil would wash ashore and kill the tourism business. The Destin area never got the heavy patches of oil that polluted Alabama beaches, Mississippi coastal islands and the boot of Louisiana, but the perception that the entire coast was coated in oil prompted hundreds of vacationers to cancel travel plans, she said. “Once I made peace with the fact that I might have to declare bankruptcy, things started to get better,” she said. BP’s ad campaign combined with sales incentives combined to lure people back to the area eventually led to a strong rebound, Dailey said. Five years later, her business is thriving and preparing to mark its 30th anniversary. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Alabama to receive more than $137,000 in credit reporting settlement
Alabama will receive more than $137,000 in a multistate settlement over a dispute about credit reporting errors. State Attorney General Luther Strange said in a statement Wednesday that Alabama will receive $137,018 in a settlement with national credit reporting agencies Equifax Information Services LLC, Experian Information Solutions Inc., and TransUnion LLC. The settlement requires the agencies to move more quickly to fix disputed information on credit reports, wait longer before adding items and more carefully scrutinize certain data they’re furnished with by collection agencies and others. Officials say the settlement calls for the agencies to pay 31 participating states $6 million for costs associated with an investigation into consumer complaints about credit reporting errors. Strange says the settlement will mean better service for consumers in Alabama and elsewhere. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Memorial Day weekend events happening across Alabama
On Memorial Day, May 25, Americans will honor and remember all of those who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces. In recognition of the holiday’s rich history, Alabama Today put together a list of Memorial Day weekend events occurring across the state: Auburn Bluegrass On The Plains Monday, May 25 6 p.m. Price: tickets start $15 online, $20 at the gate Featuring a long list of performers, arts and crafts, horse-and-carriage rides, along with food and music vendors. For information visit: www.bluegrassontheplains.com. Birmingham Honoring Those Who Have Served Our Country Sunday, May 24 3 p.m. Price: Free The Alabama Veterans Memorial Foundation in partnership with the Vulcan District Boy Scouts will honor veterans in the annual Remembrance Ceremony. The Foundation will dedicate StepStones to more than 30 veterans, living and deceased and from many states. Come early to view the Blue Star Salute Foundation’s Memorial Exhibit, “Faces of the Price of Freedom” which shows the faces of Alabama’s fallen heroes since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. For information visit: www.alabamaveterans.org. Decatur Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Festival Saturday, May 23 through Sunday, May 24 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Price: Free One of the largest free balloon gatherings in the Southeast, featuring more than 60 balloons, balloon races, kite flying, musical entertainment, a car show, food and a children’s area. For information visit: www.alabamajubilee.net. Gulf Shores Memorial Day Tribute Saturday, May 23 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Price: Adults $7.00, Seniors (65 and older) $5.00, Child (ages 6-12) $4.00 Historical interpreters dressed in U.S. Army uniforms from different eras of the forts’ occupation will conduct special guided tours throughout the day. For more information visit: www.fort-morgan.org. Huntsville North Alabama “Down Home” Soul & Blues Festival Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 24 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Price: Tickets start at $75 For information visit: here. Montevallo Alabama National Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, May 25 9 a.m. Price: Free Memorial Day observance will include a wreath-laying presentation and cannon salute. For more information visit: www.scalnc.org. A Salute to Our Veterans Monday, May 25 10 a.m. opening; special ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Price: Free A full day of activities planned, including historical vignettes, musical salutes, re-enactments, games, ceremonies, a Gold Star Salute to the Fallen, and a wreath laying at the Veterans Shrine. For more information visit: here. Montgomery Montgomery Symphony Orchestra’s Jubilee Pops Concert Friday, May 22 7 p.m. Price: Free Pack your picnic basket and cooler and get ready to kick-off Memorial Day weekend on the lawn of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. For information visit: www.montgomerysymphony.org. Tuscaloosa Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, May 25 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Price: Free Presented by the Veterans Memorial Park Association at the Veterans Memorial Park. For information visit www.tuscaloosaveteranspark.org. Have an event you’d like included? Email us here.
Four flaws in conservatives’ argument against state-run lottery
I’ve been intrigued by the ongoing discussion about a state education lottery. In a completely unscientific poll, AL.com readers seem to overwhelmingly support this. Among the loudest critics are folks that I agree with on eight out of 10 issues, but not this one; at least not for the reasons they are citing. Conservatives against the lottery note that this is essentially a regressive tax that harms the poor and favors the rich. I can boil my problem on these commonly cited problems into four points: 1) It is hypocritical to say that you’re for personal responsibility and limited government, except when it comes to gaming. Either people have the ability to police themselves and their own behavior or they don’t. 2) Conservatives often use the argument that liberals or progressives talk down to and underestimate poor and minority populations. An example of this would be by questioning their ability to get identification cards for voting. These same conservative groups are now saying that it is the poor and minority populations who need to be saved from themselves and their inability to act responsibly. (Side note: You need an ID to prove you’re over 18 and to buy a lottery ticket so can we say this may increase voter turnout?) 3) You can’t legislate morality. If the issue at hand is your personal belief that gambling is sinful, then don’t participate. (For the purposes of a simple single topic post I’m not arguing for or against that premise). People who want to gamble will find a way to do so with or without a state lottery. 4) Being anti-lottery is the anti-free market position. As long as people can cross state lines to get tickets for big jackpots, play online poker, and visit existing pari-mutuel facilities stopping a lottery accomplishes little. Prohibiting a state lottery isn’t ending gaming, it’s just giving preferential treatment to existing gaming options. If an argument was made that state-run lotteries are not conservative because the state shouldn’t compete with what the private sector could do, I’d cede that point. If an argument was made that state-run lotteries that it’s not a vital function of the government, I’d cede that point. Then we could have different discussions. Those aren’t the arguments being made against lotteries and those arguments aren’t consistent with the ideals of limited government and personal responsibility. This column appeared first on AL.com. Apryl Marie Fogel is a new Alabama resident who works as a conservative political activist.
