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Alabama School Desegregation Cases Dismissed as Federal Oversight Retreats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Three Alabama school systems have been released from decades-old federal desegregation cases as the U.S. Department of Justice moves to end more than 50 school cases nationwide, a shift that civil rights advocates say could weaken safeguards against racial inequities that have not disappeared from public education. The dismissals involving Tuscumbia City…
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Alabama Vaping Restrictions Take Effect Oct. 1, Extending Indoor Smoking Rules
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabamians will no longer be permitted to vape in places where state law already prohibits smoking when a new state law takes effect Oct. 1. Senate Bill 9, signed into law as Act 2026-505, adds the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems to Alabama’s legal definition of smoking under the state’s Clean…
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Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley Loses Runoff as $14.5 Billion Data Center Becomes Defining Issue
BESSEMER, Ala. — Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley, a four-term incumbent who backed the city’s controversial Project Marvel data center development, lost his bid for a fifth term Tuesday as voters chose former state lawmaker and City Council member Louise Alexander to lead the city. Alexander received 2,376 votes, or 54.53%, in Tuesday’s mayoral runoff, while…
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Fairfield Sees $475M Steel Investment
FAIRFIELD, Ala. — U.S. Steel has broken ground on a $475 million expansion at its Fairfield Tubular Operations, a project expected to bring hundreds of construction jobs and about 250 permanent positions to a city seeking durable economic momentum after years of industrial decline. The project, announced in June and marked with a ceremonial groundbreaking…
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Alabama Arts Council Awards $3.9 Million in Grants to 201 Organizations Statewide
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama State Council on the Arts has awarded more than $3.9 million in grants to 201 organizations and educational institutions across 36 counties, supporting theater productions, festivals, concerts, exhibitions and after-school arts programs in communities throughout the state. The $3,909,400 in grant funding, approved for fiscal 2027, was announced Wednesday after…
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Redacted: Alabama Power’s Data Center Deals and the Numbers Ratepayers Can’t See
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Power is telling regulators that its data center contracts protect customers from higher bills. But every number that would let the public verify that claim is blacked out. The utility filed three data center contracts with the Alabama Public Service Commission this year. In each one, the contract length, minimum billing…
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