Author

Josh Moon

Josh Moon is an investigative reporter and columnist. You can reach him at [email protected].

Legislature / News

As the lottery push moves forward, a suggestion for a better bill

Now, the teachers have caught on. On Wednesday, social media posts from a number of teachers groups around Alabama highlighted the fact that a lottery bill set for a vote on Thursday in the state Senate offered zero dollars for education. Those social media posts also included the phone numbers for lawmakers, and by late … Continued

Josh Moon

April 25, 2019

Opinion

The clown show rolls on: Albritton’s lottery bill advances out of committee

The worst lottery bill in history will get a vote in the Alabama Senate. The Senate’s Tourism Committee, with a 6-5 vote, gave Sen. Greg Albritton’s “paper only” lottery bill a favorable report on Tuesday. It is, presumably, headed for a full debate and vote in the Senate. Although, with a gambling bill in Alabama, … Continued

Josh Moon

April 24, 2019

Opinion

On controversial legislation, there are a couple of Republicans to trust

From an ethical point of view, the Alabama Republican Party has endured a tough run the last few years. There have been at least eight arrests of party leaders and high-ranking ALGOP lawmakers. The Speaker of the House, the governor, the majority leader — they all went down for ethics crimes primarily related to using … Continued

Josh Moon

April 23, 2019

Opinion

If the Albritton lottery bill is so popular, why all of the lies?

Del Marsh and Greg Albritton seem to have a serious problem with the truth. Basically, the two Republican senators don’t know what it is. In the ongoing debate over bills that would allow Alabamians to vote on lottery games, Marsh and Albritton have told some real doozies in their efforts to push through a bill … Continued

Josh Moon

April 22, 2019

Dueling lottery bills: A simple breakdown of what they do

There are currently two lottery bills in the Alabama Legislature: SB220, sponsored by Sen. Greg Albritton, and SB130, sponsored by Sen. Jim McClendon. While these two bills legalize a lottery in Alabama, they are remarkably different in terms of the games that are allowed, revenues generated and jobs created. Whenever the topic of a lottery, … Continued

Josh Moon

April 19, 2019

Opinion

ALGOP poised to make law enforcement officers less safe

Alabama Republicans don’t seem to care much about the safety of law enforcement officers in the state. At least, it sure seemed that way on Wednesday, as sheriff after sheriff took time out of their days to explain to lawmakers how a bill that removes the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed firearm … Continued

Josh Moon

April 18, 2019

Opinion

Alabama lottery: What’s at stake

Over the past few weeks, I have written a number of stories and columns detailing the specifics of potential lottery bills and what their effect on this state and its tax revenues might be. I’m sorry. Not for writing those pieces, because they contained important and accurate information, but because I didn’t first adequately explain … Continued

Josh Moon

April 17, 2019

Opinion

There is no reason that Alabama can’t copy LeBron James

The anti-public education crowd has to hate LeBron James. Because he and the public school he started last year are destroying every myth, every talking point, every excuse that any of them have ever offered to explain why they’re always so eager to castigate public education and hand tax dollars to private schools and charters. … Continued

Josh Moon

April 15, 2019

The bill that would have killed Alabama ethics laws is dead

The worst bill this legislative session (so far) is dead. Sen. Greg Albritton’s rewrite of state ethics laws — which all but eliminated ethics laws — will apparently never leave the Senate Judiciary Committee, chairman Cam Ward said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s dead in my committee,” Ward told APR. It was an odd turn of events … Continued

Josh Moon

April 11, 2019

Opinion

In Alabama, money is god

If you have ever participated in an organized cleanup effort of pretty much any piece of land anywhere in this country, you know one thing is true: plastic grocery bags are everywhere. They’re stuck in bushes, half buried, clinging to other trash, in trees, floating in every body of water, and clinging to every barbed-wire … Continued

Josh Moon

April 11, 2019