Governor

No, grocery stores are not closing next week, governor’s office says

No, grocery stores in Alabama are not closing next week. In a week of rumors surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest social media hoax on Friday — that Gov. Kay Ivey would order closed all Alabama businesses, including grocery stores, next week — sent shoppers around the state cramming into supermarkets on Friday night. Despite … Continued

Josh Moon

March 20, 2020

Alabama governor announces new primary runoff election date

Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday said the primary runoff election, which will include the headline race for the GOP nomination for Senate, will be held on July 14, 2020, over concerns surrounding the health and safety of Alabamians voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary election was scheduled for March 31. “Exercising my extraordinary powers … Continued

Charlie Walker

March 18, 2020

Gov. Ivey says state’s banks prepared for COVID-19

Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday issued a statement expressing confidence in preparations made by Alabama’s banks in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I am confident in the preparations and plans that our financial institutions have put in place,” Ivey said in the statement. “I also have significant confidence in the underlying health of our … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

March 17, 2020

Ivey directs department heads to allow state workers to work from home when possible

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has directed department heads to advise workers to work from home, if possible, in response to the growing COVID-19 threat. “Because the safety of state employees is of utmost concern, each department director is authorized to advise employees to work from home if possible,” Gov. Ivey wrote to all state department … Continued

Brandon Moseley

March 16, 2020

Alabama considering delaying March 31 primary runoff election

Secretary of State John Merrill and Gov. Kay Ivey are considering delaying Alabama’s March 31 primary runoff election amid the coronavirus outbreak. Merrill said on Twitter Sunday evening that he has asked Attorney General Steve Marshall for an AG’s opinion about allowing Ivey to postpone the runoff to a date to be determined in the … Continued

Chip Brownlee

March 15, 2020

Bill would grant Poarch Creeks sole rights over all gaming, defying governor’s call

Despite Gov. Kay Ivey’s call for the Legislature to give her gaming study group time to bring her fact-based recommendations, Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, last week introduced a bill that would provide the Poarch Band of Creek Indians a monopoly, eliminates all competition and bind the state to a compact while adding comparatively little to … Continued

Bill Britt

March 9, 2020

Nathanial Woods executed as accomplice in 2004 murders of three police officers

A Birmingham man convicted of being an accomplice in the murders of three Birmingham police officers was executed Thursday evening. Nathaniel Woods, 43, was executed after appeals and national media attention failed to deter Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to intervene. Woods was convicted of being an accomplice in the murders, despite the shooter’s statements that … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

March 6, 2020

Governor’s gaming study group meets for the first time

The governor’s study group on gambling met in the Alabama Statehouse for the first time Thursday. Former Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange chairs the group. The Governor’s Deputy Counsel Erica McKay said that the group has been tasked with gathering accurate data so that the governor and other citizens can make an informed decision on how … Continued

Brandon Moseley

March 6, 2020

Man set to be executed Thursday for murders he did not commit

An Alabama man convicted in the 2004 shooting deaths of three police officers he did not kill is set to be executed this afternoon. Nathaniel Woods, 44, was convicted in 2005 of capital murder in the shooting deaths of three Birmingham police officers Carlos Owen, Harley A. Chisholm III and Charles R. Bennett. Woods was … Continued

Jessa Reid Bolling

March 5, 2020

Ivey announces support for criminal justice legislation

Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday announced her support for six bills that address the state’s criminal justice system, legislation that’s a product of Ivey’s study group on criminal justice policy. “I tasked the Criminal Justice Study Group with the mission of finding data-driven solutions to our longstanding challenges in our prison system,” Ivey said in … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

February 28, 2020