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News

Tommy Hanes is angry, but still wrong

Rep. Tommy Hanes is mad at facts. For real. Hanes apparently spent his Christmas vacation writing out bills to pre-file, and the submission of those bills has not brought about the gratitude from the masses that Hanes was so obviously shooting for. Instead, from APR to al.com, Hanes has been widely criticized for his pandering, … Continued

Josh Moon

January 28, 2019

Opinion

The high price of protecting the public

Barely three weeks into the New Year – a time that is supposed to be full of optimism for the future – Alabama has already reached a somber milestone. Our state is tied with Texas for the highest number of law enforcement line-of-duty deaths in the country for 2019. Two Sundays in a row, major … Continued

Steve Marshall

January 24, 2019

Opinion

Want to fight public corruption? Start with the Alabama Ethics Commission

What can I do? That question has come to me more than a few times since I wrote Monday that the last line of defense between the public and political corruption are the people — an informed, active, engaged people. To be fair, it’s awful easy to sit behind a keyboard and say everyone should … Continued

Josh Moon

December 12, 2018

Asst. US Attorney Clark Morris to take over AG’s public corruption unit

Alabama has a new public corruption watchdog. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clark Morris was named on Tuesday as the new head of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office special prosecutions unit. Morris will take over the position in January following the firing on Monday of prosecutor Matt Hart. “I am delighted that Clark Morris has agreed to … Continued

Josh Moon

November 20, 2018

Former ALEA Chief confirms Ivey’s emergency hospitalization and cover-up

After then-Lt.Gov. Kay Ivey was rushed to a Colorado hospital with stroke-like symptoms, she and her staff attempted a cover-up to keep the public ignorant of her medical condition. A year ago, when APR reported the emergency hospitalization, Ivey’s staff equivocated and then went to extraordinary lengths to deny, evade and mislead the public about … Continued

Bill Britt

October 16, 2018

Opinion

Reading right, left and center

Since its inception nearly eight years ago, the Alabama Political Reporter has worked to inform, educate, alert and, on occasion, call to action its readers on a wide variety of political issues facing our state. APR’s focus is state politics and those things that make our state better. Along with in-depth reporting on policy, the politicos that … Continued

Bill Britt

October 15, 2018

Opinion

Police are not above public scrutiny

Why are police above public scrutiny? That seems to be a relatively new thing in this country, and it is a particular problem in Alabama — this notion that the general public has no right to even question a police officer’s actions. We’re hiding body cam footage. There are very few regular citizens on cities’ … Continued

Josh Moon

August 16, 2018

BCA stumbles on as negotiation with big businesses stalls

An effort to reunite some of the state’s most prestigious companies with the faltering Business Council of Alabama is stalled, several insiders with knowledge of the negotiations say. For over a year, the Alabama Political Reporter published numerous accounts listing various grievances being expressed about the leadership of then-BCA President and CEO Billy Canary. Canary and BCA’s Executive … Continued

Bill Britt

August 7, 2018

Opinion

A move to reunify BCA is underway

Reconciliation efforts are underway to salvage the Business Council of Alabama after a very public split with some of its most influential members. Those close to the negotiations speaking on background say recent talks have been productive, but there are still many details that must be agreed upon before a reunification occurs. The forced exit … Continued

Bill Britt

July 16, 2018

Exempt from Open Meetings Act, high stakes ethics committee begins work

A meeting that will potentially impact Alabama for generations is being held at 1 p.m. today, at the office of the attorney general. But the public would know about this important conference if they had only searched the legislative resource site dubbed, ALISON. However, one would have to know to click on the ‘Meetings & Announcements’ … Continued

Bill Britt

May 17, 2018