7 Things: Faux-bingo slot machines crap-out, Ivey seems disinterested by prisoner strike, and more …

7. About those electric cars, Biden is having a hard time

The administration of Joe Biden has argued that electrical vehicles will solve every issue on the planet from climate change to high gas prices and even European energy issues brought on by green energy strategies and Russian aggression. But the administration’s plans to make the federal vehicle fleet all-electric is not going too well, according to administration allies and advocates for electric vehicles.
Like most Biden plans, the rhetoric and the results are very different, Only 1,799 of the 656,000-vehicle fleet are zero-emission vehicles (plug-in or hybrid vehicles that charge with electricity to power them) and experts expect it to take decades to meet the goals laid out. This is being slowed by supply-chain issues, a lack of chargers and the technology available but the talk of an all-electric fleet will continue.

6. Auburn and Alabama football teams going in different directions

The state’s two major college football teams continue to be worlds apart as the season rolls on. The University of Alabama, under the leadership of Nick Saban, is again the No. 1 team in the nation after Georgia faltered a bit against Missouri while Auburn … is not.
Auburn head coach Byran Harsin, coming off a loss to LSU, is defending the fact that he is still employed and is being asked if he will finish the year. Saying what he has to, Harsin said, “That’s my job, every day, is to show up and make sure that I’m prepared and that we get this football team prepared,” adding, “That doesn’t change, whatsoever, and I told the team that. That’s always been how I’ve approached each and every day of every job I’ve had. That’ll be no different.”

5. Doctor fired because of Tua’s head injuries

After Tua Tagovailoa 2nd apparent head injury in less than a week, the National Football League Player Association fired an unidentified doctor who cleared Tua to return to the game after his first head injury.
The NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe has reported that the players association thinks the doctor made several mistakes in letting him back in the game. But that has nothing to do with the team, doctors and Tua himself getting on the field the day of his latest injury – that fallout will continue.

4. No one is going to put fentanyl in your kids candy

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and others are warning against the highly addictive drug fentanyl being placed in kids’ trick-or-treat bags later this month. Tuberville suggests that parents “double-, triple-check” their kids bags for things that might harm them. This is not bad advice.
Truthfully, this seems highly unlikely and echoes the panic that poisoned candy is found every Halloween when truthfully the only issue ever found like this was when an Ohio father poisoned his own kid.
According to Tuberville’s office, the senator is “echoing a warning from the Drug Enforcement Administration regarding fentanyl disguised as rainbow candy and sidewalk chalk to target children. The Justice Department recently reported findings of this fentanyl in 21 states.

3. Trussville superintendent wants a leave of absence as ‘death notebook’ continues

Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie is taking a 60-day leave of absence in the middle of a controversy over the handling of a “death notebook” with students’ names that some in the district knew about for a year without taking action.
Why the superintendent would leave the district is unclear at this time, as it is not thought that she knew of the notebook. It has been reported that members of the board were only informed of the notebook and other issues Sept. 21.

2. Ivey ain’t paying prisoners’ demands no mind

As Alabama prisoners continue to “strike,” even as some go back to work, Gov. Kay Ivey continues to call their demands unreasonable. It appears the state is ready to let this all play out without giving much mind to the prisoners’ complaints.
Not only did Ivey dismiss the prisoner’s demands, she touted new prison being built and praised the head of the Alabama Department of Corrections, “I think Commissioner Hamm’s got things well under control, everything’s still operational, there’s no disruption in essential services. We still got our two prisons being built so we can better provide for the safety of the inmates as well as the workers.”

1. Bingo to be shut down after Supreme Court ruling

Electronic bingo, which are really just slot machines with extra steps, is illegal in Alabama and has been for years but some operators still try to remain open. A ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court will shut down operators in Lowndes and Macon counties.
The court ruled the operators have “no right” to remain open and therefore “cannot be harmed by enjoined from continuing in an illegal enterprise.” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall reacted by stating, “The Alabama Supreme Court’s opinion makes clear what my office has maintained from the start: these gambling enterprises are not only patently illegal under Alabama law, but also a menace to public health, morals, safety, and welfare.” This is hardly over.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated.