7. A record low for Alabama’s unemployment rate is set with a record low 51,462 people listed as unemployed. Labor participation is an issue but people looking for work have options. Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington is touting the increase in wages, “Wages have yet again set a new record high, rising by more than $30 a week since last month alone.”
6. Of course, threats are why this weird sex event for kids at a local library was canceled. Who made the threats? Shut up, there were threats, OK. Birmingham PD says they were not told of threats stemming from the event.
5. The calendar has snuck up on lawmakers again, the tax cut on the sales tax on food and tax rebate attempt to get over the finish line.
4. Will politics, abortion, or national security decide where the Space Command HQ is based? Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the decision will totally be about national security, like he would say anything else, and state laws and political battles over abortion will not be included in the decision. The concern is real, and now Republican and Democratic legislative leaders in Montgomery are making a video about it.
3. Advocates for school choice in Alabama are lamenting the fact that AEA is flexing its muscle through its wallet. Emily Schultz, executive director of the pro-charter school Alabama Families for Great Schools, noted that AEA dollars are flowing to Republicans who oppose school choice while a clear majority (65%) of Republican voters within the state favor school choice.
2. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is in the 2024 presidential GOP primary race and former President Donald Trump is not happy with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump says, “Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable.” Gee, I wonder if anyone can figure out who Trump is worried about through his world-class poker face.
1. The state’s online sale tax is making a ton of money for Alabama with $634 million in new revenue being collected in 2022. Complaints are starting to surface that local education is missing out on some of this funding because of how the sales tax dollars are allocated. Also local sales taxes are higher than the online tax which is putting physical stores at a disadvantage.
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Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10 a.m. to noon.
