7. First lady of Huntsville passes
- Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle’s wife Eula Battle has passed away at 65-years-old after a long battle with cancer. Eula was a native of Huntsville and spent a large portion of her life teaching kindergarten.
- Eula also founded the Free 2 Teach charity that provides school supplies to public school teachers in Madison County to keep them from having to pay for necessary supplies themselves. The family is asking that donations be made to Trinity United Methodist Church or Free 2 Teach in lieu of flowers.
6. Raising the minimum wage would cost Alabama big
- The proposed $15 per hour minimum wage by former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign would make a big impact on Alabama, but not in a positive way. Estimates done through economic analysis show Alabama could lose 53,227 jobs over six years.
- The report by Employment Politics Institute shows that across the country, there would be 2 million jobs lost, with most of them being in “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation and Accommodation and Food Services.”
5. Trump administration investing in Alabama
- The Economic Development Administration will be granting the University of West Alabama $1.7 million to improve the Port of Epes Industrial Park in Sumter County, which is an inland port on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
- This federal grant will be matched with $540,000 in local funds. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross advised, “The Trump Administration is committed to helping communities in Alabama and across the nation grow through strategic investment.”
4. Vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett scheduled
- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has announced that next Monday, they will “be voting to confirm Justice-to-be” Amy Coney Barrett.
- McConnell also said that he thinks confirming Barrett “will be another signature accomplishment in our effort to put on the courts, the federal courts, men and women who believe in a quaint notion that the job of a judge is to actually follow the law.”
3. Shelby isn’t sure a stimulus deal will happen
- Constant negotiations over a new coronavirus relief or stimulus package seem to have gotten nowhere, and now with another deadline here, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) has expressed skepticism on a deal happening.
- Shelby said that he and his staff have been working on the language of the bill, adding, “You never know what’s going to happen around here at the last minute … it’s getting to be toward the last minute and the clock keeps ticking away. I’m not optimistic about doing anything.”
2. Nothing wrong with church donation advertisement
- An advertisement was published in the Choctaw Sun on October 14 that promoted early voting, saying those who did “your church will get $6.00 per person. We will verify if they have registered and checks will be dispersed after October 29th.” This is a new effort led by the Alabama New South Coalition.
- Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill has clarified that this is not “illegal, immoral or unethical,” but it’s still “not a best practice or something that should be encouraged.” If individuals themselves were being paid or if the ad was specifically advocating for a specific party or candidate, then this activity would be illegal.
1. Investigating Hunter
- President Donald Trump is now requesting and insisting that U.S. Attorney General William Barr investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his dealings with Burisma Holdings, the natural gas company in Ukraine. Trump made these statements on “Fox & Friends.”
- Trump has also called on the FBI to investigate the Bidens, saying that they’re an “organized crime family.” This also continues Trump’s narrative that Joe Biden “should be in jail” as he is a “criminal.”
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