7 Things: Unmonitored murderer released early, Medicaid expansion push is coming as hospitals struggle, and more …

7. Devyn Thief? 

• Huntsville’s City Councilman and former City Council President Devyn Keith spent some time locked up because he was arrested on a shoplifting charge at a local Walmart.
• Reports indicate that Keith was picked up by police who were at the store for another matter and were then alerted to the city councilman who was suspected of shoplifting. 

6. Huntsville one of the nation’s top 5 most prosperous metros 

• The City of Huntsville is doing better than most of the country as the metro area was listed as the 4th most prosperous metro in the nation according to MyElisting.com.  The city has grown by 9% over the last 5 years with the median income jumping 25%.
• Alabama’s Rocket City was ranked 4th on the list of “The Most and Least Prosperous Cities in America in 2023.” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle touted the list saying, “Huntsville has been steadily moving up in national rankings on numerous economic and quality of life listings, culminating with being ranked as #1 by U.S. News & World Report Best Places to Live.” Battle added, “We see prosperity and opportunity across our City and it’s always validating when others recognize it, too.

5. Tanks to Ukraine…What’s next?

• Former candidate for Congress and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs under President Trump believes that sending tanks to Ukraine right now is a questionable idea that is not in the nation’s best interest.
• Casey Wardynski is asking, “what’s in it for America” at the end of the day, “Is there a diplomatic solution to this thing or are we just going to have a meat grinder over there?” The lack of a military strategy, lack of goals, and our willingness to deplete our weaponry have become questions that are getting much louder with the U.S. House in GOP control.

4. Some people did something

• Republicans warned Democrats that if they removed Republican members of Congress from their committees in 2021, they would do the same when Republicans take over in 2023. Democrats did it anyway and now that Republicans are doing what was promised, members of Congress are falling apart.
• Most of the attention has been given to U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and her removal from the Foreign Affairs Committee, leading to cries of racism and Islamophobia, because that is all Democrats know. This ignores the fact that U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) have lost committee seats as well and they are, in fact, very very white.

3. Chinese spy balloon?

• A suspected Chinese spy balloon the size of three buses is hovering above America’s northern states. The U.S. government has announced that it is aware and is monitoring the balloon which is flying over sensitive sites, including nuclear missile fields in Montana.
• The Billings, Mont., airport issued a ground stop as the military mobilized assets, including F-22 fighter jets, but ultimately the decision was made not to take it out because of the safety risk from debris. Government officials have said they have taken measures to “protect against the collection of sensitive information.”

2. Murderer released early without an ankle monitor

• The early release of criminals from Alabama prisons is creating a target-rich environment for media outlets looking for stories of errors and criminal acts spurred by a law to let prisoners out 2 to 10 months early. The first such story involves a murderer in Blount County who was released without an ankle monitor.
• Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey and his family are not happy that Barry Randall Thomas was released at all, but especially early after being convicted of murder in 1994. His ex-wife has a restraining order filed against him and claims he has threatened to kill her. Two hundred more prisoners will be released soon in addition to the 134 that have already been released.

1. Alabama hospitals could close after COVID-19, Medicaid expansion push coming.

• A new report shows that Alabama hospitals have lost $1.5 billion dollars over the last three years, the COVID-19 relief dollars delivered to the hospitals were not enough to help them recoup their losses. 50% of these hospitals are operating in the red, and now there is a threat that 15 hospitals could close in an existential crisis.
• Huntsville Hospital CEO Jeff Samz was speaking to a chamber of commerce crowd when he said a push for Medicaid expansion is coming. He told the event, “When I talk to business leaders that are opposed to Medicaid expansion, I ask, ‘Why do you want to pay for this instead of letting the federal government pay for it?'”