1 year ago

Alabama ranked near bottom in U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best States’ rankings

 

 

U.S. News & World Report crunched the numbers — more than 75 different data sets — and ranked Alabama as one of the worst places to live in America.

Technically, it is the 46th best place to live on the magazine’s 2018 “Best States” rankings.

Alabama beat out West Virginia, New Mexico, Mississippi and Louisiana, which ranked 46th through 50th.

Among eight major categories, the Yellowhammer State scored best in fiscal stability, coming in 25th place. Its worst category was opportunity — a measure of how easy it is to get ahead — where the state ranked 48th. But the state also ranked in the bottom 10 in health care, education, and crime and corrections.

Iowa topped the list, ranking in the top 15 in six of the eight categories. Minnesota, Utah, North Dakota and New Hampshire rounded out the top five states.

“At a time when the federal government is attempting to hand more responsibility for spending and policymaking to the states, these rankings offer the first comprehensive view, state by state, of how some states already are performing best,” U.S. News wrote. “This highly interactive platform enables users to explore thousands of important benchmarks and easily draw state-to-state comparisons.”

The magazine, which had developed a niche in the media space for its annual rankings on a number of topics, analyzed data from “extensive and reliable governmental and private sources.” It weighted the data based on survey results showing what matters most to people.

The report is chock-full of numbers.

For instance, on fiscal stability — Alabama’s best showing — the state ranked high in liquidity, as measured by assets vs. liabilities (8th best) and in government credit rating (15th). But the state scored in the bottom half when it comes to pension fund liability (34th) and budget balancing (44th).

Some of the measures are objective and fairly straightforward. For example, Alabama has the 44th worst violent crime rate per 100,000 residents and the 38th-worst property crime rate. No wiggle room for interpretation there. The magazine rates Alabama low for incarceration, with the third-highest percentage of citizens locked up. On the other hand, Alabama’s three-year recidivism rate is much lower than the national average.

It all adds up to rank Alabama 43rd overall in the crime and corrections category.

Other measures are more subjective, however. How to evaluate quality of life, where Alabama comes in 35th? U.S. News chose to examine social environment and the natural environment. That entails measures of pollution, including drinking water quality — which U.S. News judges Alabama as having the second best. But Alabama beat out only three other states for industrial toxins, measured by pounds of poisons per square mile.

For social environment, U.S. News measures “community engagement” on a scale of one through six, with six marking the highest satisfaction. Alabama ranks 11th in that sub-category. But the Heart of Dixie loses points for voter participation. With an average turnout of 48.6 percent for presidential and congressional elections, the state ranks 32nd.

In the opportunity category, Alabama scores low on a variety of equality measures — high income inequality, low median household income, and high rates of poverty and residents with “food insecurity.”

Those negatives outweigh Alabama comparatively high performance on measures of affordability. The state has the nation’s ninth-lowest cost of living, for instance, and ranks in the top half on housing affordability, determined by calculating the cost of houses compared with average income.

The full rankings can be found here.

Brendan Kirby is senior political reporter at LifeZette.com and a Yellowhammer contributor. He also is the author of “Wicked Mobile.” Follow him on Twitter.

1 hour ago

Montgomery seeking artists for new project

The City of Montgomery Public Art Commission is seeking artists to be part of the Montgomery Book Bench Project.

It is a new effort to encourage reading, provide a place for people to rest and to instill an appreciation of public art in the community.

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WSFA-TV reports the commission is looking for artists, or teams of artists, to paint 12 benches designed in the shape of open books.

The commission wants the artists to design and paint the benches with inspiration from a pre-selected list of beloved children’s and young adult books.

The benches will be placed throughout the city and county for permanent use at libraries, community centers, and elementary schools.

The deadline to submit ideas is May 17.
(Associated Press, copyright 2018)

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2 hours ago

Alabama’s GOP Senate primary could have domino effect in congressional districts

The Republican race to face Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) in the 2020 general election is already having a domino effect in Alabama’s First Congressional District, but two more conservative strongholds could soon experience the same free-for-all.

Candidates – those still weighing their options and already declared alike – are licking their chops at the open seat being left by Congressman Bradley Byrne’s (AL-1) Senate bid.

Popular State Rep. Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) and Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl are early frontrunners, with former State Sen. Bill Hightower (R-Mobile) seemingly moving closer this week to a final decision on throwing his hat into the ring.

However, Byrne’s open seat is not the only one lining up would-be-representatives. As Washington, D.C.-based Club for Growth continues to push Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-6) or Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5) to enter the Senate contest, Yellowhammer News has learned that several significant names in each district have reached out to consultants in anticipation of running should their congressman look to make the jump to the upper chamber.

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In Palmer’s district, there are a host of potential candidates, including former State Rep. Paul DeMarco (R-Homewood), State Sen. Cam Ward (R-Alabaster), State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), State Rep. Matt Fridy (R-Montevallo), State Sen. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook), former Yellowhammer Multimedia CEO and Trump White House-staffer Cliff Sims, Shelby County Republican Party Chair Joan Reynolds, Dr. Chad Mathis and 2018 gubernatorial candidate Scott Dawson.

Palmer told WVNN’s “The Jeff Poor Show” last week that he and his wife are “praying about” whether to run again for his congressional seat or enter the Senate fray.

Looking up to north Alabama, Brooks has previously said it would take a “seismic event” for him to run for the Senate in 2020, but boosted by favorable polling and promises of considerable financial backing, he might just be more seriously considering getting into the race.

This was discussed on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show” on Friday, with host and Yellowhammer News contributor Dale Jackson naming State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, former State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw (R-Madison), 2018 candidate Clayton Hinchman, attorney and former Limestone County Probate Judge Stan McDonald and State Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) as potential contenders if Brooks looks to move to the Senate. Plus, you cannot count Jackson himself out in that scenario.

“There’s a pretty strong bench there of people who might run for Congress,” Jackson said. “Hell, I might run for Congress. Who knows. I might jump out there and decide I might want to run for Congressman Brooks’ seat.”


Looking back to AL-1, the only one of these three congressional seats that is actually open thus far, Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan has topped the list of rumored potential candidates in past months.

However, in a text message to Yellowhammer News, she shut the door on that possibility.

“I have heard this lately from many areas of the state,” she said. “I really enjoy volunteering in the Republican Party. While I am deeply humbled by the encouragement from a lot of folks, I am not running for Congress. My focus is on beating Doug Jones and re-electing President Trump.”

Michael Chambers and Christina Woerner McInnis are two other names to keep an eye on for Byrne’s seat.

And of course, for Alabama’s Senate seat held by the vulnerable incumbent, the Republican field is far from finalized.

Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) is very seriously considering a run. State Auditor Jim Zeigler, retired Marine Col. Lee Busby and former Miss Alabama and Miss America Heather Whitestone McCallum are also testing the waters.

Additionally, a source close to Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth said he still has not ruled out mounting a challenge to Jones, even though the probability of an Ainsworth candidacy is low.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

2 hours ago

Alabama Republicans vindicated by Mueller report

Alabama Republicans expressed vindication after Attorney General William Barr over the weekend released a four-page letter summarizing the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report.

Mueller’s report stated, “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”

Relating to possible obstruction of justice during the investigation, the special counsel’s report said, “[W]hile this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-1) reacted in a statement, saying, “I just hope Democrats will now accept that they lost the 2016 election.”

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“This sideshow is finally over,” Byrne remarked. “As I expected all along, there are no indictments or charges related to President Trump or his administration. The whole exercise was a waste of time and money. I just hope Democrats will now accept that they lost the 2016 election and let’s move on.”

In a fiery statement of his own, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5)  said, “Since President Trump’s election, Socialist Democrats and their fake news media allies have searched far and wide for evidence of an impeachable offense. They have made up nonexistent allegations and baseless ‘facts.’ They have jointly engaged in the most sordid ‘fake news’ propaganda campaign in American history.”

Brooks’ full statement as follows:

According to the Mueller Report, ‘The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.’

The Mueller Report completely vindicates President Trump and his entire campaign. Neither President Trump nor the Trump campaign engaged in collusion with the Russians to illegally interfere with America’s presidential election! Since President Trump’s election, Socialist Democrats and their fake news media allies have searched far and wide for evidence of an impeachable offense. They have made up nonexistent allegations and baseless ‘facts.’ They have jointly engaged in the most sordid ‘fake news’ propaganda campaign in American history. After more than 2 1/2 years of FBI investigation followed by tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on the Mueller probe, the truth is revealed. Socialist Democrat and fake news media Russian Collusion allegations have been exposed as nothing more than a collective scam and fraud perpetrated on the American people to not only delegitimize the duly elected President of the United States but also for the crass purpose of accumulating political power.

Democrat National Committee Chairman Tom Perez went so far as to say there was ‘mountains of evidence of collusion between the campaign and the Russians.’ As the Mueller Report definitively shows, Tom Perez and his Socialist Democrat allies are nothing more than liars and fraudsters who should be ashamed of their vicious and false attacks on President Trump, American voters who elected President Trump, and America’s election system.

I encourage Socialist Democrats and their radical news media allies to cleanse their souls and atone for their sins by apologizing to the American people for the fraud and scam they committed in an effort to delegitimize the 2016 election and enhance their own power grab and election prospects. The Socialist Democrats’ scam and fraud has undermined our republic. It has been divisive to the point some Americans have been driven to violence out of hatred for President Trump. It’s shameful what the Socialist Democrats and their radical new media allies have done to America.

Now that the Socialist Democrat and radical media’s Russian Collusion scam has been definitively exposed for politics at its worse, the American people can move past this unfortunate and regrettable period in our history. The Trump Administration can now focus on implementing the America first policies President Trump campaigned and won on fair and square.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan said in a statement, “With the Mueller Report complete proving no Russian collusion involving the Trump campaign, it is now time to take a hard look at this entire dark chapter of our nation’s history.”

“The malfeasance of the national media has undermined their credibility. Their obvious slanted coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign and the first two years of the Trump Administration is simply ‘deplorable’. No president, regardless of their political affiliation, should ever be subjected to such prejudicial accusations by the media in an attempt to destroy a presidency. To do so is an affront to the American people who make these decisions and to our nation’s democracy,” she continued.

“Any national media outlet that participates in a mission of ‘seek and destroy’ to sink a president hurts themselves while using ‘freedom of the press’ as a tool to twist facts, perpetuate rumors and stack headlines,” Lathan advised. “America rejects being spoken down to by the national media and DC elite. Trust is broken and needs to be repaired.”

The ALGOP chair concluded, “Now let’s keep Making America Great Again – celebrating Alabama’s new unemployment rate of 3.7% – the lowest ever recorded in our great state’s history.”

Alabama’s 2016 ‘Trump Victory’ Chairman Perry O. Hooper Jr., who is a former state representative, declared, “Now it’s time for Attorney General Barr to investigate the Obama appointees and the Clinton campaign whose lies, and falsehoods that lead to this fiasco of an investigation.”

Hooper’s full statement as follows:

Today is a great day for all Americans who believe in the rule of law. The intent of the investigation was to determine whether Trump and his campaign illegally worked with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel’s office determined that it ‘did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia.’ It lasted close to two years — 675 days, or one year, 10 months and six days, to be exact. It employed 19 lawyers, all democrats. It took 43 FBI agents away from investigating real crimes including terrorism. Mueller and his associates issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, obtained more than 230 orders for communication records and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses. In total the investigation wasted over $25 million of taxpayer’s dollars. Now it’s time for Attorney General Barr to investigate the Obama appointees and the Clinton campaign whose lies, and falsehoods that lead to this fiasco of an investigation. To Quote the great Republican Abraham Lincoln: ‘Truth is generally the best vindicator against slander’. TRUTH WINS.

Jones, Sewell react

However, Alabama’s two Democrats in Congress were much less enthused.

According to WVTM, Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) stated, “As I’ve said throughout this investigation, I believe the Special Counsel’s full report should be made available to the public, with exceptions when appropriate for national security reasons. During his confirmation process, Attorney General Barr assured me that he shared this view. I expect him to follow through on that commitment, and I plan to review the report carefully once he sends it to Congress. It seems the Special Counsel has been both thorough and efficient, but until I have had a chance to review the report it would be inappropriate for me to speculate on its contents.”

Congresswoman Terri Sewell (AL-7) released a statement saying, “There are no winners and losers in the Special Counsel’s report.”

Sewell asserted, “This cloud over the current presidency needed to be investigated to regain more public trust and confidence in President Trump’s actions. It speaks volumes that his actions are in question at all.”

Sewell’s full statement as follows:

Attorney General Barr’s letter to Congress provides only a glimpse at Special Counsel Mueller’s investigative findings and poses more questions than it answers. I have always said that we must allow Special Counsel Mueller to investigate and follow the facts, and there are still many unanswered questions about efforts to obstruct justice. In the report, Special Counsel Mueller did not exonerate the President and, specifically, did not reach a conclusion as to obstruction of justice. We the people deserve to know the underlying facts regarding any and all efforts to obstruct justice. Transparency demands that the Special Counsel’s full report and its underlying facts be made public to Congress and the American people. The House voted overwhelmingly, 420-0, in a bipartisan manner to publicly release the full report. I reject claims that the Special Counsel investigation was a partisan witch hunt. Whether we like it or not, I believe that it was a necessary process to get to the bottom of many suspicious activities by the President and his associates with the Russian government and oligarchs.  There are no winners and losers in the Special Counsel’s report because the undeniable fact is that Russia did and will continue to make every effort to interfere in our elections. We must focus on this global threat and establish safeguards at every level of government to meet this challenge.

Update 10:45 p.m.:

Congressman Mike Rogers (AL-3) released a statement, saying, “For over two years, the Mainstream Media and their allies in the Democratic party have pushed the fake narrative that President Trump somehow colluded with the Russians to steal the 2016 election. Finally, the Mueller report is released and tells us exactly what we’ve known all along, that it was nothing more than a political hoax. I hope we can all move forward and focus on America’s strong economy and securing our border now that this witch hunt can finally be put to rest.”

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

3 hours ago

7 Things: No collusion, legalized medical marijuana possible in Alabama, newspaper subsidies being targeted by freshman legislator and more …

7. Substitute teacher inadvertently fires a gun in a classroom and is arrested

— Friday, 72-year-old Henry Rex Weaver was teaching first grade at Blountsville Elementary when a gun in his pocket was fired and shrapnel from the event injured one student. While there has been a debate about whether trained and responsible gun owners should be able to carry firearms in public schools, this is not legal at this time. Weaver was unlawfully carrying the firearm in his front pocket when the incident occurred.

6. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are the Democrats’ top choices to beat Trump in 2020

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— Biden is at the top at 31 percent, Sanders is at 23 percent, Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) are both at 8 percent. Biden has support from those over 45 years old, while Sanders has the support of those under 45. Although Biden isn’t officially in the race, he is expected to make an official announcement in April. A majority of Democratic voters believe that Biden is the best candidate to beat Trump in 2020. Polling shows Biden and Sanders would beat Trump, by 7 and 3 points each.

5. State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) continues to fight the war against unnecessary laws that require state tax dollars prop up newspapers

— State Rep. Sorrell voted “no” on the 10-cent increase for the gas tax because, as he put it, he believes there are areas the state government has waste that should be eliminated first. Speaking to Alabama Public Television, Sorrell said, “I have the legislative fiscal office trying to give me a number right now on how much the state of Alabama spends.” He added, “We could be saving the state millions of dollars a year.” He believes that his bill would help Alabama municipalities and counties save money and that all the legal notices could instead be posted online.

4. Medical marijuana is a real possibility in Alabama

— State Rep. Mike Ball (R-Madison) has a bill filed that would legalize medical marijuana in Alabama. Rep. Ball’s Leni’s Law and Carly’s Law both allow the use of CBD oil, but he wants to see more done. His new bill would allow people to receive a medical cannabis card and be exempt from the crime of marijuana possession. The bill may seem like a long-shot in Alabama, but it also has the support of Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia).

3. The report into Russian collusion is over — No proof of collusion or obstruction found

— FBI special counsel Robert Mueller’s report has been turned over to the Attorney General Bill Barr and in a letter to Congress, Barr quotes Mueller, saying, “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” In addition to that, the report says the issue of obstruction of justice was not founded either. It stated they could not “draw a conclusion — one way or the other — as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction.” The investigation started in May 2017 and has finally ended with no indictment involving Russian collusion.

2. Alabama’s federal politicians react to the results of the Mueller probe and the attorney general’s letter

AL.com gathered the response of multiple politicians and the reactions range from Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile) calling it a “waste of time” to Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) saying it “poses more questions than it answers.” The strongest words came from Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), who said, “I encourage Socialist Democrats and their radical news media allies to cleanse their souls and atone for their sins by apologizing to the American people for the fraud and scam they committed in an effort to delegitimize the 2016 election and enhance their own power grab and election prospects.”

1. Their media and their Democrats do not care what the report says — Non-stop investigations will go on

— Paying the special counsel’s report and their own words no mind, a lack of indictments will not deter those who have based their recent lives and careers on the premise that the Trump campaign was a Russian front from continuing that theme. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have declared it just doesn’t matter, saying, “Given Mr. Barr’s public record of bias against the Special Counsel’s inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.” This ignores not only their own words, but also the fact that Mueller himself said that he operated unimpeded and finished his report on his terms. Some members of the media have gone as far as to allege that it feels like we are witnessing “seeds of a cover-up.”

6 hours ago

Doug Jones: Trump ‘certainly doesn’t want to alienate’ alt-right

In an interview published over the weekend, Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) asserted that President Donald Trump is not doing his part to dial back “hate-filled rhetoric.”

Smashing Interviews Magazine recently sat down with the junior senator from Mountain Brook about his new book, reminiscing on Gov. George Wallace’s infamous “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” inaugural address from 1963.

The magazine then said, “Flash forward to 2019, and Donald Trump will not condemn white nationalists as terrorists.”

Jones responded, “Right.”

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He was then asked, “Do you believe that Donald Trump is just pandering to his alt-right base of supporters when he does not condemn white supremacy?”

Jones said, “I don’t know if it would be pandering to them, but he certainly doesn’t want to alienate them.”

“The irony of that is that President Trump has such a strong hold on the Republican Party and his base that he could really be effective in trying to change a lot of this dialogue and bring people along to where the hate-filled rhetoric is just dialed back. Unfortunately, he’s just not done it,” he continued.

The magazine later queried, “Some Democrats and even a few Republicans are questioning the mental stability of Donald Trump. Your comments about that?”

Jones avoided taking a position on the president’s “mental stability,” saying, “I’m a lawyer. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a psychiatrist.”

Partial interview transcript as follows:

Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): As we know, words matter. In Governor George Wallace’s inaugural address delivered on January 14, 1963, he shouted, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” which was vehement and mean spirited. Flash forward to 2019, and Donald Trump will not condemn white nationalists as terrorists.

Senator Doug Jones: Right.

Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Do you believe that Donald Trump is just pandering to his alt-right base of supporters when he does not condemn white supremacy?

Senator Doug Jones: I don’t know if it would be pandering to them, but he certainly doesn’t want to alienate them. The irony of that is that President Trump has such a strong hold on the Republican Party and his base that he could really be effective in trying to change a lot of this dialogue and bring people along to where the hate-filled rhetoric is just dialed back. Unfortunately, he’s just not done it.

Having said that about him, I do think there are things that we can do in the Democratic Party and others to also call things out when folks say things that may be anti-Semitic or do things from a different perspective. We’ve got to be very careful. It doesn’t take much to incite things. We shouldn’t be, for instance, harassing legislators in public places and in restaurants when they’re out to dinner and in airports and things like that. That kind of disrespect shouldn’t happen.

We shouldn’t be tweeting out ugly things about national heroes like John McCain either, which the president has been doing. I just wish everyone would understand. That’s why I think this book is important. If you look not just between the lines but read the overarching theme of this book, it is that words matter and that we have some opportunities, but we also have responsibility. But the opportunities are there to dial back this rhetoric. I hope that all people from whatever political persuasion will stand up and speak out when they need to and dial back that rhetoric.

Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Some Democrats and even a few Republicans are questioning the mental stability of Donald Trump. Your comments about that?

Senator Doug Jones: There are so many things that are politically driven. I’m a lawyer. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a psychiatrist. I just think that people need to step up and exercise leadership. That goes for the president, and that goes for all of us from the members of the Senate to the House of Representatives and every public official. We have responsibilities to the people that put us in office to be leaders and not just to fan the flames of hate and to use vile rhetoric.

RELATED: Jones: Republicans ‘do not want African-Americans and other minorities to vote’

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn