Craig Ford was just elected mayor of Gadsden. The Gadsden native and former Alabama House of Representatives Democratic leader won the runoff election handily, defeating Heather New. Read more here.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $17.8 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants to 10 Alabama airports for infrastructure upgrades, according U.S. Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. In a statement announcing the grant awards, Shelby, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke to the important role airports play in supporting local communities. The grants will be administered through the 2022 fiscal year Airport Improvement Program. The program was funded in the consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022. The grants were awarded to:
Mercedes-Benz has launched production of the all-electric luxury EQS SUV at its Tuscaloosa County plant, part of a global strategy of next-generation technology that is ushering in a new era for Alabama’s auto industry. Mercedes has invested $7 billion in the state since it arrived in the early 1990s, and Alabama workers began producing the M-Class SUV in 1997. Multiple expansions, new model launches and innovation upgrades have followed, with more than 4 million vehicles shipped from the plant around the world. Mercedes-Benz marked a milestone with the recent production launch of the EQS sports utility vehicle, the automaker’s first EV built in the U.S. About 300 workers cheered as the Alabama-built EQS SUV was officially unveiled.
Ecore International plans to invest $25.5 million to open a state-of-the-art manufacturing and recycling facility in the southeast Alabama city of Ozark, where it will create 84 jobs. The new full-time positions will pay an average annual salary of nearly $42,500, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce. Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Ecore specializes in transforming reclaimed materials into high-performance flooring and surface products. The privately held company is the largest converter of reclaimed rubber in North America, and its largest raw material is scrap truck tires.
Area Development, a national economic development publication, reports that site-selection professionals it surveyed have again ranked Alabama among the top states for business, citing a broad range of factors contributing to a fertile growth environment. Alabama ranks No. 6 overall in its 2022 ”Top States for Doing Business” analysis, the same as the two previous years. The showing continues a sustained run in the survey’s overall Top 10 that reflects the state’s commitment to facilitating economic growth and job creation. In addition, Alabama earned Top 10 rankings in 11 out of 13 different individual categories in the survey, spanning the spectrum of critical economic development issues. Alabama Commerce data shows that companies announced new facilities and expansion projects involving $7.7 billion in new capital investment last year, the second highest annual total recorded by the state.
Both of the state’s major political parties met earlier this month. The Democrats elected a new chairman. The GOP party voted in several resolutions, including one that voices the state party’s support for former President Donald J. Trump and one that calls for closing primary elections to all except registered party members.
Alabama’s medical cannabis industry is one step closer to getting medical cannabis in the hands of patients suffering with approved conditions; it will soon begin the process to license entities that wish to grow cannabis and to process, test, transport and sell medical cannabis products.
Keep reading for more details. And with elections coming up in November, it should be an interesting and action-packed fall, so stay tuned to Group Watch.
| @Matthew Betley Aug 13 People who hunt these magnificent, emotional creatures in the wild should be hunted down themselves and put down. |
The executive committee for Alabama’s GOP party met in Montgomery last week. After listening to remarks from Senate candidate Katie Britt, in which she reminded the crowd (as if they needed a reminder) how critical prevailing in the midterm elections is, the body voted on a slate of resolutions. Of note was the resolution calling for party registration and closed primary elections, which was supported by ALGOP chairman John Wahl, who recently took exception to what he asserted to be Democrat “influence” in Republican elections. Alabama is among the minority of states that do not require voters to register by party. The resolution is not legally binding and will require an act of the Alabama Legislature to officially enact it.
This and the following additional resolutions were adopted by the body:
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Manufacture Alabama announced that attorney Schuyler Espy will serve as the Alabama Pulp and Paper Council’s (APPCO) next executive director. Espy replaces current executive director Roy McAuley, who is set to retire at the end of the year after serving the council for more that two decades. Espy, an attorney with Burr and Forman, has spent her career in private practice counseling clients on environmental and regulatory matters. Espy previously served as an associate general counsel and assistant attorney general at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for 11 years. Espy is set to join Manufacture Alabama in a transitional role in September, while McAuley continues serving as executive director through the end of the year.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently awarded $316,000 in Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) grants toward professional assistance for domestic violence victims. The funds will be used for the purposes of providing training and resources to local law enforcement and nonprofit agencies. U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby also recently announced $27 million in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grants for Alabama infrastructure. The three Rebuilding American Infrastructure and Equity (RAISE) grants hold a combined total of $27,179,948. The city of Huntsville will receive an allocation of $20 million; the city of Cordova $5.179 million; and Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments $2 million.
