What's going on in Alabama
Here's the latest. Thanks for reading, Ike |
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'Married' ... at gunpoint? |
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Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Spiro Cheriogotis called it one of the top 10 craziest cases of his career. AL.com's Howard Koplowitz reports that the judge dismissed a sexual-assault charge against a man after his alleged victim did not show up for court. The man was accused of pulling a gun on a woman at a Dauphin Island Parkway convenience store, forcing her into a car and, after driving her around a bit, pulling up to a church and making her go through a wedding ceremony on the church steps. Yes, this sounds a lot like an Ernest T. Bass storyline but a lot less funny. The suspect had already had kidnapping charges dropped. The judge did find him guilty of resisting arrest. |
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Managed bee colonies were lost at a startling rate last year, reports AL.com's Margaret Kates. And while Alabama's decrease wasn't as bad, mathematically, as the rest of the country's, it's still not good news. The U.S. Beekeeper Survey was conducted by Auburn University, working with the Apiary Inspectors of America and Oregon State University. It determined that beekeepers in the U.S. lost a worrisome 55.1% of their managed colonies from April 2023 to April 2024. The survey has been taken since 2010-2011, and is the biggest loss yet. Alabama beekeepers lost 40.5% of their managed colonies over that same time period. Bee losses are concerning because there has been a history of dwindling numbers, they are a sentinel species whose decrease in numbers could indicate deeper environmental trouble, and they are important pollinators for the U.S. farming industry. While this particular survey didn't look at causes, bee experts believe the decline was due to a parasitic mites that kill bees in the development stage. Also, the summer 2023 honey season lasted longer than usual, delaying treatments and leading to heavier losses. Now, the reason not to panic: The U.S. Beekeeper Survey recorded losses from existing, managed hives. So think of that 55% as a mortality rate and not necessarily a population decline. |
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According to a recent study, Alabama landed at No. 3 on a list of the Top 10 Most Christmas-Obsessed States, reports AL.com's Mary Colurso. I'm not sure where people get time to do all these studies, surveys and rankings. This one is from the online gaming marketplace Chicks Gold, so perhaps it's a way to fill the downtown for actuarial professional (that means math people). Chicks Gold used Google Trends to measure Christmas cheer. West Virginia topped the rankings, followed by Utah and then Alabama. The report highlighted Huntsville's Tinsel Trail and the North Pole Express at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. |
“I think the days of 3% interest rates are over and people will get used to 6%-ish rates over time.” |
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