What's going on in Alabama
Welcome and thanks for coming back. A reminder for those of you with regular travel days in your routine: Down in Alabama also has a podcast with some of the highlights you find in this newsletter. It's typically shorter and obviously can't offer you all the links we can here, but it makes for a quick listen in the car. It should be available wherever you get your podcasts (and a links list is at the bottom of this email). Ike Morgan |
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The political sparring over labor unions isn't going away soon even though the big unions haven't been able to find much of a foothold in Alabama. The United Auto Workers is hoping to make a run at carmakers in the state, and it announced last month that it already had around 1,500 Mercedes-Benz workers in Vance on board. That has gotten some of the state's officials' backs up. AL.com's William Thornton reports that a few weeks ago Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement warning that the UAW announcement meant that the state's "model for economic success is under attack." And this week Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair issued her own statement warning that, “the days of Alabama being a premier destination for industry investment may be coming to an end.” Business Council of Alabama CEO Helena Duncan has announced a campaign to “provide Alabamians with a full and thorough picture of the economic dangers that unionization presents.” Meanwhile, the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union will get a hearing on April 22 in its effort to have a third unionization election at the Bessemer Amazon fulfillment center. This time, both the union and Amazon have filed objections to the vote. There are still 311 challenged ballots outstanding, and the No votes are ahead by less than 120 votes. |
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Auburn football legend Terry Beasley died Wednesday at his home in Moody, reports AL.com's Carol Robinson. The death is under investigation, but Moody Police said it's believed to have been caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Beasley was a wide receiver for Auburn from 1969 to 1971, during the Pat Sullivan days. That combo went down in Auburn history. Sullivan won a Heisman, and Beasley holds school records for career receiving yards, most touchdown receptions, consecutive games with a touchdown reception and most 100-yard receiving games in a season and career. He played four years with the San Francisco 49ers, but his NFL career was short after he was believed to have had at least 19 concussions. His family believes he's had health problems for years because of the concussions. The Opelika-Auburn News reported in 2013 that Beasley suffered from CTE. He was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the NFL over brain injuries that resulted in a 2016 settlement. That lawsuit claimed Beasley had memory loss, headaches, anxiety and sleeplessness linked to football-related head injuries. Perhaps the biggest growth of CTE awareness came after the 2012 suicide of former NFL star Junior Seau. Terry Beasley was 73 years old. |
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Folks anywhere near Redstone Arsenal have gotten a nostalgia trip courtesy of the future. Blue Origin has been testing a big new rocket engine on the same stand where NASA tested Saturn engines way back before the designated hitter, reports AL.com's Lee Roop. Blue Origin has an agreement with NASA and has renovated the historic stand. Its latest test-fire last month was described by some locals as loud and lasting longer than seven minutes. It was heard in Hampton Cove. That's across a mountain from the stand. Blue Origin is the company owned by Jeff Bezos. It builds rocket engines in Cummings Research Park, and it reportedly might be interested in buying nearby United Launch Alliance, which is a commercial rocket builder and a potential engine customer. Blue Origin launches commercial astronauts to the International Space Station and private people who want to take a short space flight and have no idea what else to do with all that money. |
“We’re very fortunate this isn’t a murder case.” |
In 1937, musician Ray Sawyer of Chickasaw. He was the guy with the eye patch in the band Dr. Hook, and he's the guy singing "The Cover of the Rolling Stone." In 1979, singer/songwriter Jason Isbell of Green Hill, Alabama. |
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The “Down in Alabama” podcast is short and free. Listen to it by clicking on the player above or subscribe by looking for “Down in Alabama” on the device of your choosing. You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places: |
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