BUCKLE UP, SLOW DOWN: Statewide traffic enforcement movement begins next week
Athens News-Courier – July 13
Drivers will want to put on their seat belts and put down their phones next week as Alabama law enforcement agencies crack down on speeding, seat belt usage and impaired and distracted driving. The July 17-23 movement is part of Southern Shield, a campaign by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and law enforcement agencies in five states, all with the common goal of achieving a period of zero fatalities … The Center for Advanced Public Safety at The University of Alabama reported 789 fatal crashes in 2015, a 6.77 percent increase from 2014. There were more than 1,000 fatalities in 2016. “What’s so bad is this year we’re ahead of last year. Today, troopers have worked crashes where 335 people have been killed compared to 332 this time last year. I didn’t think we could beat last year’s numbers. You were used to seeing a handful, but not that much,” he said.
Inaugural class of STEM Scholars honored at graduation
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois) – July 13
On July 10, U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) hosted a dual Women in STEM panel discussion and STEM Scholars graduation ceremony featuring keynote Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti and women STEM professionals from the Chicago area … After the graduation ceremony, Rep. Hultgren co-moderated a panel to discuss women in the STEM workforce with Annie Hubbard, a sophomore studying aerospace engineering at University of Alabama. He met Hubbard in St. Louis over a year ago during the FIRST Robotics World Championships.
DeKalb County students win Alfa Foundation Scholarship
Fort Payne Times-Journal – July 13
Two DeKalb County students received $1,000 scholarships from the Alfa Foundation. Recipients are: Jay Bryan, of Rainsville, a graduate of Plainview High School and freshman at the University of Alabama studying finance.
Grippando wins Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction from University of Alabama
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia) – July 13
Attorney and author James Grippando has won the 2017 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The award given by the University of Alabama School of Law and the American Bar Association Journal was awarded for his novel “Gone Again.”
Why some pot businesses hide their cash — and others truck it straight to a federal vault
Bloomington Herald-Times Online (Illinois) – July 13
Slip a fresh $20 bill under the bulletproof teller window of Donnie Anderson’s Medex marijuana dispensary — perhaps for a gram of cannabis or some THC-infused toffees — and the legal tender is transformed into something else: drug money … “The FDIC could step in and shut down a bank, and it can do that with very little notice,” said Julie Hill, a law professor at the University of Alabama and former finance industry attorney who has studied cannabis banking. “Nobody’s ever gotten their bank brought back to life after it’s been closed by regulators.”
Tusacaloosa mayor Walt Maddox exploring run for governor
Crimson White – July 14
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox has formed a political committee to explore the possibility of a campaign for Governor of Alabama next year … Stephen Borrelli, a political science professor at the University, said that since Maddox has won campaigns as a Democrat in the past and has worked productively with Republican governors and members of Congress, Maddox may be less disadvantaged by the Democratic label than most Alabama politicians would be. “The Republican strategy with all Alabama Democrats is to find some linkage between the candidate and unpopular national leaders, like Pelosi, Obama and the Clintons, and party positions,” Borrelli said.