By Brian Lyman | Editor
When the Alabama Legislature approved a $1.3 billion prison construction package in 2021, it was thought that money would pay for two large men’s correctional facilities. Nearly five years later, it’s barely paid for one. And it’s not clear when that prison might open up.
An inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
By Ralph Chapoco
The Alabama Department of Corrections said in a statement Tuesday there was a “reasonable concern” that the major contractors for the 4,000-bed, $1.25 billion Gov. Kay Ivey Correctional Complex would not complete work by an Oct. 15 deadline. DOC said that could lead to orders for extra shifts and hiring. Completion of the facility has already been delayed once. The Legislature’s Joint Prison Oversight Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday.
Republican voters in central Alabama will choose between Case Dixon (left) and U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, in a special primary election in August. (photos courtesy of Dixon and U.S. Congress; graphic by Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Anna Barrett
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, faces political newcomer Case Dixon in an Aug. 11 special primary for Alabama’s 6th Congressional District, taking in much of central Alabama. Dixon said in an interview he wants to bring down the cost of living by reducing federal spending and criticized Palmer for not upholding a term limits promise. Palmer has cited the national debt as a priority and said in 2023 that God gave him permission to break the term limits pledge.
A hallway at Vaughan Regional Medical Center in Selma, Alabama on Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2024. (Will McLelland for Alabama Reflector)
COMMENTARY
By Catherine Dorrough
Rural healthcare in Alabama is struggling, with hospitals closing and one ambulance service in Greene County recently forced to temporarily suspend operations. In this commentary, Catherine Dorrough says state lawmakers have taken some significant steps to address the issue. But she writes it may not be fully solved unless the federal government steps in.
ICYMI
Haitian immigrants brace for end of protected status | Ariana Figueroa, DC Bureau
Rise in US preteen suicide rate alarms mental health experts | Nada Hassanein, Stateline
Reflecting Pool damaged before Olympian charged with felony touched it, witness says | Jennifer Shutt, DC Bureau
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