By Brian Lyman | Editor
“In the past we would have policy requirements that were much more broad and open, and allowed for individual library boards to tailor those policies to the specific needs of their communities. These do not allow you to do that.” — Mary Campbell, president of the Alabama Library Association.
Books on display in the teen section of the Fairhope Public Library on March 2, 2026. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
By Ralph Chapoco
The Alabama Public Library Service board, which oversees state funding for libraries around the state, drafted three sample policies earlier this summer that board members argue would help libraries adhere to controversial code changes limiting content that the board considers inappropriate. Critics said the policies show that the code changes targeted books and materials with LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
U.S. Sen. and Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville speaking at the Alabama Republican Party's Summer Dinner on July 31, 2026, at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery, Alabama. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Anna Barrett
In briefs filed Thursday, Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville; the Alabama Republican Party and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office asked the Supreme Court to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a residency challenge against Tuberville, arguing the courts had severely limited authority on election cases. The plaintiffs challenging Tuberville’s residency have a week to reply.
Residents of Lowndes County holding up signs that read “No Data Center” at a County Commission meeting on Aug. 24, 2026, in the Lowndes County Courthouse in Hayneville, Alabama. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
COMMENTARY
By Brian Lyman
Communities throughout Alabama are trying to limit the construction of data centers. It’s an issue cutting across party lines and rural and urban divides. Yet Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville is embracing data centers, dismissing concerns and calling critics stooges. In my column this week, I write that a party that’s gotten used to telling voters what’s important is badly misreading popular anger over the facilities.
ICYMI
Judge denies new trial for Alabama inmate who cited defense attorney's ties to KKK | Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector
‘Unbearable’ heat in uncooled Alabama prisons | Lee Hedgepeth, Inside Climate News
To protect forests, I learned to burn them | Alex Brown, Stateline
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