Students may still be enjoying their summer break, but the Alabama State Board of Education is working to find the right new state superintendent, the state Medicaid agency is making cuts and more. State Board Narrows Search for New Superintendent The Alabama State Board of Education recently narrowed its search
by Allen Sanderson The news in the last few weeks has been dominated by tragedy, and here at The Bloom Group our thoughts and prayers especially go out to the families of the slain police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. We have always and will continue to proudly support
The Birmingham Police Department has been using ShotSpotter, a gun location and detection service since 2008. The Birmingham City Council approved paying more than $52,000 to let officers keep using the gunfire detection system. The detection system can determine the difference between a gunshot and something else like a firecracker. If
If you thought summer meant a slow-down in business and political news, think again. In the month since the 2016 regular session ended, we’ve seen several positive economic development announcements and the trial and subsequent conviction of the Alabama Speaker of the House. Read on for more details. Mercedes-Benz Supplier
Federal agencies will decide. Officials from the Department of Defense (DOD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) are scheduled to come to the state and visit facilities in Baldwin County. They will be looking at two Naval Outlying Fields in Foley and Summerdale to determine whether unaccompanied minors, who entered the
On January 1, 2017, Alabama will join 40 other states no longer recognizing common law marriage. Governor Bentley signed into law legislation abolishing common law marriages. Common law marriage is when a couple decides to live together without a license or a ceremonial marriage. This arrangement often leads to certain legal issues when
The 2016 regular session of the Alabama Legislature ended last week with two major bills that had shown promise “dying” in Wednesday’s final hours, leaving the door open for a possible special session later this year to address the issues the bills would have remedied, namely prison problems and Medicaid funding (see
The Senate voted 23-12 late Wednesday for a compromise on the governor’s prison construction project, which originally had a price tag of $800 million. The compromise plan cut the bond offer to $550 million for two new prisons in addition to a new women’s prison. The House did not vote on the compromise before
Group Watch will go back to its regular monthly publishing schedule now that the 2016 regular session is over, but we’ll send out weekly GW issues if a special session is called. Governor Bentley made it clear he was “disappointed” by the death of his prison bill and that he will not give
Last week was a busy one: the Education Budget for FY 2107 has been signed into law and marks the first time school systems in the state have been fully funded since 2008; the governor’s prison plan made more progress; and a temporary solution for Medicaid cuts made it through
