Alabama Arise is distributing a flyer (pdf) encouraging Alabamians to vote ‘yes’ on Amendment 2 in November. State law already requires localities to contribute the equivalent of 10 mills in property tax to receive state education funding. This amendment would require the 10 mills to actually be collected as property tax, as opposed to, say, a smaller amount in property tax and the rest in sales taxes.
The way Alabama assigns value and property tax, 10 mills of property tax amounts to $60 $100 on a $100,000 home.
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Somewhat related to the last post, Briggs & Stratton is laying off over 200 workers in Missouri. Some jobs “could go to China and some to Auburn, Alabama.”
They will no longer be suppliers for Lowe’s and Wal-Mart.
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Fort Payne, Alabama, the “Sock Capital of the World,” had 12,938 people, 5,046 households, and 3,506 families in the 2000 census. You can imagine how the loss of 3000 manufacturing jobs in the industry over the last four years or more has devastated a community that size. The jobs continue to flow overseas, and folks aren’t sure what the bottom will be.
So U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R - Haleyville) was not inclined to vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that would ease the transition of more of these jobs to lower paid workers in Central America. Aderholt’s vote was key in a bill that passed 217-215 in July 2005, and he wouldn’t give it without extracting some promises.
… Aderholt was a pivotal player. The Haleyville lawmaker voted “yes” only after White House and congressional leaders waged an intense arm-twisting campaign that held the vote open past midnight. President Bush personally called Aderholt to urge his support.
In exchange for his vote, Aderholt received a commitment in writing from Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and former U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to protect domestic sock manufacturers. Instead of allowing the immediate duty-free treatment of sock imports that CAFTA called for, the officials pledged to work to change the agreement to allow a 10-year phase-out on tariffs for sock imports, among other things.
More than a year later, he and Fort Payne are still waiting for the administration to come through on its end of the deal.
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Boy Scout Executive Michael Lavender decides to abandon his write-in challenge to fellow Democrat Chris England for the House District 70 seat.
Perhaps he read the recent account of how Lowell Barron is the only state legislator ever to win as a write-in candidate. (It’s a good piece for political junkies to understand the factors that contributed to Barron’s winning write-in campaign for re-election in 1983.)
England is the only candidate on the ballot for HD70.
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Federal money is coming to Birmingham to “transform the Morris Avenue bus transfer facility into a full service multi-modal facility” that can “handle vehicles used for local public transit, intercity bus and rail, bicycle, shuttle, taxi and car pool services,” according to U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus.
If gasoline prices don’t provoke some discussion about expanding public transportation in Alabama, then what will? The state of Alabama provides zero dollars for public transportation. Alabama is one of four states that provide no funding for public transportation, and the only one east of Colorado. (Alabama Arise has a fact sheet or two on the subject if you are interested.)
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Michael Scanlon, former aide to Tom Delay and Bob Riley, and his ex-partner Jack Abramoff
Now, to settle a lawsuit, the Bush administration has released some Secret Service visitor logs to show how much access the crew of corruption had to the White House.
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If reforming the state’s constitution is an issue of interest for you, you might want to check out blogger foxofbama’s account of (and subsequent thoughts on) asking Senate President Pro Tem Lowell Barron about the issue.
Also, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform has announced details for its annual meeting (Oct. 5) and will be trying to build up energy toward “persuading the Legislature to let the citizens decide whether to call a constitutional convention.”
Said Lenora Pate, ACCR co-chair: “A recent poll in April, 2006, showed that 53 percent of Republican voters and 58 percent of Democrat voters support a convention to rewrite the Constitution. 2007 is the year to allow all Alabamians to vote on calling a constitution convention. We will urge the Alabama Legislature again in ‘07 to let the people vote.”
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Dana Beyerle’s weekly roundup of Alabama’s political news seemed even more interesting than usual today - including the endorsements (on both sides of the aisle) of the Alabama State Employees Association’s political action committee.
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I know that convicted lobbyist and former Riley aide Michael Scanlon has an …umm… unusual sense of propriety: he used 
