Good morning West Alabama! It is Wednesday, May 7, 2025. This is the 127th day of the year with 238 days remaining.
Inside the Wednesday Briefing:
- Weather
- News
- Sports
- Wednesday Morning Observations
Weather:
High winds along with soaking rainfall overnight brought down trees and power lines across West Alabama leaving some 15,000 West Alabama residents to awake in the dark this morning.
Gusty winds from 30 to 40 MPH should begin to subside by midday but could result in more power outages before they do.
The wet pattern for West Alabama continues today with medium to slightly above medium chances for showers through the remainder of the week.
There is a Marginal (1 in 5) Risk for strong to severe thunderstorm between 7:00am tomorrow until 7:00am Friday.
The Forecast:
News:
Overnight and Morning Winds Down Trees/Power Lines, Knockout Power
Many of you got up in the dark this morning after overnight high winds took down trees and power lines and left some 15,000 in West Alabama without power. As of late morning Pickens County still has some1,900 outages, along with 1,400 in Tuscaloosa County, 382 in Bibb, 64 in Lamar and 32 in Fayette County.
Most power should be restored by late this afternoon.
Day Two of Michael Davis Capital Murder Trial Underway
Day two of the Michael Lynn Davis Capital Murder trial is underway in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.
Davis is charged with the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Davis of Birmingham in January 2023 just off the UA Strip.
The jury heard its first witness yesterday, A cousin of Harris, Asia Humphrey, testified that Harris and her boyfriend Cedrick Johnson had come to Tuscaloosa to visit.
Harris' childhood friend, former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles is being tried separately in the case. It was his gun that was used in the shooting.
Read More: Trial Begins in Deadly Shooting Involving Former Alabama Basketball Player
Bama Blitz Attracts More than 1,500 Donors
The University of Alabama raised almost $730,000 from 1,600+ gifts. The Giving Days campaign is a component of UA's Rising Tide 2.0 Capital Campaign, a $1.8 billion plan to improve athletics, facilities, faculty pension funds, and scholarships.
Bama Blitz is multi-purposing giving program for the future of the University of Alabama at a time of tight state and federal funding for higher education.
Read More: Over 1,500 Donors Unite to Support Eighth Annual Bama Blitz
Tuscaloosa City Schools Superintendent Planning Retirement
Tuscaloosa City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Daria requested to the city board last night that his contract be shortened by one year so he can retire in 2026.
Dr. Daria has an extensive background in education. He began as a teacher in the Greene County and Tuscaloosa City School Systems from 1995 to 2000. He then began assuming progressive administration roles as assistant principal, principal, Executive Director of Personnel in Tuscaloosa City Schools, Assistant Superintendent and since 2016 has been the Superintendent of Tuscaloosa City Schools.
Daria has received numerous awards and accolades for his service in education.
He will retire at the end of the 2026 school year.
Tuscaloosa City Board of Education Complies with New State Wireless Law
Complying with a new state law, The Alabama Focus Act, passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Ivey this session, the Tuscaloosa City School Board has voted to restrict wireless device usage during instructional hours unless explicitly authorized by a staff member for educational purposes. Devices will have to be stored in a district-approved manner, such as in a backpack or locked pouch.
The plan includes a comprehensive communication strategy to ensure that principals, employees, students, and parents are informed about the new expectations.
Mayor Maddox Makes Key City Staff Appointment
Mayor Walt Maddox has appointed Dr. Richard Rush as the new leader of the City of Tuscaloosa’s Government Relations, External Affairs, and Crisis Communication Department, effective July 1st.
Rush has been with the city since 2019. He attended the University of Alabama where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications and information sciences, a master's degree in advertising and public relations and a Ph.D. with a focus on public relations management and crisis communications.
Read More: Mayor Maddox Appoints Dr. Richard Rush effective July 1, 2025
Star ID is Now Being Enforced
Star ID is being enforced as of today. You are now required to have the more complicated ID in order to fly domestically or enter most federal facilities.
The stricter identification is a nationwide initiative to enhance the security of federal identification credentials. The REAL ID Act passed by Congress in 2005 was in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Amazingly many people still say they were not aware of the Star ID program implementation despite its availability since 2012.
Star IDs are still available at most Alabama Driver’s License offices.
Central High Gets New Principal
Dr. Thomas Jones, principal at Huntsville’s Columbia High School has been named to replace Central High’s Dr. Teresha Jones who has been principal since 2020. He holds an Educational and Organizational Leadership Doctorate from Samford University.
Dr. Jones has been an educator for over 25 years. During those years, he has served as a special education aide, elementary teacher, assistant principal, principal, supervisor and assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Alabama Huntsville.
The Lawrence County native is married and has three children.
Sulligent Bank Robber Identified
24-year-old Rahmean Williams has been charged with robbery, theft and burglary after he robbed the First National Bank.in Sulligent Friday.
After several days of confusion as to whether an arrest has been made or not, police in the Lamar County city announced Williams had been arrested Monday in Amory MS.
Williams entered the branch bank on Highway 17 and passed a note to a teller, police announced. The note announced his intention to rob the bank and instructed the employee to put $10,000 in a bag, police announced.
The teller handed over cash and Williams left the bank without incident or injuries.
Ivey to Sign Bill Cutting State Grocery Tax
Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday voted to cut the state sales tax on food and to exempt diapers, baby formula and menstrual hygiene products from the state sales tax altogether.
The Alabama Senate approved both bills by votes of 34-0. The bills now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.
LuLu's Law Now Official
Gov. Kay Ivey put her signature on House Bill 437, also known as Lulu's Law, inspired by Mountain Brook teen Lulu Gribbin, who lost her hand and leg as a result of an attack on Florida's Gulf Coast last year.
The law establishes a shark alert system for Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Sports:
Bama Wins Iron Bowl on the Diamond Softball Matchup
It was the first game on the 2025 Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament in Athens, GA. That made last night's game important enough for the 10th seeded Crimson Tide (37-20). Adding to the drama was the foe, 15th seeded arch-rival Auburn (32-22)
Bama got timely hitting from Kali Heivilin, some stellar defense from Salen Hawkins and an outstanding pitching performance by Jocelyn Briski (16-11) to take a 3-2 victory to end the Tiger's tournament run.
The win was Alabama's 47th all-time in SEC Tournament play, tying LSU for the most all-time SEC Tournament wins.
Bama moves on to a second-round match with 7th seeded South Carolina at approximately 6:00pm this evening, or 35 minutes after conclusion of the previous game.
The Tide is coming off of a weekend series where they lost two of three games to the Gamecocks on the road.
#23 Bama Baseball Top 17th Ranked Troy on the Road
Alabama baseball scored seven runs in the first two innings, as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 10-2 win at Troy on Tuesday. The win improves Alabama to 37-12 overall, with the Tide closing its non-conference midweek slate of games with a perfect 13-0 record.
This is the first time ever Bama has gone undefeated in midweek play and it impressed Tide Coach Rob Vaugh, "This is not an easy feat, especially with the teams we line up against. Proud of the effort wrapping up midweeks and excited to compete against a really good Georgia team this weekend."
Alabama will host its final home series of the spring this weekend, as No. 6 Georgia (39-11 overall, 15-9 SEC) travels to Sewell-Thomas Stadium for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6:00pm. The game will only be on the SEC+ Network and Tide 100.9.
Wednesday Morning Observations:
This is Small Business Appreciation Week. It is a time to truly appreciate what small businesses mean to the economy. In Alabama alone small businesses employ 802,607 people, that is 46.7% of the state's workforce.
Employing so many Alabama residents is not the only impact small businesses have on the state and local communities. They support local charities, drive innovation and foster a sense of community. It is small businesses that are the strongest entrepreneurs.
Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama CEO and President Kyle South is himself a former small business owner. He totally understands the importance of local businesses, "Even in times of economic volatility, small businesses continue to demonstrate an unmatched resilience. Their willingness to adapt, innovate, and push forward inspires confidence in the future.
"This week, we proudly celebrate the entrepreneurs, risk-takers, and hard-working individuals whose efforts keep West Alabama moving forward. The Chamber remains committed to supporting their growth, amplifying their voices, and fostering an environment where they can continue to thrive."
According to Mayor Maddox, "For every $100 spent, 68 of those dollars are recirculated into the community. That cannot be said of online shopping."
Local retailers and local small businesses are significantly more likely to use local vendors for construction, for banking, and for all the other essential services that businesses need.
We need to support our small businesses. Instead of buying online we need to purchase from a local small business. It keeps the money local, keeps taxes local and supports the community.
Just think of this, shopping local doesn't just help the small business, it funds emergency services, roads, schools, city services of all kinds and helps the city grow and prosper.
In the long-run, small business is the backbone of every community. Support you neighbors!
(Opinions expressed in Morning Observations are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the ownership, management, staff or sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)
Click TuscaloosaThread.com for the latest West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.
Have a wonderful Wednesday and ROLL TIDE!!
More From 101.7 The River
