This week on Capitol Journal.

As the government shutdown continues, Alex Angle reports from Washington on how the Alabama delegation is involved.

A major milestone for broadban internet in Alabama this week.

Jeff Sander is with the governor in Camden.

And Randy Scott reports on the latest with immunizations.

As we get further into flu season.

Joining us in studio this week, Veterans Affairs Commissioner Jeff Newton discusses the upcoming Veteran's Day holiday and veterans programs around the state.

Outgoing Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson reflects on his 12 years leading the port city and how far it has come.

Kevin Scarbinsky talks about the high school football playoffs and what's going o with the Auburn coaching search.

That's all.

Next on Capitol Journal.

From our statehouse studio in Montgomery, I'm Todd Stacy.

Welcome to Capitol Journal.

And a special welcome for everyone tuning in from the high school football game earlier.

The federal government remains shut down as Congress remains at an in pass over how to fund federal programs.

Alex Angle reports fro Washington on the ongoing crisis and how one Alabama congressman is addressing the issue with his federal employee constituents.

This would be willing, as the government shutdown became the longest in American history.

Congressman Dale strong joined speaker Mike Johnson on the Capitol steps Wednesday to cast blam on Democrats for the gridlock.

The federal workers should be paid for the work that they're doing.

And I think that this right here is a dangerous position that the Democrat have put the American people in.

Strong's district is awash with thousands of federal workers who have been without their paychecks for more than a month since the House has bee out of session since September.

He's had a lot of time to work back home.

The majority of the people that I've ran into have said, toe the line that this is they understand that is unacceptable.

But it is frustrating.

This week, bipartisan talks in the Senate ramped up to find a way out of the shutdown.

Senator Katie Britt has been at the center of those discussions.

Now that the original funding deadlin that was set in the short term measure that passed the House is just two weeks away.

Senators are working on a new deal to reopen the government as part of that plan.

They also hope to fully fund critical programs like Snap, recipients of food assistance have yet to receive their benefits since the beginning of this month.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell spok at the Birmingham City Council meeting about how the shutdown is leaving Alabamians in the lurch.

I know that hunger is not a political football.

Hunger is not just for Democrats and not for Republicans.

It's not a red or blue issue.

Hunger.

Hunger is an issue for all of us to address.

At the heart of the impasse is the expiring health care tax credits.

But no concrete plan on addressing that issue has so far emerged from Congress strong.

Wouldn't sa if you'd support an extension.

But acknowledge the rising premium costs for next year.

Leadership has said, they have a plan.

But the thing is, you can't even discuss a plan until government is open because we've got so many members that are not here in DC.

The House will return to Washington after the Senate passes a ne deal to reopen the government.

As of Friday, senator were still searching for an off ramp to the shutdown.

That's cause pain all over Alabama and the nation.

Reporting on Capitol Hill, Alex Angle, Capitol Journal.

Thank you Alex.

This week, Democratic members of the Alabama legislature gathered for a news conference to speak out against the shutdowns impact on food assistance.

They called on Governor Kay Ivey to convene a special session of the legislature to shore up state suppor for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps.

We have all of these members of the Hous and the Senate Democratic Caucus coming out today to urge strongly urge the governor of the state of Alabama to have a special session so we can deal with the food assistance crisis, not one Alabamian should go hungry in these perilous times.

Do you agree?

750,000 Alabamians depend on the Snap program and other food assistance programs in the state of Alabama, and not one of them.

Not one of them should go hungry.

Why?

Washington, D.C., D.C.

is playing politics with our people.

I am here to speak about the urgent need for food assistance across our nation, and the impact that this lap in Snap benefit has on these 42 million people that depend on this important dollars, including 10 million Latino families who work to put, who work hard to put food on their table every month.

Four out of every five Snap households include children, older adults or individuals with disabilities.

The vast majority are working families who struggle daily to afford groceries.

While Americans of al backgrounds will feel the impact of this economic hardship, the Latino community in this state is particularly vulnerable.

Astoundingly, more than 1 in 5 families, more than 20% in our state do not have enough food to eat.

Governor Ivey i not calling a special session, but she did announce on Tuesday that she is releasing $2 million from the state's emergency fund in an effort to blunt the impact of lapsed food stamp funding.

Those funds are being delivered to eight food banks throughout the state that serve all 67 counties.

And that comes on top of the $3 million the Alabama Department of Human Resources already released to the Feeding Alabama program.

If you'd like to learn more about Alabama's Food Ban network, visit Feeding Alabama Dawg.

Well, as colder temperatures roll in, so does the threat of flu, RSV, and even strands of Covid that has the medical community in Alabama emphasizing the importance of getting a flu shot and other immunizations.

Capita Journal's Randy Scott reports.

Here comes the season and the fall.

When the weather's getting a little colder and chillier, we like to huddle up and cozy up with our family member and spread some of those germs.

Doctor Corbin Milligan is the chief medical officer for Health Services Incorporated.

The Montgomery based facility helps citizens in a 35 county area with any health issues they have to deal with.

As she just said, with the change of season comes a new concern.

Respiratory illnesses beginnin in the early part of the fall, extending into the winter and even then, early spring.

So the sooner you're vaccinated, you will have more of an opportunity to fight those infections.

Items including the flu, pneumonia, RSV and Covid are causing problems for some people.

Giving medical professionals at hospitals and facilities such as HHC a reason to urge people to get ready.

There are so many, at this point, different, disease processes, cold, flu, Covid.

Now back on the rise again.

Some of the things that as, as parents that we need to to think about for our children, no matter where you are in Alabama, the county may say fall, but if you step outside, it feels like spring.

Giving some people reasons to be cautious about catching something as simple as a common cold that it may grow into something worse.

Doctors and other health officials say their best weapons against that would be immunizations.

But now questions have come up whether or not immunizations are actually the best route to go.

Health Services Incorporated CEO Gilbert Derrington says immunizations may not be the favorite weapon of choic against respiratory illnesses.

They have seen success against those issues.

We are certainly open as an organization for all of our all of our, patients to provid immunizations readily available.

We will continue to do flu clinics, Covid clinics in the community for individuals who are unassigned or unattached and provide those on a as needed basis.

It's very important to be vaccinated.

Vaccinations help your immune system fight certain illnesses from bacteria or viruses.

It helps those with weakened immune systems like the elderly and small children, as well as those who have a normal immune system, provide what's called herd immunity for the community.

Doctor Milligan says with so much information out there for people to study, saf practices are the best policy.

So we definitely want t consider what is important for our community and what's important for ou individual patients and families as we look at our vaccinations.

Vaccinations and immunizations have been long.

Lee Hill is a safe practice in Montgomery.

Randy Scott, Capitol Journal.

Thank you.

Randy.

A major milestone this week in Alabama's push to expand High-Spee Internet to Rural communities.

Since 2022, the state has directed hundreds of millions of dollars, most of that federal funding toward a statewide fiber optic network.

Capital Journal's Jeff Sanders was in Wilcox County this week for the big announcement.

On the banks of the Alabama River and Wilcox County, leaders gathered to mark a major step forward in the state's effort to expand broadband access to every alabamian.

Very, very proud.

Everybody has worked well together, and that's the key word together, and we'll continue to do that.

But today is a major mile marker, if you will, in this great adventure.

Governor Ivey led the celebration as crews worked to connect a fiber optic line across the river part of the Alabama middle mile fiber network that will form the backbon for broadband service statewide.

The 3500 mile system will help lower costs for providers and make it easier to deliver high speed internet to homes, schools, hospitals and public safety agencies across the state.

The need is for all 67 counties.

If we're going to be one Alabama and be competitive against our other neighboring states and competitive in the world, we have to catch up.

But Alabama is the leading state in broadband development across the rural South.

Senator Bobby Singleton, wh represents much of West Alabama, has lon championed broadband expansion and says the projec is about more than technology.

It's about connection.

And opportunity is just as important as water and gas and lights.

And that was going to be a part of the fiber of what we do today.

We can't live without it.

And while there's still about a year left to finish the middle mile project throughout Alabama, getting that fiber optic connection across the Alabama River and into a community like her in Camden is an important step in making sure that all Alabamians get connected.

Jessica McGraw, administrator for J. Paul Jones Rule Emergency Hospital in Camden, says broadband connectivity i transforming rural health care.

New fiber broadband.

We can ensure our current operations are not disrupted.

Our doctors and other providers can connect instantly with our EMS tea and specialist across the state.

We can share imaging and la results in seconds and provide telehealth service that let patients receive care without leaving the comfort of their home.

Terri Mayes, CEO of the Alabama Fiber Network, credits the project success to strong partnerships between state agencies, electric cooperatives and local communities.

Nothing like Alabama Fiber Network exist in the entire country, and it's all to the wise guidance of the governor and Governor Ivey, I have to commend you for everything your administratio has done to set this in motion and get it done, because we're go get it done.

The Middle Mile project is expected to be completed by late 2026.

Reporting from Camden in Wilcox County, I'm Jeff Sanders for Capitol Journal.

Thank you Jeff.

An Alabama commission tasked with studying and regulating the use of drones is weighing how to balance public safet with national security concerns.

The Alabama Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Commission met this week at the state House to discuss whether drones made in China pose cybersecurity risks.

However, IT law enforcement officials argue that no American made models can yet match their quality or affordability.

Meanwhile, Commission chair representative James Lomax of Huntsville said lawmakers want to find common sense solution on drones.

We have 23 operators statewide.

We cover all 67 counties.

We have 46 drones.

You're going, oh my gosh, 46 drones.

Well, it's kind of like, you know, having a pair of scissors and a chainsaw.

Two different things for two different jobs.

It's just another tool in our on our belt.

We've had legislation the past three years that, you know, in the eyes of, Lee, it sounds like would have gutted our programs and, and in Huntsville and then, you know, probabl every small town has got 1 or 2 drones I don't think that's a desire.

I do think we need to be proactive, because, you know, the federal government is working on this issue on a lot of different levels.

There's a happy medium here.

There's there's a level of cybersecurity.

We could, we could probably look at implementing.

Those are the things we nee to be discussing over the next.

You know, month.

Try to ge to something that is agreeable, that is reasonable, that is, actionable and, and keeps keeps us drones flying and doing what we need them to do.

Three distinguished Alabamians have joined the state's most exclusive circle of recognition.

The Alabama Academy of Honor created in 1965, the academy is limited to just 100 living members along with Alabama's living governors.

And it celebrates those whose service and achievement bring great credit to the state.

This year's inductees included civil rights leader Doctor Bernard Lafayette junior, UAB president doctor Ray Watts and former mobile mayor Sandy Stimpson.

Each were recognized for their contributions that have strengthened Alabama and inspired others to serve.

I'm.

Class of 2825 inductee hail from different backgrounds, but each of their contributions is profound.

One offers unparalleled leadership in public service.

Another furthered lifesaving medical research, while a third bravely and humbly empowered the rights of his fellow man.

To receive such an honor.

And especially in Alabama.

Yes, Alabama has been.

And so much to me in terms of my own personal history and to have you.

With the experiences that you've had.

You've made Alabama so outstanding in terms of the contribution that Alabama has made.

Treat others the way you'd like to be treated.

Put yourself in their shoes and always do the right thing.

On a similar note, always d what you say you're going to do because whatever your role, people are counting on you, on your words and your actions.

One of my favorite devotionals from John Maxwell reminds us that commitment precedes resources.

When leaders commit fully to a vision that aligns with God's plan, he provides what is needed to see it through.

Looking back, I see that true through every chapter of the past 12 years because we stayed focused on the vision, which is grounded in faith and service.

God opened doors and built relationships and brought together thousands of hands and hearts to create one.

And I'll be joined by Mayor Simpson here in the studio later in the show.

The Museum of Alabama has reopened after months of renovations, and it's offering a fresh way to learn about the past.

Instead of focusing on walls or branches of service, the new exhibit highlights the personal stories of Alabama's service members.

The museum also features a revamped children's gallery and a colorful new lobby structure inspired by a world famous quilters of Gee's Bend.

Well, toda we're celebrating the reopening of the Museum of Alabama and especially the dedication of our Brand-New Alabama military Stories Gallery, which is dedicated to the service of Alabamians all throughout our history, both in uniform and as veterans, and also the servic and sacrifice of their families.

These are about the lives of Alabamians who have served our state and nation throughout our history.

And they're from all walks of life.

They are enlisted, their officers, they serve in variou branches of service and from all parts of the state.

And what we really wanted to focus on is the human story.

What made it service special and important to them?

How they contributed through service, and also to talk about the importance of the military presence to our state's economy and through the military installations in Alabama.

We have a beautiful new children's gallery that's also now open, specifically designed for visitors from 2 to 10.

Fantastic space for families to come and learn and explore history together.

We hope that visitors will leave, reflecting on what the service of people i the past have meant to us, how all that we do today, builds on the contributions of people who came before us.

And we have so many reasons to be grateful to those who have served.

It's.

Just a great, thing they're doing.

The museum is located on the second floor of the Alabama Department o Archives and History building.

That's right across the street from the state Capitol.

And we'll be right back with this week's guests.

Stay with us.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal online any time at Alabama Public Television's website.

aptv.. org.

Click on the online video tab on the main page.

You can also connect with Capital Journal and link to past episodes on Capital Journal's Facebook page.

James Withers started the Sloss Furnace Company in 1880 to take advantage of the mineral wealth of the Jones Valley.

He built Sloss his first blast furnace, the following year.

A second furnace soon followed, and Sloss Furnaces produced 24,000 tons of iro in its first year of operation.

Sloss furnaces was an industr leader in innovation and design.

Its superintendent of construction, James Pickering Davout, led Sloss through a period of modernization in the 1920s that resulted in Sloss becoming the second largest producer of pig iron in the Birmingham district.

A slump in the iro market took shape in the 1950s.

Business began to decline and pig iron was basically obsolete by the 1960s.

Higher pollution standards finally closed the furnaces in 1970.

In 1981, Sloss Furnaces was designated a National Historic Landmark and today hosts events, concerts, and a metal arts program.

The site continues to stand as a testament to Birmingham's industrial past.

Welcome back to Capital Journal.

November 11th is Veterans Day.

And joining me next to talk about it is the commissioner of the Alabama Department o Veterans Affairs, Jeff Newton.

Jeff thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you very much, Todd, I appreciate it.

As I mentioned, Veterans Day coming up, it's alway just a such a special holiday.

Of course, now it's Veterans Week.

That's an Alabama.

You explain that.

Yeah.

Last legislative session, our legislators, passed a joint resolution to, designate November 5t through 11th as Veterans Week.

And, of course, Governor Ivey was proud to sign that, that resolution.

And here we are today.

Today is day one.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Well, I wanted you to remind our audience about the history of Veterans Day.

Obviously, you know, it was it was Armistice Day originally, right?

Coming from World War one.

But Alabama has a special place in the history of veterans that can kind of catch us up.

Alabama is home to Nationa Veterans Day, and it all started back in 1947.

Mr.

Raymond Weekes, on of the founders of Veterans Day, went to then General Eisenhower and mentioned that, hey, we need to change this from Armistice Day to Veteran's Day.

And Birmingham went to start having the parade in 1947.

But it wasn't until 1954, after General Eisenhower made president, that, it was actually changed to Veterans Day.

And the president designated Birmingham, Alabama, as the home of National Veterans Day.

And I actually had an opportunity in 1982, as a young airman to, to escort Mr.

Raymond Weekes around.

Before he passed away.

Wow.

Yeah.

Well, I think that speaks to th patriotic nature of our state, in case you had any question about that.

I mean, the the Nationa Veterans Day started right here.

That's right.

But that' that's really something we know it's going to be, a day on the 11th.

All throughout the state, you're going to have parades, all kinds of community events.

I've been to the one in Birmingham, too.

It's hard to top that.

But I want to, you know, people come out and I obviously encourage everybody to define their own community event.

But I wanted to ask you, as a veteran, what does that mean when you when you, whether you're participating in a parade, but when you see folks in the community coming out on a holiday, taking the time to, to honor veterans, what does that mean to you?

You know, it's it's great to see that, you know, our communities are big cities from from Huntsville all the way down to mobile.

All the municipalities are all engaged.

And when you see the, the support and gratitude, had an opportunity to march and several those days while still in the military.

And it's just, you know, Alabama is just a very patriotic state.

And we love our veterans.

And it shows at these events.

And it's just it's just great to see the support you get when you're in these events.

The parades I've planned to be in, the one in, Tuscumbia, Alabama on Tuesday.

They got me ahead early and got me on to their, their parade.

And, I'll be speaking up in Tuscumbia but it's it's a full day for us, and we just we just love the support.

We love the gratitude.

And it's just a great day for veterans.

You know, sometimes the smaller towns might be the most interesting.

You know, you can just see the kid waving the flags and everything.

So a real special day.

Let's talk some, business.

Yeah.

Well during the legislative session, one of the biggest priorities was this Veterans Resource Center.

I mean, I think it was passed unanimously.

Talk about what went into that legislation and where we are.

I mean, physical location.

I know it' going to require some staffing.

So, you know, it all start when a military member prepares to leave the service.

They go throug a transition assistance program.

And I've told several people this, my thoughts are that, you know, when you go through that transition, the master key to veterans well-being is getting that transition, right?

If we get i right from the start, you know, get them that job, get their VA benefits.

If they have a mental crisis they need help with, we'll have specialists there to help them.

And you know it's things like that to help build that initial foundation.

And so we we're excited about the Alabama Veterans Resource Center.

I'm working with Secretary Greg Reed.

He's the chairman of the board.

We have a foundation, Alabama Veterans Resource Foundation, that is a source for funding t help support it in the future.

But we have a location, 100 Dexter Avenue.

Just this not too far from is hot dogs just steps down.

So it's under construction now.

But we are accelerating things.

We are ready to, get things started about the first of the year.

We are in the proces of hiring an executive director where the foundation is and our, deep in the process of that.

So we're excited about it.

You know, when a veteran comes into this facility, we're going to have trained veteran service officers, accredited veteran service officers, ready to assist them with their VA claims.

And, you know, one of the issues we have, especially when it comes to veteran suicide, you know, I talked about getting things right from the beginning.

Right, is what we're finding.

The VA is finding that the veterans that are taking their life by suicide are not registered in the VA health care system.

So fundamentally, when they walk into this, the center that's one of the first things we're going to ask, are you registere with the VA health care system?

And hopefully we can get more of our veterans enrolled in the program.

That makes a lot of sense, because among so many factors that lead to a suicide situation.

But, you know, you thin maybe that if you are connected, if you've gotten those resources at the front end, then maybe that that that piling up effect of, of those factors, maybe it could literally save lives.

So the legislation calls for regional sites throughout the state.

And that's something that's the vision for the future, which we have here in Montgomery is the hub.

And then the spokes of this hub are going to be partnerships initially with 501 C3 veteran service organizations to help our veterans.

Whatever crisis they're having, there's there's so many different helpful resources out there that we're not aware of in some cases.

So this is an opportunity to bring everybody together and focusing on the veterans well-being and lots of partnerships with the private sector, too.

And like you said, churches, it could be all that.

Absolutely.

So important.

Absolutely.

I wanted to ask you abou an update on the nursing home, the Benny Atkins nursin home down there, and enterprise really like the crown jewel of of, That's right.

The, Veterans Association, the Veterans Administration.

But tragic fire.

Yeah, nobody was hurt, bu it really damaged the building.

And then laboring to get it back on line.

Where are we?

Yeah, they had the tragic fire on April 16th, just a few days before Easter last spring.

Thankfully.

And this this is some divine intervention.

All of our veterans got out without any injuries.

And within 15, I would say probably within an hour, all of our veteran were in an alternate location in the city of Enterprise, that the, enterprise Health and Rehab center.

And they just happened to have enough beds for our veterans.

So what was the chances?

But everyone got out safely.

We finally got our contractor on board a couple several months ago.

They were making some, some quick progress on the home.

The old roof is off.

That burned new roof is installed.

Being installed as we speak.

We're still looking at next September, a moving date for our veterans to get back home.

It's a 50 to $60 million repair project.

I was going to ask you about that.

What's the cost going to be for the steak?

I know there were some insurance, right?

Risk management.

Yeah, yeah, they're taking care of it.

So there's no additional cost, to the agency, with the exception of some content issues that we had, from the very beginning.

But we got that covered and it worked out.

Yeah, we certainly want to se that getting back on line again.

It's a it's a really big deal for your department.

So hopefully that'll come right along.

Also, you know we have a wonderful cemetery down in South Alabama.

Y'all been working on a new veterans cemetery in North Alabama.

Where are we on that?

Yeah.

Well just so happened two days ago, I signed the real estat contract to purchase 150 acres.

Yeah, just just east of Huntsville, a little north of, Madison County High School.

And we're excited about this has been a long time coming for this area.

The National Cemetery Administration has identified that particular areas, several thousands of our veterans that are underserved for burial benefits.

So we're going to take car of our veterans up in the North Alabama section.

And it's it' going to be a 200 year cemetery.

So it's a huge amount of property.

We're looking at 150,000 burial sites at this, this new cemetery.

We're in the process of getting a, environmental assessment right now.

We're getting an independent appraisal, we're getting a property survey taken care of.

And this is all in lockste with the Department of Finances.

Real property, management.

So they're guiding us through it to make sure that, we're doing this without any problems.

And, so we're we're excited about the community's excited about it, and, we should know somethin in the next couple weeks as to if this is going to go through or not.

Well, if it's anything like the, one in Spanish Fork, and that is a just a wonderful, place moving.

Very moving.

I mean, you think you think you're at Arlington, right?

Really?

So once we close on th property, hopefully in January, we will, next have a architect, an engineer firm hired to come in and design it.

And then soon after, we hope to have, returning dirt, probably by the end of the summer, first of, fall next year.

Well, I appreciate those updates.

And again, thank you for what you do as commissioner of Veterans Affairs.

Your entire team.

It's I know it's a difficult job.

But we appreciate it.

And, you know, look forward to more conversations about how, your department and others are serving veterans in this da and happy veterans.

Thank you.

I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

We'll be right back.

Alabama Public Television is your place for quality educational services.

Free professional development for educators and childcare providers with access to free, curriculum aligned videos, lesson plans and instructional resources with PBS Learning Media and all the PBS kids programs, parents know and trust.

Learn something new every da with Alabama Public Television.

Visit us at AP tv.org/education to learn more.

You're watching Alabama Public Television celebrating 70 years of service to Alabama.

Welcome back to Capitol Journal.

Joining me next is outgoing mobile mayor Sandy Stimpson.

Mayor thanks for coming on the show.

Good to be here, Todd.

Well a lot to congratulate you for.

I'll start with your leaving office as of today, actually.

Right.

So, you know we'll get to that in a second, but we covered earlier in the show.

You were inducte in the Alabama Academy of Honor.

Just a real a special honor, for you and your fellow inductees.

Yeah.

You know, when I got that call, and was told that I would be inducted.

I was obviously real surprised.

And then I went to the website and started googling who was, former members and current members, and I went, wow.

It's quite, it's just dumbfounding to think that that I would join an organization like that.

So very, very, prestigious.

And I'm just humbled by the by that.

And you're right, it is an August group when you can start going down that list.

So just congratulations on that.

Thank you.

Okay.

12 years in office, 12 years as mobile' mayor actually ends this week.

Your successor now taking over.

Where do we start?

I mean, what are some of your reflections?

As you sit here today, thinking back on the successes, of of those 12 years.

So, I'll start with the campaign.

And we mentioned earlier the just the one mobile concept, and it was a campaign slogan.

And I walked into the campaign office one da and the team was sitting there and I said, Sandy, what do you think about this?

And you know it immediately.

It did not just resonate with me.

And then I said, why one more?

And I said, you've got to bring the city together, you know, and that we're talking about one mobile, and that means that we're all in this together.

And you've got to figure out how to, you know, do that.

So then we started thinking about it being a safer, more business and family friendly city.

We're coming together to be the saying safer, more business and family friendly.

And then as the campaign went on, it resonated with people and started really becoming, I guess, part of my spirit.

So, I mean, it was eas to talk about and, and people, you know, they've kind of not so initially, but then they thought, well, yeah.

Is there something in that for me?

If it's a safer city, that means I'm going to be safer.

You know, and so when people when you cast a bold vision, everybody wants to know what's in it for them.

And if it aligns with what I say is God's will, then, you you're you've really got something.

Yeah.

The one mobile really has become the theme of the city.

You know, from campaign slogan to really the thing.

It's going to last.

You.

Right?

It's still going on.

It was talked about in the in the campaign that just ended.

And it really should tie because every mayor's in a rela race trying to, you know, gain ground on the other cities and about quality of life.

And when you start thinking about the things that people want, they want to be safe.

They want to have job opportunities, you know, and not opportunities to either grow vertically within that company or have other companies.

And then from a family friendly, you know, the parks entertainment, all that stuff.

So, that candidates don't want to incorporate typically somebody else's slogan.

Okay.

But as far as what you should be doing.

I mean, it'd b hard to come up with something that's different that, that that really covers everybody and makes the city better for everyone.

We'll talk about that because is it too easy because you know, you you made that decision to ru and it's far from a guarantee.

Right.

You were just going to cruise into office.

So is it lookin back at that time before you ran was it too easy for the city.

Not just.

No, but all maybe all cities for there to find division for division to come up, maybe over maybe it starts over little things.

But then those divisions really keep you from moving forward in the ways that you need to.

Well, I think the thing that keeps you from moving forward really is just the divisivenes in the society that we live in.

You know, you you wake up in the morning and you hear stuff about the Republicans and Democrats, one doing this, other doing that.

And then, you know, race is always involved whenever you're trying to divide people.

And so what we took the, the tack that we would not engage in national politics.

I mean, you never heard me talk about what I, supported somebody national that initiative, because I knew that I would alienat part of the citizens of mobile.

Early on, I walked into, A meeting, and I had been Jeff Sessions, state finance chairman.

People knew that I was Republican.

But they asked me right out of the box.

Are you a Republican or a Democrat?

And they just came out of my mouth and I said, I'm not going to tell you, because when I do, you're going to put me in a box and you think, I can't fix the things that are broken in mobile.

And typically in a city, it' not about the national politics.

It's about about infrastructure.

It's about economic development.

It's about things that you really you want to maintain relationships at the national level, at the federal level, because, you know, part of the resources that you really need to move your seat, city forward, are at the state capitol and in the nation's capital.

And so just trying to figure out how to thread that needle without, you know, offending people for no reason.

Okay.

That you maybe took a stand on something.

So, anyway, we tried to stick to the, to the vision, and it's paid off.

Well there's a lot of different areas around tow where you can point to progress.

I was just thinking back, because I, we used to fly down there during, whether it was the oil spill or testing crop or all these things.

And I remembe because we're flying to Brooklyn and I'm thinking 15, 20 years ag that Brooklyn complex there was, you know, the old Air Force base that was decommissioned.

Could anybody have imagined what it is today?

You've got Airbus now on their third line.

You've got, the new airport not too long from from becoming, the city's environment.

And so Brooklyn has just been transformed, and it's really been amazing to see.

But but again, going back 20 years, I'm not sure anybody could have envisioned that.

How do you turn that vision into reality?

So there were some individuals, and typically they were, looking for economic development.

But at one time Boeing came an they looked at that as a site.

Ended up going to Charleston.

Right.

Oh, no.

Yes.

And they ended up moving to Charleston.

But they looked because what they saw was we were a deepwater port, and we had a, 10,000ft runway close to the port.

And so, you know, the wheels have been turne and it just never could connect.

Then when, we lost the tanker contract, but then because of all the, research and relationships that had been built from Airbus or the Aids at that time, you know, they said, you know, we like the the business climate and mobile.

We like the business climate in Alabama.

And so with all that, you know, all these opportunities, became available.

And there were a lot of people that had to connect the dots, you know, to make that work.

But, that's how it started.

I mean, really, it starts with the infrastructure that the runways close to the port, two interstates, five class one railroads.

I mean, that's a jewel, you know, and you just had to polish it a little bit.

Yeah.

Also the port, like you mentioned, the port.

Huge growth there.

I know a lot still in in progress and everything like that.

What about the bridge?

What can you tell us about the bridge?

It's hard for us for Montgomery to have, you know.

Yeah.

Keep up with everything that's going on.

So, back to the port.

Just a second.

Senator Shelby deserves a tremendous amount of credit because this deepening, widening of that channel is.

And that's the game changer for the state of Alabama.

This I mean, the port of Mobil will be the gateway to America coming through the Gulf of Mexico.

And really for the port, the airport.

I mean, for the airport, they every, every thing that we're doing, it doesn't actually get optimized unless you have the bridge, because if you have gridlock, which we have, doing certai times of the day, you know, it just it's just going to stifle the, the future growth.

So the challenge has been is just the escalating costs associated with, with with construction.

So it seems that every time we get to a point, you know, then, that that price just kind of keeps running away from, our DoD.

And so as we speak today, I know that they're trying to get what's known as the guaranteed maximum prices.

And that's for the, cable state bridge and for the bay.

And once they have those nailed down, okay, then they'll be able to go back to the Federal Highway Administration and say, we need this much to be alone or we need this.

We need another grant for X amount.

The conversations that I've been involved with was the US recognizing it's not just about getting more money, that they've got to figure out a way to cut some cost to.

And so I know that from an engineering perspective and the contractors that they're working on, how do we cut the cost?

So that it can be affordable?

And how do we get the additional money we need to be able to say you know, this is a done deal, and they're just not quite there yet.

We will be watchin because that is just a huge yes to to so much down there.

Yeah.

That you got a lot going for it.

You mentioned, the race with other cities and that's certainly true.

There's always a competition amongst cities, especially the large cities.

But you teamed up with your fellow members you started the Big Ten mayors, organization that allows y'all the largest cities in Alabama to coordinate on policy to make sure you don't agree on every single little thing, but faced a lot of the same issues.

Talk about that.

Because I'm thinking about suit now.

Is getting really hot.

Talk about the the abilit to coordinate with your fellow mayors on policies that are important to cities.

Yeah.

So actually, Todd Strange should get credi for really creating the Big Ten.

We bumped into each other.

I was mayor elect.

I really knew I'm not being humble.

I know nothing about being the mayor.

I figured I had, you know, I was going to have to figure it out.

But Todd said, Sandy, why don't we get the mayors of the, the five largest cities together and share ideas?

And so I said, well, Todd, I don't really know.

You get them together, but we have a place.

In Clark County, in the country hunting lodge, and, and cell phones don't work too good there.

And we'll get together and get to know each other.

Well, it was so successfu that all of us decided not six from successful.

I mean, we started talking about things and whether it's public safety and and ideas of how do you reduce crime.

And everybody was realizing, we're fighting that pretty much the same battles.

Some of us, some of them at that time had tried one thing and the others were thinking about trying it.

And there was this kind of say, oh no, you really don't need to do it or you don't need to do it that way.

Because we tried it didn't work.

You know, those kind of conversations that's got to be really valuable.

Oh, it's an invaluable.

But then we started bringing up, finance directors and our police chiefs and so fire chiefs at different ones.

But we decided that first meeting, we want to try to meet every quarter.

And and it's been a game changer.

Mean, today the police chiefs and those which let me back up a second, the bi five morphed into the Big Ten.

It just made sens to get the ten largest cities.

But today, the finance directors, they can pick up the phone and call each other.

I don't have to call the mayor and say, can we talk to your finance director?

And so that is, part of what's been invaluable about, that collaboration.

And we're sharing ideas.

We're, collaborating on, like, on the analyze law and the analysis, tragically killed and Auburn.

Well, we've been working on, on the law for, for three years.

And so it's really started we wrote it out of mobile, but we just didn't have what it took to get it across to the, the, the citizens of Alabama to vote on a change in the Constitution.

Well, because of that, again, the collaboration, we did we came up with a way to do it.

And so there'll be more to come as we go forward.

And that's something, you talked about.

One mobile might be out live in May.

My hope is probably the best thing fo the state of Alabama was will be that the Big Ten reall can become a force in the state.

Well, you're off the clock, citizen Sandy, as you just told me.

Oh, yeah.

Any plans if maybe, see you at the hunting lodge.

That's right.

Yeah.

So I tell people, I'm going to do whatever Gene tells me to do.

But I hope it involve more hunting and fishing for me as well.

Absolutely.

But, you know, I'm.

I've told Mayor Spiro that I'd be glad to help him if he chooses, to need my help behind the scenes.

I'm not looking.

I mean, I' a former mayor.

It's his deal.

I just want to support him.

Any way I can.

And we're going to be getting down to mobile to have a show, on location there, and we're looking forward to that.

The mayor.

Look, you really do.

You deserve a lot of credit.

It's mobile has been transformed in these 12 years, so congratulations on that.

And, yes, you've earne the right to put your feet up.

Well I don't know if I've earned it, but we're probably going to do it anyway.

Okay.

Well, mayor, thanks again for your time.

Thanks.

Appreciate it.

Todd.

Yeah.

We'll be right back.

Melville Archeological Park contains the remains of one of the largest prehistoric Native American settlements in the United States, founded around 1120.

Melville was located o the banks of the Black Warrior River, 14 mile south of present day Tuscaloosa.

A thriving ceremonial and political center of Mississippian culture.

The site was occupie for more than three centuries, but was abandoned by the early 16th century.

Welcome back to Capital Journal.

Joining me next is Kevin Scarbinsky sports columnist, sports analyst, sport guru for the state of Alabama.

Kevin thanks for coming on the show.

Thanks, Todd.

I like the word guru.

We'll go with that.

Absolutely.

Well, look, you need no introduction.

People follow your work and we've got a lot of viewers that just tuned in for the, playoff game.

Game of the week.

Really exciting.

So I wanted to ask you about that.

You've been basically hosting the game of the week here on Alabama Public Television.

This year was your third year, fourth year, actually, but the first yea that we've done regular season game of the week every Thursday night.

And obviously now we've shifted to Friday nights for the playoff run.

We've done the super seven the last three years and gotten an incredible response.

And what a joy it is just to be around high school athletics.

This is sport for sports sake.

Yeah, and that's what makes i so refreshing to be a part of.

I was going to ask you about that because in this age of specialized action, so much money especially at the college level, you know, there's something that has always been magical about the Friday Night lights, right?

Like you said, playing it for pure sport has that magic remained, or are we still hanging on to that magic of Friday Night Lights?

We are.

I think so.

I, I can base it on the response that we've gotten to the game of the week.

You know, we've kind of turned it into a little college gameday atmosphere.

It's cool places like Lucha Poca and Orange Beach, and they've turned out with their cheerleaders in their pep bands, and they've given us some great atmosphere.

So that has it just gives you chills to know that for most of the players.

And look, there are some great players that we will see play not only on Saturdays but on Sundays as well.

But for most of these young men, this is the end of their football career.

If they're seniors, they're not going to play at the college level.

The great majority finishes their football career in high school.

So this is special to them and it's special to their families, their fellow classmates, the cheerleaders, the band members.

As I said, the whole community.

And you feel that at each of these campuses that we've gone to throughout the year?

Oh, absolutely.

Look, I grew up in Prattville.

You don't get much bigger tha that in terms of the whole town turning out.

You know, they don't have two high schools.

It's just that and, great memories, great memories of that.

We'll talk about the year that was in in high school football.

I mean, some incredibly talented teams, not just at the seven eight level, the big boys, but the up and down, the classifications, some real talented teams, and really looking forward to the championships.

Yeah.

And this run to the championship because we're going to have some great games before we get to the super seven, which will be back in Birmingham this year at Protective Stadium.

Go down to one A and Wadley.

They have the longest winning streak of any school in the state right now.

Jock West Wilkes he's headed to Auburn to play college football.

He's been a star for that team.

But that team has really been good.

But they're headed towards a showdown with number two maples ville.

You go two for a Jackson and Saint Michael two of the best teams i the state in any classification.

They met in the semifinals last year.

Jackson got the better of them.

And then Jackso won the state title this year.

Saint Michael flipped the script.

They won the regular seaso game, and we're probably going to see the two of them back in the semifinals again, just against.

So many great matchups to look forward to next week.

Parker and Muscle Shoals Parker, the defending champion and six A and Muscl Shoals has had an amazing season so that you don't have to look very far to find great games.

That's the toughest part now for us.

Going through the playoffs is choosing which game to do each week.

Yeah, absolutely.

And it has been a lot of fun to have the regular season.

And thank you for how you make it special during the broadcast and everything.

Like you said, that environment, that game day like thing, I think it's been a lot of fun.

It's been a huge succes for Alabama Public Television, and it's just great that everybody has a place where they can tune in for high school athletics, football and now basketball.

And like I said, Todd, we've heard great response.

Every campus we go to, for example, we went to the Coleman Hartzell game.

That's one of the longest running rivalries in any classification in Alabama high school history.

And you could just feel it what it meant to that community.

And Hartsville, all the people from Coleman were there.

Wesley Britt, who played at Coleman.

Yeah, he was there.

He made a special appearance.

He came on the pregame show with us.

He also joined Mickey Shad and coach Rick Rhodes in the booth for the play by play and analysis.

And everybody wants to be a part of this.

And for guys like Wesley they remember their days playing high school ball.

Absolutely.

Oh, I, you can't have a conversation with my brother for too long without bringing up some high school football from his from his eight and a how it is.

All right, switching gears, let' It strikes me we were talking before we went on air.

Auburn and Alabama.

If you go back to the first week of the season, our first two weeks of the season, Auburn goes on the road, beats Baylor.

Big win Alabama goes o the road loses to Florida State.

And I think if you stopped right there they looked like the two teams were heading in different directions.

Fast forward.

They know they went in tw completely different directions.

Alabama is poised for another playoff run.

Auburn is reeling.

Obviously just fired its coach.

Talk about that.

I mean things can change in an instant.

Just when you think you know, you find out you don't know.

And that's what makes colleg football fun is the volatility.

You never know what's going to happen from week to week.

And and again you think you know you think you have a good bead on who these teams are, especially as you gather more receipts throughout the season.

We didn't have any receipts.

But that first week result for the tide and the Tigers.

And remember at that point there were people talking abou what is Katelyn Diva's buyout.

Yeah.

How are we going to raise raised enough money to buy out Kaitlyn de Boer.

In fact, I think there was one woman who pledged that if you won the lottery, she was going to give part o her proceeds to the university to cover the buyou after one week, after one week.

And of course, Alabama hasn't lost since.

Right.

And let's just say this give Kaitlyn de Boer a world of credit.

Not only has he righted the ship from game one and the stumbles they had last year, but this has been as smooth a transition from a coaching legend i Nick Saban when he stepped down.

And I flashback t in a column earlier this week.

Remember the turmoil Alabama experienced when its previous coaching legend, Paul Bear Bryant, stepped down and sadl passed away shortly thereafter.

But for the next decade, they had coach after coach.

They had controversy after controversy.

Good coaches.

But it just couldn't you know, that shadow was long, it was very long and no one really felt comfortable in it until Gene Stallings came back to Tuscaloosa, and he fit perfectly and he took the tide to a national championship.

Well real quick, well, I gotcha what's going to happen at Auburn?

I mean, I get it's pretty unpredictable.

But from your standpoint, you all of your sourcing, you know, are they going to b able to get the coach they want?

If they've struck out a couple of times, the last two hires.

What's your read on What might we see on the Plains?

Well, it's always dangerous in these situations because these are very fluid situations.

And coaches can say no in a heartbeat.

They can find coaches that are interested that they didn't know were interested, that might emerge later in the process.

I don't think they'r on the verge of hiring anyone, because the people that they' like to hire are still coaching.

Yeah, and some of them are still in the playoff hunt.

And that's going to be interesting to see how much patience Auburn has to let this process play out.

And zero in on their guy.

And they've got a short list of a few names and they're out there John Summerall from Tulane who has what we got.

Yeah yeah h he did a fantastic job at Troy.

He's well-liked and respected by the high school coaches in this state, which is very important when it comes to recruiting.

His wife is an Auburn grad.

He went to high school in Huntsville.

So there are a lot of strong ties there.

But I was not the only school that's interested in snatchin John Summerall away from Tulane.

So we'll see how it works out.

DJ Durkin also, I will say this if they win these last three games tall order at Vanderbilt Saturday, then Mercer which is a very good FCS team, and then the Iron Bowl, although it is in Auburn this year.

Strange things have happened there in that game.

But if he were to run the table, can you imagine the outpouring of support that he's going to garner from the Auburn family?

But I would caution them against this.

The last guy you hired, in some part, in some measure, it was because he beat Alabama twice.

Don't make the same mistake twice.

Only hire a guy just because he beat Alabama once.

Patrick Well, look, we're out of time.

Thanks for coming on the show.

And again, thanks for a great job and really making our high school football this year really special.

Kevin Scarbinsky, thanks.

Thank you Todd.

We'll be right back.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal online any time at Alabama Public Television's website.

aptv.. org.

Click on the online video tab on the main page.

You can also connect with Capital Journal and link to past episodes o Capital Journal's Facebook page.

Since 1997, Alabam Public Television has provided programs, services, and resources to childcare professionals, teachers and parents.

Visit AP tv.org/education to learn more.

The Alabama Department of Archive and History was founded in 1901, becoming the nation's first publicly funded independent state archives agency.

The archives identifies, preserves, and makes accessible records and artifacts of enduring historical value to the state.

Thomas owned, founded the agency and served as its first director.

He was succeeded by his wife, Marie Banchero, who headed the archives for 35 years and was the second woman to lead a state agency.

That's our show for this week.

Thanks for watching.

We'll be back next week.

After the high school football games on Friday and Sunday at noon.

Right here on Alabama Public Television for our Capital Journal team, I'm Todd Stacy.

We'll see you next time.