Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:
Dec. 10
Opelika-Auburn News on using caution following traffic crashes over the Thanksgiving holiday:
A flurry of tragic traffic accidents this past week and during the Thanksgiving holiday stretch should serve as a strong reminder that all due caution and attention should be given when driving on our highways and roads.
Put away the texting when behind the wheel, don’t drink and drive, wear seat belts, and pay attention. It’s a danger zone out there, and with the holidays, more drivers are sure to be out and about or soon on their way to an out-of-town destination.
On Thursday alone in Lee County, a woman was killed and two others, including a 3-year-old, were injured when they tried to outrun a train at a railroad crossing and lost; a 78-year-old man was killed when he pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer rig; and a pedestrian in Macon County was killed while walking along Interstate 85.
Earlier, troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated 11 traffic deaths during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, to midnight Sunday, Dec. 1.
These fatal crashes occurred in Baldwin, Cherokee, Escambia, Hale, Madison, Morgan, St. Clair and Wilcox counties.
Two pedestrians and a motorcyclist were among those killed.
The other eight people killed were traveling in vehicles equipped with seat belts, troopers reported. Of those six drivers and two passengers, two were using seat belts and four were not. Seat belt usage is unknown for two of the victims.
During the same extended holiday in 2018, troopers investigated seven traffic deaths. Statewide numbers are not available at this time.
Although the 2019 Thanksgiving period total is higher than the previous year,troopers have worked 20 fewer traffic fatalities this year than by the same date in 2018.
They join in urging motorists to drive with caution, particularly as the holiday season continues.
Sounds like good advice that could save lives.
Online: https://www.oanow.com/
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Dec. 8
Decatur Daily and (Florence) TimesDaily on why Alabama might lose a U.S. House seat in the 2020 census:
Alabama is growing, but it’s doing so more slowly than other states. That’s because while some areas, like the Huntsville metropolitan area in the north and Baldwin County in the south, are experiencing rapid growth, other parts of the state are losing population.
If estimates hold, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that the 2020 census results will mean Alabama loses a congressional seat and one of its votes in the Electoral College. That, unfortunately, means the state will lose some of what clout it has in Washington.
But the situation will be worse if Alabamians don’t take the time and effort to participate in next year’s census. That’s why state and local officials have begun a campaign to increase awareness of the census and its importance to Alabama residents.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs has been awarding grants to communities to help them promote census participation, and Decatur is receiving $5,500 dollars to host community events focused on the census.
Funding for many federal programs is based on population, and growing regions like north Alabama stand to gain even if the state as a whole loses a seat in the House of Representatives. According to the Tax Policy Center in Washington, D.C., the census “affects up to $900 billion in grants, direct payments, loans, and loan guarantees that the federal government distributes annually to states and individuals. That’s because the federal government relies on census data in whole or in part to calculate how to distribute those funds.”
Federal programs that use census data, at least in part, to determine how they spend taxpayer money include Medicaid, direct student loans, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicare Part B, highway funding, Pell Grants, Section 8 housing, low- and moderate-income housing loans, and Title I local education grants.
All of these programs are paid for with your money, and only by participating in the 2020 census can Alabamians get back what they paid in.
Housing loans and highway funding are particularly important for north Alabama, which has a housing shortage and wide-ranging infrastructure needs brought about both by a growing population and anticipated future growth. The Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA plant under construction in Limestone County promises to create 4,000 jobs, and that’s not counting the jobs that will be created by that plant’s suppliers. With Alabama currently enjoying record-low unemployment, newcomers will likely fill many of those jobs, and if they don’t fill those jobs, they will fill other jobs vacated by current residents who trade up to auto industry jobs. Supply creates it’s own demand, as the 19th century French economist Jean-Baptiste Say observed.
If Alabamians don’t participate in the 2020 census, not only do they risk costing the state money for programs that benefit the poorest of us - and Alabama is still a poor state, so that is a lot of us - they risk costing the state infrastructure funding that could help better people’s lives and lift many from poverty. The alternative is to let the money go to other states, which will be just as happy to spend it on their infrastructure needs.
In 2020, participating in the census will be even easier. While everyone will still receive paper forms in the mail, residents may fill them out online.
It’s up to all of us to make sure we are all counted.
Online: https://www.decaturdaily.com/ and https://www.timesdaily.com/
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Dec. 8
The Gadsden Times on a former youth evangelist pleading guilty to sex offenses against pre-teens and teenagers:
No one wins in a case such as the one against Acton Bowen, but six young men have proved themselves victors, and more.
Bowen, once a prominent youth evangelist, entered a guilty plea in Etowah County Circuit Court - admitting 28 separate sex offenses against pre-teens to teenagers - and leaving his fate in the hands of the sentencing judge.
The case was slated to go to trial last week; the guilty plea came shortly before jury selection was to begin. Bowen’s attorney and family members said he wanted to accept responsibility, and to spare the victims from a trial.
The decision, we’re sure, was met with a sigh of relief from many.
The state seeks to have Bowen ruled a sexually violent predator - meaning if he’s released from prison he will be monitored.
Given the potential sentences he faces - eight of the counts have a sentencing range of 10 to 99 years or life in prison - that may not be a factor in his future.
But make no mistake, the community - a community extending far beyond the boundaries of Etowah County - has these young men to thank for the fact that Bowen has been behind bars since accusations against him came to light.
Bowen was first arrested in Hoover for sex offenses alleged in that jurisdiction, but he was released on bond.
The investigation in Etowah County began then, because of Bowen’s involvement with local youth groups, and in a short time, Etowah County investigators heard from victims and obtained warrants against him.
And then more warrants came, as more victims spoke out to investigators.
It was those multiple warrants, and the accumulated bonds that would have been required for Bowen’s release, that kept him behind bars and away from past or potential new victims.
In the court proceedings surrounding his guilty plea, it became clear just how important putting - and keeping - Bowen behind bars was.
Deputy District Attorney Carol Griffith told the judge Bowen had contacted one of the victims after his arrest in Hoover in April 2018, and discussed fleeing to Ecuador.
Instead, Bowen turned himself in, and he went to the Etowah County Detention Center.
The multitude of charges brought against him in Etowah County Circuit Court precluded his release, and the possibility of flight.
District Attorney Jody Willoughby praised the young men for their strength and courage in coming forward about what happened to them.
They have earned it for bringing the charges that kept Bowen behind bars until his day in court.
Online: https://www.gadsdentimes.com/
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