My friend Danny at Political Parlor had to play some catch-up this past Tuesday, and I have been MIA for even longer.  I will be working to try to get back to some form of normalcy here, I appreciate all my readers and friends who have offered support and encouragement during a difficult time for me and my family.

So, what have you missed?

• Jeremy Walker announced his run for the HD-73 seat held by Rep. David Grimes.  Two days later, the man either Walker or Grimes will likely face in the fall, Montgomery attorney (and grandson of former U.S. Sen. Lister Hill) Joe Hubbard reported raising $50,000 in his first fundraising report.
• The Alabama House has been quite busy passing legislation, including a bill to require P.E. for some students (no waivers as are often used today),   a bill to give subpoena powers to the state ethics commission and a bill to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers.
• Meanwhile the Senate has been gridlocked over a bill from Sen. Lowell Barron that would borrow $1 billion over ten years from the Alabama Trust Fund to do road and bridge work across the state.
• Alabama gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Artur Davis released a new poll by Anzalone-Lizst that indicates he has maintained and even built on the support he was showing last summer.  At the same time, Republican gubernatorial candidate Roy Moore was claiming, based on polling, that he was leading the Republican field.
• There was quite an uproar over the edits that AEA Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert was able to make at the last minute to the states “Race to the Top” application to the federal government.  This is yet another example of why many people feel AEA has too much power.
• Former state treasurer Lucy Baxley publicly stated this week that the language in PACT contracts was changed during the time she was in office and that whatever obligation the state has is moral, not legal.
• There was a lengthy piece of investigative journalism in the Huntsville Times regarding the motivations and reasoning of U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith’s decision to switch from the Democratic Party to the GOP.
• Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim James revealed a six-point plan to save money in state budgets, which basically amounted to stick it to state employees…a reminder of the kind of relationship his father had with those who worked under him.
• Governor Bob Riley continued his crusade against gambling by appointing Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson as the new head of his taskforce on illegal gambling.  The move was viewed by many as another direct poke in the eye to Attorney General Troy King, because Tyson is a Democrat who ran, and almost unseated, King in the last election.  It was then discovered that Tyson took money from gambling interests during his campaign for attorney general.  Of course those who support the gambling operation owners and their supporters had plenty to say about that.  Tyson also announced today he would not seek re-election as district attorney.  The taskforce attempted to raid both Country Crossing and Victoryland this morning, though it appears they were stopped by attorneys in Dothan and by a judge’s order in Macon County.
• Gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne held a press conference this week accusing the AEA of intimidation because of the way they served him with papers regarding a lawsuit from his time as chancellor of the two-year college system.  Byrne was certainly looking for an opportunity to offer an illustration of the opposition he faces, and this gave him a chance to do it.
• Powerful State Sen. Hank Sanders changed his mind and decided to run for re-election to an eighth term in the Alabama Senate.
• Agriculture Commissioner, and candidate for governor, Ron Sparks continued to attempt to stain his opponent in the governor’s race by pointing out that Rep. Artur Davis would not be attending the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.  Sparks also announced this week the hiring of a new communications director.
• A 30 year-old case involving racial bias in teacher testing was finally closed this week.
• ALFA, the Alabama Farmers Federation, came out with its primary endorsements today, but declined to endorse in either gubernatorial primary or the 5th congressional district race.

I hope to get back to a more regular pattern of reporting and commenting in the next few weeks.  Thank you for continuing to stop by and feel free to offer your comments on these events below.

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