Alabama
Case against Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission dismissed by court
![Case against Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission dismissed by court](https://www.wdhn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2024/06/65dfd5161f2de5.91191144.jpeg?w=1280)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Medical cannabis could soon be available across Alabama now that a federal court has dismissed a case against the state’s regulatory commission on the matter.
On Friday, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals dismissed the main case against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. The commission, which is in charge of awarding licenses to businesses seeking to distributing cannabis, had faced lawsuits after some applicants claimed they did not receive a fair consideration for a license.
The court said that because the commission is a state agency, it is immune from being named as a defendant in a court case.
Joey Robertson, managing partner of Wagon Trail Med-Serv who was awarded an integrated license, said that the ruling is a positive step forward.
“We may see additional lawsuits pop up from this- who knows,” Robertson said. “But at least the appellate court is standing up and saying ‘you know what, these cases need to go away, they don’t have grounds, they don’t have standing- and they should be dismissed.”
Will Somerville, an attorney representing rejected applicant Alabama Always, LLC, said the courts dismissed their case because of legal technicalities, but that there is still litigation pending from another plaintiff.
“The Court of Civil Appeals ordered the circuit court to dismiss those,” Somerville said. “There’s still another case pending in which injunctions were entered. And that injunction is still in effect.”
But Ray French, CEO of Specialty Medical Products of Alabama, says otherwise.
“This is the green light to go forward and allow the commission to proceed with their process of licensing,” French said.
John McMillan, commissioner of the AMCC, said that the group’s legal team is reviewing the decisions. He also said that he wants to get the program up and running to take care of patients and their needs.
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Alabama
Alabama Ag Commissioner Rick Pate speaks on 2024 peanut projections
![Alabama Ag Commissioner Rick Pate speaks on 2024 peanut projections](https://gray-wtvy-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/H7CQYSAJDNE5VJQKDVAX25GLFA.png?auth=122583d6ca294d121114c1000650865894e37930498666e9d516d1c0e343c185&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – After a below average yield in 2023, peanut farmers across Alabama are hoping for a more productive 2024.
Dry weather made for a challenging crop but so far this year, Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Rick Pate said things are on pace for at least an average year.
“Last year was kind of a struggle for a lot of our farmers, especially in the west side of the state. We had a drought that lasted so long so production was way down,” said Commissioner Pate. “We are hoping to get just an average yield this year and so far, so good.”
Even with a proclaimed below average year, the state of Alabama still produced 480 million pounds of peanuts with Houston, Geneva and Henry County being among the top four producers for the state.
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Alabama
Alabama 4-star OL commit Micah DeBose transferring schools for final HS season
![Alabama 4-star OL commit Micah DeBose transferring schools for final HS season](https://www.al.com/resizer/v2/XNQP7NZO2ZFPRDYQIIFILVAD2A.jpg?auth=45c8998108a2342f2d6d73c620320f794295b12318125e47af761d9c2ebe21ce&width=1280&quality=90)
Alabama 4-star offensive line commit Micah DeBose has transferred from Vigor to Theodore for his final season.
Bobcats’ head coach Steve Mask confirmed the news to AL.com on Thursday. Mask said DeBose enrolled earlier this week.
“This was an educational decision for Micah and his family,” Mask said.
Both Vigor and Theodore are Mobile County Public Schools.
DeBose told AL.com on Sunday that he plans to graduate in December.
The one-time Georgia commit committed to Kalen DeBoer and Alabama during his official visit to Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. He told AL.com on his way back home Sunday that his recruitment was officially shut down.
“It was really their plan for how they are going to get me acclimated to college – that whole process. That was the difference,” DeBose said of why he decided to commit to Alabama.
DeBose announced his commitment in front of a room full of recruits and their families, Alabama coaches and some player hosts in Tuscaloosa.
He is the 8th-ranked senior recruit in the state, according to the 247 composite rankings, and the 8th-ranked player at his position in the nation. He joins Southside-Selma WR Derrick Smith, Carver-Montgomery RB Anthony Rogers and Saraland DL Antonio Coleman as top 20 in-state players in the Class of 2025 committed to the Tide.
Former Vigor coach Markus Cook said they sky is the limit for DeBose moving forward.
“He can be as good as he wants to be,” Cook said. “As long as he keeps God first, commits to the weight room and pursues excellence every day then the sky is the limit. Micah can be as Micah wants to be.”
DeBose goes from the Class 5A, Region 1 race at Vigor into the tough Class 6A, Region 1 race with Theodore. The Bobcats open the season against Baker on Aug. 23.
Alabama
7 old Alabama barbecue restaurants we miss the most
![7 old Alabama barbecue restaurants we miss the most](https://www.al.com/resizer/v2/QCZLUPKNG5CBPFGMLR6LYO27FA.jpg?auth=6c449a71aeac0fe1e0ee7abf2bead51e9e67b7ba93460c23ade4a47c98d716af&width=1280&quality=90)
Alabama’s barbecue history goes all the way back to 1891, when the original Golden Rule Bar-B-Q opened east of Birmingham in Irondale.
Later, other iconic barbecue restaurants opened around the state — including Big Bob Gibson Bar B-Q, which began in Decatur in 1925, and Brenda’s Bar-B-Q Pit, which started in Montgomery in 1942 – and have stood the test of time.
But while those have lasted generations, many old Alabama joints that we thought would be here forever are no longer around, either because of a devasting fire or a downturn in the economy or simply because their owners finally decided to hang up their aprons.
We know there are dozens of others, but here are seven of those old Alabama barbecue restaurants that we miss the most.
The Brick Pit operated out of this old house in Mobile, Ala., for more than 20 years until closed in 2017.(AL.com file/Mike Brantley)
The Brick Pit in Mobile
Best known for its pecan-smoked ribs — which longtime pit boss Jerry Edwards cooked “low and slow” for up to 12 hours — The Brick Pit was a beacon to barbecue lovers on Mobile’s Old Shell Road for more than 20 years. Outside, the old white house with the bright red trim has framed by Spanish moss, and inside, the walls and ceiling were covered with graffiti from customers who signed their names and left personal notes commemorating their visits. Founder Bill Armbrecht – whose friends started calling him “Brick” in high school – acknowledged in early 2017 that he was struggled to keep his business afloat and finally closed for good later that same year.
A brief history of The Brick Pit
Gibson’s Bar-B-Q opened in Huntsville in 1956, and following a fire in 2022, the restaurant never reopened. (AL.com file photo/Bob Gathany)
Gibson’s Bar-B-Q in Huntsville
An extension of the legendary “Big Bob” Gibson barbecue family tree, Gibson’s Bar-B-Q started in Huntsville in 1956, when Gibson’s daughter, Velma, and her husband, Paul Hampton, branched out to open a place of their own. In addition to pulled pork, smoked chicken, smoked turkey and ribs, Gibson’s also serves barbecue stuffed potatoes, barbecue salads and Brunswick stew. More recently, Paula Mabry and her cousin Art Sanford — great-grandchildren of “Big Bob” – continued the Gibson’s Bar-B-Q tradition for nearly 20 years until an electrical fire in April 2022 gutted the kitchen and caused smoke and water damage throughout the restaurant. The Memorial Parkway landmark never reopened and was demolished earlier this year.
The history behind Huntsville’s Gibson’s Bar-B-Q
![Goal Post Bar-B-Q in Anniston, Ala.](https://www.al.com/resizer/v2/GEBKLBAQQZBBZIQW6MXJROBZ6U.jpg?auth=99f9745d26c64e95f8bd3a97f1f984a61ab6e77c30876ce123fc2a00ba0ea5b7&width=500&quality=90)
Goal Post Bar-B-Q is long gone, but the iconic sign has been relocated to this location outside Betty’s Bar-B-Q on South Quintard Avenue in Anniston.(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)
Goal Post Bar-B-Q in Anniston
Along Anniston’s Quintard Avenue, the neon placekicker always put the pigskin through the uprights outside Goal Post Bar-B-Q, a landmark in the Model City for a half-century. The barbecue and smoked hams were dead-on, too. S.A. Pruett opened the Goal Post in the early 1960s, and, according to The Anniston Star, he hired an Anniston sign company to design his iconic sign, which pointed the way to his restaurant. Over the years, a few Alabama football legends dined at the Goal Post, too, including Paul “Bear” Bryant and Joe Namath. The Goal Post closed in 2013 and the building was later demolished, but the neon sign was salvaged and now occupies a prominent spot outside another longtime Anniston barbecue institution, Betty’s Bar-B-Q.
Johnny Ray’s, which began in Birmingham in 1953, at various times had multiple barbecue restaurants in the Birmingham metro area. This was the Pelham location.(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)
Johnny Ray’s in Birmingham
Johnny Ray opened the original location of his eponymous barbecue restaurant in Birmingham’s Roebuck area in the early 1950s, and at various times, Johnny Ray’s operated multiple locations in the Birmingham metro area, including Homewood, Hueytown, Pelham and Vestavia Hills. Johnny Ray’s was equally beloved for its banana, chocolate, lemon and coconut cream pies – from recipes by Ray’s wife, Honey Ray – as it was its ribs and pulled pork. The last Johnny Rays’s, located in The Shops of the Colonnade off U.S. 280, closed in May 2022.
Ollie McClung Sr. stands underneath the famous Ollie’s “World’s Best” Bar-B-Q sign on University Boulevard in Birmingham.(Birmingham News file/Ed Jones)
Ollie’s Bar-B-Q in Birmingham
While some places boasted of serving “Birmingham’s Best” barbecue or the “Best Barbecue in Alabama,” at Ollie’s Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, they skipped over all that and proudly claimed to serve the “World’s Best” barbecue. It said so on their sign outside the restaurant. Renowned for its slow-cooked Boston butts and vinegary barbecue sauce, Ollie’s began in 1926, and after moving to University Boulevard near the I-65 interchange in 1968, the restaurant served the Birmingham barbecue community for another 30 years at that location. As famous as Ollie’s was for its barbecue, though, the restaurant also made national headlines for another reason when co-owners Ollie McClung Sr. and Ollie McClung Jr. challenged the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited restaurants (and other businesses) from discriminating against customers based on their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Ollie’s ultimately lost in a landmark decision. After Ollie’s closed the Southside location in 1998, the McClung family opened an Ollie’s in Hoover, but it closed within a couple of years. While the restaurants are no longer around, Ollie’s World’s Best Bar-B-Q Sauce is available by the bottle in grocery stores and specialty markets.
Price’s Barbecue House was an Auburn institution for nearly 40 years until it closed in 2016.(Photo courtesy of Jeff Price from AL.com files)
Price’s Barbecue House in Auburn
Jeff Price, who worked at Chuck’s Bar-B-Que in neighboring Opelika, convinced his parents, Lorene and Jesse Price, to open Price’s Barbecue House in 1978, back when the younger Price was a student at Auburn University. A fixture on South College Street near the AU campus – where a pig in an Auburn football jersey stood guard out front — Price’s was best known for its finely chopped, mustard-slaw-topped chipped pork sandwiches, a Lee County delicacy that is believed to have originated in nearby Columbus, Ga. Jeff Price later took over the business from his parents and continued to keep the fires burning at Price’s until he sold the site to developers and closed the restaurant in 2016.
Remembering Price’s Barbecue House
![Twix 'n' Tween in Centreville, Ala.](https://www.al.com/resizer/v2/IX73XB4FD5HBNKVQAM2Q4YO5ZE.jpg?auth=14a9f1afa70e9bf964d173dd5e1065eede129da63cf86f94b48015a1f4bfc43d&width=500&quality=90)
Twix ‘n’ Tween Restaurant opened in Centreville in 1952, and the building is now home to El Comal Mexican Restaurant.(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)
Twix ‘n’ Tween Restaurant in Centreville
Those of us who used to burn up the highway between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery couldn’t pass through Centreville without stopping at Twix ‘n’ Tween Restaurant for a barbecue sandwich – or just “a barbecue,” as we called it – with a side of fries, a cold bottle of Coke and maybe a wedge of icebox pie for dessert. The Twix ‘n’ Tween opened in 1952, and the name was chosen in a contest because the restaurant was between the adjoining Bibb County towns of Brent and Centreville, according to a story by the late, great Montgomery Advertiser reporter Alvin Benn. The Twix ‘n’ Tween had a glorious, 60-something-year run until it closed sometime in the mid-2010s. A Mexican restaurant occupies the space now, but the old Twix ‘n’ Tween sign still sits atop the building, a rusting reminder of the glory days.
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