Connect with us

Alabama

Disabled say they will be heard: ‘We’re here. We’re human.’

Published

on

Disabled say they will be heard: ‘We’re here. We’re human.’


While representatives and senators hashed out bills on the fifth and seventh floors of the Alabama State House on Thursday, people with disabilities met in a committee room on a quiet hallway on the first floor.

They were there to launch REV UP, an initiative to help disabled people get involved in political advocacy and improve access to voting. REV UP stands for “Register, Educate, Vote, Use your Power.” Alabama is the 20th state to adopt the campaign that started in Texas in 2016 and that has ties to the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Katie Toro, who lives in Morgan County and works as a peer advocate for an independent living center, talked about being a shy child who grew up in foster care.

“I had to find my voice. And REV UP is to help individuals with disabilities find their voice. Because one thing is that people with disabilities are kept quiet,” Toro said.

Advertisement

Toro said there are consequences to not being heard.

“Out of sight, out of mind. So, it’s time for us to raise our voices, to get out there and let them know that we’re out there and we need to break these barriers down so everybody else can get out there,” Toro said.

Barbara Manuel, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Alabama, said the goals of REV UP are straightforward.

“We want the same rights, the same privileges as anyone else,” Manuel said. “That’s all we’re asking for. We want to be treated fairly, whether it’s blindness, whether you’re in a wheelchair, or other unseen disabilities. We’re here. We’re human. We want to be treated fairly.”

Toro, Manuel, Jenny Lux of Huntsville and Karen Jones of Montgomery spoke as the co-leaders of REV UP. The League of Women Voters of Alabama helped organize the launch and a session in civic engagement training.

Advertisement

Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters Alabama, said REV UP will provide a powerful voice that is needed for voting rights concerns of Alabama’s disabled citizens.

The initiative comes one month after Alabama lawmakers passed SB1, a bill to make it a felony to pay someone or to receive payment for helping voters get absentee ballot applications, fill them out, and turn them in.

The Republican majority in the Legislature passed the bill over opposition from Democrats and from advocates who said it would deprive elderly, disabled, and incarcerated voters and others from help they need.

Supporters of the legislation said exceptions in the new law make allowances for those who need help with absentee voting, like the disabled, blind, and illiterate. They said the new law was intended to stop ballot harvesting, the distribution and collection of absentee ballot applications by third parties to influence election outcomes.

Opponents of the bill questioned that purpose and cited the lack of examples of ballot harvesting in Alabama. A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the new law as unconstitutional.

Advertisement

While REV UP will focus on voting, Toro said there will be broad overlap with other issues affecting the disabled.

“That involves every type of barrier that is put in place for us,” Toro said. “That includes transportation, that includes health care, that includes education, that includes just daily living.

“There have been days where I saw other people living their day-to-day lives and I was stuck at home with no transportation and no way to get to a voting poll to be able to vote against and for different bills out there. There’s been times where I went to go and vote and the handicapped parking was blocked.”

Toro said part of her job as a co-leader of REV UP is to overcome the discouragement she encounters.

“I hear in my work every day, ‘Why should I vote, Katie? They don’t care what we have to say.’” Toro said. “So we’ve got to break these barriers so people with disabilities can get out there and vote for and against these bills. We say we’re a free country and we’re one nation. Well, we need to become one nation and one country and get Alabama on the same page.”

Advertisement

Manuel said the Federation of the Blind consistently hears examples of why more civic engagement is necessary, such as when people are first trying to adjust to their loss of sight.

“A lot of times people think their life is over,” Manuel said. “We’re here to let them know you still can lead a productive, quality life. With the proper training and tools, you can be proficient in just about everything you want to do.

“We constantly get calls from parents of blind children. Wondering, my child is maybe 9 or 10 years old, sometimes even older, and within a public school system. And they do not know how to read. These are things that we can change in the state of Alabama.”

Jones said there is a need for onsite assessments of voting precincts to check for potential problems for disabled voters. Jones said the need to draw attention to the issues affecting the disabled exceeds what most people believe.

“Just like me, I have an invisible disability,” said Jones, who suffers from the effects of a stroke. “I don’t walk with a cane. I don’t know when is a good day or a bad day for me when my body wants to operate and cooperate. So we have to stop the assumption that disabled means you’re in a wheelchair.”

Advertisement

“How many state representatives and senators have invisible disabilities?” Jones said. “So those disabled state representatives should be the first that want to join REV UP Alabama to collaborate on efforts. I would love for state representatives and state senators to boldly come out, they don’t have to be specific on what their disability is, but let people know.”

Manuel said it is important to build relationships with lawmakers.

“We want to educate everyone to let them know that these barriers exist,” Manuel said. “A lot of times people don’t even realize they exist. But this one of the reasons why REV UP is here in Alabama. And I know that we are going to make some positive changes.

“The numbers will grow. We will have disabled as well as other individuals helping us lift this tremendous load to change the pendulum and let the pendulum swing in the right direction for disabled individuals in the state of Alabama.”



Source link

Advertisement

Alabama

Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama

Published

on

Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama


Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.

The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.

Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).

He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.

Advertisement

More on Richardson

Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:

Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.



Source link

Continue Reading

Alabama

Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets

Published

on

Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets


Alabama baseball cruised to a win over Alabama State on Wednesday night, beating the Hornets 13-4 to complete the season sweep. The Crimson Tide tied a program record with nine stolen bases in one of the stranger contests that will be played this season.

The tone was set for a tumultuous night on the basepaths in the opening minutes of the game. Leadoff batter Bryce Fowler, who exited Tuesday’s game after getting beaned in the head, was walked, and promptly took second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch in Justin Lebron’s at-bat, paving the way for Lebron to steal second when he was ultimately walked as well.

The successful baserunning instantly paid off, as Brady Neal drove both in with a double to left-center field before John Lemm walked two at-bats later. Both runners stole their respective bases on the same pitch in Jason Torres’ plate appearance, meaning that four of the first five batters of the game stole a base.

Advertisement

Alabama has been exceptional on the basepaths, sitting at 30-for-30 on the season. Lebron, who swiped two bags on Wednesday, leads the team with 12. The junior had an up-and-down night, hitting his eighth home run of the season, but also committing an error at shortstop for the fourth consecutive game.

Advertisement

“Get those things out of there now, baby. The dude is unbelievable,” an unconcerned Rob Vaughn said on Tuesday of Lebron’s errors. “We’re going to look up at the end of the year, and that guy is going to have five or six errors, which one he’s got right now, and we’ll be like, ‘Man, that guy is the best of all time to do it.’”

Wednesday’s game was a very prototypical midweek contest with no shortage of quirks and oddities throughout its nearly four-hour runtime. Fifteen Alabama batters were walked, falling just one shy of the program record, and the hit by pitch record was tied as seven batters were plunked.

The game was never competitive from an on-field standpoint. After barely escaping with a 2-1 win in the first matchup with the Hornets two weeks ago, this was a far more accurate representation of what these games typically look like, as Alabama now leads the all-time series 15-0.

Freshman Joe Chiarodo made his first career start, allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings. He was named the winning pitcher. Luke Smyers, Connor Lehman, Anthony Pesci and Tate Robertson were the other pitchers to take the mound. Lehman allowed a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and those were the only runs until the incredibly-named Skywalker Mann drove in a run off Robertson in the ninth.

Advertisement

Perhaps the most shocking figure from the game was that Alabama had 19 runners left on base. The Crimson Tide left the bases loaded in four different innings. As stated, this was just a bizarre baseball game across the board. With the midweeks out of the way, the Crimson Tide gets to prepare for its final weekend tune-up before SEC play as North Florida heads into Tuscaloosa on Friday.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Alabama

New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten

Published

on

New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten


The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act was signed on Wednesday, March 4, by Governor Kay Ivey to introduce limits on children’s screen time access in Alabama.

The Act is one of Ivey’s 2026 legislative priorities.

“Video screen access in classrooms can boost learning skills among our young children, but too much screen exposure can also be detrimental, harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said. “The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act ensures our youngest students are provided a healthy balance of screen time and traditional learning in order to protect social and emotional development.”

Under the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education will be required to work with the Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for screen-based media.

Advertisement

Guidelines will be implemented in early childhood education programs like day care centers, day care homes, night care facilities, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and group day care homes. The Act was sponsored by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.

“House Bill 78 establishes clear, research-based expectations for how technology is used in early childhood settings,” said Ross. “The goal is not to eliminate technology, but to ensure its use is developmentally appropriate and never replaces the hands-on learning and human interaction young children need most. By setting thoughtful guardrails and aligning classroom practices with the best available research on early brain development, this legislation supports educators, protects the quality of early learning and reinforces our commitment to giving Alabama’s youngest students the strongest possible start.”

A training program will also be created by the Department of Early Childhood Education to create a baseline for the appropriate use of child screentime for teachers and staff members supervising children.

“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act represents another important step in ensuring Alabama’s youngest children grow and learn in environments that prioritize human interaction, exploration and healthy development,” said Chesteen. “Building on the progress made with last year’s FOCUS Act, this legislation continues our commitment to protecting the most formative years of childhood. I am grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and my colleagues in the Legislature for recognizing the importance of this issue and working together to support Alabama families.”

The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will become effective on January 1, 2027.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending