Alabama

Huge development, Hootie Ingram, abortion travel: Down in Alabama

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 2024

Press Room

Huge development, Hootie Ingram, abortion travel: Down in Alabama

Listen to the podcast below for a weather chat with reporter Leigh Morgan. The newsletter follows.

A long-long-term housing development

Some housing developments are more involved than others. The one that’s coming to Interstates 65 and 565 is an ambitious one.

AL.com’s William Thornton reports that a planned development between Huntsville and Decatur near Mooresville covers 411 acres, will cost $2.2 billion, result in 3,500 homes and could take three decades to complete. (Think the market might go up and down during that time?)

1818 Farms Co-owner Laurence McCrary and his sister, Margaret Anne Crumlish, are selling the property to the developers in a land-partnership model that will make the project a slow build. McCrary said it’s not something they went after, but since growth is coming anyway, “We think a well thought out, predominantly residential development is the best way to do it. Not something quick, fast and cheap, and the key was finding like-minded developers.”

The developers are Rochford Realty & Construction of Nashville and Land Innovations of Brentwood, Tenn.

If you’re interested in seeing what the concept might look like, it was modeled on the Stephens Valley planned community near Nashville. Swing by on your next trip to the Opry.

RIP Hootie Ingram

Former college football player, coach and athletics director Hootie Ingram has passed away, reports AL.com’s Creg Stephenson.

Cecil “Hootie” Ingram was born in Tuscaloosa, he was living there when he died, and he’ll be buried there Saturday at Calvary Baptist Church.

He played football and baseball at the University of Alabama in the 1950s and was an ALL-SEC defensive back as a sophomore. He played a year in the NFL and then coached high school and college ball, culminating in three seasons as Clemson’s head coach from 1970-72.

According to Clemson University, it was Ingram who pushed for a logo design that resulted in that Tiger Paw print.

After that he was an associate commissioner for the SEC, then was athletics director at Florida State as the Seminoles rose to national prominence in the 80s and at Alabama in time to hire Gene Stallings as head football coach.

He resigned from Alabama when it was placed on NCAA probation in 1995.

Hootie Ingram was 90 years old.

Court setback for the AG

A federal judge denied Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming he can’t prosecute people who facilitate Alabamians seeking abortions in other states, reports AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz.

The lawsuit was filed by abortion-rights groups and alleges that Marshall violated free-speech rights when he made a statement claiming anyone who helps women travel to and obtain abortions in states where it’s legal can be charged with conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson would not throw out the case. He wrote that Marshall’s claims on the right to travel defy “history, precedent and common sense.”

“Such a constrained conception of the right to travel would erode the privileges of national citizenship and is inconsistent with the Constitution.”

By the Numbers

That’s how long it took for the MLB at Rickwood Field game (Cardinals-Giants, June 20) to sell out on Monday. More than 5,000 available tickets went on sale for Alabama residents who had pre-registered and were selected in a lottery. They could buy one or two tickets with prices starting at $275 per ticket. Secondary markets had tickets priced from around $600 to more than $1,500.

More Alabama News

Quiz results

Here are the answers and how we did, cumulatively, on this week’s Down in Alabama news quiz:

Demonstrators at the University of Alabama, calling for the school to cut ties to a defensive contractor because of the Israel-Hamas war, and counter-protestors at times both voiced disapproval of this person:

Joe Biden (CORRECT) 64.3%
Benjamin Netanyahu 30.4%
Donald Trump 4.1%
Sean “Diddy” Combs 1.2%

According to the most recent CDC data, this city has the highest STD rate in the state:

Montgomery (CORRECT) 59.6%
Mobile 20.8%
Birmingham 18.4%
Smuteye 1.2%

Which of these cities has NOT had its police chief be suspended, resign or get fired this year?

Madison (CORRECT) 74.9%
Selma 12.0%
Montgomery 7.6%
Mobile 5.6%

Birmingham Police’s effort to curb street racing and illegal exhibition driving has been dubbed what?

Operation Knight Rider (CORRECT) 61.4%
Operation Fast and Furious 28.9%
Operation Hazzard 9.1%
Operation Leave it to Beaver 0.6%

What grabbed attention when it landed next to the track at the Children’s of Alabama IndyCar Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park?

A mannequin (CORRECT) 72.2%
A sandhill crane 15.5%
An Alexander Shunnarah billboard 7.6%
A spy balloon 4.7%

The podcast

Weather reporter Leigh Morgan joins us to talk about storms, heat and the coming hurricane season.

You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places:

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Alabama

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.

The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.

Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.

Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks

For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.

“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”

He feels the attacks are a mistake.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.

Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.

“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”

Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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Alabama

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey was honored for her lifelong dedication to youth and community service during the 12th annual Black Warrior Council Boy Scouts of America Circle of Honor awards luncheon.

The ceremony, which was held Feb. 27 at the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa, serves as a fundraiser for the council’s scouting program.

The Circle of Honor award is presented to people in west central Alabama whose livelihood and actions reflect the same values of the Black Warrior Boy Scouts. Recipients have also shown advocacy for youth and leadership in the community.

Past recipients of the award include Terry Saban, Nick Saban, former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, scientist and philanthropist Thomas Joiner, pharmacist and retailer James I. Harrison Jr., civic leader Mary Ann Phelps and more.

Cathy Randall, a Tuscaloosa businesswoman, educator and philanthropist, presented Ivey with the award. Randall was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2025 along with her late husband, Pettus.

Ivey said she was grateful to receive the honor by the Black Warrior Council and highlighted the importance of public service.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my life to public service, there’s no more noble calling than to uplift and empower lives,” said Ivey during the Feb. 27 ceremony.

Ivey thanked the scouting organizations, including the Black Warrior Council for its contributions to educational opportunities, economic development, and public safety.

“In particular, I’m proud of the work done by our Scouting organizations like the Black Warrior Council, who lay a foundation for successful future in both our young people and our state, thank you for all you do to build a stronger Alabama by changing lives and preparing our future leaders,” said Ivey, a native of Camden in Wilcox County.

Ivey is wrapping up her second term as governor after a long career spent primarily in government.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Ivey worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives under then-Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and she served as assistant director at the Alabama Development Office.

In 2002, Ivey was elected to the first of two terms as Alabama’s treasurer and in 2010, she was elected to the first of two terms as lieutenant governor. On April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor after the resignation of Robert Bentley. She filled out the rest of Bentley’s term before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.

She will leave office at the end of this year.

She is the first Republican woman to serve as Alabama’s governor but she’s the second woman to hold the state’s top executive office. Tuscaloosa County native Lurleen B. Wallace, a Democrat, became Alabama’s first female governor in 1966.

Circle of Honor luncheon raises nearly $200,000

Also during the ceremony, retired DCH Health System administrator Sammy Watson, who served as the event’s emcee, announced that the council had raised $197,000 through the luncheon that day.

Proceeds from the lunch will be used to expand Boy Scouts programs, making them available to over 3,000 young people in west central Alabama.

The Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s leading outdoor education and character development program. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@usatodayco.com. To support her work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.

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Alabama

Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. steps down after 13 years on the bench

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. steps down after 13 years on the bench

SELMA, Ala. (WSFA) – After more than a decade serving Alabama’s fourth judicial circuit, Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. is stepping away from full-time service, closing a chapter that spans nearly four decades in the legal profession.

Pettaway was elected to the bench in 2012 and served in several counties including Dallas, Wilcox, Perry, Hale and Bibb counties, the largest geographical circuit in the state.

Now, he says, it was simply time.

“I never wanted to serve in that capacity forever,” Pettaway said “And plus, I wanted to also make room for some younger, brighter minds to come forward.”

Before becoming a judge, Pettaway practiced law in Selma for nearly 30 years after being licensed in 1985. During that time, he handled cases that helped shape Alabama law; something he says he didn’t fully appreciate until colleagues reflected on his impact.

“I handled several cases which actually affected and changed the direction of the state of the law in our state,” he added. “And I didn’t realize I did all that.”

Friends and fellow legal professionals once presented him with research showing his involvement in Alabama Supreme Court cases that made significant changes in state law; a moment he describes as both surprising and humbling.

During his time on the bench, Pettaway says one of his priorities was maintaining professionalism and respect within the legal system.

He often referenced the Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer’s Creed — a pledge attorneys take promising to treat even their opponents with civility and understanding.

“In that creed, you are promising that you’re gonna treat even your opponents with civility and with kindness and understanding.”

Pettaway says he believes the legal profession — and society at large — must continue working toward a culture rooted in respect and service.

Although stepping away from full-time duties, Pettaway says he is not completely leaving the legal field. He has transitioned to retired active status and plans to assist with cases when needed, while also returning to private practice.

He says this new chapter is about balance.

After decades shaping courtrooms across five counties, Pettaway says he is focused on health, perspective and trusting the next generation to carry the bench forward.

Governor Kay Ivey has appointed former Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones to serve the remainder of Pettaway’s six-year term.

Jones previously served as senior chief trial attorney under District Attorney Robert Turner Jr. and has also led the Fourth Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force.

The transition marks a new era for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, while closing a significant chapter in its recent history.

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