Apr 30, 2024

Welcome back.

For those who are following the Birmingham-Southern saga: We have an item below on a school interested in perhaps buying the campus, and the guest on today's podcast is columnist and BSC grad Kyle Whitmire, who sheds some light on what has taken BSC to this point and what its closure means for Birmingham and former students.

Ike Morgan

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Alabama A&M has big plans.

According to the vice president of governmental affairs and external relations, the Huntsville-based university is preparing to make an offer on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College, reports AL.com's Mike Cason.

Alabama A&M is a growing public HBCU that draws 10 percent of its students from Birmingham, and it wants to put a branch at the BSC location.

BSC has announced it'll permanently close on May 31. An official with that school says it's in talks with "several interested parties."

We've mentioned illegal Birmingham street racing and exhibition driving here before -- notably when 19-year-old Ja'Kia Winston was killed at one of the events when someone pulled out a gun and started firing after a wreck.

Authorities have said they're serious about stopping it. And the state Legislature passed a law that allows for criminal penalties -- rather than just handing out tickets -- for drag racing, burnouts, donuts and such.

This month, Birmingham Police spent two weekends working Operation Knight Rider.

During the first round on the weekend of April 12, five people were arrested and seven cars were seized. And now, AL.com's Carol Robinson reports that, during the second round this past weekend, six more people were arrested and six more vehicles seized.

Not since Bo and Luke Duke were on probation has law enforcement impounded Dodge Chargers at this clip. Around half of the cars seized during Operation Knight Rider have been Chargers.

Police say that beyond the obvious danger involved with this kind of driving, several of the vehicles were stolen and, probably on a related note, several of the drivers were armed.

There are very different kinds of vacation travelers. One kind of vacation traveler takes pride in rarely or never stopping along the way.

In theory, by the way, I'm that husband and dad, by the way. "I gassed up the truck last night and I want us to be there and unpacked in 5 hours and 12 minutes."

In reality, There's a drive-thru stop, a grocery stop and at least one additional bathroom break. Since we're stopping anyway I go ahead and gas up again, and we're there and unpacked in 6 hours and 35 minutes.

This happens because I travel with the OTHER kind of travelers. And those travelers always know the very best places to stop along your favorite vacation routes. If you are that kind of traveler this news update might be for you:

AL.com's Mike Cason reports that the I-65 southbound rest area near Greenville will close this week, so if you travel that way you'll need to plan your way-too-many stops with that in mind.

But there's a good-news side to this. The Alabama Department of Transportation is having the old building demolished and replaced with a bigger one with more stalls and urinals and family restrooms. The project's contract is for around $14 million and is expected to take up to two years. Then attention will turn to the northbound rest area.

2,015

That's how many fentanyl pills police say they found in a Krystal bag when they pulled over two men -- one a former Hoover City Council candidate -- on Interstate 20.

Here's the answers and how we did on yesterday's quiz:

Which among the following Alabama lawmakers voted AGAINST the aid to Ukraine? There were others, but which one from this list?

Rep. Gary Palmer 48.3%

Rep. Mike Rogers 25.6%

Sen. Katie Britt 17.2%

Rep. Terri Sewell 8.8%

Alabama Power recently imploded a hundred-year-old electricity plant in this city.

Gadsden 69.7%

Enterprise 14.3%

Abbeville 10.9%

Slapout 5.0%

An Alabama gun bill sponsored by a Democrat has made it through committee and might be before the full House of Representatives next week. What would it do?

Put parents on the hook, criminally, for some cases involving a student bringing a gun to school. 80.3%

Require more rigorous background checks for purchasers of semi-automatic rifles 10.9%

Give teachers a merit raise if they successfully complete a shooting-proficiency test. 8.8%

Ban pistol permits for new residents who moved from high-crime areas. 0.0%

Which town reported the highest number of Spring Break arrests this season?

Gulf Shores 65.1%

Orange Beach 33.2%

Slapout 1.3%

Hartford 0.4%

What request was recently made by the president of PETA?

That the Flora-Bama Interstate Mullet toss use rubber mullet. 79.8%

That the Birmingham Zoo prepare its newborn giraffe to be released into the wild in Africa. 10.5%

That Alabama's deer hunting season be regionally adjusted to include less of the local herds' rutting seasons. 9.2%

That Ted Nugent be permanently banned by venues statewide. 0.4%

Columnist Kyle Whitmire joins us to explain what has led Birmingham-Southern to its demise.

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

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