Feb 16, 2024

Can you imagine Alabama with a lottery?  We've become accustomed to the annual legislative effort to allow a lottery in Alabama die a painful death, year after year.

This year feels different. Perhaps in mere months we can lose our money at the gas station down the street, rather than lose it at one across the state line.

Y'all have a great weekend. First, here's some news.

Ike Morgan

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Lo and behold, a lottery/gambling bill package has made it through the Alabama House of Representatives, reports AL.com's Mike Cason.

Similar legislation passed the state Senate four years ago but was killed in the House. Back in 1999, a lottery plan made it all the way through the legislature and was signed by Gov. Don Siegelman but was killed by the voters during the next election.

So even though we go through this every state legislative session, this time around we're already seeing some rare momentum: It passed the House 70-32, the governor is behind it, and the man who'll handle the legislation in the Senate is optimistic about its chances there. Said Greg Albritton, an Atmore Republican: “We passed this thing twice before, very similar in nature. And with 70 votes coming out of the House, I think most anybody would be giving good odds on this.”

End pun, end quote.

The plan this time authorizes a lottery and creates a gaming commission to license and regulate casinos and sports betting. Revenue generated from the lottery would go toward education, and revenue from casinos and sports betting would go to non-education programs such as health care and mental-health care, with some going to the local governments in the counties where casinos will be located (there could be up to seven casinos).

Lawmakers get back to work on Tuesday. It must pass the Senate by three-fifths of the vote to get on the ballot as a constitutional amendment, which is required of gambling measures in our state.

It was on this date, Feb. 16, in 1968 when the first 911 call in the U.S. came into a red rotary phone at the Haleyville Police Station.

Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite made the ceremonial call from City Hall, and it was answered by Congressman Tom Bevill at the station.

Now, I don't know how soon after that someone decided to make a phony emergency call just to watch people respond, but more than a few folks have gotten in trouble doing that over the years since.

It's not usually a police officer, however.

AL.com's Carol Robinson reports that a Montgomery police officer has been arrested on misdemeanor charges in six so-called "swatting" calls in Prattville.

Officer Christopher Eugene Sanspree Jr. is 23 years old and has been on the job a little over two years. Prattville police say he made the false calls to Autauga County 911, claiming to have witnessed emergencies such as a shooting and a machete-weilding person running around. The Prattville police chief said that after he was arrested, Sanspree indicated that he thought it was funny.

Here's one my wife doesn't think is funny at all.

Invasive, giant Joro spiders are about to be everywhere, according to researchers, and urban environments and human habitats don't seem to bother them a bit, reports AL.com's Dennis Pillion.

Joros can be up to 8 inches long, folks. They weave big, 3-D webs, and they're proving to thrive in places where other spiders don't do as well.

You see, human activity is stressful for animals such as spiders, insects and birds. If we're being honest, a lot of human activity stresses me out, too, so I can sympathize. But these Joros can live in people-disturbed places such as roadsides and don't seem bothered by it. That helps them function as they should, so they live, feed and stay healthy in manmade environments.

Which means you and I will be seeing a bunch of the bright-colored critters in the future.

They are venomous, but they're despite their size, they're shy and their jaws are so little that they probably couldn't even bite through your skin if they wanted to.

Longtime WBRC news anchor Scott Richards has passed away, reports AL.com's Howard Koplowitz.

The cause of death is just being reported as a "sudden medical emergency."

Richards was a WBRC anchor from 1981 until he retired in January 2014. The Associated Press named him the state's best news anchor nine times. He was from Pennsylvania and started broadcasting news while he was in the Army.

WBRC claims that he anchored more evening newscasts than anyone in Birmingham TV history -- more than 18,000.

He also worked as a contributor for CBS 42 for a bit in 2020.

In 1925, jazz musician, arranger and historian Paul Crawford of Atmore.

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