Nov 05, 2024

It's Election Day. Some last-minute notes are down below.

Thanks for reading,

Ike

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We've all been hoping that somehow we wouldn't get here, but Birmingham passed a morbid milestone on Monday.

AL.com's Carol Robinson reports that the killing of a young man was the city's 135th homicide in 2024 to tie its 2023 total with almost two whole months left in the year.

Police said more than 20 shots were fired at 12 minutes past noon in the north part of town.

The 135 homicides put Birmingham 13 away from the city's record. There were 148 homicides in 1933.

Birmingham City Councilman J.T. Moore was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Creola, reports AL.com's Carol Robinson.

Creola police say Moore was passed out in a Birmingham city vehicle alongside I-65. They said they took him to Saraland Police Department and that he failed a sobriety test and breathalyzer test there.

He was booked into the Mobile County Jail.

An Alabama legislator from 1974 to 2022, Jimmy Holley, an Elba Republican, passed away Monday, reports AL.com's Mike Cason. Holley served in the state House of Representatives as a Democrat from 1974-94, then moved over to the Senate, where he switched parties before the GOP swept into power and eventually stepped down two years ago. Jimmy Holley was 80 years old.

That same year that Holley joined the Alabama Legislature, Cammie East Cowan began her newspaper career at the Mobile Press and Register. She worked as a copy editor and features writer who was known for her literary connections, such as her folks' "Haunted Book Shop" and her friendship with "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee. If you recognize Cowan from her work with the Press-Register make sure you read Lawrence Specker's story about her at AL.com.

It's also Election Day. Which means that after today we can go back to every television commercial's pushing pharmaceuticals.

Or do they only target folks of a certain age? Because I shouldn't be there yet.

The polls are open today from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. If you plan on voting, and I hope you do, make sure you follow through no matter what you might hear about lines or results based on exit polling. It ain't over till it's over, and anything suggesting otherwise is either garbage or rat poison.

I've had sort of the opposite experience. I received a text message that said hey, Willie -- that's what some voting group or another calls me is "Willie" -- and warned me that while other people won't know who I voted for, they'll know whether I voted.

In case Halloween wasn't creepy enough.

I would encourage you to hit the Alabama Secretary of State's website for sample ballots, polling places, etc.

And don't leave your photo ID at home when you go vote.

If you don't use the "straight-party" voting, make sure you don't skip over the Alabama Supreme Court races. While most of those are unopposed, there is a Republican and a Democrat running for chief justice.

If you do use "straight-party" voting, don't forget you still have that statewide constitutional amendment you can vote on. Some of you have local amendments as well.

No matter what happens today, every conservative and liberal and moderate is welcome back here tomorrow. And while it's great to be informed and interested, a lot of folks out there get really torn up during presidential elections, so let's all be nice to somebody today. Across-the-aisle sympathy in particular can be a powerful thing.

In 1936, country record producer and songwriter Billy Sherill of Phil Campbell.

In 1936, photographer and painter William Christenberry of Tuscaloosa.

In 1971, triple-jumper Erick Walder of Mobile.

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