Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce

Coastal communities nationwide are ramping up efforts to restoreand protect their shorelines as climate change causes more intense and destructive storms and leads to sea-level rise that puts tens of millions of people at risk. That includes one of Alabama.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— what? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak, the job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures. He was elected last November as the first US House member in Alabama's redrawn District two. Shomari figures joins me next on APR Notebook.

Federal judges will weigh a request to bring Alabama back under the pre-clearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after ruling the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents when drawing congressional lines. The three judge panel will hear arguments on July 29th over whether any future changes to the state’s voting map should be made under federal review. The current fight resulted in a redrawn District two, now held by Democrat Shomari Figures, will be the subject of tonight’s APR Notebook at 7 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— okay? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak. The job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures.

The fourth of July Holiday has come and gone. And, that means Alabama is into the second half of the lucrative summer tourism season. The Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area points to new rental units to judge how much the visitor economy is growing.

The latest film adaptation of a Stephen King story isn’t quite what you might expect. The Life of Chuck isn’t about monsters or haunted hotels—it’s about memory, love, and the beauty of ordinary moments. The film stars Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleson, but for executive producer Scott Lumpkin, who grew up in Fairhope, this project hit close to home—literally. The movie was shot in Mobile and Baldwin counties. It tells a surreal story about the worlds inside each of us.

The nation is remembering the eighty first anniversary of the D-Day landing during World War Two today. The invasion of Europe by allied forces was supported by navy ships like the U.S.S. Nevada at Utah Beach. Military historians say one other vessel providing cover that day was the cruiser U.S.S. Tuscaloosa.

Memorial Day is next week and that means the start of Alabama’s summer tourism season. Budget cuts from the new Trump administration and beach safety may seem miles apart. But concerns are being raised about how safe Alabama’s beaches may be when visitors flock to the state’s Gulf coast. The Washington Post reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is scrambling to fill forecasting job ahead of the June first start of the Hurricane season. APR explains these forecasts are also for Alabama beach goers and the lifeguards that look after them

The retired luxury liner the SS United States may be the rustiest ship in the Port of Mobile. But she’s also having a moment as the belle of the ball – generating lots of attention from both locals and visitors. The iconic ship is in port so crews can ready it for its final resting place off the Florida panhandle where the United States will be sunk as an artificial reef. APR joined a Mobile River cruise to find out why so many are suddenly drawn to the United States’ last hoorah.

Alabama’s Catholic community is celebrating the selection of Pope Leo the fourteenth. But, it was another Pope Leo who made a substantial impact on the state. The website Encyclopedia of Alabama says it was Pope Leo the twelfth who helped spread Catholicism in the state in 1825.