Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce

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.

Parts of Montgomery are looking a little like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz today. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is presenting the musical based on the classic movie starting this week. The R-S-A Tower in downtown Montgomery is being lit green for the occasion.

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 City of Montgomery is commemorating the 69th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Civil Rights trailblazer, Rosa Parks. The boycott happened when Black residents refused to ride city buses in Montgomery to protest segregated seating. Historians regard the event as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation.

A pygmy hippopotamus calf at the Montgomery Zoo is soon turning six months old. Ronda was born on Feb. 11 and has since been welcomed and celebrated as a significant addition to the zoo’s family.

The Menlo Park, California-based company Meta says it will open an $800 million data center in Montgomery. The internet giant operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

Alabama voters decided primary runoffs on Tuesday for the state's newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District, setting up a potentially historic November race that could play a part in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Visitors to a new outdoor space near Montgomery can learn about slavery through art. The Equal Justice Initiative’s Freedom Monument Sculpture Park covers seventeen acres along the Alabama River.

Xiaoqin Yan, a citizen of China, was convicted last year on charges of arson and illegal possession of a firearm. At the time of her arrest, Yan had overstayed her non-immigrant visa and, therefore, could not lawfully possess a firearm. Her visa was revoked after her arrest.