Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Curbside collection of recyclable materials resumes next month in one Alabama city. 

The Tuscaloosa News reports Turscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said the city’s Environmental Services Department is on track to restore its recycling program on Nov. 2.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aspiring plumbers, electricians and other trade workers will get a chance to advance their skills under a new apprenticeship program launched in Tuscaloosa. 

The Tuscaloosa News reports that the program by the nonprofit group Skilled Trades of West Alabama will hold an orientation session Monday for its first class of about 70 trainees.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The city of Tuscaloosa is easing pandemic restrictions by allowing bars popular with University of Alabama students to reopen with limits. 

The change that took effect Tuesday follows complaints from bar owners that a two-week shutdown meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus was unfair and hurting business. But critics charge that allowing bars to reopen after the closure will make it easier for illness to spread.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Workers must replace a faulty arch on a new interstate bridge that is meant to be a gateway into Tuscaloosa. 

A metal arch that was erected on the eastbound side of a new Interstate 20/59 bridge over McFarland Boulevard was twisted. The Tuscaloosa News reports the arch will be removed so a new structure can be installed along with a newly fabricated arch for the westbound side.

Tuscaloosa is closing bars for the next two weeks after University of Alabama officials said there has been an unacceptable rise in COVID-19 cases on campus. 

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Three spots in Alabama are being added to the nation's honor roll of historic locations. 

The state says The Alabama Book Store in Tuscaloosa is joining the National Register of Historic Places. The shop has been located near the University of Alabama campus since 1942.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Officials are looking for ways to improve safety during the pandemic and hopefully save college football after crowds gathered in an entertainment district near the University of Alabama over the weekend. 

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox says he's frustrated by what happened. And Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne tweeted a photo of a crowded area that said: “Who wants college sports this fall?? Obviously not these people!!"

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox today released an executive order detailing new rules for some businesses in the wake of the city’s State of Emergency order.

These new rules, effective today at 5 p.m., include:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Leaders in Tuscaloosa are moving to limit nightlife in the college town during the pandemic as thousands of students return for the fall semester. 

A divided City County approved a measure Tuesday night that allows Mayor Walt Maddox to enact rules aimed at combatting a surge in coronavirus cases. Among the regulations is a move to reduce the capacity at bars to 50% after 9 p.m. Another rule would reduce the occupancy of entertainment venues to 25%.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Two people have been shot outside an Alabama mall. Tuscaloosa police tweeted that the shooting occurred in a parking lot outside University Mall. 

A police spokesman said a 15-year-old girl and a 24-year-old man were both hospitalized. Authorities did not immediately say what prompted the shooting. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said one of the victims was an innocent bystander.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Heavy overnight rains quickly swamped the west Alabama city of Tuscaloosa, covering roads with water and leaving guests stranded in a motel. 

As much as 5 inches of rain fell in a brief period late Tuesday. The resulting flash flood filled cars with water and left people temporarily stranded at a motel near Interstate 20/59. No injuries were reported.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Officials in an Alabama city say several college students organized “COVID-19” parties as a contest to see who would get the virus first. 

Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry says students hosted the parties to intentionally infect each other with the new coronavirus. McKinstry says party organizers purposely invited guests who tested positive for COVID-19. She says the students put money in a pot and whoever got COVID first would get the cash.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Two workers were crushed to death by rocks in a trench collapse at the site of town homes under construction in Mississippi. 

Starkville Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough told news outlets the workers were in the trench laying pipe for sewer lines when it collapsed Tuesday morning. One worker died at the scene. The second worker was trapped for more than two hours. He was flown to a hospital in Tupelo where he later died.

Life will change for residents of Tuscaloosa as of Sunday night. The city of Tuscaloosa has issued a nightly curfew, and shelter-at-home order, that officially begins this weekend. City leaders in Birmingham told residents to stay at home on Wednesday. The order was amended to include staying at home Thursday evening. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox says if things do not change, there could be some serious problems. “We know, that in late April, without any change in the dynamic, Tuscaloosa County’s healthcare system could be overwhelmed.

Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox announced Wednesday that the city will be under a curfew beginning Friday and lasting through April 3.

The curfew will last from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and there will be exemptions for those traveling to and from work or other essential tasks.

“Within a one-hour drive of city hall, one-third of the state’s coronavirus cases can be found in Jefferson County,” Maddox said. “Within Lee County, which closely mirrors Tuscaloosa County, we see some of the fastest-growing rates of COVID-19 cases in our state.”

Days of rain have left parts of Alabama awash in millions of gallons of dingy water that overflowed from sanitary sewer systems.

Reports submitted to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management show more than 18.5 million gallons of sewer water spilled out over the past 10 days around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, which had heavy rains over the period.

In the Tennessee Valley, a city leader in Decatur wants action after millions of gallons overflowed there.

A consulting firm will help Tuscaloosa officials decide whether the city can support a new conference center or athletics venue.

Pending an expected vote by the City Council, C.H. Johnson Consulting of Chicago will lead the research.

The Tuscaloosa News reports that the firm will gather data and do a marketing analysis. It will look at Tuscaloosa’s market size and judge whether the city can support a convention or athletic center. It would also recommend the size, scope and location of such a facility if it is deemed feasible.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama city’s officials are considering new curfew laws during school hours to try to discourage students from skipping class.

The Tuscaloosa City Council’s public safety committee approved a proposal that would make it illegal for minors to be unaccompanied in public from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. any Monday through Friday that city schools are in session.

(TUSCALOOSA, AL)-- Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen has been at the forefront of the transformation of the Tuscaloosa watershed from “a stream that was on the brink of destruction to a stream in dramatic recovery.”

Wathen was one of the founding members of the Friends of Hurricane Creek, a licensed waterkeeper program. Things looked dire when they started in 2003.

“We lost a lot of the species that were native here,” Wathen said. “We went from a creek that was considered by some scientists as biologically dead.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to attend Saturday's college football matchup between top-ranked University of Alabama and Louisiana State University.

The Federal Aviation Administration is advising that Trump will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the game.

It will be the third Trump visit to a high-profile sporting event in as many weeks. Last month Trump attended Game 5 of the World Series in Washington, and Trump traveled to New York on Saturday to watch Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 244 at Madison Square Garden.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Rep. Chris England of Tuscaloosa is running for chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.

England announced Sunday night on Twitter that he is running for chair.

The Tuscaloosa legislator has been one of the leading advocates for changes in how the state party is run.

England led an Oct. 5 meeting in which a faction of the State Democratic Executive Committee adopted new bylaws and planned a new election for chair. The Democratic National Committee has ordered the state party to take both actions.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court says an Alabama man condemned to die for a killing more than 30 years ago should get a new sentencing hearing because of questions over his mental competence.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released the decision Tuesday in the case of James McWilliams.

Court records show McWilliams is on death row after being convicted of sexually assaulting and killing Patricia Vallery Reynolds in Tuscaloosa in 1984.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama hospital chain that quit accepting new patients after a malware attack crippled computer systems said it has resumed normal operations after paying a ransom demand.

The DCH Health System said its hospitals in the west Alabama cities of Tuscaloosa, Northport and Fayette resumed admitting patients Thursday, and its imaging and patient scheduling services were going back online Friday.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A hospital system that serves a large part of rural west Alabama has temporarily quit accepting new patients because of a ransomware attack that crippled some of its computer systems.

A spokesman for DCH Health System says its hospitals in Tuscaloosa, Northport and Fayette began diverting most new patients to Birmingham and elsewhere after the attack became apparent early Tuesday.

Put the "pub" back in public radio with APR!

The WUAL Friends Board is hosting a scavenger hunt in Tuscaloosa's new West Queens Business District on October 5. Attendees will have the opportunity to talk with WUAL staff and hosts, meet fellow listeners, listen to live music, and discover local businesses.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A former Alabama governor who resigned amid a sex scandal has opened a new dermatology office.

The Tuscaloosa News reports former Gov. Robert Bentley's new location opened Friday in Tuscaloosa. He previously practiced in another site.

Bentley is a longtime dermatologist who entered politics.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Tuscaloosa's longtime mayor, Al DuPont, has died at a nursing home in Texas. He was 94.

The Tuscaloosa News reports DuPont, who died Wednesday, was first elected mayor in 1980 and served six terms before he retired on his 80th birthday in 2005.