Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:
March 15
The Daily Home, Talladega, on land management:
After public pressure and Congressional inquiries last spring, the Bureau of Land Management agreed to postpone the date for leasing parcels of land in the Talladega National Forest for mining activities. Hydraulic fracturing — fracking — was raised as a possibility in areas deemed especially inappropriate by environmental groups and a number of area residents.
Fracking is a controversial mining process in which millions of gallons of water mixed with chemical agents are pumped into the ground under pressure to allow the extraction of petroleum and/or natural gas. In our part of the country, expectations are that natural gas might be present.
In Calhoun County, some of the parcels were in close proximity to a major watershed for the area. …
Complaints to the office of Congressman Mike Rogers resulted in a delay of the lease sale for the parcels in Talladega National Forest. The delay was a rare occurrence for the BLM, and lease sales for other areas went ahead as planned. An informational public meeting to be held by the BLM and the Forest Service was promised, but it wasn’t until this week that the date, time and place were announced.
It’s set for Thursday, April 25, 3-6 p.m. at Gateway Park Lodge in Montgomery.
The environmental groups held their public meetings in the areas where the fracking might take place, in the evening hours after most people were off work. Their hope was to have as many people as possible attend, express their opinions, and learn from others.
That doesn’t seem to be one of the goals for the BLM meeting.
Representatives from the BLM, the Forest Service and state agencies are supposed to be on hand to provide information and answer questions. That’s a positive step.
The facts that the lease sale was delayed, and that a public meeting was scheduled at all show that someone is listening.
This newspaper has not taken a position on fracking. …
The government needs to remember that federal lands belong to the people — not just to the politicians and agencies that manage them.
The people have a right to know how their land is used, and to express their opinions about how it is used.
The people deserve better.
Online:
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com
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March 14
The Anniston (Ala.) Star on the school voucher bill:
Rarely does an Alabama governor get the opportunity Robert Bentley just took a pass on.
By signing a school voucher bill into law, Bentley placed Alabama on an uncertain path in how the state educates children. The shame — the crying shame, even — is that we didn’t have to go this way. At the least, before signing it into law the governor could have demanded the Legislature address a host of deficiencies exposed since its passage on Feb. 28.
Most state legislatures, including Alabama’s, are notorious procrastinators. Important bills sit around most of a session and then are passed in a mad rush in the final hours of a term. Governors are then left to unsort the mess that lands on their desk a few minutes before midnight on the Legislature’s final day.
That’s not been the case with the so-called Alabama Accountability Act of 2013. The Republican-conceived legislation was cloaked in secrecy until two weeks ago when its radical, untested and unexamined notions about altering public schooling were quickly rushed through the House and Senate. Then, just as Bentley was readying his pen to sign it, the Alabama Education Association convinced a judge to hit pause on the signing ceremony.
For a week, Alabamians (including Bentley) had a chance to contemplate the implications of creating a school voucher program that offers tax credits to parents who transfer their children from “failing” schools to a private school or another public school. This is the sort of examination that almost all significant legislation undergoes through hearings and legislative committee proceedings. The Republicans who run the Legislature denied this measure a fair hearing so experts could weigh in on the merits and demerits of the proposal. Instead, a court’s temporary restraining order on the governor handed us the next best thing — a crowd-sourced probe of this bill.
And the crowd delivered. Deep questions cropped up: Can the state afford this? Will it hollow out “failing” public schools and in the process only deepen their woes? Will public and private schools be required to accept transfers under this law? How can parents be sure the private school their transfer their kids is better than their old school? What about districts like Anniston, where a federal court order restricts movement of students from one public school to the other? And on and on. …
… Bentley and the rest of Montgomery’s know-it-alls are forging ahead. As usual, the rest of the state will be left to deal with this mess.
Online:
http://www.annistonstar.com
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March 19
The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News on Gov. Bentley’s choice for Tuscaloosa County sheriff:
Gov. Robert Bentley’s appointment of Billy Sharp as sheriff of Tuscaloosa County appears to be a temporary move designed to put the office in competent hands while giving the governor time to make a thoughtful decision. While Sharp is physically fit and extremely experienced, his age, 79, would appear to preclude long-term service.
It might seem difficult to replace former Sheriff Ted Sexton. During his 22 years of service, Sexton earned the admiration of his peers and Tuscaloosa County’s trust. Innovative and ambitious, he did his best to keep the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office on the cutting edge of law enforcement.
But Bentley’s decision might not be as difficult as it appears. Having Chief Deputy Ron Abernathy waiting in the wings makes it a touch easier. We hope that the longtime chief deputy will have an opportunity to serve in the position he has already filled once on an interim basis.
Abernathy’s experience with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office actually predates Sexton’s by two years. Abernathy joined the department in 1988 as a detention officer. During the next 11 years, he worked his way up through the ranks, tending to just about every law enforcement job the Sheriff’s Office could dish out.
In 1993, Abernathy became a civil service deputy and worked in the custody, detention, patrol and criminal investigation divisions. In 1997, he was promoted to sergeant and became the commander of the midnight shift in the patrol division. That eventually led to assignments as head of the business office and head of the communication division.
He was promoted to lieutenant in 1999, the same year that Sexton made Abernathy chief deputy. The position requires him to oversee the day-to-day operations of the department, so it’s unlikely anyone has a better understanding of the department’s operations and personnel than Abernathy.
We are confident that he is the right choice when Bentley permanently selects a sheriff for Tuscaloosa County.
Online:
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com
