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New rules for entertainment districts? After the Oct. 4 shooting in downtown Montgomery, Gov. Kay Ivey asked Alabama ABC Board Administrator Curtis Stewart for ideas on safety improvements to entertainment districts, which are areas in cities where local ordinances allow open containers of alcohol to varying degrees of regulation. AL.com’s Mike Cason reports that Stewart has responded to that request with possible changes to administrative rules that wouldn’t require passing legislation. The ideas to consider were: Prohibiting package stores in an entertainment district from selling products such as cups and ice that facilitate drinking in public. Limiting the amount of alcohol that special retail licensees can sell for off-premises consumption. Ivey said she supports those ABC rules. They are being proposed to the entire ABC Board. Stewart also suggested that lawmakers look into: Imposing a curfew for minors in entertainment districts. Restricting giveaways of alcohol at large public events in entertainment districts by public entities. Allowing the state to suspend or terminate an entertainment district if public safety standards are not met. Keep or drop PBS? Alabama Public Television is considering parting ways with PBS, reports AL.com’s Alaina Bookman. Remember that over the summer, the Trump Administration cut more than a billion dollars of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This week, APT board members and commissioners weighed whether they want to continue partnering with the network of Big Bird, Nova and News Hour. The issues here are financial and political. Some believe that continuing to partnership with PBS might create friction with conservative lawmakers who can affect funding for APT. On the other hand, cutting ties would leave a lot of air time to replace, some of it iconic across the U.S. Said APT Board Member Johnny Curry: “If you sever it, you’ve got to come up with 90% of your programming to replace, and that includes all of the educational programming the children watch during the day, which is the main mission of this institution.” Trump ’28 talk President Trump told reporters Wednesday that the Constitution is clear that he’s not allowed to run for a third term. The theoretical scenario became an issue this week after former Trump advisor Steve Bannon said emphatically that Trump will run again and that there is a plan in place. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson agreed with Trump’s assessment, telling reporters that he sees no path that Trump can take to the ’28 election. From the 22nd Amendment, Section 1: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice ...” Before Trump’s comments, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville indicated he thought Trump might try find a way. AL.com’s Heather Gann reports that The Daily Caller posted a video of Tuberville taking a reporter’s question on whether a third Trump term would be Constitutional. Said Tuberville: “If you read the Constitution, it says it’s not. But he says he has some different circumstances that might be able to go around the Constitution. But that’s up to him.” Tuberville, of course, has been the target of criticism over his own legal ability to run for governor next year. The questions centered on if and when the presumptive GOP frontrunner became an Alabama resident despite his home in Florida. Foxes vs. birds A judge is expected to hear arguments Thursday on whether some red foxes on Dauphin Island ought to be spared the indignity of being trapped and possibly euthanized, reports AL.com’s Margaret Kates. This was a brouhaha on social media, as many are, but this one made it into the courts. Last month, the town of Dauphin Island authorized a contract to have red foxes and some other predators removed from the west end of the island to help protect endangered migratory birds and sea turtles that use the salty piece of land and lay their eggs there. That even includes Roxy the Red Fox, who’s become a bit of a social-media star. Some residents and visitors are not pleased by the plan. Resident Duane Wood and photographer Spence Harrison filed a lawsuit against the town, the mayor and the town council. They argue that removing the animals will upset the ecological balance of the island. The town’s lawyers say the town has acted lawfully and responsibly using science-based wildlife management and that the town does not intend to eradicate the entire fox population of the island. State Department of Conservation science coordinator Amy Hunter said some of the foxes are considered a nuisance predator that no longer have their fear of humans because they’ve been fed for years. Local and state conservation officials say the overpopulated fox are a threat to birds and turtles. The west end of Dauphin Island is known for its town-owned bird habitat. Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Michael Youngpeter has temporarily stopped the trapping through tomorrow’s hearing. Quoting “While I was mayor, the city council came up with ‘Born to Celebrate,’ and I love to say that.” Short-timer Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, after his last city meeting, on Mobile’s newly adopted official slogan. By the Numbers 33 That’s how many locations chicken-finger hotspot Guthrie’s has in Alabama after an opening in Muscle Shoals. Born on This Date In 1948, actress Kate Jackson of Mountain Brook. The podcast
