Category Archives: Health

Alabama Legislature passes reduction in sales tax on groceries; Fails to pass HB 209 to restrict Absentee Voting; and SB 324 for a Constitutional Amendment for electronic horse racing in Greene Co.

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The 2023 regular session of the Alabama State Legislature ended yesterday. Among the legislation that passed was a bill to begin to reduce
State sales tax on groceries.

The Legislature failed to pass HB 209 which would have severely restricted absentee voting in Alabama.; and SB 324 which provided for a referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to codify electronic historic horse racing machines in Greene County, while passed by the Alabama Senate died in the House Tourism Committee.

On June 1, the Senate passed a bill, on a vote of 31-0, that would reduce the current tax rate on food in Alabama over the next couple of years.
HB479, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, will cut the state tax on specific food items from four percent to three percent beginning on Sept. 1, 2023. On Sept. 1, 2024, the rate will fall to two percent only if the Education Trust Fund (ETF) obtains a three-and-one-half percent rate in growth than the previous fiscal year.
Only foods that qualify under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are eligible for the tax reduction.
The legislation comes after years and decades of attempts to revoke the grocery tax. Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, who carried the Senate version of the bill said converging issues have made this the best time to pass the legislation. Those issues include families trying to overcome rising costs due to inflation and a surplus in the budget.
Garrett added that the bill would align Alabama with most states’ policies regarding taxing food. Alabama is one of 13 states that still tax groceries in the country and one of three that offers no form of relief on that tax.
There is a provision in the legislation that will immediately cap local taxes on food at their current rate when the bill is signed into law. This means that any local governing body would not be able to raise the tax on food higher but could still lower it.
Alabama Arise supported  repealing grocery tax for years
Alabama Arise has consistently supported repealing the grocery tax for years. Robyn Hyden, executive director for Alabama Arise made a statement about how thrilled her organization was that the bill passed and how it will help all Alabamians.
“Reducing the state sales tax on groceries will provide meaningful help for Alabamians who struggle to make ends meet. Alabama Arise is thrilled that legislators listened to the people by voting unanimously for this essential policy change. And we urge Gov. Kay Ivey to sign HB479 into law quickly. Arise members from every corner of our state have advocated relentlessly for decades for Alabama to untax groceries. We cannot thank our members enough for their persistent efforts to make this bill’s passage a reality.
“This grocery tax reduction will benefit every Alabamian. And it is an important step toward righting the wrongs of our state’s upside-down tax system, which forces Alabamians with low and moderate incomes to pay a higher share of their incomes in state and local taxes than the wealthiest households.
“We appreciate Rep. Danny Garrett, Sen. Andrew Jones and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth for guiding HB 479 through the Legislature. We’re thankful for Rep. Penni McClammy and Sen. Merika Coleman for championing legislation on this issue this year. And we’re grateful for former Rep. John Knight, former Sen. Hank Sanders, Reps. Laura Hall and Mary Moore, and so many other legislators whose determined work over so many years laid the groundwork for this moment.
“It will be important to ensure grocery tax elimination doesn’t harm our children’s education in the long term. The state grocery tax brings in more than $600 million a year for the Education Trust Fund. That’s about 7% of this year’s total ETF budget, making it a significant funding source for public schools.
“Revenues are strong enough for now to reduce the grocery tax without causing severe harm to education funding. But history tells us that good economic times won’t last forever. In the coming months, lawmakers should identify and agree to a sustainable solution to end the rest of the state grocery tax.”
HB209 dies in Alabama Senate
HB209 a bill that passed the Alabama House of Representatives, which would have restricted the people, who could help voters to apply for and cast absentee ballots, to closely related family members, died in the Alabama Senate on the last day of the session.
HB209 was presented by Republican sponsors as a way to end what they call “absentee ballot harvesting” in Alabama. It would have limited people, other than close relatives, from helping the sick and homebound, college students and people who work out of town, from applying for and casting an absentee ballot.
Black voting organizations like Alabama New South Coalition, Black Voters Matter and others felt that HB209 was another step in Alabama’s unrelenting campaign to suppress and curtail the voting strength of Black and progressive forces.
Rev. Robert Turner of Bullock County and Chair of the ANSC Board of Directors said, “I am glad that HR209 did not pass in this session. We must remain vigilant. Those who want to stop Black people from voting will continue to bring up these bills, which are designed to suppress our votes and make it harder for the homebound and those in nursing homes to vote.”
SB324 for Greene County gaming, dies in Alabama House
SB324, a bill sponsored by Senator Bobby Singleton, proposing a Constitutional Amendment to codify the operation of electronic historic horse racing machines in Greene County, which passed the Alabama Senate, died in the House Tourism Committee.
The Constitutional Amendment, which details the days on which machines are allowed to operate, taxes to be charged and distribution of funds, was subject to a referendum by Greene County voters. Greenetrack is currently hosting electronic historical horse racing machines, under license with the Greene County Racing Commission, based on prior para-mutuel betting legislation that permitted dog racing and simulcasting of dog and horse racing, in Greene County.
Representative Curtis Travis said, “We tried to pass SB324 in the Alabama House, but I was advised by the leadership that no gambling legislation would be allowed to pass in this legislative session. There were too many other priorities and too many new legislators was the reasoning that I was given. We will try again in the next legislative session.”

Bingo facilities distribute $615,868 for month of April

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Wednesday, May 31, 2023, the Greene County Sheriff Department issued a listing of the bingo distributions for April, totaling $615,868.38 from four licensed bingo gaming facilities. The bingo facilities regularly distributing through the sheriff include Frontier, River’s Edge, Palace and Bama Bingo.
The recipients of the March distributions from bingo gaming include Greene County Sheriff’s Department, the cities of Eutaw, Forkland, Union, and Boligee, the Greene County Board of Education and the Greene County Hospital (Health System).
Sub charities include Children’s Policy Council, Guadalupan Multicultural Services, Greene County Golf Course, Housing Authority of Greene County (Branch Heights), Department of Human Resources, the Greene County Library, Eutaw Housing Authority, Historical Society, REACH, Inc., Headstart Community Service and This Belong To US.
Bama Bingo gave a total of $117,157.87 to the following: Greene County Sheriff’s Department, $48,070; City of Eutaw, $9,250; and the Towns of Forkland, Union and Boligee each, $3,875; Greene County Board of Education, $10,500, and the Greene County Health System, $12,500. Sub Charities, each received $1,034.22 including REACH, Inc. Community Service received $470.10 and This Belong to Us received $94.02.
Frontier (Dream, Inc.) gave a total of $114,995.01 to the following: Greene County Sheriff’s Department, $48,070; City of Eutaw, $9,250; and the Towns of Forkland, Union and Boligee each, $3,875; Greene County Board of Education, $10,500; Greene County Health System, $12,500. Sub Charities each received $870.53, including the Historical Society and REACH, Inc. Community Service received $395.69 and This Belong to Us received $79.14.
River’s Edge (Next Level Leaders and Tishabee Community Center Tutorial Program) gave a total of $117,157.06 to the following: Greene County Sheriff’s Department, $48,070; City of Eutaw, $9,250.; and the Towns of Forkland, Union and Boligee each, $3,875; Greene County Board of Education, $10,500; Greene County Health System, $12,500. Sub Charities each, $1,034.22, including the Historical Society and REACH, Inc. Community Service received $470.10 and This Belong to Us received $94.02.
Palace (TS Police Support League) gave a total of $266,558.44 to the following: Greene County Sheriff’s Department, $111,426.26; City of Eutaw, $21,441.50; and the Towns of Forkland, Union and Boligee each, $8,982.25; Greene County Board of Education, $24,339, and the Greene County Health System, $28,975. Sub Charities received $2,397.33, including the Historical Society and REACH, Inc. Community Service received $1,089.70 and This Belong to Us received $217.94.
The sheriff’s additional supplement for March from four bingo facilities totaled $81,303.76.

Newswires:UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid.

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By: Associated Press

Two U.N. agencies warned Monday of rising food emergencies including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war and in Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali due to restricted movements of people and goods.
The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen at the highest alert levels, with communities that are already facing or projected to face starvation or otherwise risk a slide “towards catastrophic conditions.”
The report by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. Beyond the nine countries rating the highest level of concern, the agencies said 22 countries are identified as “hotspots” risking acute food insecurity.
“Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option in today’s risk landscape if we want to achieve global food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind.” said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General.
He called for immediate action in the agricultural sector “to pull people back from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives and provide long-term solution to address the root causes of food insecurities.”
The report cited a possible spillover of the conflict in Sudan, deepening economic crises in poor nations and rising fears that the El Nino climatic phenomenon forecast for mid-2023 could provoke climate extremes in vulnerable countries.
The report warns that 1 million people are expected to flee Sudan, while an additional 2.5 million inside Sudan face acute hunger in the coming months as supply routes through Port Sudan are disrupted by safety issues.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned of “catastrophic” consequences unless there is clear action to “help people adapt to a changing climate and ultimately prevent famine.”
“Not only are more people in more places around the world going hungry, but the severity of the hunger they face is worse than ever,” McCain said.

 

Newswires: Two more died last week 54 Alabama inmates have died in state prisons this year.

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By: Patrick Darrington, Alabama Political Reporter
May 31, two incarcerated individuals in separate prison facilities in Alabama were found unresponsive in their cells and later determined to be deceased following unsuccessful life-saving measures.
The two individuals were Tarrance Demetri Guyton, 56, and Steven Ray Harris, 65. ADOC confirmed that Guyton was reported dead at the St. Clair Correctional Facility and Harris’ death was reported at the Staton Correctional Facility.
With their passing, at least 54 individuals have died in Alabama state prisons this year. The total is likely an undercount.
Both Guyton and Harris are suspected of dying from drug overdoses, sources inside said, but ADOC did not confirm that. Their causes of death will be confirmed following an autopsy and investigation by ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division.

With summer arriving, the conditions inside ADOC are anticipated to worsen. With a lack of air conditioning to combat the heat, tensions are expected to flare, leading to more violence.

Newswire : President Biden allocates $115 million to rebuild Jackson, Mississippi’s water system

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A Mississippi National Guard Soldier takes water to a person’s car at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Mississippi, Sept. 1, 2022. Nearly 600 Mississippi National Guardsmen were set up across seven sites through Jackson for people to collect bottled water and non-potable water from water buffalo trucks. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Connie Jones)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

President Joe Biden has announced the allocation of $115 million to support critical investments in reconstructing Jackson’s water infrastructure. The federal funds are part of the $600 million appropriations package Congress approved last year.
The city of Jackson, with a population of nearly 150,000 residents and a majority-Black demographic, has been grappling with a severe water crisis caused by years of neglecting its infrastructure and exacerbated by significant flooding last summer.
The collapse of the water system in August 2022 left residents without clean and safe drinking water for several days. Since then, ongoing water disruptions have plagued the city, necessitating emergency assistance and technical support from the federal government.
In the latest development, a federal court ruling favored the U.S. Department of Justice, paving the way for installing an independent third-party manager as part of an agreement between the city and the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The Biden administration said the collaborative effort aims to address the long-standing water issues in one of the nation’s poorest cities. President Biden emphasized the significance of ensuring that all Americans have access to clean and safe drinking water while acknowledging the suffering that the people of Jackson have experienced.
He commended the progress in repairing the city’s water system but emphasized the need for further action.
Under his “Investing in America agenda,” the administration said it’s already channeling unprecedented resources to communities across the nation, focusing on replacing lead pipes, enhancing water quality, and fortifying the country’s drinking water infrastructure to withstand the impacts of the climate crisis.
Biden stressed the significance of this endeavor, stating, “Until all our children can safely drink water from the tap, our fight for clean water must, and will, continue.”
By awarding $115 million to Jackson, the President said he desires to provide the necessary resources and support to tackle the deep-rooted water crisis that has plagued the city for decades.
The Jackson water crisis resulted from systemic issues that have persisted for many years. The system nearly broke last summer when significant flooding made the city’s already vulnerable water infrastructure even more susceptible due to aging pipes and infrastructure neglect.
The initial failure in August 2022 left residents without access to clean and safe drinking water, creating a state of emergency that required immediate intervention.
Jackson’s status as one of the poorest cities in the United States has compounded the difficulties faced by its residents, as they have had to bear the consequences of aging infrastructure.

With President Biden’s allocation of $115 million, officials said Jackson could rebuild its water infrastructure and ensure its residents have access to clean and safe drinking water. “While we have made a lot of progress, there is much more work to do to ensure that all Americans have access to clean water,” Biden said.
“Thanks to my Investing in America agenda, we’re already deploying record resources to communities all across America to replace lead pipes, improve water quality, and rebuild the nation’s drinking water infrastructure, ensuring it can withstand the impacts of the climate crisis,” the President stated. “Until all our children can safely drink water from the tap, our fight for clean water must, and will, continue.”

Book signing held for George Hall’s biography ‘Tenacious’

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U.S. Air Force Major, Aretha Dix and Hall’s daughter Verita adorn him with various commemorative medals. and Eutaw Mayor, Latasha Johnson presents George Hall with Key to the City.

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 29th a book signing and celebration of the life and work of George Washington Hall, former Sheriff of Greene County was held at Zion Brush Creek Missionary Baptist Church, near Eutaw, Alabama.

Hall is the author of a biography, entitled ‘Tenacious’ about his life as a native of Greene County, forty-year military career, two terms as Sheriff of Greene County, a farmer and syrup maker, as well as one of six farmers who were named plaintiffs in the historic Pigford vs. Glickman, Black farmers class action lawsuit.

Hall was assisted in writing and publishing his book by The Fifty Fund, a group of professional volunteers, based in Auburn, Alabama, with members around the nation. Members of The Fifty Fund were actively involved in the program honoring Hall and the publication of his biography.

The program included a prayer and welcoming remarks by Pastor Samuel Ezell of the Zion Brush Creek MBC. Ezell also recognized George Hall’s service as a deacon of the church over many years. Mayor Latasha Johnson awarded Hall the key to the City of Eutaw and praised his lifelong contributions to his home county.

Tributes were also offered by Robert Raymond, a lifelong friend of Halls and Mary McInnis, who served in the USDA Farmers Home and Farm Service offices and helped George Hall with documentation for his Black farmer discrimination claim. McInnis also mentioned that after the lawsuit, Hall was elected to the FSA County Committee and became its Chairperson, the first Black farmer in the state, to do so.

Roger Thurow, a former Wall Street Journal writer and author of the book’s forward, recalled meeting George Hall, when he was at early court hearings in the Black farmer case. Thurow recounted, “It took farmers who were willing to stand up to racism and discrimination by the U. S. government to win this lawsuit. George Hall had an abiding faith in truth and justice, which helped him win this award of $1.2 billion for Black farmers around the nation.”

Thurow and the book do not mention the role of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and attorneys like Chestnut, Sanders and Sanders of Selma, who were instrumental in helping farmers like George Hall pursue their claims against USDA in Federal courts.

Retired Major, U. S. Air Force, Aretha Dix, was present to award several medals to Master Sergeant George Hall for his forty years of service, from 1968 to 2008, in the active service, National Guard and Reserves. Among the medals, Dix awarded and pinned on Hall were U. S. Veterans Service Medal, Vietnam, 50th Anniversary Medal and the Armed Forces Retirement Medal.

Earlier in the day, the Greene County Commission recognized George Hall by naming County Road 133, on which he lives on as “George Hall Road” in his honor.

At the end of the program, guests were invited to purchase copies of Hall’s book, ‘Tenacious’ and partake in refreshments in the church fellowship area. Hall signed books for those who purchased one for $20.00 each.

More books are available by contacting: George Hall at 1570 County Road 133, Boligee ,AL. phone: 205/372-9458.

$2.2 billion in assistance for farmers who experienced discrimination in USDA Farm Loan Programs will soon be available

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Special to the Democrat by John Zippert, Co-Publisher

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Biden, in August 2022, provides in Section 22007, an authorization of $2.2 Billion to compensate farmers who “experienced discrimination in USDA Farm Loan Programs, prior to January 1, 2021”.

USDA is working now to develop the regulations and the claims process for farmers who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs to receive these funds. USDA has designated a national administrator for the process -the Midtown Group; and two subsidiary groups, Windsor Group for the counties east of the Mississippi river and Analytic Acquisitions for the western half of the nation.

The Section 22007 process is for farmers who experienced discrimination in the USDA farm loan programs, this includes racial and ethnic discrimination against Black farmers, Latino, indigenous, Asian-Pacific islanders, gender discrimination against women and LBGQT persons, religious discrimination and other forms of discrimination, which farmers may wish to assert in their claims.

Dania Davy, an attorney who heads the Federation of Southern Cooperative’s Land Retention Program said, “There is a lot of misinformation already about the Section 22007 program. This is not a new
class action lawsuit. This is not the re-opening of any prior lawsuit or settlement process. This is a new process for people who were discriminated against in USDA Farm Loan Programs. We are awaiting the regulations and the claim form, which USDA plans to release next month in June. They hope to complete this process in the next six months by the end of 2023.”

Davy further commented that, “USDA is saying you will not need a lawyer to fill out the claim form. You will not have to pay a fee for getting assistance in filling out these claim forms. The Federation and other community-based organizations with agricultural experience and knowledge of USDA programs, will be contracted to provide technical assistance in the filing of claim forms for Section 22007 funds. If you choose to employ your own attorney to file your claim, you will need to pay for these services out of your award.”

The maximum claim can be up to $500,000 but the average claim will be much less and closer to the $50,000 basic claim assistance offered in the
prior discrimination settlements.

Farmers who experienced recent discrimination in USDA programs, may contact the Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR), Information Research Service, at (866) 632-9992 (toll free) or send an email to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at CR-INFO@usda.gov.

USDA has set up a website for information on the Section 22007 process, which is: http://www.farmers.gov/22007, that will have up to date information on the process going forward, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

The Federation, Rural Coalition, Intertribal Agriculture Council and many other community-based organizations who work with BIPOC farmers are awaiting the release of the regulations and claim form for the 22007 discrimination process. Once this critical information is released then these groups plan to implement strategies to assist farmers with their claims.

The Federation can be reach through their website at; http://www.federation.coop or by phone at 404/765-0991 at the Atlanta administrative office or 205/652-9676 at the Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama.

Newswire: Dangerous growth of violent groups confronts new Nigerian President

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Muslim rebels in Nigeria


May 30, 3023 (GIN) – Bolu Ahmed Tinubu, who eked out a controversial win in the nation’s recent elections, now faces a near insurmountable challenge – to quell the violence gripping the country, wielded by various groups of assorted loyalties.
 
“The degree of insecurity in Nigeria is unprecedented,” wrote Charles Kwuelum and Iyabo Obasanjo in Foreign Policy magazine.  “It’s not just former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell, who are arguing that Nigeria is a failed state. Nigerian public and government officials regularly say as much themselves.”
 
Tinubu takes over from Muhammadu Buhari, who claims to be leaving the country in a better state that when he took power in 2015. 
 
“Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results,” the 80 year old Buhari said in a televised address.
 
But contrary to Buhari’s remarks, the 71-year-old Tinubu inherits a tide of violence, from the northeast to the southeast.  “At least sixty-three thousand Nigerians have been killed in various acts of state and nonstate extrajudicial violence, with attacks by Islamist insurgents, assorted armed bandits, and kidnappers claiming the most lives,” wrote Ebenezer Obadare in a recent blogpost.
 
“Numbers aside, a real sense of lawlessness pervades, with a growing recourse to vigilante justice signaling popular frustration at law enforcement and the judicial system.”
 
“The country’s kidnap-for-ransom industry has surged: between January and March this year alone, 1,484 people were abducted. In some cases, security agencies have been accused of complicity with criminal groups,” added Obadare.
 
“Attacks by herdsmen on farming settlements seem driven by land degradation or desertification, compounded by intensified drought due to climate change. Herdsmen reportedly killed 2,539 people in as many as 654 attacks. As much as 60 percent of land in Nigeria is under pressure of desertification.
 
“As soon as he takes office, the new president will face significant security problems,” notes Emeka Okoro, security analyst for the analysis group SBM Intelligence, and he will have to tackle three major fronts.
 
The most urgent and priority is that of central and northwestern Nigeria, said Okoro. In these agricultural and poor regions, the fierce competition for land frequently degenerates into deadly clashes between farmers and herders, where the absence of justice and protection from power has contributed to the birth of armed gangs, responsible for mass killings and kidnapping for ransom.
 
“The bandits invade a community, kill the inhabitants, and destroy their property, with little or no resistance from the security forces “, charged Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, Sultan of Sokoto, one of the most heavily attacked regions.
 
For researcher Idayat Hassan, director of the Center for Democracy and Development , the new administration will have to move away from “the enemy-centric, weapon-centric approach”, which prevailed under President Buhari, to “adopt a non-military approach”, tackling the underlying problems, such as “unemployment, poverty, the fight against marginalization” and “reform justice.” 
 
Matthew Hassan Kukah, the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria, said that “we stare at an imponderable tragedy as the nation unravels from all sides.” And former President Olusegun Obasanjo remarked: “A situation where you are not safe on the road, you are not safe on the train, you are not safe at the airport, shows a very serious situation.”

Newswire : Tina Turner, trailblazing ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ who dazzled audiences worldwide, dies at 83

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Tina Turner performing on stage

By Daniel Arkin, NBC News

Tina Turner, the exuberant, heel-stomping, wild-haired rock goddess who sold out stadiums, earned a dozen Grammy Awards and won the adoration of fans around the world in an electrifying music career spanning five decades, died Wednesday at her home near Zurich after a long illness, according to her publicist.
She was 83.
“With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” Turner’s publicist, Bernard Doherty, said in a statement. Doherty added that there will be a private funeral ceremony for close friends and family members. He did not specify a cause of death.
The arc of Turner’s high-flying but tumultuous life was music industry legend — as well as the basis for a hit 1986 autobiography (“I, Tina”), a Hollywood biopic (“What’s Love Got to Do With It”) and a Broadway jukebox show (“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”).
She ascended from rural roots to the heights of national stardom, blasting into public consciousness as one half of the sensational rhythm-and-blues duo Ike & Tina Turner and later establishing herself as one of the most popular Black female solo artists in the world.
She was the first woman and the first Black artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone — in just its second issue — and her massively successful solo career broke barriers for future generations of Black women in music.
But along the way, Turner experienced personal upheavals and private traumas. She alleged that Ike Turner, her ex-husband and artistic collaborator, subjected her to years of horrific physical abuse and tried to take control of virtually all aspects of her life.
“It was my relationship with Ike that made me most unhappy. At first, I had really been in love with him. Look what he’d done for me. But he was totally unpredictable,” Turner wrote in “I, Tina,” a memoir co-authored by music critic and MTV News correspondent Kurt Loder.
In the late 1970s, Turner managed to extricate herself from her husband and set out on her own. In the ’80s, Turner pulled off one of the most triumphant comebacks in modern rock music, reinventing herself as a gleefully liberated hit-maker who topped the Billboard charts.
Turner, a supremely talented vocalist who belted out songs with abandon, recorded one chart-topping song after another in the ’80s, but one track in particular made her a superstar: “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” a show-stopping anthem off the 1984 album “Private Dancer.”
Turner’s other big hits from the era included “Better Be Good to Me,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome),” “Typical Male,” “The Best” and “I Don’t Wanna Fight.” 
In the decades that followed, she toured around the world, racked up awards, occasionally acted in films and remained one of the signature musical personalities of the late 20th century. She decided to retire in 2009 after having wrapped up her 50th anniversary tour.
“I’ve done enough,” Turner announced to a crowd of 75,000 people at Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich that year. “I’ve been performing for 44 years. I really should hang up my dancing shoes.”
Turner earned eight competitive Grammy Awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame prizes and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement trophy. She was a two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — first with Ike Turner (1991), then as a solo artist (2021). 

State Senator Bobby Singleton submits Constitutional Amendment for historic horse racing on computerized machines in Greene Co.

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State Senator Bobby Singleton submitted a bill, SB 324, to the Alabama Senate’s Local Legislation Committee for a Constitutional Amendment to legally allow for pari-mutuel wagering on historic horse racing on computerized machines in Greene County.

The bill also provides for levying a tax on pari-mutuel betting on the computerized historic horse racing machines of up to 4% for local distribution and 1% to the State of Alabama. The amendment includes the licensure and operation of a racetrack, and the distribution of fees, taxes and other funds collected, by the Greene County Racing Commission.

If this legislation passes during this legislative session and is signed by the Governor, it will then be subject to a referendum by the voters of Greene County at the primary election in 2024 or at a special election if one is held before 2024.

This Constitutional Amendment closely parallels one that created a racing commission and greyhound dog racing in Greene County in the 1980’s. When live dog racing ended, simulcasting of dog and horse racing continued at Greenetrack, under the pari-mutuel wagering rules, supervised by the Greene County Racing Commission, appointed by the Greene County legislative delegation.

The voters of Greene County then authorized the playing of electronic bingo, under the licensing and supervision of the Greene County Sheriff, in Constitutional Amendment 743. The Sheriff licensed a number of bingo charities and bingo operators, four of which remain. They are: Bama Bingo, Frontier, Palace and River’s Edge.

Greenetrack, which pioneered the development of electronic bingo in Greene County, was forced to give up its bingo machines earlier this year, when the Alabama State Department of Revenue assessed the company with a $76 million dollar sales tax bill. Greenetrack contested the sales tax assessment as illegal and unfair. The state tax was based on all funds wagered on bingo machines rather than the resulting profits generated for the operator and charities.

Electronic bingo in Greene County is under threat from a lawsuit by State Attorney General Steve Marshall, which is working its way through the courts. This case will eventually wind up in the Alabama Supreme Court, which in other cases defines bingo as a game played on paper cards and regards the electronic bingo machines as illegal slot machines. At a recent hearing, retired Circuit Judge Arthur Haynes, set a trial date in the Greene County case for October 2023. The future of bingo in the county is unclear and unsure.

Greene Entertainment Company, headed by Luther Winn, the prior main stockholder in Greenetrack, secured a license, earlier this year, from the Greene County Racing Commission, to operate pari-mutuel historic racing machines at the former Greenetrack facility.

The proposed Constitutional Amendment, submitted by Senator Singleton and Representative Travis would allow the voters of Greene County to set the framework for computerized historic horse racing in the county and the distribution formula for any revenues derived from these pari-mutuel wagering opportunities. The voters of Greene County will have a say in the matter, when they vote to approve or disapprove the proposed amendment at a future election.

The Democrat, received a statement from J. W. McFarland Jr. of the TS Police Support League, the charity connected with the Palace Bingo operation, objecting to Senator Singleton’s filing of SB324. McFarland argues that Greene Entertainment is trying to set up a monopoly control of electronic historical horse racing in Greene County. He also argues that Greene Entertainment was set up by Greenetrack to avoid paying the state sales tax debt and that the Greene County Racing Commission should not be working with a corporation that will not pay taxes owed to the state of Alabama.

The distribution formula for revenues generated by computerized horse racing in Greene County is spelled out in detail. Most of the public agencies like the County government, School Board, Hospital, Ambulance Service would share in the funding. Other smaller non-profits and groups getting assistance from electronic bingo are also included in the bill for some portion of the funds to be distributed.

The current Greene County Racing Commission, consisting of Linette Brown, Donald Means and Morris Hardy are in strong support of the legislation and urge Greene County citizens to contact their legislators and others in Montgomery to pass this proposed Constitutional Amendment.

Efforts at press time to reach Senator Singleton and Representative Curtis Travis to get an assessment of the status and chances for passage of the legislation were unsuccessful.