West Alabama Wednesday Briefing
Good Wednesday morning West Alabama!! It is September 18, 2024.
Did you see the partial lunar eclipse during a Supermoon last night? It is a rarity, and it occurred during a beautiful moonlit night The shadow of the earth moved across part of the bright moon's surface starting just before 10:00 last night.
Of course, it is called a "Supermoon" because it is bigger and brighter due to the moon being closer to earth in its orbit.
The next opportunity for such a combination will not be until 2033. But the next Supermoon is not all that far off. It will be the night of October 17th, right about 6:30am.
We will not have to wait long for a lunar eclipse, the next one will be a total lunar eclipse, visible in the southeastern United States on March 14, 2025. The entire country will be able to see it based on sky conditions at the time.
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If you remember, I cautioned yesterday that tropical weather can form at any time in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Gulf of Mexico and Carribean. Seems like my warning is coming true.
According to the National Weather Service, "A broad area of low pressure could form late this weekend or early next week over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Thereafter, some slow development of this system is possible through the middle of next week while it moves slowly to the north or northwest."
There is no indication of a track for now, but this will warrant close observance over the next week.
The Forecast:
Topping the News:
The Tuscaloosa City Council's Projects Committee has sent a proposal for $10 million to help expand the Tuscaloosa Tennis Center to the full council for final action.
Occupancy levels for bars downtown and on "The Strip" have been a bone of contention between owners and the city for some time. Last night one of them got help from the city.
In May the Tuscaloosa City Council approved an expansion for Rhythm & Brews downtown into a neighbor building. It came without an occupancy increase. At last night’s meeting the bar/tavern sought an occupancy hike from 240 to 413 customers.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley told the council, TPD did not have a problem with it, saying they have met with owners and management and emphasized the new number should not be exceeded.
Rhythm & Brews has one of the largest operating spaces in the downtown area.
Lock your car doors! That is the advice being given by Tuscaloosa PD after a recent string of thefts from cars. They report 80% of the vehicles broken into were unlocked cars.
Another concern is that many of the guns stolen local are taken from cars where the weapons were left in plain sight in an unlocked vehicle.
TPD advises that thieves will seek the least resistance when stealing from cars and leaving the doors unlocked are helping them out.
A Pickens County Sheriff's Office Deputy rescued his K-9 partner Zuna over the weekend from a burning car Saturday. The incident happened during a traffic stop when the deputy noticed smoke coming from his sheriff's vehicle.
44-year-old Wanda Ranay Reuter was last seen outside the Alcoholics Anonymous Building on Warner Parkway is missing.
TPD tells us that her description is a 5'7" female weighing about 130 pounds with red hair and hazel eyes.
Read More: Tuscaloosa Police Working To Find Missing Woman
Plans are already underway for celebrating the Christmas Holiday Season in Tuscaloosa with the Tinsel Trail. The Tinsel Trail is free and open to the public at Government Plaza each year and will kick off on Monday, November 25, through January 1.
There will be more than 200 uniquely decorated Christmas trees and other entertainment again this year.
Read More: Unwrap the Magic: Celebrate the Season at the 2024 Tuscaloosa Tinsel Trail
Eutaw Mayor LaTasha Johnson has confirmed that the entire Eutaw City Council and herself are under investigation by the Alabama Ethics Commission for potential violations of the Alabama Ethics Rules.
The council is comprised of Valerie Watkins (District 1), LaJeffrey Carpenter (District 2), Tracey Hunter (District 3), Larrie Coleman (District 4), and Jacqueline Stewart (District 5).
The investigation centers around a $600.00 per diem travel payment.
Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has told Newsmax that the Secret Service needs help protecting GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. he is suggesting that navy Seals be assigned to Trump and his family. He claims the USSS needs the assistance.
The first term Gop Senator also told the news network he is glad that Florida is investigating the alleged assassination attempt this past weekend because he doesn’t trust U-S Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Topping Sports News:
The ESPN College Football Power Index considers Alabama's tough 2024 schedule highly. They rank only behind Texas and Ohio State in strength of schedule.
Read More: ESPN Power Index Predicts Alabama's Remaining Schedule
Georgia Bulldogs' star offensive guard Tate Ratledge will be sidelined for four to six weeks due to a knee and ankle injury sustained in the team's 13-12 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. That means he will miss the Alabama game at Bryant-Denny a week from Saturday.
Ian Rapoport is reporting that former Tide and now Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa will not retire from the NFL, and instead, will meet with a concussion specialist to ensure he returns on the correct timeline.
Tue suffered his third concussion during this past weekend's game.
Read More: Tua Tagovailoa Heading to IR
The University of Tennessee is passing along the cost of playing Vol players to ticket holders. It is being call a 10% "talent Fee". Some UT fans are not happy while others see as the price of winning.
Voltopia posted on the VolNation thread, "When Danny White says "revenue," he means us. He means our money. A never-ending escalation of expenses and fees. Every interaction an opportunity to charge. A truly corporate and professional sports mindset."
McDad responded from the other view, "The best always costs more. We have a Ferrari on the field. Can't have that on a Fiat budget."
Critics say it is the beginning of pricing the average fan out of being able to afford to attend college football games.
Click on TuscaloosaThread.com throughout the day for all the West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.
Have a happy "Hump Day". Its downhill to the weekend from here.