Alabama senators are seeking to rename Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge, a historic site in the voting rights movement that also bears the name of a Ku Klux Klan officer. Senators on Wednesday approved a resolution to rename it the "Journey to Freedom Bridge." The bridge became a symbol of the fight for voting rights after marchers were beaten by state Troopers in 1965. The Alabama House of Representatives has not voted on the idea.
Execution Drug Supply
A Senate committee has resurrected a bill to keep execution drug suppliers. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill after cancelling a meeting earlier in the day on Wednesday. Alabama Since 2002 has executed inmates by lethal injection. Republican Rep. Lynn Greer says the state has had trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs because suppliers fear backlash from death penalty opponents. The bill has a narrow window to win approval. It will be up for final passage next week.
Bama State Style
James Oliver, band director at Alabama State University says he's learned a lot from "Bama State Style." The reality show about ASU's Mighty Marching Hornets has been discontinued on the Lifetime Network. Oliver tells WVAS News the network taught him about the business of television. Network produces say they are exploring other options for the show.
King Statue
A move to erect a statue to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the capital city has been endorsed by the Montgomery City Council. Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church asked for a resolution from the council even though it wasn't necessary, just as a show of support. The church's pastor Rev. Cromwell Handy says Montgomery should have a statue of Dr. King. Creating the statue is estimated to cost about $250,000. Reverend Handy hopes to have it completed and placed in the church's Legacy Center in time for the 60th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in December of this year.