Opinion?

STEVE FLOWERS Columnist

implement the K-5 math instruction bill.

The budget includes a four percent raise for teachers and lump-sum bonuses for retirees. There is also about a $33 million bonus to increase teacher longevity. Other states have been giving similar salary adjustments. One of the budget allotments that has gotten the most accolades is the increase from $700 to $900 per classroom in supply money.

The story that has been building the past several years is the resurgence of the AEA as a power player on Goat Hill. The fruits of their labor emerged immensely during the regular session. It is apparent that AEA was instrumental in crafting the Education Budget with the four percent pay increase for teachers and the money that is going into the classroom. You would have thought that Dr. Paul Hubbert was still sitting in the gallery directing legislators votes with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. They have built AEA into a power to be reckoned with at the Statehouse.

The new leadership of Marlowe/ McLain have reorganized by acknowledging that Alabama. and especially the Alabama Legislature. is very Republican. They understand the rule that “money is the mother’s milk of politics,” and “you win more bees with honey.”

The AEA has generously donated to House Republicans like nobody’s business and no other Special Interest entity. It is no longer taboo or heresy for a Republican legislator or State Senator to accept teacher union money. They have made $10,000 to $15,000 contributions to House members on both sides of the aisle. In reviewing campaign disclosure statements, AEA is the only entity writing checks that large. Checks to senator’s coffers are $25,000 or more.

AEA lobbyists, especially Ashley McLain, have earned the friendship and respect of the Republican House members and Senators. She and her team have gone out to their districts all over the state and gotten to know them and their families. They have connected the legislator with key educators in their hometowns who are respected centers of influence and can orchestrate a field or army of teachers to work the districts for their legislative friends. This footwork and shoe leather coupled with large campaign checks hits home with legislators of both parties.

The telling blow that resonated and echoed off the walls of the Statehouse was the defeat of the so-called School Choice Bill. Senator Del Marsh made it his final mission to place state education dollars into private, parochial and charter schools. His school choice was given a stinging defeat by none other than the AEA. Folks, make no doubt about it, the AEA is back in Alabama politics.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.

She gave the people a constant during a period of dramatic social, political, and cultural change. Her royal countenance is on more currency than anyone else in the world. She presided over an empire that was changing fast, yet she managed to remain popular, maintain her dignity, and keep the monarchy relevant for 70 years.

Nine out of ten people on Earth weren’t even alive when she became the Queen. She reigned while fourteen different men served as President of the United States – from Harry Truman to Joe Biden -- and she met them all, save for Lyndon Johnson. She was even working right up to her last day on the job earlier this month.

The second Elizabethan era is over.

Last week, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II officially became the most-watched television event in history.

It surpassed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics opening ceremonies, until now the biggest assembled audience of all time at 3.6 billion viewers. The funeral also blew past the finale of “M*A*S*H” and all those Super Bowl games.

MICHAEL BIRD Columnist

Five billion people – 63 percent of the population of the entire world – was watching the same television program at the same time.

The most watched event in the history of our planet observed centuries-old traditions playing out in real time, accompanied by a marathon of choral music and Christian liturgy. And they watched with reverence and respect.

The twelve days of mourning concluded last Monday as the Queen made her way to her final resting place at Windsor Castle’s Royal Vault in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

But in those twelve days, thousands waited in lines for upwards of 30 hours to pay their respects. British newspapers estimated that over 250,000 people stood in the streets waiting for their opportunity to say goodbye.

Her son, heretofore known for 73 years as Prince Charles, became

King Charles III upon the death of his mother.

Along with a powerful rendition of “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” that concluded with antiphonal brass, the funeral held all the expected pomp and pageantry. The national song of mourning, “Nimrod,” from Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, was performed beautifully. There was a nonstop parade of processionals, responsorials, recessionals, and traditional music the likes of which are rarely heard on any type of programming.

During the darkest days of World War II, singing star Vera Lynn had a massive hit in England with her song “We’ll Meet Again.” During the Covid lockdowns of 2020, Queen Elizabeth quoted this song as she concluded her message to her subjects: “we will meet again,” she said.

At her funeral, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, concluded his sermon with those words.

As this incredible television programming was passing by, all I could think of was how rare the whole event was – a long-lasting queen, yes, but the entire world stopping to watch a church service.

Pets

Continued from A1 children and will provide an opportunity for connection with all in the community.”

The actual feast day of St. Francis is Oct. 4, but special services are now common worldwide on a Sunday near that date.

Numerous services, large and small, are held throughout the United States and internationally, one being at Washington National Cathedral. The largest service held in the U.S. is on the campus of Duke University. The Blessing of the Animals brings together people, their pets, working animals and their handlers, guardians and their charges, reveling in the diversity, harmony, and joy of God’s creation.

St. Francis provided the foundation for this event through his

Gas

Continued from A1 remarkable life which began in the 12th century. He was born to a wealthy family but chose a path of poverty and selflessness and became one of the boldest religious figures in history.

“He is most frequently portrayed as a quiet bird watcher, but he was much more,” Perry said. “He was also a great preacher who was outspoken in his concern for poverty and ecology. He was steadfast in his generosity to the poor, his willingness to minister to lepers, and his love for animals and nature. His activism for the environment and ecology are striking modern qualities. St. Francis is now remembered as the patron saint for animals and the environment.”

Perry asked those attending the Blessing of the Pets to consider bringing canned or bagged pet food to be donated to the Humane Society of Elmore County Shelter dy price reports, the cheapest station in Alabama was priced at $2.82 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $3.89 per gallon, a difference of $1.07/g.

The national average price of gasoline has risen 3.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.67 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 17.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 49.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

“One of the longest gas price declines on record has finally come to an end after 14 weeks, with gas prices shooting up in several regions amidst myriad refinery issues from the West Coast to the Great Lakes and in between,” Haan said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career. A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West Coast, Great Lakes and Plains states - and some of those areas could see prices spike another 25-75 cents per gallon or more until issues are worked out.”

Historical gasoline prices in Alabama and the national average going back ten years: September 26, 2021: $2.85/g (U.S. Average: $3.17/g) September 26, 2020: $1.89/g (U.S. Average: $2.19/g) September 26, 2019: $2.32/g (U.S. Average: $2.65/g) September 26, 2018: $2.54/g (U.S. Average: $2.87/g) September 26, 2017: $2.44/g (U.S. Average: $2.56/g) September 26, 2016: $2.07/g (U.S. Average: $2.20/g) September 26, 2015: $1.97/g (U.S. Average: $2.28/g) September 26, 2014: $3.12/g (U.S. Average: $3.34/g) September 26, 2013: $3.20/g (U.S. Average: $3.42/g) September 26, 2012: $3.57/g (U.S. Average: $3.80/g)

GasBuddy is a voice for gas prices and a source for station-level data. GasBuddy’s survey updates 288 times every day from a diverse list of sources covering nearly 150,000 stations nationwide.