West Alabama Monday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama! It is Monday, March 10, 2025. This is the 69th day of the year with 296 remaining.

Monday Morning Observations:

The University of Alabama men's and women's basketball teams are not the only local collegiate teams having stellar seasons. Both Stillman College teams are having spectacular years and are off to play for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities National Championships.

The Tiger's women's team earned the No. 11 seed in the Liston Quadrant and will play No. 6 seed University of Rio Grande (Ohio) in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The first-round game will be at 3:00pm on March 14. Stillman (25-5) dominated HBCUAC play with a 17-1 record, only losing to Wiley University, which finished runner-up in the HBCUAC 2025 Hope Credit Union Basketball Championship in Tuscaloosa. The 25-5 overall record is the most wins in program history. The HBCU Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions are in the NAIA Tournament for the first time since 2018, where Stillman took a 75-52 loss to Concordia (Neb.) on March 7 in the NAIA Round of 32.

The Tiger's men's team earned the No. 16 seed in the Liston Quadrant and will face No. 1 seed Louisiana State University at Alexandria. Stillman plays at 7:30 p.m. on March 14. The Tigers (18-11) went 10-4 in the second half of the season. Calvin Finch Jr., from York in Sumter County, is the leader for Stillman, winning multiple HBCUAC Weekly Honors. Stillman makes its sixth appearance in the NAIA Tournament and first since 2022. The team started the season 0-4 before putting together a seven-game winning streak on the way to claiming a share of the HBCUAC Regular Season championship.

Congratulations to both teams on such fine seasons. Tuscaloosa/Northport and all of West Alabama is proud of you. Go Tigers!!!

(Opinions expressed in Morning Observations are those of the author and not necessarily that of the ownership, management, staff or sponsors of Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.)

Weather:

We begin the week looking ahead to what might happen at the end of the week. The Storm Predictions Center has placed all of West Alabama under an Enhanced (3 in 5) Risk for severe weather Saturday, into early Sunday morning. Threats include tornadoes, damaging straight-line winds, and hail up to tennis ball size.

Specifics are still uncertain, but confidence is increasing that this will be a strong storm system. Stay tuned to Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa's "Operation Storm Watch" and download the Tuscaloosa Thread app to keep up with later updates.

The Forecast:

Today

A 40 percent chance of showers before 10am. Cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 68. North wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 41. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 46. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 75. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 54.

Remainder of the Week

Showers and thunderstorms are possible Thursday before becoming partly cloudy overnight. A mostly cloudy Friday is expected to give way to showers Friday night. Highs will be mid 70s to lower 80s. Lows in the upper 5os to lower 60s.

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Topping the News:

Spring Break Week Begins Today

It is spring break week at the University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa City and County School Systems. That means many college students and families will head to the beach this week. However, authorities along the Alabama Gulf Coast and Florida panhandle warn past spring break wildness will not be tolerated

Both Orange Beach and Gulf Shores are stepping up security. At Gulf Shore there will be additional cameras for surveillance, increased police manpower and patrols and no tolerance for large gatherings of vehicles in parking lots. An alcohol ban on Gulf Shores beaches went into effect today.

Commemorating a Landmark Event in Alabama and Nationwide

Yesterday marked the 60^th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the 1965 voting rights march that was met in Selma by club wielding state troopers and Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputies on horseback. It was the event that sparked the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in Congress.

West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell told the crowd there is a need to learn from what the “Civil Rights Foot Soldiers” accomplished.

Thousands marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, retracing the steps of the foot soldiers from six decades ago.

Another Fatal Shooting in Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa’s 5^th homicide of the year took place Sunday afternoon in West End. When TPD officers arrived at a residence in the 3300 block of 18^th Street around 4:15pm they found 62-year-old Joseph Earl Miller had been shot to death.

Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Commander, Capt. Jack Kennedy reported that police believe Miller was killed by 41-year-old Andrew Wayne Hollie, who had reportedly been in a relationship with Miller's daughter. Kennedy said Miller "had been engaged in threatening and abusive behavior with both of them during the last week."

Tragic Accident Take Motorcycle Rider's Life in West End

TPD continues to investigate an accident Saturday evening when 41-year-old Marvin Otis Wilkins Jr. apparently fell off the motorcycle he was riding. The incident took place as the rider was traveling west of 20^th Street from Dinah Washington Avenue. After falling Wilkins struck an unoccupied vehicle and died at the scene.

Walker County to Get Battery Storage Center

Alabama Power is set to develop the state's first utility-scale battery energy storage system at the former Plant Gorgas site in Walker County. The Gorgas Battery Facility will have the capacity to store up to 150 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 9,000 homes.

Ivey Admits Trump's Cutbacks Will Hurt UA and Other Higher Ed in State

Governor Kay Ivey has admitted President Trump’s plan to slash research funding currently going to universities in the state could hurt higher education in Tuscaloosa and campuses across the state. She points out everything is up in the air after a federal judge blocked the cuts on Wednesday.

Lunar Eclipse to be Visible Thursday Night, Clouds Permitting

For the first time since November 2022, a total lunar eclipse will be visible across most of the U.S., including Alabama. The lunar eclipse will occur beginning 10:57 Thursday night and last through 1:26 Friday morning and the moon will have a red tint to it.

Unfortunately for West Alabama skies are forecast to be mostly cloudy with a chance or precipitation during the event.

Wildfires Reduced Across the State, One in West Alabama

For the first time in weeks there is only a single wildfire burning in the ten West Alabama counties. It is, however, a large one. 390-plus acres are burning in southern Perry County, but the Alabama Forestry Commission reports the blaze is contained.

The statewide wildfire count is down from some 200 last week to 18 this morning. The Commission's burn permit suspension is scheduled to run through tomorrow and is not expected to be renewed due to the reduction is fires.

Governor Ivey has declared March as "Prescribed Fire Awareness Month". In her proclamation, Ivey describes prescribed fires as a "key tool in the management of Alabama's woodlands, grasslands and wildlife."

Topping Sports News:

Big Wins Gives Tide Men Extra Rest

Alabama's big last second upset of Auburn Saturday gives the weary Tide some extra rest before opening SEC tournament play Friday after securing a double bye. The #4 Seed Crimson Tide will play the last game of the day in the Quarterfinals on Friday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. They will face either Georgia, Oklahoma or Kentucky.

#1 Seed Auburn will play the first game of the day at noon in Friday's Quarter Finals against either South Carolina, Arkansas or Ole Miss.

Click HERE for complete SEC Tournament Bracket.

Alabama Baseball Chokes Away Golden Opportunity

A win yesterday by the Alabama Baseball team would have given them a 3-game sweep of Presbyterian and kept the Tide undefeated. It also would have set a record for the longest undefeated start to a season in program history. It didn't happen. Presbyterian upset Bama 11-8 to end the Tide's season opening undefeated streak at 16 games.

Alabama plays UAB in Birmingham tomorrow.

Click TuscaloosaThread.com for the latest West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.

Have a wonderful spring break week. We are just 10 days away from the actual beginning of spring.

Source: West Alabama Monday Briefing

Categories: News, Local News