Missile builders, gun bill, Wawa: Down in Alabama

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The defense business

The business of national defense is booming in Alabama right now.

Of course, when Congress passed the aid package for tens of billions of dollars in defense aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, it didn’t mean we would send the Ukrainians a sack of money.

Much of that money, of course, is being spent in the USA and, reports AL.com’s Joseph D. Bryant, right here in Alabama. President Biden praised the legislation’s positive side effects to America’s economy and its own self defense on Wednesday, explaining that the U.S. will be sending Ukraine equipment from its own stockpiles and replacing them with new product.

Noteworthy among that new product are the Javelin anti-tank missiles made at the Lockheed Martin plant near Troy. That facility drew attention during the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it’s been visited by Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens (YENS) Stoltenberg.

Meanwhile, Raytheon has begun a $115 million expansion of its Missile Integration Facility at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal, reports AL.com’s William Thornton. Raytheon, whose parent company is now called RTX Corporation, integrates nine varieties of Standard Missiles and is involved in the production of the Glide Phase Interceptor. That’s the program that will track and knock down hypersonic missiles, which fly at lower altitudes and less predictable flight patterns than ICBMs.

The rush to defend Propst

One special meeting of the Pell City Board of Education later, Rush Propst continues to be Pell City High School’s head football coach, reports AL.com’s Ben Thomas and Evan Dudley.

An agenda item for Wednesday morning’s meeting was to not renew Propst’s contract or the contract of his wife, who is a secretary in the school system, but it failed when nobody on the board made a motion to vote.

Which keeps the Propsts in their positions and made a packed board-meeting crowd happy. The Propst supporters, including Pell City football players, applauded when the motion died -- and cheered when board member Norman Wilder said they should be asking for the resignation of the superintendent instead.

Propst coached at Pell City last year, when the Panthers were 1-9. He’s best known for winning five state titles in nine years at Hoover High.

Parental firearm responsibility

A bill made it through the Alabama House Judiciary Committee that could make parents subject to criminal charges if their children take guns to school, reports AL.com’s Mike Cason.

The bill is by Barbara Drummond, a Mobile Democrat. The Class A misdemeanor could be applied if a parent or guardian does not reasonably secure a firearm from access by a minor, and then the minor takes it to school.

Acceptable ways to secure a firearm includes using a trigger lock, a locked box or a gun safe that requires a key, combination or fingerprint. And the parent wouldn’t be charged if their kid shows up at school with a gun with a trigger lock.

The bill passed committee by voice vote with some opposition and could go before the full House of Representatives next week.

What’s in a Wawa?

The Wawa invasion is beginning.

Wawa is one of those convenience store/gas station brands that have grown a fan base, mostly in the Northeast but now also in the Florida Peninsula. It has fans like Buc-ee’s does, but it’s nothing like a Buc-ee’s. It’s more of a local convenience store than the huge travel centers. Those who love it brag about its being clean with good service, coffee and hoagie sandwiches.

And Alabama’s first Wawa has its grand opening at 8 a.m. today on Greeno Road in Fairhope, reports AL.com’s Lawrence Specker. But it’s noteworthy beyond Fairhope because the chain has its eyes on expansion across Coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. It already has more than a thousand locations nationwide, so if this expansion effort proves successful then “Wawa” could become a familiar name, if not a particularly normal one.

Quoting

“God isn’t finished with me yet. ... I’ll keep you posted on what’s yet to come.”

Longtime Birmingham news anchor Pam Huff, who announced May 24 as her retirement date.

Born on This Date

In 1967, swimming gold medalist Angel Martino, who was born in Tuscaloosa.

On the Podcast

Today we talk with AL.com sports editor Andrew Hammond about the NFL Draft and whether it’s evolving along with the changing landscape of college football. (This year’s Draft will be three days beginning tonight.)

You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places: