Andrea Tinker

Gov. Kay Ivey has signed Senate Bill 40, also known as the Houston Hunter Act, into law. The act, named after Army veteran Houston Tumlin and Marine veteran Hunter Whitley who both lost their lives to suicide, aims to prevent veteran suicides by placing holds on firearms between individuals and federal firearm licensees and creates the Storing Ammunition and Firearms to Enhance Resilience Together Program.

NeighborFest is a free festival that will highlight community connections and homeownership in Birmingham. The event, hosted by the City of Birmingham and GROWTH Homes aims to equip attendees with home buying knowledge through workshops and offering information on the process. NeighborFest will also have live entertainment, food vendors and a marketplace.

As pollen fills the air, many people will suffer from pollen allergies this spring. Experts from The University of Alabama at Birmingham offer tips and advice to help manage pollen allergies this year.

The University of Alabama is preparing to host the second annual Bark to the Beat 5k on April 5. The run will serve as a fundraiser for the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter and will have live music performed by the University of Alabama School of Music and local high schools and have animals from the shelter.

The City of Huntsville has announced registration is officially open for the inaugural Teen Career Summit. The event will allow teens to explore various career options, get advice from career professionals and learn essential skills such as job interviews and paying bills.

The City of Montgomery has been selected to host the Sun Belt Baseball Championships yet again. The city will now be hosting the championship games until 2030. Montgomery's contract for hosting the tournament was originally set to expire this year.

The newest report from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, also called the Poarch Creek Indians (PCI), shows the tribe has generated over $4 billion in economic impact for Alabama in 2023. PCI stated in a press release that the tribe employs over 21,000 people through more than 40 companies.

Core Scientific is expanding operations into Auburn. The tech company, known for providing digital infrastructure for high-performance computing, plans to invest over $130 million to establish operating in the pre-established AUBix data center.

For an eighth year, the University of North Alabama is preparing to celebrate French film through the university's French Film Festival next week. This year's festival will feature six movies and is set to begin March 3 and conclude March 19.

The Alabama Writers Hall of Fame is set to induct eight authors on March 7. The Hall of Fame was created in 2014 through a partnership between the Alabama Center for the Book and the Alabama Writers' Forum.