Top Headlines: GE Decatur plant wins top award, Bicentennial banquet held at Governor’s Mansion

GE’s Decatur refrigerator plant wins top manufacturing award
GE Appliances, a Haier company, has announced that its Decatur refrigeration plant was named the best manufacturing plant in the country according to Assembly Magazine. GE Appliances in 2018 said that it would make $115 million in investments to transform the 42-year-old facility into the company’s Manufacturing Center of Excellence for top-freezer refrigerators. That investment also created 255 new jobs bringing total employment to 1,300. – AL Political Reporter

Holiday season around the corner, time to bone up on self-defense skills
A Hoover self-defense studio is offering seminars next month to teach women the techniques they need to stay safe during the holiday shopping season. And the sessions are scheduled to coincide with bye weeks in Alabama’s and Auburn’s football schedules. CounterStrike Krav Maga Women’s Self Defense Clinic is offering the Holiday Shopping Safety Seminar during the Crimson Tide’s bye week on Saturday, Nov. 2. – AL.com

Bicentennial banquet held at Governor’s Mansion
Alabamians traveled to the Governor’s Mansion Thursday to celebrate a Taste through Time: Celebrating 200 Years of Alabama Food, a signature Alabama 200 event. The evening was presented by author Trace Barnett, author of Tracing Roots: A Modern Approach to Living Off the Land, along with Executive Chef of the State of Alabama Jim Smith and caterer Kathy G. & Co. of Birmingham. The event celebrated 200 years of Alabama statehood with a culinary tour of Sweet Home Alabama and benefitted Friends of the Alabama Governor’s Mansion. – AL Political Reporter

Bessemer legal firm opens in restored building
A new law firm is opening in downtown Bessemer, with plans to redevelop the property as part of an opportunity zone. Just In Time Legal Solutions will formally open Monday at 11 a.m. at 1922 Third Ave. N. The firm is located in the former Martin Furniture Company building, constructed in 1904, which has not been open for business in more than a decade. – AL.com

Montgomery on list of top 20 Southern cities with population shifts
Although the South is the fastest growing of the four main US regions, population growth is not evenly spread out. Using data from the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates program, we found the metropolitan areas located in the Southern states with the most negative net migration between 2010 and 2018, adjusted by the size of the 2010 metro area population. – Business Insider

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Memories of Alabama malls include food, fun, friends
The food court at Mobile’s Bel Air Mall. The “talking” reindeer near the fountain in Montgomery Mall’s Christmas display. Teenagers “cruisin’” at Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza on the weekends back in the day. Shopping malls still occupy a large part of American life, though the number of them is diminishing nationwide. But many folks have fond memories of time spent in malls all over. – AL.com

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