PSC hears solar fee arguments, likely won’t rule until next year
Environmental groups on Thursday challenged Alabama Power’s charges on those who use solar panels to produce part of their home electricity, a fee the utility maintains is necessary to cover providing backup power. The Alabama Public Service Commission held a hearing on the petition to abolish the fee. Commissioners heard both the utility giant’s defense of the fee and advocates’ contention that it is unprecedented and purposely discourages the use of solar panels in a sun-rich state. Commissioners will likely not rule until next year. – AP
More revealed on potential gambling compact offered to state
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians has a proposal for Alabama: $1 billion and a projected $350 million in annual revenue payments from gaming enterprises, along with support for a lottery in exchange for a monopoly on gaming rights in Alabama. “A compact is basically a contract between the federally recognized Indian tribe and a unit of government more specifically, typically a state government, said WHNT News 19 political analyst Jess Brown. – WHNT
Brasfield & Gorrie breaks ground on North Carolina project
Birmingham general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie has broken ground on another expansion project for WakeMed Cary Hospital in Cary, N.C. This is the second vertical expansion project for the facility, and will include patient rooms, clinical support space, a penthouse and a new helipad. The expansion should be completed in early 2021. – AL.com
RNC’s boosting of Trump Jr. book a boon to Birmingham’s Books-A-Million
The Republican National Committee’s nearly six-figure purchase of Donald Trump Jr.’s recently released book – which debuted at the top of the New York Times’ Bestseller List, with an asterisk – benefited Birmingham-based Books-A-Million, according to campaign finance records. In its November monthly filing to the Federal Election Commission, the RNC reported a $94,800 payment to Books-A-Million’s website on Oct. 29 for “donor mementos.” – AL.com
America’s First Credit Union introduces new website, digital platform
Birmingham-based America’s First Federal Credit Union has launched an updated website and a new digital banking platform through a redesigned mobile app. The new AmFirst.org is described by the company as a more intuitive, easier to navigate site with a cleaner, more modern look. – AL.com
Musk unveils a truly strange-looking pickup truck
What’s the next big thing for electric vehicles? Probably pickup trucks. Ford is doing it and so are startups like Rivian. But Elon Musk isn’t about to be outdone, and tonight at the Tesla Design Center in Los Angeles, the electric automaker unveiled something truly different. Maybe even too different, depending on how it looks when it eventually enters production. What Musk showed off tonight was arguably Tesla’s most radical product to date, a truck design that looks more DeLorean than Silverado—and was unveiled amid a couple of onstage mishaps. – Jalopnik
