Brandon Demyan: Restoring Alabama’s Gulf Coast

  After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, BP pledged to restore the Gulf Coast region. Four years later, many businesses with valid claims against BP remain in limbo awaiting a decision while tar balls still wash up along the Gulf Coast. While it seems as though the rest of the country has moved on, in the coming months, the Deepwater Horizon disaster will once again be very much on the minds of Gulf Coast residents due to the RESTORE Act.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Alabama's hottest legislative races

  Early on it appeared that the best political races of the year would be for legislative seats. Indeed, with this being a lackluster year for statewide contests there are some good senate races throughout the state to watch. Most of these hotly contested battles will be intraparty GOP squabbles.

  Senate District 11, which is composed primarily of St. Clair and Talladega Counties, may be the best race to watch. Incumbent State Sen. Jerry Fielding is being challenged by State Rep. Jim McClendon. Fielding is a former Talladega County Circuit Judge who retired from the bench after earning his judicial retirement and won this senate seat in 2010.

Claudia Calderon Machicado: The business case for paid leave and paid sick days

  Most opponents of paid sick days and paid family leave legislation claim that businesses cannot afford to cover their employees. But cities and states with paid family leave and paid sick days are proof that these policies are working. Growing support from many businesses—both big and small—as well as private-sector leaders, indicates that these policies are not only good for individuals and businesses but also for our economy as a whole.

Joseph S. Diedrich: Does intellectual property defy human nature?

  A music-composition professor of mine once lamented that without copyright protection, Western civilization would cease to exist. Most of us take intellectual property (IP) for granted, assuming it is ethically and economically necessary. We’ve become so blasé about IP that heavy-handed FBI warnings and billion-dollar lawsuits don’t faze us in the slightest. Yet despite the unquestioned consensus, intellectual property actually defies basic tenets of human nature.

Cameron Smith: Supreme Court upholds Michigan ban on race preferences

  On April 22, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action upholding an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Michigan which banned racial preferences in public education, employment and contracting.

  The central issue in the case was "whether, and in what manner, voters in the States may choose to prohibit the consideration of racial preferences in governmental decisions…."

Michael Josephson: The illusion of success

  Reach for the stars. Pursue goals beyond your grasp. These are good life strategies. We never know how much we can accomplish until we try.

  But what happens when we’re told we must reach the stars or suffer consequences?

Tami A. Martin: The global reach of religious liberty rhetoric

  For the past 16 years, the U.S.-affiliated and Kampala, Uganda-based Makerere University Walter Reed Project has conducted research on HIV vaccines and public health issues in the East African country. Earlier this month, Ugandan officials raided the project, detaining and interrogating a staff member, reportedly because of the project’s assistance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, people. According to the project’s website, "the operations of the program are temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of staff and the integrity of the program." Speculation that Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act, which prohibits "promoting homosexuality," inspired the raid raises the question of what inspired the act in the first place.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: The legacy of Looney's Tavern

  A good many of you found last week’s historical column interesting. You seemed fascinated about the vast diversity regarding the folks who settled in South Alabama versus those who homesteaded North Alabama at the state’s origination.

  You found it even more interesting how close the secession from the Union vote was in 1861 with the vote falling in line with regional sentiment with South Alabamians for and North Alabamians against secession. However, the most enthralling passage was my brief mention of Winston County and its legendary stand to secede from Alabama when Alabama seceded from the Union. This bold anomaly really piqued your interest. Therefore, this week I will expound on the in-depth details of the story of the "Free State of Winston."

Katherine Green Robertson: Tax season reflections on the growing cost of prisons

  With Governor Bentley's sign-off, the state’s budgets for both the Education Trust Fund and the General Fund are now set for fiscal year 2015. Of the $1.8 billion budgeted for the General Fund, spending on corrections is the second largest line item, behind only Medicaid, at $394 million or 21.43% of the total General Fund budget. With nearly 26,000 inmates in custody at an average cost of $42 a day, it is not hard to see why the system accounts for such a large portion of our General Fund–and this is case in many states.

Patrick Oakford: Top 5 reasons why immigration reform means more tax revenues

  Last year, the Senate passed the bipartisan Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, or S. 744, which the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, found would have significant fiscal and economic benefits for the nation. Yet since its passage, the House of Representatives has dragged its feet and failed to act on meaningful reform. This inaction means that the United States has already missed out on billions of dollars in potential tax revenues.