SUMMARY: On September 3, 2025, News 5 Now reported several major incidents: A standoff with Mobile Police left a man with life-threatening injuries after shots were fired. Robert Brewster was arrested for attempted murder in a Pensacola shooting. Caleb Mack faced aggravated assault charges for pointing a gun at a woman in Gulf Breeze during a road rage incident. Kin Trail Franks was charged with assault after allegedly pistol whipping a victim in Mobile. Baldwin County attorney Harry Still was arrested after assaulting a Bayonet City councilman over a political dispute. Additionally, President Trump announced the US Space Command headquarters will permanently move to Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal, reversing the prior administration’s plan.

A standoff between a man and Mobile police, a Bay Minette attorney arrested for assault, and an Okaloosa road rage incident ends in arrest.

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SUMMARY: News5 Now on September 3 covers major local and national stories. The Powerball jackpot has reached $1.4 billion, offering a chance to become an overnight billionaire. Seward Farms is opening a corn maze tribute to country star Laney Wilson on September 27. A Foley man was sentenced to eight years for a high-speed chase and firearm possession. The historic Crescent Theater reopens as Comedy Mobile, featuring comedian Joe Zimmerman. The Archdiocese of Mobile installed its new archbishop, Mark Rivetuso, in a live ceremony. President Trump announced moving Space Command headquarters back to Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal, sparking positive public reactions.

The Powerball jackpot is continuing to climb, the Crescent Theatre in downtown Mobile is reopening with a twist and Mobile has a new archbishop.

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by Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector
September 3, 2025

Alabama’s new statehouse could be ready for lawmakers and staff next year, with the first regular legislative session scheduled to be held in the building in early 2027. 

Othni Lathram, secretary of the Legislative Council, told lawmakers at budget hearings last week said staff would move into the new building in time for the 2026 midterm elections. Legislators would hold their first session in the new Statehouse a few months later. 

The new building will have 11 committee rooms: one joint committee room that will hold up to 200 members of the public; one large and medium committee rooms for each chamber that will hold 150 and 100 members of the public, respectively; and six small committee rooms that will hold 75.

Work on the new statehouse, the first of its kind built in the United States since 1977, began in 2023. It will replace the current Statehouse, first occupied in 1986 and intended as a temporary location while renovations to the Alabama State Capitol took place. A longer-than-expected renovation time in the Capitol and lawmakers’ desire for the additional space the new location provided made the move effectively permanent.

But the structure has numerous problems, including mold issues and hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance. Building a new statehouse rather than renovating the current one, Lathram said, would not have been cost efficient.

“There would have been no practical improvements. It would have been just getting core functions up to date after years and years of neglect,” Lathram told lawmakers last week.

The Legislature last spring authorized the Legislative Council to find a contractor to demolish the current Statehouse after lawmakers and staff move out in 2027. The area where the building sits is expected to be turned into green space. 

Lathram said the new statehouse, estimated to cost $400 million, is projected to be under budget. The Legislature has appropriated $155 million for the project up front through the state budgets and supplemental appropriations. The goal, Lathram said, is to get $70 million appropriated through the Legislature in the fiscal year 2027 budgets and finance the remaining $175 million.

“We have not grown government during, at least going into three cycles of inflated budgets and additional revenue,” said Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville. “I think we’ll look back to see this was a huge  manner in which we’re going to reduce our debt service on this building by putting that much cash in there.”

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, who chairs the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, said the remaining appropriations would have to be split between the Education Trust Fund and General Fund. He was also worried about doubled routine costs that would overlap between the demolition of the current State House and the new build.

“As I understand it then, we have our obligation that we need to confront coming up in January is going to be looking at another $75 million split between the ETF and General Fund,” Albritton said. “And we’ve got to look at putting a new line in the budget, basically, for the operation of the upcoming building so that when we get in we’ll have the money to function there.”

The $35 million parking deck, which is included in the $400 million budget, will include spots for all lawmakers and staff, as well as 100 spaces for the public, Lathram said. Schools often visit the State House for tours, leaving school buses on the road. To remedy the congestion, there will be a spot for buses to park out of the way where the current State House lies. 

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

The post New Alabama Statehouse on track for fall 2026 move-in, say state officials appeared first on alabamareflector.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This content presents a straightforward, factual report on the construction of Alabama’s new statehouse, focusing on logistics, budgeting, and legislative perspectives without promoting a particular political ideology. The inclusion of quotes from Republican lawmakers and neutral descriptions of the project’s history and financial considerations suggest an objective tone aimed at informing rather than persuading, reflecting a centrist bias.