Alabama House committee passes act that would implement shark alert system
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Mountain Brook resident Lulu Gribbin has become an inspiration for many. That's after losing her hand and leg in a shark attack last year.
The Lulu Gribbin Shark Alert System Act passed through the Alabama House Public Safety and Homeland Security committee Wednesday.
'My hand was bitten at first, and I remember just lifting it out of the water,' Gribbin said. 'Like, I was stunned because there was no hand there, and I couldn't feel it because of all the shock I was in.'
Gribbin has turned that shock into advocacy. She spoke before the committee members Wednesday about the bill being named after her.
'With this bill in place, we can prevent further accidents in the future, and I'm just so excited to be able to pass it,' Gribbin said.
It would create a shark alert system, notifying people on the coastline if a shark attack happens. Gribbin said it's about keeping people safe.
'Through my experience, I've been able to introduce this bill and allow all the other people to support it and to just be able to prevent future accidents' Gribbin said. 'So people won't have to experience pain, and they'll just be safe.'
State Rep. David Faulkner (R-Mountain Brook) said it's another tool in the toolbox for first responders.
Congressman Mike Rogers says Space Command relocation announcement could come in April
'Knowing there had been a shark attack, or to be on a better lookout, people have a right to know, and we can do that,' Faulkner said. 'It's 2025, and we can use our common sense and do this type of notification.'
Emergency management agencies in Baldwin and Mobile counties would send notifications via text message or other means. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Blankenship said it can use geocaching on the shores to send the alerts in specific areas.
'This is very rare, but it is serious,' Blankenship said. 'So to have something in place that could warn the public, I think would be a benefit not only to the residents there, but for the tourists that come to Alabama to know that we have a system in place that could protect them during their time at the beach.'
Gribbin said she is proud to play a part in keeping Alabama's beaches safe. It now heads to the House floor for a vote. Faulkner said he will be visiting with Florida lawmakers about the effort. He said it would be beneficial for other states as well.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Leaders in Alabama react to President Donald Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful Bill'
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Leaders in Alabama have a lot to say on what President Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' could mean for the state. The bill features a tax cut on overtime and a cut in funding to Medicaid and SNAP programs. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said he supports the bill, but he said it needs some changes in the Senate. 'The way to grow this country is to get the tax cuts done,' Tuberville said. 'And the tax cuts are in this bill. And we need to make them permanent, and there are a lot of things in there that are really, really good, and there's some things in there that are very questionable.' State Rep. Sam Jones (D-Mobile) said the whole bill is questionable. He said changes to Medicaid will have implications for healthcare in the state. 'There are people with intellectual disabilities, there are people who are- have serious, serious issues,' said Rep. Jones. 'And when they're not on Medicaid, they have no medical services at all.' The Cover Alabama Campaign advocates for those medical services. Debbie Smith, director of the campaign with Alabama Arise, said 170,000 Alabamians could lose healthcare with Medicaid changes. 2 additional suspects arrested, charged in Graysville fatal house fire 'It doesn't matter if you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, or some type of private insurance coverage,' Smith said of premiums. 'You aren't insulated from this bill. Everybody's gonna be impacted if this bill goes through.' That bill also influences education, allowing Pell Grants to be used for short-term workforce training programs, according to the White House. Gordon Stone, executive director of the Higher Education Partnership, said they are watching the bill closely. 'We're watching the Pell Grant. We're watching what it does to our graduate school programs and others, other student access points through the loan rewrite,' Stone said. 'There's a lot of things happening right now at the federal level that are important for all of our institutions.' The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now moving through the Senate. President Trump has said on social media that he wants to sign the bill into law as soon as possible. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
New law raising concern for some in the immigrant community in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ) is speaking out after a new law has taken effect this week. They said it targets the immigrant community, while others said it will keep Alabama safe. A new law requires police to take fingerprints and DNA swabs of people they arrest. That's if the person can't prove their U.S. citizenship and are found to be in the state unlawfully. Sen. Lance Bell (R-Pell City) said it's about keeping Alabamians safe. He originally sponsored the bill in the Senate. 'It's just a way that, when [undocumented immigrants] get deported, they come back, some change their names,' said Sen. Bell. 'And it's a way to identify the people and be linking the crimes to together. And to be able to identify who's doing what.' Brighton City Council member accused of bribery, extortion following recent arrest of colleague Jerome McMullin But executive director of ACIJ, Allison Hamilton, disagrees. 'For people who are undocumented, it's being treated like a criminal when you haven't committed a crime,' said Hamilton. And to be clear, being undocumented is not actually a crime. It's a civil offense.' Hamilton said private information, like DNA, should be protected. 'There's no reason to start taking personal data from people who haven't even been charged or convicted. We all have the right to due process. Innocent until proven guilty,' she said. But Sen. Bell said, for some crimes, DNA is already collected regardless of legal status. 'And so, there's not profiling,' he explained. 'There's no selective enforcement. They're already doing it. The jails are already doing that to us as it is. This really just adds illegal aliens to that class of people that are getting their DNA taken from them at the jail.' Rep. Mark Shirey (R-Mobile) carried the bill in the House. With the new law, he said the state will be able to record DNA samples and solve crimes more efficiently. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Birmingham man claims city forced him to sell home 20 years ago that's still standing
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Eminent domain is the power of the government to take private property for public use, even if the owner does not want to sell. Jimmy Smith, a 92-year-old Birmingham resident, said he knows more about eminent domain than he ever wanted to. Smith has called the Collegeville neighborhood home for over nine decades. Smith was raised in a house that used to belong to him and his mother. But in 2005, Smith got a knock on the door from a Birmingham city official. 'His purpose here was to inform us that the city wanted my mom's property,' Smith said. Smith now lives right next door. He said at first, he didn't want to sell. He said the city official told him if he didn't sell, the home would be taken through eminent domain. 'They told me if you don't sell it, they are going to take it anyway because they need to widen the road,' Smith said. What to know about Alabama laws taking effect Smith referred to a project called on paperwork the '35th Street North Extension Street Improvement.' Because the house is located near businesses, tractor-trailers are often going up and down the road, which Smith said he was told is why the project needed to happen. Two decades later, the road and Smith's former home sit untouched. 'That's the same way it looked 20 years ago,' Smith said. 'The only thing that has changed is that the city owns this house. They own the house right behind us, and I think they own the empty lot over there.' CBS 42 confirmed through GIS mapping that the city of Birmingham owns nearly every property along 35th Street North. CBS 42 reached out to the city about the street improvement project. 'At this time, there are currently no infrastructure related projects targeted for this property,' the city stated. 'This acquisition took place over 20 years ago,' a city spokesperson said when asked why the project never happened. 'Right now, we do not have any related projects targeted for this property at this time.' CBS 42 sat down with real estate attorney Reagan Reeves to find out if Smith's situation was unique. CBS 42 asked him how often he sees properties bought for public use projects that never happen. 'I see a lot that do and a lot that don't,' Reeves said. 'The bad thing about these projects is the city will purchase a lot of property before the project is finalized because they don't know how long the acquisition will take for eminent domain cases.' Birmingham City Council to consider closing part of road Smith said he'd like the house back if the project isn't going to happen and the home is going to remain empty.' 'I want the home back and bring it back to what it was,' Smith said. Birmingham city officials said Smith's former home has been put up for sale. They said they contacted Smith and let him know what steps he needs to take to purchase the property. You can contact the CBS 42 Your Voice Your Station hotline by sending an email to yourvoice@ or calling 205-488-4128. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
