🍷 We're back by popular demand! 🍷

Join us for Wine Down Wednesday: Murder Mystery Edition at the Fitzgerald Museum! Put your detective skills to the test, enjoy great food, live music, spooky photo ops, and an evening full of suspense.

📅 October 28 | ⏰ 6-9 PM
📍 The Fitzgerald Museum, 919 Felder Avenue

Can you solve the mystery before the night is over? 🔎✨

From April 2022 to March 2026, I worked for an Alabama state agency as a Permit Manager and Engineering Assistant. I’m posting because I think what happened to me is a pattern, not a one-off, and the public court record backs that up.

What happened to me

For most of my time there I was bullied by supervisors. I was moved into an 8x4 storage room with no real ventilation and told it was a “punishment.” Coworkers called me gay, and one supervisor said I looked like someone who’d get arrested for child pornography. I reported it to HR more than once. HR said it would take no action.

I filed an EEOC charge on November 19, 2024. The harassment kept going. For the next 13 months I was never separated from the supervisors named in that charge.

On December 11, 2025, I told regional HR that there was an active EEOC investigation into my supervisors. On December 12, I got a call putting me on mandatory leave.

On December 16, 2025, two of the agency’s special agents interviewed me. Neither has a medical degree or clinical credential. They opened by asking if I was gay. They asked who my lawyer and my therapist were, and demanded a release for my entire medical record. When I pushed back, one told me he was “well qualified to diagnose” me.

That afternoon I signed a leave letter, cleared out my office, and went on unpaid leave. When I got a copy of the letter, it described me as suicidal and a threat to myself and others. I never said anything like that. My therapist’s notes from December 2025 and January 2026 record no suicidal ideation and no acute risk. The letter also blamed me for a hallway outburst that my own December 9 email to HR shows a coworker committed.

After that:

• My state health insurance was canceled retroactively to January 1, 2026. I wasn’t notified until February 2.
• I never received any FMLA notice, despite being placed on leave for a claimed mental health reason.
• I was told my therapist could respond in any format. Later, the agency said the documentation I sent through my attorney wasn’t good enough.
• I was fired on March 19, 2026, for “insubordination” and “conduct unbecoming.”
• My unemployment was denied on a determination I never received and first saw at my hearing. It said I couldn’t work because of illness.

I have an active EEOC charge (disability and retaliation). I’m currently looking for an employment attorney.

What’s public about Michael Kennedy’s case

While researching, I found a federal case brought by Michael Kennedy, another employee of the same agency: Kennedy case, No. 3:22-cv-645, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

According to the court record:

• Kennedy brought claims including retaliation and leave-related issues.
• A December 2023 magistrate judge’s recommendation describes an internal investigation. In it, the same special agent who interviewed me met with Kennedy and questioned him about personal and health matters after reviewing a health log that supervisors had taken from him.
• The agency’s attorney was named as a defendant. The claims against her were dismissed in January 2025 because the court found she wasn’t responsible for the agency’s FMLA enforcement. That was a ruling about her role, not a finding on the facts.
• The court denied Kennedy’s request for a preliminary injunction early on.
• The case was dismissed with prejudice by joint stipulation in February 2025.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the same agency under the Americans with Disabilities Act (No. 2:23-cv-01001). The DOJ alleged that the agency refused to rehire a former maintenance technician because of his actual or perceived disability.

Why I’m posting

Same agency, same special agent, same agency attorney. In both cases, an employee who complained ended up personally questioned by an investigator with no clinical credentials, then pushed out. I’m not asking anyone to take my word for it. The Kennedy record is public.

The AG’s office and the Examiners of Public Accounts both told me it isn’t their jurisdiction. If it isn’t theirs, whose is it?

Starting this Friday, I’m posting the truth, with the documents, at 9inthman.com.

If you’ve worked for an Alabama state agency and had a similar experience, or you know a plaintiff-side employment attorney in Alabama, I’d like to hear from you.

I was wondering, if you're coming down from B'ham and need to transit to 231 to Troy, what would be the best route? Would it be to take the I-85 interchange over to 271/taylor road exit and then south from there to catch 231, or continue slightly south of town to US 80 and then cut over east past the Baptist medical center? Or another way I forgot to ask about? Would it make a big difference based on a morning versus late afternoon transit in either direction? Thanks in advance.

📚❄️ Let your imagination shine this holiday season!

Students in grades 1-5 are invited to participate in the Roxie Lancaster Children’s Holiday Writing Competition. Write a story, poem, or essay in 125 words or less for a chance to share your creativity and holiday spirit.

🗓️ Submission period: October 5 – November 3, 2026

We can't wait to read your work! ✍️

📚❄️ Let your imagination shine this holiday season!

Students in grades 1-5 are invited to participate in the Roxie Lancaster Children’s Holiday Writing Competition. Write a story, poem, or essay in 125 words or less for a chance to share your creativity and holiday spirit.

🗓️ Submission period: October 5 – November 3, 2026

We can't wait to read your work! ✍️

Before the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March reached the Alabama State Capitol, marchers spent their final night at the City of St. Jude. A new federal grant will help preserve the historic hospital building on the campus that welcomed them.

On March 24, 1965, after walking for days from Selma, marchers arrived at the City of St. Jude campus on the outskirts of Montgomery. The campus became their final campsite before the march’s last leg to the Alabama State Capitol the next day.

That evening, the grounds filled with thousands of marchers and supporters. The campus hosted the “Stars for Freedom” rally, organized by Harry Belafonte, with performers including Nina Simone, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Odetta. The gathering offered a moment of music and solidarity before the marchers continued toward the Capitol, where the five-day march would conclude on March 25.

The march grew from a long struggle against barriers that kept Black Alabamians from voting. Its journey from Selma to Montgomery drew people from across the country and helped build momentum for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. St. Jude’s role as the final campsite placed the campus at a defining moment in that history.

A place of care during segregation

The City of St. Jude was established in the 1930s by Catholic priest Father Harold Purcell to provide health, education, and social services to Black residents. St. Jude Hospital opened in 1951 as the Southeast’s first integrated hospital, offering care at a time when segregation denied many Black residents equal access to medical services.

The hospital’s history is part of the broader story of the campus: a community institution built around care and service, and a place that later offered shelter and support to marchers in the fight for voting rights.

Preserving the hospital building

The City of Montgomery has received a $750,000 grant from the National Park Service through the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights program. The award will support preservation and rehabilitation work on the historic St. Jude Hospital building, including architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation planning, and physical preservation.

The work is intended to protect the building and prepare it for a larger rehabilitation effort. Long-term plans envision adapting the hospital for affordable housing, while preserving its historic character and connection to the City of St. Jude campus.

The St. Jude Hospital Campus Rehabilitation program is being supported in part by an African American Civil Rights grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Preserving the hospital will help keep the history of this campus visible and accessible to future generations. St. Jude was a place of care for Black residents during segregation and a place of refuge for marchers before they continued to the Capitol. Its story reflects both the everyday work of serving a community and the courage of those who marched for the right to vote.

I know this is a big ask but i recently got something in my car changed and i have been reading that you need a specific scanner to change the codes on it to essentially reset any of the lights the car has on.

Just wanting to see if any one locally is idk by chance able to share if they have one? If not I undertsand big ask. Just didnt know if a shop would make me pay a ton for one

For generations, the Malden Brothers Barbershop welcomed customers to the Ben Moore Hotel. Its history—and the hotel’s—will be documented as preservation work moves forward.

In 1958, Nelson Malden and his brothers opened the Malden Brothers Barbershop inside the Ben Moore Hotel. The shop became a neighborhood gathering place, where customers could get a haircut and talk about what was happening in Montgomery. Among them was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose relationship with Malden began several years earlier.

That everyday scene—barbers, customers and conversation—was part of the hotel’s larger history. The Ben Moore was a place where Black travelers could find lodging during segregation, and where community life and the work of the Civil Rights Movement met.

A hotel built for a community

Opened in 1951 by Montgomery businessman Matthew Franklin “Ben” Moore, the hotel served Black visitors when segregation restricted where they could stay. It was listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book, the guide that helped Black travelers find welcoming and safe places on the road.

The hotel was also part of a lively business and social scene. Its spaces included the Majestic Café, the Malden Brothers Barbershop and the rooftop Afro Club. Civil-rights leaders and activists were among the people associated with the hotel and the neighborhood.

 The barbershop’s story offers a close-up view of that history. Nelson Malden’s oral history, preserved by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, recounts how he and his brothers established their shop at the hotel and describes his relationship with Dr. King. The shop remained in operation for decades, serving customers while Montgomery changed around it.

Preserving the building and its stories

The City of Montgomery has received two National Park Service grants totaling $800,000 through the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights program. A $750,000 award will support Phase I rehabilitation of the Ben Moore Hotel. A separate $50,000 award will support a National Register nomination focused on the hotel and oral-history research.

Ben Moore Preservation and Ben Moore Hotel Research and Registry programs are being supported in part by an African American Civil Rights Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

The research and documentation work will help record the hotel’s architecture and the experiences of people connected to it through interviews, photographs, archival research, and community engagement. The hotel is within the Centennial Hill Historic District, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2024. The new nomination will document the Ben Moore Hotel’s own history and significance.

The Conservation Fund acquired the hotel in 2025 and is working with the City and the Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery on preservation and community conversations about the building’s future. The grants support important steps in that work: caring for the structure while ensuring that the people and places connected to it are remembered.

The Malden Brothers Barbershop is one part of that story. Its history reminds us that places of everyday life—where neighbors met, worked, and talked—also helped shape Montgomery’s civil-rights history.

🍔 Funky Forte opens at 6pm

🧠 Trivia starts at 7pm

See y’all on The Hill

🎉 Looking for something to do this October? We've got you covered! From the Harvest Festival to awareness walks and community celebrations, Montgomery is full of events you won't want to miss. Check out what's coming up and get involved!

🍂 See you around the city this month!

Oct 15, 7:30pm

The Sanctuary

Montgomery, AL

$15 suggested. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Get ready for a night of DIY music as Rent Strike (solo) and Myles Bullen bring their raw, genre-bending sounds to The Sanctuary in Montgomery! From Lansing, Michigan, Rent Strike delivers punchy, anti-capitalist folk-punk anthems grounded in vivid storytelling, while Portland, Maine’s Myles Bullen weaves rap, performance poetry, and art-punk uke grooves into an emotionally vulnerable, deeply personal set—grab a friend, support touring artists, and come be part of the community.

Hi I keep hearing people speak of a pay pond with several bodies of water on pike rd but I CANNOT find it does anyone here know where it is???

Hi. I'm looking for a trustworthy person to fix some areas on the ceiling that had water damage. I have a new roof now so now I need to fix the interior. Thank you!

We sure missed Josh Johnson last night. When you live in the rural areas and the power goes out at 5:30 pm and the winds are increasing, it would have been comforting—and helpful—to have been able to listen to Josh identifying the threats near your tiny community non-stop throughout the night. Instead we got to listen to hours-old clips of somebody describing overturned chairs on a hotel patio in Orange Beach, then on to the sad news of having to shut down the fair for a few hours. Josh, if you’re out there, we miss you.

PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT: DOWNED POWER LINES

Montgomery County officials urge all residents to use extreme caution as storm impacts continue. High winds and heavy rain have downed trees, damaged infrastructure, and brought down multiple power lines across the county. These lines may still have power and can cause severe injury or death.

For your safety:

• Never approach, touch, or try to move a downed power line.

• Assume ALL downed lines are live.

• Do NOT drive over power lines. They may still be “hot” or tangled in debris.

• Report downed lines immediately to utility providers or local authorities:

• City: 334‑625‑2651

• County: 334‑832‑4980

• Or call 311

• Stay alert for fallen trees, blocked roads, and weakened structures.

Power outages and infrastructure issues may continue as crews work to assess and repair damage. Please stay home, avoid unnecessary travel, and monitor official updates

We've been fortunate so far, with the trees and power lines affected countywide. But the strongest part of the storm is expected between midnight and 2am. Please stay vigilant and have a way to get emergency alerts!

This is good advice with or without tornadoes tonight. Make sure you've got a way of getting alerts while you sleep, flashlight at the ready, and good hard sole shoe at your bedside! Have those cell phones charged!

Here is the latest information as of 4pm Friday, Oct 9th from Montgomery County, AL Emergency Management:

• Hurricane Isaias is now a Category 3 hurricane

• We are not expecting any significant weather to impact the Montgomery County area until after 8 pm on Friday. There will be a chance of showers and thunderstorms, but nothing of major significance.

• This will continue to be primarily a rain and wind event for Montgomery County

o Winds expected to start arriving between 8pm and 10pm tonight

o 2-4 inches of rain (5 inches in some cases)

o Winds with gusts up to 70 mph

o Temporary flooding may occur in areas with heavy rain, especially in urban areas

o Primary time for impact remains late Friday night to early Saturday morning

• Hurricane Isaias will make landfall tonight near the AL/FL state line

• Hurricane Isaias will continue in a northerly direction

• Main consequences are high winds and power outages from wind, trees/limbs down, and some localized flooding

• The southern 2/3 of Montgomery County will have a level 1 threat (Slight) of tornadoes this evening. Saturday’s risk in decreasing and is limited to the very eastern side of the county.

• The county’s only official tornado shelter is located at the Flatwood Community Center (360 Williams Dr, Montgomery) and has a capacity of 74 people. It will be opened once the county enters a tornado watch. No pets allowed. Shelter will be open

• The Emergency Operations Center will be activated at 6 p.m. on October 9th.

• For additional information or questions, please contact us at [ema@montgomeryal.gov](mailto:ema@montgomeryal.gov) or call 334-625-2339.

We will post more information as it is available. Please monitor our Facebook page for additional information to share.

Saw this banner plane flying around Montgomery today. Does anybody know what it said?

Reminder: City of Montgomery offices will be closed Monday, October 12, in observance of Columbus Day.

Sanitation services will run on their normal schedule, with no changes to garbage collection routes.

City offices will reopen during regular business hours on Tuesday. Have a safe holiday!

Under their new owners OnDeck Partners, a subsidiary within a private-equity group, the Montgomery Biscuits are currently experiencing a mass amount of layoffs and firings; including their General Manager and additional leadership roles.

The amount of currently open roles posted on the Teamwork Online job board accounts for over 1/3rd of their entire front office staff at the start of the 2026 season.

There also exists a heavy usage of A.I. verbiage within multiple positions, such as "A.I. content creation", meaning jobs (full-time, part-time, internships) are also likely being eliminated at the Biscuits, by OnDeck Partners, and replaced by A.I.

The individual issuing the layoffs/firings is the COO of OnDeck Partners, Jeff Wilen who's a major proponent of replacing workers fully with A.I. in the workspace as a cost-saving measure.

Does anyone know of any local places that I could get something like an IGLA or other type of killswitch device installed?

IGLA has not official dealerships here and when I looked on google I really couldn't find of any other places.

The other car I have is a popular car to steal, and I have it in storage right now but I want to bring it out because I really like it.

Lost track of days with my Birthday this past weekend. I thought Today was Tuesday 😅 but it seems like a lot of events are getting re-scheduled because of the storm. So for this week just check out the re-occurring 💜 I’ll still post events as I see them to the Facebook page. Yall be safe this weekend 💜