This Important Week

     This will be a big week for Alabama, good or bad.
     Many businesses will reopen today, and what happens as a result will determine whether they stay open.
     One of the anchor stores at Eastdale Mall in Montgomery---J.C. Penny---will be faced with filing for bankruptcy on Friday, though a Forbes columnist writes about his faith in that company today:

"The livelihood of 85,000 associates are at stake, yet I believe that management can still solve the dilemma...the loss of J.C. Penny would be a sad moment for this company and the retail industry."

     Eastdale managed to recover from the loss of  Sears by attracting an "At Home" store to that location. Whether it can find another tenant to take over the large J.C. Penny space is unknown.

     Montgomery will be watching to see if Governor Ivey will sign legislation permitting a vote by residents for or against increasing property taxes to raise money for schools.               
     Legislators approved the measure in a shortened session last week.

     Biscuits Baseball returning? There are tickets being sold for a game tomorrow---Montgomery Biscuits vs Tennessee Smokies on 5/12/2020---but there's been no announcement about the Season relaunching. In fact here's what a sportswriter in The New York Daily News wrote this weekend:

"About all we do know is that there is almost certainly going to be no minor league baseball at all this year. That’s an even bigger tragedy than the cancellation of the major league season would be. At least the major league owners will have the benefit of TV money to help recoup some of their losses whenever play resumes. Many minor league owners are not independently wealthy and rely on their teams for their livelihood; they’re totally screwed".

     And next week...on Friday 5-22-2020...Alabama's unemployment rate may hit an historic high.