The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would ban drag performances in schools and public libraries But it could also impact theater productions statewide House Bill 67 defines drag performances as "a performance in which a performer exhibits a sex identity that is different from the sex assigned to the performer at birth using clothing According to the Alabama Educational Theatre Association with fewer boys participating in theater in high school girls often play boys' roles to fill the cast The association said the legislation could impact school theater productions "We all know that in the current environment where boys are not participating as much in theatre; this will have a negative impact on educational theatre," the association said in a Facebook post Monday. women were considered inferior to men and unfit for the stage The same was true in the Elizabethan era for plays by William Shakespeare Premature boys often played female roles because of women's limited social status The association is calling on its members to advocate for an amendment to the legislation in the Alabama Senate that would exempt theater productions from the restriction on drag performances The association provided a letter template on the post for its members to send to their senator "This bill without needed amendments will force teachers to provide less performance opportunities for students It will also heavily reduce the plays and musicals that we can perform in Alabama," the letter said Stadthagen said in an interview Wednesday the legislation was not meant to impact theater and that he is working on an amendment for the Senate to make that explicit "It does not pertain to that at all," he said "The intent is not to harm theater or anything like that Huntsville High School this fall planned to stage "Peter and the Starcatcher," a Tony-award winning play based on the backstory of Peter Pan but switched productions due to the possible implications of the legislation "This change was made thoughtfully and early in the planning process before casting occurred to ensure the production aligns with any legal and logistical considerations that may arise," Craig Williams Stadthagen said in an interview Wednesday that he had not heard of any theater productions being canceled and said that was not necessary "They don't need to be cancelling anything at all," he said The bill awaits consideration from the Senate Education Policy Committee which did not have its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday Read more at AlabamaReflector.com This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Chattanooga Times Free Press Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing The Alabama House of Representatives approved a bill late Tuesday that would ban transgender students form using the bathroom of the gender with which they align.  The bill passed 74 to 24 after an often-angry debate in which several legislators called the mere presence of transgender students in schools a problem and critics said the legislation would harm an already at-risk population.  "Do you know these children experiencing gender dysphoria have higher suicide rates and do you know what contributes to those high suicide rates?" said Rep D-Tuscaloosa. "Being targeted by laws like these." would require students to use the bathroom corresponding with their biological sex at birth Stadthagen said he was concerned with assaults on women in bathrooms but also created a scenario of a transgender student attempting to use a bathroom of the sex with which they align  "I don't know how you can stand in the well (of the House) and say that is appropriate," he said.  Stadthagen cited cases that included an assault at Sparkman Middle School in Madison County in 2010 and at Prattville High School in 2018 Transgender individuals were not involved in those attacks.  Some representatives appeared to raise objections to the idea of transgender students said there was a transgender student at his local high school.  I wouldn't have her attend Muscle Shoals High School."  Critics said Stadthagen was scapegoating transgender students for sexual assaults in bathrooms said the bill had nothing in the way of teaching about sexual responsibilities.  "Where is the actual prevention the problem that you're saying exists here?" he said "All you're doing is demonizing an already vulnerable population and you are doing it under the guise of protecting children."  Advocates for transgender youth called the bill discriminatory and said it would not survive a federal court challenge said in a statement after the bill passed on Tuesday that it would "put schools in a position of having to choose between complying with federal law and complying with discriminatory state law."  A 2019 survey of transgender youth found that transgender youth were at more risk of violence in states with the restrictions "They are constantly targeting the most marginalized people," said Meta Ellis a longtime advocate for Montgomery's LGBTQ community who protested the bill at the State House on Tuesday. "I'm so angry at the way they're going after young transgender folks It just breaks my heart and makes me so angry that they target young people who already are fighting just to be who they are." The debate came at the end of a long day where the House approved bills allowing permitless carry of concealed weapons and changing the definition of rioting Democrats accused Republicans of deliberately limiting debate on controversial issues.  "We're operating from a position of privilege like we're supposed to be thankful you let us here," England said.  More: Alabama Senate committee approves bill criminalizing treatments for transgender youth The Alabama Legislature is considering a raft of bills targeting transgender youth A Senate committee earlier this month approved a bill criminalizing the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender youth A House committee is scheduled to take up a similar bill on Wednesday.  In the Atmore and Elmore county delegation In the Etowah County delegation, Reps Staff writer Jemma Stephenson contributed to this report.  Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com Scott Stadthagen last week filed a bill that would seek to support women’s rights in interscholastic sports in Alabama “I believe it is important to protect the integrity of women’s athletics,” Stadthagen said “Women’s rights are currently being trampled on It is unfair for biological males to compete and beat females in high school sports By allowing this intrusion into women’s sports we will be setting back women’s rights by decades.” The action is largely in response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the rest room The bill would dictate that public kindergarten through 12th-grade schools will not participate in sponsor or provide coaching staff for interscholastic athletic events at which the athletes are allowed to participate in competition against athletes who are of a different biological gender unless the event specifically includes both biological genders “The families I speak to also see this as a safety issue,” Stadthagen added “They do not want their daughters forced to share locker rooms with biological males No one is standing up for the rights of these women will come up for a vote next week in education policy Similar bills are being introduced in many other states Mississippi earlier this month passed its own legislation Stadthagen was first elected in 2018 and represents portions of Cullman Marshall and Morgan counties in House District 9 and website in this browser for the next time I comment After the University of Mississippi's softball team was swept by the University of Alabama's earlier this year it would appear Mississippi lawmakers are looking to reverse their luck The Mississippi House of Representatives will play the Alabama House on June 22 in a charity softball game at Trustmark Park in Jackson at 11 a.m said he was approached by Alabama House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen about playing a friendly game to raise money for charity "We talked over a period of couple days; I sat down with our leadership… A lot of us thought it'd be a lot of fun and might be something we could do," Barton said I basically called (Stadthagen) back and said we're all in." Stadthagen and Barton both said the two-day event will also prove a great opportunity for Alabama and Mississippi lawmakers to convene and discuss policy issues and other legislative agendas for the upcoming 2025 session we don't get a chance to really sit down and get to know our neighbors," Stadthagen said "We handle a lot of the same problems that they do and it'd be good to start building that relationship moving forward and go from there." The event's activities will begin Friday with a banquet a tour of the capitol building and Jackson and a chance for legislators to meet and have a roundtable discussion the two teams will face off in a nine-inning game at 11 a.m "The leadership of both states that are going to be there are going to meet and have a discussion," Stadthagen said "I'm really excited about that almost as just as much as the game just because there's no telling what the outcome of that meeting is going to be." said the Mississippi National Guard has agreed to play the Mississippi team in two seven-inning games and will even drop the starting ball from a helicopter as part of their participation Barton and Smith have gathered a team of about 36 players from the House to participate and have been practicing ahead of the game later this month once a week since late April to prepare During the latter part of the 2024 session as lawmakers were debating issues such as Medicaid expansion and K-12 education funding affectionately likened the team to the "Bad News Bears," a movie about a fictional children baseball team known for its lack of skill More on end of session 2024 MS Legislature caps off 2024 session: See what happened in final hours said he likes the team's chances after losing by only one run during a practice game last month against the Mississippi National Guard "I have a feeling there'll be a lot of trash talking going on," Creekmore said "That (practice game) was encouraging to me because they were a lot better but we also got some ringers on the team as well Stadthagen said his players have had years of games with the Alabama Senate already to prepare them for playing Mississippi Stadthagen said one of the main reasons he started the game with fellow Alabama lawmakers was to give them a way to cool down tensions between chambers in the middle of a session It also serves as a way for lawmakers to donate to charity tensions are kind of tight towards the end (of the session) it allows us to let it all go and it's great for the camaraderie of the of the chambers," he said "It really helps the (legislative) process." because the game is being held in Mississippi Smith said state's delegation chose the charity which is the Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson "We feel like (this event) is going to be something that's going to grow and what better way to raise money for the benefit of children with special needs," Smith said Barton added that the Mississippi team has already agreed to play Alabama next year in Montgomery and he and other House members are even speaking with state senators to gauge their interest as well people will have the chance to buy tickets at the gate Read about tidelands dispute How a Spanish land grant from the 1700s is affecting present-day Mississippi Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335 met with constituents Tuesday night in West Point WEST POINT – Members of the community had an opportunity to discuss important issues R-Hartselle Tuesday night at the first of a series of town halls planned in his district Stadthagen was joined by a roomful of his constituents including Cullman County Commissioner Garry Marchman and Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry The group discussed the many items and issues on the agenda for the upcoming legislative session including the protection of existing Confederate monuments Steve Marshall supports the protection of the monuments and Stadthagen also stands behind the protection Those at the meeting seemed to overwhelmingly support the protections as well There were concerns about the slippery slope removing the monuments could potentially create some asking if it would lead to renaming streets R-Tuscaloosa will once again introduce a bill eliminating the need to obtain a permit for a concealed pistol the Alabama Senate passed his bill but it died in the House committee.  “I was one of three sheriffs last session that was pro no permit for Alabama there’s a vehicle exclusion that you have to have it unloaded if you don’t have a permit if you’ve got a good guy and it’s unloaded he might as well have a rock.”  Gentry pointed out that the majority of accidental discharges happen during the loading and unloading of a firearm not requiring permits would eliminate the loading and unloading in public places Gun permits would still be available and needed for those traveling to other states.  Stadthagen said he was recently asked about his views regarding broadband internet access “it’s kind of a no brainer question to me it’s just Charter and AT&T fighting over who’s going to get it.” “I’m for letting the people vote for it; the tough part is deciding where the money goes.” “The way it’s set up is going to be a big deal.” One citizen worried about how the money would be managed Stadthagen said he hopes to address overall fiscal responsibility with a new bill he has written “We legislate money prior to handing it out to departments We don’t legislate AFTER we give it out My bill is going to propose that every department in the State of Alabama that receives funding from the general fund whatever they can save within that fiscal year is going to be a 90/10 split 90 percent will go back to the general fund while 10 percent will be dispersed equally to every employee in that department as a bonus or incentive so they police themselves.”  Stadthagen said the Alabama State Employees Association has had an opportunity to study the bill and is supportive of the ideas proposed Stadthagen hopes to eliminate departments’ rush to fill out their budgets at the end of each year in order to receive more money the following year most of the discussion focused on care for those in prison and not on the lack of mental health resources available to law-abiding citizens “I think if we get every inmate that has a mental illness and we put them in a place where they need to be our prisons will be just fine.”  “You have to differentiate between true mental illness and drug-induced mental illness The main problem right now with the prison system is the moment they hit prison We are the only county in the state that’s under a federal injunction now and basically it’s this: it doesn’t matter what you do but there’s tons of programs down there for these guys but they aren’t there long enough to use them There’s no motivation to get the help because there are no consequences. Also there’s no place to take the true mentally ill Long-term treatment facilities aren’t available.” Gentry also cited the “dip and dunk” program as no longer doing what it was designed to do The dip (72 hours In county jail) and dunk (45 days in county jail) was created mainly for probationers He said the prisons want the time to be served in the prisons thus raising the numbers.  Stadthagen said the plan being pushed by Gov Kay Ivey would raise the tax on gas 12 cents over the next four years: 6 cents the first year and an additional 2 cents each year until it reached the 12 cents The bill is worded in a way that could be tricky to voters  A “yes” vote would be a vote against the proposed tax plan Stadthagen acknowledged the need for infrastructure improvement but said he has many concerns regarding adding more tax to gas but many of my constituents live in rural areas with long commutes They are living paycheck to paycheck and the extra money for gas is going to hurt I campaigned on being fiscally responsible,” he said with the comments in the room circling back to the perceived poor money management and lack of oversight in Montgomery.  “Sixty million gallons of fuel were bought in Cullman last year That comes to roughly $45,000 per mile per year of gas tax that comes out of Cullman County that goes to the state but we don’t have money to fix our roads I’d likely be more supportive if the money stayed local.” Stadthagen said he has seen the top 10 projects the State wants to focus on if the gas tax is passed He said nothing in the 9th District is listed Stadthagen encouraged those in his district to reach out to him or his office with any questions I didn’t run to be a career politician,” he said “I ran to do what’s right for our community and to serve the people of our district Where our people stand is where I’ll stand If it’s with them and we get lucky and end up on the same page down there and they stand where we are back home Stadthagen can be reached at 334-261-0436 and www.facebook.com/repscottstadthagen The next regular session of the Alabama Legislature begins March 5 Log in to leave a comment Republican candidate for Alabama House of Representatives District 9 speaks at his campaign kick-off rally in Hartselle in June 2017 MONTGOMERY – After Terrie Jones Savage withdrew from the race for Alabama House of Representatives District 9 last week the Alabama Democratic Party held open qualifying for a replacement through Aug 11 to name an official candidate at the State Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting  Though the party was able to seat replacement candidates in two other races (State House District 80: Christopher Davis and 15th Judicial Circuit Place 6 Judge: Jimmy B according to Josh Robinson at the party office in Montgomery no candidate qualified for the District 9 House seat According to Press Secretary John Bennett at the office of the Alabama Secretary of State so a possibility exists that the race could continue Having had no candidates present themselves so far the party may face an uphill battle to challenge Republican candidate Scott Stadthagen for the seat Stadthagen said that he had heard rumors about why Savage “They’ll be in our prayers.” Stadthagen was not aware of the outcome of last Saturday’s Democratic Executive Committee meeting; he responded “As far as the campaign’s concerned  We’re going to campaign like we’ve been campaigning and make sure we represent our district well in Montgomery “There’s not (another candidate at this point) but part of our campaign is listening to the people of our district; I’m not going to stop doing that and we said if we end up not having an opponent we’re still going to be out in our district and we’re still going to be talking to people and listening to people and that’s kind of what we’ve done from 20 months ago and we’re going to continue to do that “I’m excited about the next page for our state with the leadership we have: with the Speaker Mac McCutcheon and our House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter  And I really think it’s going to be a new page for the state of Alabama we’re going to do very good things as a team.” The race for the House District 9 seat was wide open going into the June 5 primary since incumbent Rep R-Hartselle announced he was not seeking re-election Stadthagen beat primary opponents Justin Morrow (20.92 percent) and James Bowling (16.66 percent) handily Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Stadthagen Formation of north-western Germany An artist’s impression of Enalioetes schroederi The newly-discovered crocodylomorph species lived in the shallow seas of Germany during the Early Cretaceous epoch Dubbed Enalioetes schroederi, the ancient reptile belonged to the family Metriorhynchidae “Metriorhynchids had smooth scaleless skin Sven Sachs from the Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld and his colleagues “They fed on a variety of prey including fast-moving animals like squids and fish serrated teeth suggesting they fed on other marine reptiles.” “They are best known from the Jurassic period with their fossils becoming rarer in the Cretaceous.” A perfectly preserved skull of Enalioetes schroederi was discovered more than a hundred years ago by the German architect D Hapke in a quarry in Sachsenhagen near Hannover This specimen is the best-preserved metriorhynchid crocodylomorph known from the Cretaceous period “The specimen is remarkable as it is one very few metriorhynchids that is known by a three-dimensionally preserved skull,” Dr “This allowed us to CT scan the specimen and so we were able to learn a lot about the internal anatomy of these marine crocodiles.” “The remarkable preservation allowed us to reconstruct the internal cavities and even the inner ears of the animal.” Enalioetes schroederi gives paleontologists fresh insight into how metriorhynchids were evolving during the Cretaceous “During the Jurassic metriorhynchids evolved a body-plan radically different from other crocodiles — flippers loss of bony armor and smooth scaleless skin,” said Dr a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh “These changes were adaptations to an increasingly marine lifestyle.” “Enalioetes schroederi shows us that this trend continued into the Cretaceous as Enalioetes schroederi even larger eyes than other metriorhynchids — which were already big by crocodylian standards — and the bony inner ears were even more compact than other metriorhynchids a sign that Enalioetes schroederi was probably a faster swimmer.” The discovery of Enalioetes schroederi is reported in a paper in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology A new genus of metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 22 (1): 2359946; doi: 10.1080/14772019.2024.2359946 Left to right: Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer Scott Stadthagen and Cullman City Council President Garlan Gudger/ Andrew Cryer HARTSELLE– Packing the Hartselle Farmer’s Market to near capacity this weekend Scott Stadthagen officially kicked off his campaign to represent those in Alabama House of Representatives District 9 in a seat currently held by Republican Ed Henry who has announced he will not be seeking re-election District 9 is comprised of northern and western portions of Cullman County as well as portions of Morgan and Marshall Counties Cullman City Council President Garlan Gudger and Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer were in attendance at the market; however and we’re here to show support.” Hartselle Citizens for Economic Development’s Bob Francis introduced Stradthagen to the gathered crowd ability and integrity who will represent you with a servant’s heart.” Stradthagen promised those at the rally that he will be “a conservative goals-driven representative in Montgomery for District 9.”   “I was invited to some of our civic groups and our chamber of commerce I was able to see firsthand what was and what wasn’t happening in our area; more importantly I began to see the pattern of what it took to accomplish the big ideas “I believe in conservative fiscal policies less government regulations and an emphasis on personal freedom and responsibility.”    Incumbent Henry announced back in January that he will not seek another term Cullman County’s state legislative delegation – When the Alabama Legislature convenes for its 2019 regular session on March 5 it will have a full slate waiting; 50 bills have already been pre-filed in the House of Representatives Each legislator has been assigned to serve on certain House or Senate committees: Legislation proposed or supported by members of Cullman County delegation Cullman County’s legislative delegation has had a hand in pre-filing certain pieces of that collection of bills cosponsored by numerous others including Rep  The bill would require the State Board of Education to review and approve any rules relating to student participation eligibility before adoption by any high school athletic organization and would require 25 percent of the membership of the governing body of that organization to consist of individuals appointed by the State Superintendent of Education or the State Board of Education  The bill would allow a person who is a resident of a state bordering on the State of Alabama who carries on a business or who is regularly employed in the State of Alabama to be commissioned as a notary public by the judge of probate of the county in which the person carries on his or her profession any Notary Public in Alabama must be a resident of the state Scott Stadthagen and co-sponsored by others including Rep the bill would encourage state agencies to save money by allowing them to keep ten percent of any unspent money from their budget in a given year and convert that money into employee bonuses  The other 90 percent of unspent funds would revert to the state’s General Fund so that it could be rerouted to other places where extra funds might be needed Proposed amendment could make Curtis Wilson-Stephanie Harmon Interlock Act permanent Act 2018-517) named in part after Cullman teen Curtis Wilson who was killed by a drunk driver (A reckless murder case against the driver is still pending) requiring persons charged with DUI and enrolled in pretrial diversion programs to have ignition interlock devices installed in their cars  The devices would require the driver to pass a breathalyzer test before the car will crank See www.cullmantribune.com/articles/2018/04/25/new-law-targeting-drunk-drivers-named-after-cullman-dui-victim-curtis-wilson The law as enacted last year was what is called a “sunset act,” a law which only remains in effect for a specific time  Act 2018-517 is currently set to expire in July 2023 would remove the sunset clause and make the interlock act permanent Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced her Rebuild Alabama Infrastructure Plan which proposes a 10-cent increase in Alabama’s fuel tax with an index designed to coincide with the rising costs of building roads Alabama currently imposes a flat excise tax of 18 cents-per-gallon on gas and 19 cents-per-gallon on diesel without adjusting for inflation and other construction and maintenance costs The governor’s office said this combined fuel tax revenue generates 80 percent of Alabama’s transportation funding would be phased in over the next three years Ivey said new revenue generated by the increase would be dispersed between state county and municipal governments in Alabama with these funds to be used for transportation infrastructure improvement A separate portion of the revenues would go to pay a bond to be issued to finance improvements to the ship channel providing access to the facilities of the Alabama State Docks you can contact your legislators in their Montgomery offices at the following phone numbers and email addresses Stadthagen does not currently have a House email address; the address came from his personal legislative website Beata pioneered a succession of poetry workshops in London, and developed a distinctive style of public reading at libraries, pubs, bookshops, theatres, the Southbank Centre, the Poetry Society she became a popular performer in north London was born in Berlin to a distinguished and creative family: her father the air-ace Paul Stadthagen; her grandfather the pioneer urologist Eugen Rehfisch; her great-uncle the noted Social Democrat MP Arthur Stadthagen Beata remembered family dinner parties with Bertolt Brecht and the theatre director Erwin Piscator and the following year Beata and her older brother first to Bunce Court boarding school in Otterden Paul and other relatives remained in Germany and were murdered by the Nazi regime Beata survived the blitz and gained a history degree from Birkbeck taking part-time jobs as a school and college librarian researcher for the Encyclopaedia Britannica She studied English literature at University College London attended poetry events including the last London reading by Dylan Thomas and researched the lives of Virginia Woolf and DH Lawrence Beata contributed to many local journals and campaigned for the preservation of libraries supported the north-west London group of the National Osteoporosis Society and researched into herbal health remedies her growing family and memories of her childhood in Berlin were balanced with a shy but witty delivery Her spoken English sharpened still with a hint of German and at the end of her long life an elderly lady with a walking stick delivered lines with an unexpected edge and surprising subject matter Williams commented on her poetry’s “razor-sharp irony and a taste for the surreal counterbalanced by a tender moral sense … from the best and worst of life’s experiences” Beata is also survived by her grandchildren