🌱 Tide Road Win + Stillman Donation + UA Building Name

Good morning, Tuscaloosa! It's me again, Ryan Phillips, your host of the Tuscaloosa Daily.

In today's Daily, we have these stories and more ...

• Big donations to Stillman College.
• Tide top Rebels on the road.
• Controversial building name debate on UA campus.

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First, today's weather: Mostly sunny. High: 67 | Low: 38.

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🗣 Patch Shout Out 🗣

Our Shout Out for this Thursday morning goes to the Alabama Power Foundation, who donated a $100,000 grant to Stillman College to support the college's STEM education and workforce initiatives. The grant will provide scholarships, internships and externship opportunities to Stillman students through the Black Male Initiative — a student support and career development program on campus.

🗞 Here are the top 5 stories today in Tuscaloosa 🗞

1. A University of Alabama System Board of Trustees meeting is expected no later than Friday, Feb. 11 to receive its latest recommendation regarding the renaming of Bibb Graves Hall to Lucy-Graves Hall, which honors the legacy of Autherine Lucy Foster. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
2. The Crimson Tide men's basketball team (15-9, 5-6) earned a hard-fought road win 97-80 over Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. The win marked the Tide's first road win since Jan. 5. (More)
3. The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit provided additional updates to local media Wednesday after the murder arrest of a Demopolis woman who is accused of running over her boyfriend and killing him Tuesday on Interstate 20/59 near the Skyland Boulevard exit. Watch the full video here. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
   
4. The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force has arrested a Northport man on nine charges involving material depicting child sexual abuse. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
5. A man is in custody after a brief police pursuit in Tuscaloosa Tuesday night resulted in damage to the suspect vehicle and a metro task force vehicle involved in the chase. (Tuscaloosa Patch)
   

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🗓 Today in Tuscaloosa 🗓

• Huxford Symphony with Jenny Grégoire (More)
• Frank Ray @ Rhythm & Brews (More)
• Darwin Day @ Alabama Museum of Natural History (More)
• Poetry Corner (More)

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👀 Check It Out 👀

Firehouse Subs says it in wrapping up construction on its first Northport restaurant and plans to be open before the end of this winter. (More)

✏️ Tuscaloosa Patch Notebook ✏️

The University of Alabama will be home to a new research center dedicated to the prevention, treatment and management of substance use disorders. (Tuscaloosa Patch)

In other UA campus news, the community is invited to attend presentations by the four finalists for the position of dean of the College of Engineering starting Feb. 14. (Tuscaloosa Patch)

Stillman College softball started its 2022 season with a pair of road losses Wednesday in West Point, Georgia against Point University. (More)

Shelton State Community College's Shelton Singers will present a concert of spirituals on Sunday, March 6 at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church of Tuscaloosa. (Tuscaloosa Patch)

Donations for tornado victims in nearby Sawyerville are also being collected in the Shelton State atrium of the college's Martin Campus and will conclude with the Songs of Unity concert on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

College baseball season is here and Alabama will be featured on nine national broadcasts across the ESPN family of networks during the 2022 season. (More)

📉 Number of the Day 📈

4th

Where Tuscaloosa County ranked among Alabama counties for growth, according to 2020 Census numbers, which projects substantial year-over-year growth. The data also shows Tuscaloosa County's population in 2020 had grown to 227,036, which was up 16.6% from the last Census in 2010 and far exceeds the statewide average of 5.1%.

👨‍💻 Other stories I'm reading today 👨‍💻

- Tuscaloosan competing in 'America Ninja Warrior' (Valarie Bracken, WVUA 23)

- Vandals destroy WWII battle cross at Tuscaloosa's Veterans Memorial Park (Stephen Dethrage, Tuscaloosa Thread)

- Tuscaloosa middle school remembers teen shot and killed by stray bullet (Kelvin Reynolds, WBRC Fox 6 News)

- Eutaw will upgrade water system with new technology (Annie Mapp, ABC 33/40)

- Bill would ban hormone treatment for transgender minors (Kim Chandler, Associated Press)

- Senate committee approves two monument bills (Eddie Burkhalter, Alabama Political Reporter)

- Alabama paroles bureau buys private prison in Perry County to use for rehabilitation (Mike Cason, AL.com)

- SGA pushes for return of physical Action Cards (Alex Gravlee, Crimson White)

- Lockheed Martin, Airbus pick Alabama, Georgia to manufacture new aircraft (Joshua Mann, Birmingham Business Journal)

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🌱 Patch Preview 🌱

Be on the lookout today for my feature story from the campaign trail, as I tagged along Wednesday morning with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Durant on a campaign stop in Tuscaloosa. It's exclusive campaign trail content you won't find anywhere else but Tuscaloosa Patch.

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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with another update.

— RP