Ralph Chapoco

Ralph Chapoco

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Ralph Chapoco is a senior reporter for the Alabama Reflector. Prior to that, he was the political watchdog reporter for Florida Today, covering local politicians and the impact their policies have on the community. He began as an education reporter for a year and half for the Rio Grande Sun in New Mexico and the North Platte Telegraph in North Platte, Nebraska. Afterward, he spent more than three years at the Washington County Daily News as the local political journalist.

Federal court ruling on Alabama prison mental health care could lower staffing requirements
Alabama

Federal court ruling on Alabama prison mental health care could lower staffing requirements

Jul 02, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Key points The ruling by a three-panel judge of the 11th Circuit largely agreed with the federal district court ruling that the Alabama Department of Corrections does not provide a constitutionally-adequate level of care for people in the state’s prisons...
Gov. Kay Ivey appoints Jennifer Conway to serve on Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles
Alabama

Gov. Kay Ivey appoints Jennifer Conway to serve on Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles

Jul 01, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday appointed Jennifer Conway to fill the lone vacancy on the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. Conway succeeds former board member Darryl Littleton, who stepped down from the board in January to serve as the deputy...
Alabama consumers to pay more for groceries as state sales tax holiday ends
Alabama

Alabama consumers to pay more for groceries as state sales tax holiday ends

Jun 30, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Key points Shoppers will pay more for groceries starting in the next few days as state sales tax holiday expires. The holiday suspended the 2% portion imposed by the state on groceries because of an amendment added to a bill...
Alabama Department of Youth Services updates several policies
Alabama

Alabama Department of Youth Services updates several policies

Jun 29, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
The Alabama Department Youth Services (DYS) board approved a set of five policies at its meeting Friday that outlines how the department will operate and the control center will function. Board members updated policies earlier in the day, which dealt...
Appeals court reverses some orders in lawsuit against Alabama Department of Corrections
Alabama

Appeals court reverses some orders in lawsuit against Alabama Department of Corrections

Jun 29, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday agreed that people incarcerated within Alabama’s prisons are not receiving adequate mental health care — but rolled back several requirements a lower court imposed to address the...
Alabama Reentry Task Force to continue defining recidivism
Alabama

Alabama Reentry Task Force to continue defining recidivism

Jun 24, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Key points The Alabama Reentry Task Force will refine the definition of recidivism. The recidivism rate will be a key metric to improve the state’s reentry efforts. Reentry 2030, an initiative backed by the Legislature, aims to reduce recidivism by...
Residents and mining company agree to terms that ends 18 months of litigation
Alabama

Residents and mining company agree to terms ending 18 months of litigation

Jun 23, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Key points The terms require the company to create a buffer and operate within specific hours. It must also notify residents before using explosives to harvest limestone from mine. Judge required the company to alter operations in January to accommodate...
Alabama nitrogen gas ruling could reverberate beyond state
Alabama

Alabama nitrogen gas ruling could reverberate beyond state

Jun 22, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Key points Federal courts blocked Alabama’s use of nitrogen gas in executions earlier this month, ruling that it created “air hunger” and suffering that went beyond what the Constitution allows. Only a handful of states had followed Alabama in using...
Gov. Kay Ivey sets August execution of man convicted of rape, murder of child
Alabama

Gov. Kay Ivey sets August execution of man convicted of rape, murder of child

Jun 18, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Gov. Kay Ivey Thursday scheduled an August execution for a death row inmate convicted of the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Russell County. Jeremy Williams, 41, waived his right to appeal his conviction after the Alabama Court...
Southern Poverty Law Center names Ryan Haygood president and CEO
Alabama

Southern Poverty Law Center names Ryan Haygood president and CEO

Jun 18, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
The Southern Poverty Law Center announced on Tuesday that it had hired Ryan P. Haygood as the organization’s next president and CEO. Haygood is a civil rights attorney who currently serves as CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social...
Gov. Kay Ivey makes four appointments to the Alabama Public Service Commission
Alabama

Gov. Kay Ivey makes four appointments to the Alabama Public Service Commission

Jun 17, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday appointed four people to the Alabama Public Service Commission, under a law passed in the spring that significantly expanded membership of the utility regulator. The appointments, coming one day after GOP voters rejected the second of...
Former State Auditor Jim Zeigler wins GOP nomination for Public Service Commission
Alabama

Former State Auditor Jim Zeigler wins GOP nomination for Public Service Commission

Jun 17, 2026
Ralph Chapoco
Former Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler Tuesday won the Republican nomination for Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2, defeating Commissioner Chris Beeker III as GOP voters voted to replace a second incumbent on the utility regulator. As of Wednesday, Zeigler...