Alabama is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States.

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Breaking News from The Birmingham News - al.com

Citigroup Global modifies proposal for Jefferson County sewer debt with second option
(205) 325-2478 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:01:30 -0000
Newest option offers possible 4-percent sewer rate increases after 2012.Citigroup Global Markets Inc., the New York bank working with the Jefferson County Commission on its financial crisis, modified its proposal today to present two options for dealing with potential revenue shortfalls if the county refinances its $4.7 billion debt.Still on the table is a provision that calls for automatic increases in property taxes if revenues to repay sewer debt fall short, but capping sewer rate increases at 2 percent a year from 2012 to 2048. It also calls for automatic sales tax increases if revenues fall short for repaying bonds used to refinance existing education debt. The new option calls for automatic sewer-rate increases of 4 percent a year after 2012 if sewer-system revenues are not sufficient to repay money borrowed to refinance that debt. This proposal would eliminate the prospect of automatic property tax increases, but retains potential sales tax increases on the refinanced education debt.
Jefferson County jury says John Ashley of Morris guilty of capital murder
(205) 325-2478 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:27:15 -0000
Sentencing hearing being held this afternoon A Jefferson County jury this afternoon convicted John Ashley of capital murder in the 2005 deaths of two teens in Morris. The jury of seven women and five men indicated it had reached a verdict at 12:40 p.m. They convicted Ashley on the charge that he killed two people arising from the same incident. Ashley, 22, shot 19-year-old Tyler Carter and 18-year-old Alexander Lee on Oct. 6, 2005, in the driveway of the Stratford Court home in Morris where he lived with his mother and brother. The same jury will begin hearing evidence this afternoon in the sentencing phase of the trial. They can recommend a sentence of death or life without parole. In closing arguments on Thursday, defense lawyer David Luker told the Jefferson County jury that his client acted in self-defense to protect both himself and his mother. But the prosecutors, Mike Anderton and Tyler Forsythe, contend that Ashley lured the two teens to his home, planning to rob them. Each teen was shot three times, including shots fired into their heads from less than three feet.
One reactor shut down at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant
(205) 325-2482 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:46:52 -0000
Device that monitors steam produced by reactor to be repaired.Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant near Athens was shut down at 5:30 this morning for repairs to a device that monitors the temperature of steam being produced by the reactor, said Jason Huffine, a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority plant. Unit 1, along with the plant's other two reactors, had been operating at 50 percent since Thursday morning to keep water being discharged from the plant into the Tennessee River from heating the river water beyond state standards. The power cutback had been necessary after both transformers failed in the past week to power the plant's cooling towers. How long it will take to finish the repairs was not known, Huffine said. Last year the Unit 1 reactor was returned to service for the first time in 22 years after a five-year, $1.9 billion restoration project.

Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com

Coming Sunday: Marc Yu
dlord@press-register.com Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:27:15 -0000
Concert pianist Marc Yu made a stop in Mobile recently, and the young man, who at 9 is internationally known, talked about music, life and the importance of knowing your audience when you tell a joke. (For the complete story, see Sunday's Press-Register.)
McCain's lead slips in Alabama
gtalbot@press-register.com Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:45:03 -0000
John McCain's lead in Alabama over Barack Obama has slipped by 10 percent over the past two months, according to results of a new statewide poll. Republican presidential candidate John McCain McCain leads Obama 47-to-34 percent in the latest survey by the Capital Survey Research Center, a polling arm of the Alabama Education Association. McCain's margin was down from a similar poll in June that showed him leading Obama by 57-to-34 percent. Polling experts said McCain, a Republican, was still a lock to win in Alabama, where voters have favored the GOP candidate in every presidential election since 1976. But AEA polling director Gerald Johnson said the latest numbers may underestimate support for Obama, a Democrat, by 2-to-4 percent, because of new voter registrations. (For a complete report, see Saturday's Press-Register.)
Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell to resign
jamy@press-register.com Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:19:45 -0000
Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter BellAlabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell will resign at the end of August, the governor's office confirmed to the Press-Register this afternoon. Bell, who is from Mobile, has been the state's chief insurance regulator since 2003. During that time, the Department of Insurance has grappled with a coastal property insurance market that was roiled by 2004's Hurricane Ivan and 2005's Hurricane Katrina.Prices for homeowners insurance have rose sharply statewide during the early part of Bell's tenure, though no figures are available yet for 2006 and 2007. Bell won the respect of his peers, becoming the first Alabamian to be elected president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. "It has been my genuine honor to serve as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance," Bell said in a statement. "I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by Governor Riley. I also appreciate the hard work and dedication from our wonderful team at the Alabama Department of Insurance. "I am excited as to what the future holds for the Department of Insurance, and I am excited about the challenges ahead for me." Jeff Emerson, a spokesman for Riley, said the governor is already looking for a successor and expects to name one "soon." Emerson deferred comment on Bell's future plans to the outgoing commissioner. (For a complete report, read Saturday's Press-Register.)

Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com

Twin's condition upgraded to serious
niki.doyle@htimes.com Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:44:23 -0000
ContributedCourtney McCarten, 12, is now listed in serious condition. A 12-year-old Huntsville girl's health is improving in a New Jersey hospital where her grandmother and twin sister died after a brutal attack Monday. Courtney McCarten's condition was upgraded to serious this morning, said Jenna Dearth, a spokeswoman for AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. She had been listed as critical since the Monday morning attack. McCarten and her sister, Kimberly, were visiting their grandmother in Galloway Township, N.J., when the woman's son allegedly bludgeoned and stabbed them with a knife, ax handle and ceramic bowl, a spokeswoman with the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said. Kimberly died at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday from blunt force trauma to the head. The twins' grandmother, Loretta Weed, died hours after the attack from similar injuries. The girls' uncle, 41-year-old Ronald Weed, faces two counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to the prosecutor's office. His bail is set at $1 million.
Longtime Legion Field announcer, Pepper, dies
ronnie.white@htimes.com Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:52:33 -0000
MONTGOMERY -- The longtime public address announcer at Birmingham's Legion Field, Simpson Pepper, has died. He was 79. Pepper died Thursday at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. He had been in the hospital on a ventilator since a friend discovered he had fallen at his home two weeks ago. Pepper was known as "the voice of Legion Field" and was preparing to work his 45th season as the public address announcer at the Birmingham stadium. Pepper also served as the public address announcer for all University of Alabama home games in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham from 1970 to 1997. Pepper was a retired public school teacher, coach and principal. Since retiring in 1986, he had been teaching at Central Park Christian School.
Video: Remembering bank murder victim Jerry Richard
lee.roop@htimes.com Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:17:17 -0000
Huntsville police say popular Regions Bank night crew chief Jerry Richard was shot and killed in a Memorial Parkway bank parking lot Thursday night because he didn't have any money to give a would-be robber. Huntsville police say popular Regions Bank night crew chief Jerry Richard was shot and killed in a Memorial Parkway bank parking lot Thursday night because he didn't have any money to give a would-be robber. Richard and two other men were in the parking lot behind the Regions bank just north of Bob Wallace Avenue when a black man with a handgun approached, police said. The man pointed the gun and shot when Richard said they had no money, police said. The man fled, Richard was rushed to Huntsville Hospital, and he died there. Christi Hovis, a friend of the Richard family, said this morning that the two men on Richard's crew credit him with their own survival. Neither one was injured. The crew traveled to various Regions banks at night to perform needed maintenance. Police continue looking for the shooter today.

montgomeryadvertiser.com - News

Dating rush draws dozens
Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:40:00 -0600
They have 300 seconds to connect.
Frenzy over latest 'Batman' movie continues to grow
Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:34:00 -0600
People can not get enough of "The Dark Knight."

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