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Alabama Senate Blocks Bill to Remove State Sales Tax from Groceries |
The Alabama Senate has refused for the second time to begin debate on a bill to remove the state sales tax on groceries.
State Sen. Hank Sanders (D-Selma) tried to get the bill up for debate Thursday. But he fell one vote short of the three-fifths majority needed to begin debate. Sanders made a similar effort April 30 and fell three votes short. Sanders said he plans to try again before the legislative session ends.
The bill is a proposed constitutional amendment. It would remove the state's 4 percent sales tax on groceries and it would raise the threshold where a family of starts paying the state income tax from $12,600 to $20,000. The bill would replace the lost revenue by eliminating the state income tax deduction for federal taxes paid.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Wants New Freeway in Alabama |
Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. wants to create a commission to study how to finance and build a freeway from the Florence area to the Mobile area. Folsom said Thursday people have been discussing the need for a freeway down the west side of the state since he was a child and it's time to do something.
Folsom is proposing a commission appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. It would explore both public and private financing and will report to the Legislature next February.
The Democratic lieutenant governor announced his proposed commission at a news conference with 17 Democratic and Republican legislators. It will be up to the Legislature to vote to create the commission.
Sen. Rusty Glover (R-Semmes) said the proposed highway would provide Alabama's coast with better access to the Midwest.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Attorney Gen. Troy King Agrees with Facebook Changes |
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Alabama's Troy King and 48 other attorneys general have agreed to changes with Facebook. King said the world's second-largest social networking Web site is adding more than 40 new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies.
The changes include banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users' ability to search online for subscribers under 18 and joining an existing task force seeking ways to better verify users' ages and identities.
King said in a statement Thursday, "the agreement with Facebook and an agreement in January with MySpace are important steps to provide meaningful reform that will help keep children safe."
Facebook has more than 70 million active users worldwide.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Alabama State University Accused of NCAA Violations |
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Another college athletic program in Alabama is under the microscope of the NCAA. This time, Alabama State University comes under fire for hundreds of alleged instances of violations.
The claims include 24 rule violations in not only the football program, but men's and women's basketball, as well as the baseball team.
Nearly 668 alleged instances are listed in the notice of allegations by the NCAA, and charges also include a lack of institutional control.
Almost 500 of the instances include ineligible football players being allowed to work out in the offseason. Other allegations include grades of football players being changed without the knowledge of instructors.
The university has until June 27th to respond to the allegations, which allegedly all took place between1999 and 2003.
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Alabama Senate Approves General Fund Budget |
The Alabama Senate has approved a $2.0 billion General Fund budget that emphasizes programs serving children and the elderly. The Senate voted 29-4 Tuesday for the General Fund budget and sent it to the House for review.
The Senate's budget is largely like one approved earlier by the House. It increases funding for the Medicaid Agency and the Department of Public Health in the new fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The appropriations for many other state agencies are tiered depending on how much revenue the state receives.
Earlier Tuesday, the Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee voted unanimously for a $6.3 billion education budget. That's down from $6.7 billion this year due to the economic slowdown. K-12 schools would get reduced 3 percent and universities 11 percent.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Analysts Expect Gas Prices to Peak in June |
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The federal government Tuesday again raised its short-term price forecasts for crude oil and gasoline - trends that are expected to reduce demand.
The Energy Department predicts average monthly gasoline prices should peak at $3.73 a gallon in June, an increase of 13 cents from last month's estimate. Regular-grade gasoline is expected to average $3.52 a gallon in 2008, 71 cents above last year's average.
Diesel fuel prices are projected to average $3.94 per gallon this year, up from $2.88 per gallon in 2007.
According to AAA, the average price in Alabama for regular is almost $3.53 while diesel costs $4.11 a gallon. Nationally, the price for regular is $3.61. Diesel prices remain at about $4.24.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Montgomery Police Search for Murder Suspect |
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Montgomery Police have named a suspect sought in Sunday's shooting death of a 19-year-old Montgomery woman. Capt. Huey Thornton, a spokesman, said 42-year-old Joseph Miller, also of Montgomery, is wanted for the murder of Shyya Robinson.
Thornton said officers found the victim at about 6:40 a.m. in an apartment on the city's north side. Police said the shooting appeared to connected to a domestic dispute between the victim and her ex-boyfriend.
The homicide was Montgomery's 9th of the year.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Gov. Bob Riley Can Veto Double Dipping Bill Without Possible Override |
A filing mixup has given Gov. Bob Riley the power to kill a measure that would allow legislators and other elected officials to engage in what is known as "double dipping." Riley has promised to veto the bill if it passes the Senate. And the mixup means the Legislature cannot override the veto.
The bill passed the House Thursday evening, but was not transmitted to the Senate in time to be officially received Thursday. That means the earliest the measure can pass the Senate is the final day of the 2008 session on May 19. The governor can veto bills passed on the last day of the session without lawmakers having a chance to override the governor.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Offical: Alabama's Wiregrass Won't Be Home to New Volkswagen Plant |
An official says the Wiregrass area won't be getting the new Volkswagen plant.
Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said he had learned the area had been eliminated from an update sent out by Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Parker. Culver says he believes the competition for the plant now is between north Alabama and Tennessee.
Other Alabama sites no longer in consideration for a plant in the United States include the Mobile Area and a Black Belt location near Meridian, Mississippi.
Volkswagen said last month it had narrowed its search for a U.S. factory to Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Prayers for Pastor's Daughter-In-Law |
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KATHERINE'S RECOVERY
GET UPDATES FROM FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
Thousands of people are offering prayers for Katherine Wolf, the daughter-in-law of the pastor of Montgomery's First Baptist Church. She is in critical condition after suffering a brain hemmorage April 21st.
Wolf is just 26 years old and is a wife and new mother.
"They've just had this magic romance, they have a six-month-old son named James and seem to have the perfect life -- three weeks away from graduating from Pepperdine Law School and everything has shattered," Rev. Jay Wolf, pastor at First Baptist, told CBS 8 News.
For more than 15 years, Rev. Wolf has guided his congregation of thousands. While he's helped share his faith with others, now he is relying on it.
"I believe that life is a short journey that it is an obstacle course that constantly challenges my capacity to trust Him, but I'm trusting Him," he said.
"He has shouldered this with all the grace and love for the Lord that I've always seen him have for everybody," church member Jennifer Gwyn said. "He's been very solid, a strong rock and has never once wavered," she said.
On April 21st, Rev. Wolf's daughter-in-law Katherine's legs went numb, she instantly fell to the floor and was then rushed to the emergency room.
"They immediately went into a 13-hour surgery. She brushed death numbers of times," he said. In the process, she lost 32 units of blood.
"The doctor said it was the worst of this type of surgery that he had ever done in his career. He said the prognosis is extremely bleak that she would wake up, there would be many deficiencies, there would be a great chance she's paralyzed and perhaps brain dead," he said.
Just hours after the surgery, Katherine gave her family a hopeful sign. She was able to move all of her toes on command. The family says they feel like they are sitting in the front row of miracle.
Count on CBS 8 News for updates on Katherine's recovery.
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Montgomery Man Charged with Killing Three-Year-Old Son |
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Montgomery Police have a charged a man with capital murder in the beating death of his 3-year-old son. Alvin Johnson, 36, is charged with killing Chad Johnson.
Police say a preliminary autopsy shows the boy died of blunt force trauma to the head. Officers say the boy had been taken to Jackson Hospital's emergency room Wednesday with a severe internal head injury. He was moved to Children's Hospital in Birmingham where he died Thursday.
Police say Alvin Johnson gave numerous stories as to what happened but officers had probable cause to make the arrest. He is being held without bond.
This is Montgomery's eighth homicide of the year.
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Elmore Co. Deputies Cracking Down on Drunk Drivers in a New Way |
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From the CBS 8 Elmore Co. Mobile Newsroom -- Elmore Co. Sheriff's deputies are teaming up to fight drinking and driving using a new method.
In what's called the "Refuse of Lose" campaign, if suspected drunk drivers refuse a breathalizer test, they could be forced into giving a blood sample. The campaign runs May 16-26.
During the campaign, a judge will be on standby to give the order for a blood test. First, the deputy must prove probable cause that someone has been drinking. Then the judge will decide whether to issue the order.
The suspected drunk driver will then be taken to Elmore Community Hospital for the blood test.
Prosecutors are teaming up with the sheriff's office effort hoping to save lives and get drunk drivers off the streets.
The timing of the campaign was designed to coincide with Memorial Day weekend and graduation ceremonies, when deputies say there's a rise in DUI cases.
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Two Montgomery Middle School Students Arrested after Fight |
Two students from Montgomery's Southlawn Middle School have been arrested and face charges after a fight.
A Montgomery Public Schools spokesperson tells CBS 8 News that an eighth grade student and a sixth grade student got into a fight at school. During the scuffle, a teacher was hit in the mouth while trying to break it up.
Both students are charged with disorderly conduct.
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House Resolution Introduced to Remove State Gas Tax |
A resolution has been introduced in the Alabama House asking Gov. Bob Riley to consider removing the state's 16 cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline and motor fuels for one year.
The sponsor, Rep. Lesley Vance (D-Phenix City), says motorists need relief with gas prices averaging more than $3.60 a gallon. The resolution has been referred to the House Rules Committee and has not been considered on the floor.
Gov. Bob Riley says revenue from the gas tax goes to build and repair roads and bridges in the state and he would be opposed to removing the tax. Riley's press secretary, Tara Hutchison, says the governor's legal advisers do not believe he has the authority to remove the gas tax on his own.
Vance says he receives calls every day from people who are hurting financially because of gas prices.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Cuts to Alabama Courts Could Cost Hundreds of Jobs |
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Hundreds of employees of the Alabama judicial system could lose their jobs if 27% of the system's overall budget is slashed in the next fiscal year.
The Alabama House recently passed a budget appropriation of more than $158 million for the court system, but as the economy slows, more than $27 million could be taken away.
About 98% of the system's budget goes to employees and benefits. So the state could lose about 500 employees, programs would get cut, and training in the legal system might suffer.
"Do the people of Alabama want to have judges not to have their regular training sessions so they can be kept up to speed on changes in the law?" Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb told CBS 8 News. "I don't think they want that. Nor do victims of crime want to sit and see cases not tried," she said.
Cobb says she won't know what sort of budget the court system will be working with until the fiscal year begins October 1.
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Federal Officials: Mix-Up on Siegelman's Travel Restrictions |
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CBS 8's Angela Green was the only Montgomery TV reporter to interview former Gov. Don Siegelman in Louisiana when he was released from prison Mar. 28 -- CBS 8 News
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Federal court officials acknowledged Friday that they erred this week in classifying former Gov. Don Siegelman as a special offender who required an extra layer of approval before traveling to New Orleans.
Probation officials in Alabama and Louisiana mistakenly applied rules governing offenders who are on probation. Siegelman is not on probation; he is free on bond pending appeal, said Karen Redmond, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.
"They made an honest mistake," Redmond said. "They were giving him conditions for a special offender under probation. He's not. He's pretrial."
Siegelman, a Democrat who was convicted in 2006 on corruption charges, complained this week that he had been placed under new travel restrictions after appearing in several national media outlets and traveling to Washington to criticize his prosecution, which he claims was politically motivated.
He said the new rules were aimed at slowing him down or preventing him altogether from stating his case to the public.
Siegelman had requested to travel to New Orleans to visit friends, including a journalist who makes documentaries. But probation officials informed him Tuesday that he was being classified as a special offender who would need approval from the district court there to visit - a process that could take as long as a month.
Court officials in Alabama said the change was not a new restriction and that they were simply applying existing rules established by the New Orleans court. The mistake came as a result of a misunderstanding between officials in Louisiana and Alabama about Siegelman's status, Redmond said.
The 94 court districts across the country have different rules regarding visiting offenders who are on probation. As travel requests come in, probation officers routinely call other districts to inquire about those rules and to notify them of a visiting offender, she said.
Although those rules don't apply to Siegelman, he is required to get approval from the judge handling his case before traveling out of state.
Siegelman expressed relief that they acknowledged the error, but he said court officials in Alabama still seem to be tightening his travel flexibility.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Alabama Senate Budget Chairman Expects Few Changes in Education Budget |
The chairman of the Senate's education budget committee says he will encourage the Senate to approve the budget largely like the House passed it. State Sen. Hank Sanders (D-Selma) says the budget is about the best that can be put together during an economic slowdown.
The House passed a $6.3 billion budget last night. That's down from this year's $6.7 billion budget.
All levels of public education would experience cuts, ranging from 3 percent in K-12 to 11 percent at universities.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Update: Alabama House Turns Down Effort for New State Constitution |
This is a CBS 8 News Update -- The Alabama House has turned down another effort to rewrite Alabama's 107-year-old constitution.
The House did not have enough votes Thursday to bring up for a vote a bill that would set up a statewide referendum for voters to decide if they want to call a convention to write a new constitution.
The House voted 46-44 for the measure, short of the three-fifths vote needed to bring a bill up for consideration. The bill by Speaker Pro Tem Demetrius Newton (D-Birmingham) would have also given voters approval of the final version of the new constitution.
Newton's bill would have called for voters to decide during the 2010 political party primary elections if they wanted to call a convention to write a new constitution. If voters decided they want a new constitution, they would have returned to the polls to elect delegates from the state's 105 House districts to write the new constitution. Voters would have also had to have approved the final version.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Gov. Bob Riley, House Speaker Seth Hammett Want Tanker Contract Settled |
Republican Gov. Bob Riley and Democratic Alabama House Speaker Seth Hammett have urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to accept the Air Force's decision to award a tanker contract to North Grumman Corp. and EADS.
Riley held a ceremonial signing Thursday of a resolution passed by the Legislature encouraging Pelosi to support the contract which would create 2,000 jobs in the Mobile area.
The resolution passed the Legislature and was officially signed by Riley in March. He said he wanted to have a ceremonial signing Thursday because Pelosi will be in Birmingham Friday. Hammett and other legislators from both parties joined Riley at the ceremony.
Hammett and Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. have both sent letters to Pelosi asking her not to seek Congressional hearings on the contract.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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U.S. House Committee Threatens Karl Rove with Subpoena in Siegelman Case |
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The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has threatened to subpoena former White House adviser Karl Rove if he does not agree by May 12th to testify about former Gov. Don Siegelman's corruption case.
In a letter to Rove's attorney Thursday, committee lawmakers called it "completely unacceptable" that the former Republican White House aide has so far declined the committee's request for sworn testimony even as he discusses the matter publicly through the media.
Since last year, Democrats on the committee have been investigating whether Rove and other Republicans influenced Siegelman's prosecution on bribery and other charges. Siegelman, a Democrat, was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to more than seven years in prison last year.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Alabama Senate Approves Ban on Smoking in Public Places |
The Alabama Senate has passed a bill that would ban smoking in most public places in the state, including workplaces, restaurants and athletic events.
The bill passed the Senate 28-3 Wednesday and now goes to the House. A similar statewide smoking ban was approved Wednesday morning by the House Government Operations committee on a voice vote.
The American Cancer Society says 26 states currently have some sort of smoke-free statewide law.
The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Vivian Davis Figures (D-Mobile), who suffers from bronchitis and asthma and has been fighting for a statewide smoking ban for more than 10 years. In the House, the legislation is being pushed by equally passionate Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin (R-Pelham), who has survived bouts with breast and thyroid cancer.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Alabama Senate Approves Dropping State Taxes from Federal Tax Rebate Checks |
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The Alabama Senate has passed a bill to exempt the federal economic stimulus check from state income tax. The senate voted 32-0 Wednesday for a bill by Sen. Parker Griffith (D-Huntsville).
The bill would save taxpayers $57 million if the stimulus is considered taxable income for 2008.
There are legal questions about Griffith's bill because the state constitution requires revenue measures to start in the House rather than the Senate.
The legislature has four more meeting days left in the 2008 session.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Grocery Tax Bill Stalls in Alabama Senate |
A bill to remove the state sales tax from groceries has stalled in the state Senate due to opposition from Republicans. The Senate voted 16-11 to begin debate on the measure Wednesday, but that was one vote short of the number needed for debate to start.
The vote broke along party lines, with Democrats supporting consideration of the bill and Republicans opposing it.
The bill is a constitutional amendment sponsored by Sen. Hank Sanders (D-Selma). It would remove the state's 4 percent sales tax on groceries. It would pay for that tax break by repealing the state's income tax deduction for federal taxes paid.
Republicans said they were opposed to considering it unless the Senate also agreed to pass a bill ending annual property tax reappraisals.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Montgomery Nursing Home Worker Pleads Guilty to Stealing More Than $97,000 |
A former employee of a Montgomery nursing home has pleaded guilty to stealing $97,000 that families sent to pay for their loved ones' personal needs. Anne Marie Jones, 36, faces up to 30 years in prison and $45,000 in fines for two counts of first-degree theft and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
She pleaded guilty of those charges before Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge William Shashy on Wednesday.
Management at South Haven Nursing Home noticed discrepancies in the home's patient trust fund and reported it to Attorney General Troy King's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The resulting investigation found that Jones wrote $97,036.25 worth of checks from the trust fund account from September 2005 to April 2007 and deposited the money into her personal bank account.
The nursing home reimbursed the patients' accounts after the theft was discovered.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Montgomery Police Search for Shooting Suspect |
Montgomery police are looking for answers to a shooting Tuesday morning that sent one person to the hospital.
The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. in the Cleveland Court community off Rosa Parks Avenue. That's where police say a 28-year-old man was shot after he got into an fight with another man.
The shooter fled, but authorities say they did find a car matching the description of the one the man was driving. Police say they have gotten a lot of information from the community and investigators are trying to interview the victim to get more information.
Count on CBS 8 News for the very latest on the search for the shooter.
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Murder Trial for Jason Murphy Postponed |
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From the CBS 8 Elmore Co. Mobile Newsroom -- There's still no trial date for the third murder trial for Jason Murphy -- the man accused of killing Elmore Co. businessman Ronnie Holman in 2003.
Murphy's new trial was scheduled to start Tuesday but has been continued.
His first trial ended in a hung jury more than a year ago and his re-trial ended the same way last month. District Attorney Randall Houston says the total cost of all three trials could reach $100,000.
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Expert: Volkswagen Likely Looking at Alabama's Tennessee Valley for Plant |
One industry expert says Alabama's Tennessee Valley is a likely focus as Volkswagen searches for a U.S. assembly site.
One obvious contender is a Tennessee Valley Authority-certified site in Limestone County near Athens. The city of Huntsville also has generated talk by annexing large areas of land in the same area. State officials earlier identified sites in north Alabama along Interstate 65 that could handle an automotive assembly plant.
Michael Randle is editor and publisher of Birmingham-based Southern Business and Development magazine. He says Volkswagen might find the region attractive because of the number of high-tech companies in Huntsville and a highly skilled work force. Randle also notes that Toyota has done well with its engine assembly plant in Huntsville, which employs about 1,000 people.
Volkswagen said last week it has narrowed its search for a U.S. factory to Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Sculpture Made of Woman's Skull in Attempt to Identify Her Body |
Investigators hope an forensic artist's work will help them get cloer to identifying skeletal remains found more than five months ago in Montgomery County.
From the recovered skull and information from an anthropologist, the forensic expert has sculpted what she believes the woman looked like.
The skeleton was found by a road crew in December on U.S. Highway 331. Before the bust was made, all authorities knew was that the woman was wearing a teal waterproof jacket and size 12 jeans.
Now investigators hope an image of the woman may open doors to closing this case. If you have any information, call the Montgomery Co. Sheriff's office at (334) 832-2532.
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Two People Face Attempted Murder Charges in Alexander City |
Two people have been arrested in Alexander City on attempted murder charges.
Police say Vincent Bias, 41, and Joyce Leonard, 45, both of Rockford, turned themselves in around noon Monday. Both are charged with attempted murder for the April 24th shooting of a person on Bishop Street.
Police are not releasing the name of the victim.
Bice and Leonard will be transferred to the Tallapoosa County jail where bond will be set.
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Alabama Lags Behind Rest of Nation in Recycling |
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Alabamians produce more than twice as much trash each day than the average American, and they recycle or reuse much less of their garbage than in other parts of the country.
That's the statistical assessment of state environmental officials who are joining others in the recycling movement in praising enactment of a new law designed in part to give more Alabamians access to trash recycling programs. Environmentalists say the Legislature has been dragging its feet on recycling for years.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management figures show that only 81 of Alabama's 460 municipalities, or 17.6%, currrently have some sort of recycling program -- either curbside pickup or drop off -- and only 8.3% of solid waste in Alabama is recycled.
On the national level, Environmental Protection Agency records show that 32.5% of solid waste was recycled in 2006.
ADEM statistics show Alabama producing 9.9 pounds of solid waste per person each day, compared to about 4.6 pounds nationally.
The new law, passed by the Legislature earlier this month and signed by Gov. Bob Riley in celebration of Earth Day, levies a $1 per ton fee on waste disposed at landfills in Alabama. The fee is supposed to generate $7 million to $8 million annually to clean up illegal dumps on private property, inspect legal landfills and expand recycling programs to reduce the waste going to landfills.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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