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Birmingham's Interim Mayor Making Personnel Changes
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Acting Birmingham Mayor Carole Smitherman has made another big personnel change by firing Deborah Vance-Bowie as chief of staff. Smithernman, who took office last week upon the conviction of Mayor Larry Langford on federal corruption charges, says Vance-Bowie holds substantial responsibility for a nearly $21 million shortfall in the city's budget.
Vance-Bowie says she's the one who uncovered the problems.
On Monday, Smitherman announced the resignation of finance director Steve Sayler. Smitherman says Sayler told her that Langford and Vance-Bowie knew about the budget issues as early as June.
Vance-Bowie agreed she knew something was wrong with the budget months ago, but she said she did not know the extent of the problems until Oct. 15.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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State Appeals Court Says Randolph Co. Tree Can't Be Cut
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A state appeals court has ruled that one neighbor can't cut down a towering tree on the property line when the other neighbor wants to save the tree. The decision Friday by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals sets a legal precedent in Alabama.
The court's ruling reversed a decision issued in Randolph County. Kathy and Roger Ledford wanted to cut down a 100-foot-tall pine tree that is about 10 feet from their vacation home on Lake Wedowee. They said it poses a danger to their home. Their neighbors, David and Debbie Young, wanted to keep the tree that sits on the boundary line between the two homes.
The appeals court said each party has ownership rights to the tree and its removal by the Ledfords would deprive the Youngs of their property rights.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Candidates Lining Up for Birmingham Special Election for Mayor
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Candidates are beginning to line up in Birmingham to replace Larry Langford as mayor of Alabama's largest city.
An attorney who finished second to Langford in 2007 announced his candidacy on Thursday. Patrick Cooper said the city has gone through what he calls a great storm. He cited crime, employment and schools as key issues affecting the city.
The head of Greater Birmingham Ministries, Scott Douglas, previously said he was a candidate. But the city's interim mayor, Carole Smitherman, has yet to say whether she will run.
Langford was convicted on 60 felony counts in a bribery scheme and removed from office last week. A special election to replace him will be held on Dec. 8.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Attorney: Mobile Co. City of Prichard Owes More Than $1 Million
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabana -- An attorney representing the Mobile Co. city of Prichard in its bankruptcy proceedings says the city's debt is probably more than $1 million.
Attorney Scott Williams says bills from some of the city's largest creditors, including Allied Waste, are being paid. But Williams says money owed to retired city employees who did not receive a pension check last month must be added to the equation.
A first set of bankruptcy hearings for the city has been scheduled for Nov. 16. Prichard's bankruptcy petition is its second in a decade.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Judge Won't Let Walker Co. Electronic Bingo Halls to Stay Open
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A judge who declared electronic bingo illegal in Walker County has denied a request to allow the operations to continue until a higher court rules on an appeal.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance said in his order Tuesday that he cannot permit criminal activity for any period of time.
He ruled last week that electronic bingo is illegal in Walker County. On Monday, lawyers for charities, electronic bingo hall operators and machine manufacturers asked Vance to allow the games until the Alabama Supreme Court rules on an appeal. An appeal has not yet been filed.
The lawyers cited the hardship and economic loss as a result of the halls closing.
Vance said he is certain he made the right decision.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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District Attorney Allows Electronic Bingo Halls in Bessemer Cutoff to Stay Open For Now
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A prosecutor is allowing 13 electronic bingo halls in Jefferson County's Bessemer Cutoff to remain open for at least the next few months.
Arthur Green, the district attorney for the Cutoff, decided to drop a Thursday deadline to shut the halls down after an emergency hearing before Circuit Judge Eugene Verin. Lawyers for charity bingo operators and Fairfield sought an injunction against Green enforcing the deadline. A new deadline was not set.
A final hearing is expected in January on whether electronic bingo machines and operations are legal in the Cutoff. Bingo halls in the Birmingham Division were closed by Monday. District Attorney Brandon Falls on Oct. 21 declared the halls to be for-profit businesses and ordered them to remove their machines.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Football Artist Daniel Moore Wins Court Decision over Univ. of Alabama
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A federal judge has ruled that artist Daniel Moore did not violate trademark laws by painting scenes of University of Alabama football without licensing the work through the university.
The university sued Moore in 2005, alleging that he painted scenes of Crimson Tide football games without permission and reissued licensed prints without paying royalties.
Moore denied violating trademark laws and claimed his art is speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Propst rejected the university's argument that Moore's paintings showed trade dress. Propst said the depiction of uniforms is incidental to the purpose of the paintings.
Moore called the ruling a victory for artists. A spokeswoman for the university says an appeal is planned.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Judge to Rule Again on Electronic Bingo in Walker Co.
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A judge who declared electronic bingo illegal in Walker County says he will decide within days whether to allow the games to continue until a higher court rules on an appeal.
Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Vance last week ordered electronic bingo halls in Walker County to close. On Monday, lawyers for charities, electronic bingo hall operators and machine manufacturers asked Vance to allow the games until the Alabama Supreme Court rules on an appeal.
They cited hardship and economic loss as a result of the halls closing. They argued that if the high court overturns Vance's opinion, those losses cannot be recouped.
Vance determined that the Alabama Legislature and county voters who ratified the Walker County bingo amendment intended to allow only the traditional form of the game.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Soldier from Opelika Killed in Kuwait
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- An Alabama soldier assigned to the Fort Payne National Guard unit has been killed in an accident in Kuwait. The U.S. Department of Defense released a statement saying 19-year-old Spc. Adrian L. Avila, of Opelika, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related accident.
Officials said Avila died Oct. 29 at Khabari Crossing, Kuwait.
The Fort Payne unit was deployed in April, along with the 151st Chemical Battalion of Gadsden, and the groups have been in Kuwait since June.
Public affairs officer Capt. Andrew J. Richardson said an investigation is under way and no other information will be released at this time.
Cheyenne Keef, president of the Family Readiness Group, couldn't be specific but said what happened was purely an accident that could happen anywhere.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Langford Could Face Tougher Sentence Because of Statements
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford could face a tougher sentence because of statements he made after his federal bribery conviction and removal from office last week.
Standing outside the courthouse after the guilty verdicts, Langford blamed his conviction on racism and the media. He accused jurors of sleeping during the trial and failing to look at the evidence, and he criticized two main government witnesses.
Langford attorney Glennon Threatt and a law professor both say Langford's words could come back to haunt him. They say judges can impose tougher penalties on people who fail to show remorse or who show a lack of respect for the law.
A judge has yet to set a sentencing date for the 63-year-old Langford, who faces years in prison.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Former Coosa Co. Sheriff Indicted on Theft Charges
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Former Coosa County Sheriff Ricky Lovell Owens of Kellyton has been arrested on charges of theft and violating Alabama's ethics law.
Attorney General Troy King said Monday that Owens was arrested after a Coosa County Grand Jury indicted him on charges that he had stolen checks totaling $5,000 and illegally received other checks totaling more than $19,000 by using his position as sheriff for personal gain.
Officials in the Attorney General's Office said the investigation of Owens began after a 2007 audit of the sheriff's office by the Examiners of Public Accounts.
Owens was released from the Coosa County Jail Sunday in Rockford on $50,000 bond. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Huntsville Has Nation's Highest Airfares
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- New federal statistics show Huntsville has the nation's most expensive airplane tickets. A report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows the average domestic airfare for the north Alabama city cost $471 in the second quarter of this year.
That's $68 higher than the second-place city, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Atlantic City, N.J., had the lowest average cost for an airplane ticket, at $185.
None of the prices include extra charges like bag fees. The statistics are for one-way and round-trip tickets.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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More Jefferson Co. Electronic Bingo Halls Ordered to Close
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Some Alabama electronic bingo halls have until Thursday to shut down.
The district attorney in the Bessemer Cutoff division has demanded electronic bingo halls in his area close by Nov. 5. Halls in the rest of Jefferson County already have been ordered to close and some did so this weekend.
A bingo hall in Pinson operated by Shining Light Ministries removed the last of its electronic bingo machines Saturday.
Lawyers filed suit Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court on behalf of 17 of the Birmingham division halls, seeking a temporary restraining order and claiming District Attorney Brandon Falls exceeded his authority when demanded they close.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Did Bullying Lead to Anniston Boy's Suicide?
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Officials in Anniston are trying to determine whether bullying led to the death of a 12-year-old boy who took his own life.
Relatives of Tre'Juan Figures say the Anniston Middle School student had become a target for bullies and others who were trying to force him to join a gang. They believe months of harassment led to his suicide by hanging.
Anniston's school superintendent, Joan Frazier, said administrators didn't know of any habitual problem involving bullying or gang recruitment.
Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown says the boy's relatives told authorities he was a victim of persistent bullying. Brown ruled the death a suicide, but he says it's hard to say what might have prompted it.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Brawl Halts High School Football Game in Jefferson Co.
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Officials in the Jefferson County city of Tarrant stopped a high school football game and declared a forfeit after a brawl that included some helmet-swinging broke out between the teams.
Tarrant Police Sgt. Kevin Higgins said the fight started after Wenonah's Cortez Pickett took a handoff from quarterback Brandon Allen and Tarrant's Deandre Nixon hit Pickett out of bounds with eight minutes left in the second quarter.
About 10 to 15 players were ejected and the game officials decided to declare a forfeit in favor of Wenonah after most of the Tarrant players were ejected for coming off the bench Thursday night. Wenonah led 12-0 at the time.
Higgins says a Wenonah player suffered a minor injury and was treated on the sidelines by a trainer.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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School Principal in Baldwin Co. Dies of Swine Flu
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A 52-year-old elementary school principal has died three weeks after contracting an illness doctors said was swine flu.
Leah Ann Overstreet was principal of Delta Elementary School in White House Fork. Baldwin County school officials say Overstreet was hired in 1987 as a first-grade teacher at Loxley Elementary and taught at other schools before becoming a full-time administrative intern at Perdido School in 2003.
In 2004 she was appointed principal at Delta Elementary, one of the county's smallest with 300 students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
She died at Mobile Infirmary.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Birmingham's Interim Mayor Says City is Under Control
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- One day after Birmingham's mayor was removed from office, the new interim mayor says the city is under control.
Carole Smitherman took over the office of mayor of Birmingham after the bribery conviction of Larry Langford in federal court. Thursday, she held a news conference to say it's time to move Birmingham forward.
Smitherman says her first duties were to meet with her executive staff then with city employees.
"This is not a rudder-less ship. We are in control. The chief of staff does a fine job and she knows everything that has been going on. That would be silly on my part to ask she or Mr. Hartzel to step down when they are good employees. Actually, all of the employees are very fine in the mayor's office. We have very good employees. There are some changes that I will make very shortly -- just one or two that I think are important to the financial health of our city," Smitherman said.
Smitherman will serve as interim mayor until a special election can be held.
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Birmingham Mayor Convicted, Removed from Office
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A federal jury in Tuscaloosa has convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on federal charges of accepting bribes, automatically removing him from office.
He was convicted Wednesday afternoon of all the counts he faced for accepting cash and luxury items worth about $236,000 while serving as president of the Jefferson County Commission. In exchange, he funneled $7.1 million in bond business to Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount, a former chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. Langford showed no emotion when the verdict was read.
With the felony conviction, he was automatically removed from the office that he won in a landslide in 2007.
Some of the bond deals made during Langford's term went sour in the credit crunch last year, and Jefferson County is now trying to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history over $3.9 billion in sewer bond debt.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Mobile Co. City of Prichard Files Bankruptcy Again
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- The Mobile Co. city of Prichard has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in 10 years.
Mayor Ron Davis says the Chapter 9 filing is designed to cope with debt created by fighting lawsuits and addressing the pension demands of retired city employees. Davis, who two years ago helped the city pay off its creditors from the 1999 bankruptcy, said a flawed pension plan is partly to blame for the crisis.
Chapter 9 bankruptcy allows financially troubled municipalities to reorganize debts without the threat of creditors.
Earlier this year, the City Council approved a resolution that authorized the mayor to take whatever steps he deemed necessary to protect the city's financial situation. The filing did not provide specific numbers for assets and liabilities.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Prosecution Rests in Trial of Birmingham Mayor
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- The prosecution has rested in the federal bribery trial of Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.
Prosecutors ended their case Tuesday after an Internal Revenue Service agent testified that Langford severely underpaid his taxes from 2003 to 2005. IRS agent Joe Elliott testified Langford owes taxes of more than $77,000 because of gifts and checks he received.
The defense asked U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler to throw out some of the charges against Langford, arguing that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence for a conviction.
Coogler refused to dismiss any of the 60 counts accusing Langford of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and filing false tax returns. That cleared the way for the defense to begin presenting witnesses.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Judge: Electronic Bingo Machines Illegal in Walker Co.
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A judge has ruled that bingo halls in Walker County that use electronic player stations are illegal and has ordered the halls shut down immediately.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance on Monday ruled on a lawsuit filed by Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey and District Attorney Charles Baker. The lawsuit sought clarification on whether the bingo halls were operating legally.
Vance held a hearing earlier this month on whether a 1993 constitutional amendment allowed the electronic bingo machines in Walker County.
The Walker County case is one among several lawsuits challenging electronic bingo around the state.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Former Mobile Co. Judge Cleared of Sex Abuse Charges
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A former Mobile Co. judge has been cleared of charges accusing him of paddling and sexually abusing male inmates. Former Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas was found not guilty on seven counts Monday after more than a week of testimony. A judge threw out the remaining 14 charges.
Defense attorneys say the 48-year-old Thomas was a prominent civic leader who became a victim of felons lying about him to manipulate the court system.
Prosecutors say he brought 11 young male inmates to a private courthouse office and severely paddled their bare bottoms for sexual gratification. Some testified they had sexual contact with the judge.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Update: Witness Says Banker Aided Langford Financially
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- An investment banker accused of bribing Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford received millions of dollars in payments to his firm that weren't publicly disclosed when he did bond work for Jefferson County.
The county's former finance director, Steve Sayler, testified about the payments Wednesday in Langford's public corruption trial in Tuscaloosa.
Sayler said New York-based JP Morgan Chase & Co., handling bond work for the county, made payments of more than $2.8 million to the Montgomery-based investment banking firm of Bill Blount in 2003. Sayler said he learned of the payments only after they came under investigation.
All the alleged payments occurred while Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Report: Birmingham Has the South's Sootiest Air
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This is CB S8 News Across Alabama -- A new report says Birmingham has the most soot-filled air in the South. The reported was released by the Southern Environmental Law Center.
It says action needs to be taken to decrease the soot and other air pollution that is a danger to health.
The report says three Alabama Power coal-fired plants in the area contribute to the air pollution problem in Birmingham. Alabama Power officials say the company has reduced emissions and is installing scrubbers that will lower pollution even more.
Officials with the environmental law center say the plants will still be large air pollution sources even when the controls are in place.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Prosecutor: Birmingham Mayor Took $230,000 in Bribes
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Prosecutors say a deeply-in-debt Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford took $230,000 in cash and expensive gifts in return for lucrative bond work by an investment banker.
But Langford's defense attorney, in opening statements Tuesday at the mayor's federal bribery trial in Tuscaloosa, said the investment banker, Bill Blount, manipulated and entrapped Langford, who felt he was giving the bond work to the most qualified firm.
Prosecutors say Blount gave Langford tens of thousands in cash, at times through a middleman, as well as two $12,000 watches and other gifts on trips to New York City.
Langford would be removed from office if convicted of a felony in the federal case.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Jury Selection Begins in Birmingham Mayor's Bribery Trial
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, accused of taking bribes in return for lucrative bond work.
Attorneys at the federal building in Tuscaloosa asked the jurors Monday about their work history, education and other personal information.
Langford arrived earlier Monday with wife Melva and express confidence he would be exonerated.
Langford is accused of taking about $230,000 in bribes to funnel bond work to Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount during Langford's time as president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify.
Langford would be removed from office automatically if convicted of a felony.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Tuscaloosa Businessman Stan Pate Accused of Menacing
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Tuscaloosa businessman Stan Pate says he will plead not guilty to a menacing charge filed against him after he carried a shotgun into a building he owns.
The misdemeanor charge accuses him of brandishing the shotgun in a Sept. 30 dispute with the manager of the Santa Fe Cattle Co. restaurant, which is now closed.
Pate said Friday he was trying to prevent restaurant management from taking his equipment from the building.
Tuscaloosa police came to Pate's home after midnight on Oct. 6 and arrested him on the misdemeanor menacing charge. He said he questions why he was treated like a more serious criminal, being handcuffed, taken to police headquarters and not offered a ride home.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson told The Tuscaloosa News that police handled the arrest within department policy.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Vanity License Plate Creates Parking Ticket Hassle in Birmingham
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Scottie Roberson's vanity plate doesn't come cheap. He says he's received more than $19,000 in Birmingham parking tickets for his 'XXXXXXX' license plate, which is an homage to his nickname, "Racer X."
Sometimes Roberson says he has received tickets for as many as 10 different places in one day.
Birmingham officials say the tickets are the result of a system snafu. City spokeswoman April Odom says Roberson had wrongly received the tickets because Birmingham officers enter seven X's in place of the plate number when parking patrols find cars without license plate numbers.
Birmingham Traffic Engineer Gregory Dawkins says the city may change the system to keep Roberson from receiving more tickets. He says "maybe we just need to leave that part blank altogether."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Univ. of Alabama Fraternity Likely to Keep Charter Despite Hazing Accusations
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A University of Alabama fraternity is likely to keep its charter after being accused of hazing.
University of Alabama spokeswoman Deborah Lane said Wednesday the school is recommending the Kappa Sigma chapter "resume its activities" after an investigation.
University staff were tipped off to possible hazing at the chapter and launched an investigation on Sept. 24. The chapter's operations were suspended by the national fraternity during the probe.
Lane said members involved in the alleged hazing have been referred to the school's judicial affairs department.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Arson Blamed for Fire at Greene Co. High School
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Authorities say arson is to blame for a fire that damaged a high school in west Alabama.
State Marshal Ed Paulk tells The Tuscaloosa News in a story Thursday that investigators found evidence the blaze at Greene County High School in Eutaw was intentionally set.
The fire was reported Monday afternoon after classes ended. It destroyed one classroom and damaged several others.
No one was injured, and no arrests have been made.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Morgan Co. Teacher Wins Appeal, Will Return to School
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- The principal of Brewer High School in Morgan County has confirmed that a teacher who was convicted of providing alcohol to a minor is returning to work.
Teacher Derrick Garrison won his appeal in the case and principal Cliff Booth told the Decatur Daily he will be back at work Wednesday.
A Marshall County District Court clerk said a Marshall Circuit Court on Sept. 28 overturned Garrison's May 6 conviction of his arrest at Lake Guntersville State Park.
After the court reduced his third-degree domestic violence conviction, Garrison pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Garrison has been on administrative leave with pay since his March 24 arrest. He teaches world history and has been in the school system 13 years. He resigned in January as assistant varsity girls basketball coach.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Body of Man Who Drove SUV Off Baldwin Co. Dock Identified
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Authorities have identified a man who died after he drove his SUV off a ferry dock in Baldwin County as a Mobile County middle school teacher.
Baldwin County sheriff's Maj. Anthony Lowery told the Mobile Press Register that 34-year-old Louie Carvin Jr. was found early Sunday morning in his partially submerged Saturn Vue after ferry passengers noticed the car in the water. Lowery said there were no indications of foul play or suicide at the scene, and there was no sign that Carvin tried to brake before his car rolled into the water.
School districts officials say Carvin was a language arts teacher at Grand Bay Middle School. He had been with the system since 2003.
Lowery said officials are trying to retrace Carvin's activities leading up to his death.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Jefferson Co. Reopens Two Courthouses but Financial Crisis Remains
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Alabama's most populous county is reopening a pair of courthouses more than two months after a budget crisis forced mass layoffs and cutbacks in services.
Jefferson County reopened two satellite courthouses Monday, returning more than 650 employees to the job after 10 weeks of unpaid time off. Two other offices will remain closed, however.
The courthouses have been closed since July 31 because a court struck down a job tax that provided about one-fourth of Jefferson County's budget. Legislators have since passed a replacement tax in a special session.
Jefferson County's budget problems aren't over, however. The county still faces the possibility of filing the largest municipal bankruptcy ever in the U.S. because it can't pay $3.9 billion in sewer debt.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Former Bama QB Kenny Stabler Sells Home, Pays Debt
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A federal judge has divvied up the proceeds from the sale of former Crimson Tide and NFL quarterback Kenny Stabler's Alabama home.
The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that U.S. District Judge Charles Butler Jr. has ruled that the money go to pay off mortgages for the property, to a $222,426 payment to Stabler's ex-wife and to the IRS for unpaid taxes. Stabler agreed to sell the Ono Island home to help pay off his debt.
His attorney, Robert Galloway, said Stabler will sell other property in Mobile to take care of the rest of his tax debt for the years 1995 and 1997 through 2000.
A couple bought the Orange Beach house in August for $680,000.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Auburn Officials Investigating Sex Toy Shop
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- Officials in Auburn are looking into the legality of a clothing store that also sells sex toys. Auburn City Manager Charlie Duggan says city officials are gathering information to see if everything at the store is legal.
The store, Kalli's Love Stuff, sells lingerie. The Opelika-Auburn News says it also has a line of adult novelties, located in a separate room concealed behind a heavy curtain and that patrons must show proper identification before entering.
State Sen. Ted Little, who represents the district, says he has sent Duggan a copy of the section of the Alabama Code prohibiting the sale of sex toys, and a recent opinion from the Alabama Supreme Court on a court battle between the city of Hoover and the Love Stuff store in that city.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Senior Bowl will Stay in Mobile
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- A three-year lease agreement has been reached to keep the Senior Bowl in Mobile. The Mobile Arts & Sports Association's 13-member board of directors voted Thursday to sign a three-year lease agreement with Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium, where it has been played since 1951.
The Press-Register reports that the board also voted to discontinue discussions with other cities about moving the game. The lease agreement includes options to extend it an additional six years.
It also includes a buyout clause that would let the Senior Bowl leave at any time if it gives the stadium nine months notice and pays a fee equal to $20,000 multiplied by the number of years left on the agreement.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Mobile Co. Man Becomes 16th Person to Die of Swine Flu in Alabama
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This is CBS 8 News Across Alabama -- State health officials have announced the 16th swine flu death in Alabama. Alabama Department of Public Health spokesman Dr. Jim McVay says a Mobile County man in his 50s died after contracting the virus.
The Press-Register reports that it was the second in Mobile County. A Mobile County man in his 30s died last week after contracting swine flu.
Previous deaths of persons positive for swine flu have occurred this year in Bullock, Dale, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Macon, Madison, Montgomery, Russell and Talladega counties.
The virus has accounted for about 99 percent of all flu cases this month.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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