Author: WAKA Action 8 News

Golden Apple: Ronda Daniel

Our Golden Apple Award winner this week comes from the Lowndes County School System. For nearly 30 years, Ronda Daniel at Hayneville Middle School has been stressing to her students the importance of getting the best education possible by expanding their vocabulary and encouraging them to read.  Ronda Daniel: “Education is important because once you are empowered, then the doors,…

Nice Week of Weather, Drought Conditions Worsen

What a wonderful fall weekend of weather across the entire state! Cool temps and sunshine made for terrific weather for all the football games and races this weekend, unfortunately no rain, and we need it so desperately as drought conditions continue to worsen across the state. For the week ahead, the chance of rainfall is not looking very promising either….

Bentley Names Members of Advisory Council on Gaming

Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday announced the appointments for his newly-created Alabama Advisory Council on Gaming.  The Council will assess the current state and local laws on gambling, as well as the taxes generated from it. “I am looking forward to the recommendations presented by this 11 person Advisory Council,” Bentley said in a news release. “In recent years, a…

Complaint Dismissed Against Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker

A judicial ethics panel has dismissed a complaint against Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker over comments he made about the court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Parker’s attorney announced Friday that the complaint had been dismissed by the Judicial Inquiry Commission. Attorney Mat Staver called it a victory for free speech. Parker, in a 2015 interview on a…

Spencer Collier Responds to Grand Jury Decision

Former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier has released a statement following the grand jury decision that cleared him of wrongdoing while in office. The attorney general’s office has closed the investigation that had been requested by Gov. Robert Bentley’s administration.  Bentley fired Collier in March saying a review found possible misuse of funds. The findings were then sent…

Alabama Unemployment Rate Unchanged

Alabama’s unemployment rate for September is unchanged at 5.4 percent. A statement released by the governor’s office says the jobless rate represents a total of 117,125 unemployed people in the state. Just over 2 million people were employed at the same time. The state’s unemployment rate remains above the national rate, but the gap is closing. The U.S. unemployment rate…

Finally Cooler Weather, Future Forecaster Kayleigh Mixon

FANTASTIC FRIDAY: The front is pushing through the state and behind it, much cooler air flows into the state through the day. Today will feature plenty of sunshine, cooler temperatures, and breezy conditions. Temps will be in the mid 70s, with a fresh north breeze of 10-25 mph, which will make it feel cooler too. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: For high…

Grand Jury Clears Former ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier of Wrongdoing

The attorney general’s office says a grand jury has cleared former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier of wrongdoing. The attorney general’s office says a grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by Collier and is closing the investigation that had been requested by Gov. Robert Bentley’s administration. Bentley fired Collier in March saying a review found possible misuse of…