Top Stories Montgomery

By


Sean Reilly

February 08, 2010, 7:45PM

View full size(File photo)U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, is dropping his holds on Obama nominees.WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, is dropping most of his holds on Obama administration nominees, saying this evening through a spokesman that he has succeeded in drawing the White House’s attention to his concerns over the handling of an aerial refueling tanker contract and a planned explosives analysis center planned for Huntsville.

Shelby said he would continue to hold up three nominees for top defense jobs from winning Senate approval until the final bid package for the tanker is released.

Two of those candidates — Frank Kendall, and Erin Conaton — were already facing a blockade from Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile.

(For a complete report, see Tuesday’s Press-Register.)

By


Press-Register staff

February 07, 2010, 6:01PM

Over 1,800 VictoryLand employees picked up paychecks at the Macon County Courthouse on Saturday following the casino’s shutdown this week, according to The Montgomery Advertiser.

The facility shut down on the heels of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling lifting a court order that temporarily stopped Gov. Bob Riley’s Task Force on Illegal gambling from raiding VictoryLand and Country Crossing in Dothan. 

VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor shook hands with employees as they were coming out, and promised to reopen the casino.  Several workers said they weren’t certain what they would do without the pay check or benefits.

• Read the full report.

By


Victoria L. Coman

February 06, 2010, 6:05PM

Shawn Hill, “natural hair artist” and owner of Birmingham-based Natural Elements hair and gift shop, tightens up Johnathan Walton’s dreadlocks during the Second Annual Magic City Black Expo this afternoon. (Special/Dennis W. Jackson)
Some 1,500 people visited the Second Annual Magic City Black Expo by this afternoon at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex by Saturday afternoon.

 The event was organized by Birmingham-based Dreams to Reality Productions to promote entrepreneurship, education, integrity and customer service offered in Birmingham’s African-American community.

 The event, held at the BJCC’s South Exhibition Hall, has included appearances actress and singer Telma Hopkins, and actor and author Greg Alan Williams along with hair stylists, lawyers, live musical acts, authors, visual artists, marketing and media firms, florists, and informational booths on political figures.

 The event also featured a booth by the Ujima Math and Science Fun Initiative, a Birmingham-based group which specializes in offering children hands-on learning experiences.

  The expo lasted until 7 p.m.

By


Jeremy Gray — The Birmingham News

February 05, 2010, 6:23PM

A wreck involving several vehicles is partially blocking some northbound lanes on Red Mountain Expressway at the Highland Avenue off-ramp.

According to Birmingham police, no one was injured in the crash, which happened shortly after 5 p.m.

Police were still on the scene shortly before 6:30 p.m.

By


Press-Register staff

February 04, 2010, 6:04PM

View full size(AP Photo/Phillip Rawls)Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, left, watches as Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. discusses his new role as the new commander of the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling during a news conference Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, at the state Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. Tyson said Thursday, Feb. 4 that the state Supreme Court has issued an opinion ruling in favor of the task force and allowing raids of bingo halls in the state to take place.MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Gov. Bob Riley’s anti-gambling task force, lifting a temporary restraining order and allowing raids of bingo halls in Alabama to take place.

“We’ve just received the opinion and have not yet finished reading it,” John Tyson Jr. of Mobile, the head of the anti-gambling task force, told the Press-Register. “They did rule with the task force and we are about to go into a news conference. Beyond that there’s not much I can say.

“We’ve won this round.”

Tyson said the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in the task force’s favor.

The Supreme Court said the trial court lacked “subject-matter jurisdiction.”

VictoryLand, Alabama’s largest
gambling business, has closed its hotel, restaurants and dog track in
Shorter.

VictoryLand shut its casino Monday night to perform what
its lawyer said were upgrades to computers for the food and beverage
service. A spokesman said it closed all other parts of the facility
Thursday.

The Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling tried to
raid the casino Jan. 29, but was blocked by a court order. The Alabama
Supreme Court decision on Thursday lifted that order.

By


The Associated Press

February 03, 2010, 6:05PM

File photoAlabama Gov. Bob Riley says his campaign against electronic bingo is the correct action despite his critics’ claims. MONTGOMERY — Gov. Bob Riley said Wednesday he decided to crack down on gambling machines because some prosecutors in Alabama were unwilling to enforce gambling laws as electronic bingo games spread.

Riley’s tactics, including using hundreds of state troopers to stage raids, came under criticism Wednesday from public officials in counties with casinos and from the state leader of the Christian Coalition.

Riley said he had no doubts about creating his Task Force on Illegal Gambling a year ago.

“If no one locally is going to enforce the law and the attorney general is not going to enforce the law, then what does this administration do? … That was a pretty easy call because when I put my hand on the Bible and swore we would uphold the laws, I think everybody in Alabama took it seriously,” he said at a news conference Wednesday.

Under pressure from the governor’s task force, three Alabama casinos filled with electronic bingo machines — Country Crossing in Dothan, VictoryLand in Shorter, and the White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County — have closed indefinitely.

The task force tried to raid Country Crossing and VictoryLand before dawn Friday without search warrants, but were thwarted. Country Crossing closed to prevent the raid, and VictoryLand got a retraining order from a judge.

Dr. Randy Brinson, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, criticized the governor’s tactics at a news conference Wednesday.

“Even people who are against gambling don’t support raiding places without search warrants and usurping the power of the attorney general,” he said.

Since 2007, Brinson has joined casino operators in supporting legislation that would make clear electronic bingo is legal in some locations in Alabama and levy taxes on it. The legislation has never passed.

Also Wednesday, more than 250 people rallied on the Capitol steps in support of the closed casinos and the more than 3,000 employees who have been laid off due to the closures. Rallies also have been held by groups opposing gambling.

Macon County Commission Chairman Louis Maxwell said watching more than 100 state troopers line up outside VictoryLand before dawn Friday reminded him of news coverage of Alabama troopers beating voting rights marchers in Selma on “Bloody Sunday” in 1965.

A former Macon County legislator, Johnny Ford, called the officers “storm troopers.”

State Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, said Macon County has lost its largest employer. “VictoryLand is our tourism attraction,” she said.

Billy Robertson, gaming director for Country Crossing, said the casino is waiting for advice from its attorneys on when it would be safe to reopen. He said the tourist attraction believes its machines are legal and would welcome a peaceful inspection by the governor.

Riley said the electronic bingo operators have lost a series of court rulings, including the latest Friday from the Alabama Supreme Court that blocked an electronic bingo hall from reopening in Ashville. The court said Ashville’s ordinance allowing electronic bingo did not require enough player interaction to qualify as legal bingo.

“You cannot do what these casinos are doing today,” Riley said.

The governor’s task force is awaiting a decision by the Alabama Supreme Court on whether it will lift the judge’s order that blocked the raid Friday on VictoryLand.

Also, a federal judge has scheduled a hearing Feb. 26 in Montgomery on Country Crossing’s request to block a future raid by the task force.

Read: Birmingham-based district attorney says split over gambling by Riley, attorney general make it hard to enforce law.

By


Marie Leech — The Birmingham News

February 02, 2010, 6:40PM

Community members opposed to closing Tuggle Elementary School may have won a battle with the Birmingham Board of Education tonight.

The original school consolidation plan, approved two years ago, called for closing Tuggle and Hill Elementary schools and building a new school on the old Lincoln Middle site for the two schools to merge.

However, Emanuel Ford, who joined the board in November, said his community was completely against the idea because the founder of Tuggle School is buried on the site. He said that made it a historic landmark.

The board is reconsidering its plans and asked Leon Barkan, construction manager for Volkert & Associates, the company managing the system’s capital improvement plan, to see if the new school could instead be built on the Tuggle site.

Barkan said the design for the new school had already been completed for the Lincoln site, but with a few changes, the same design could be used to build the school at Tuggle. It could come with a hefty price tag, though, because the site has topographic challeges and elevation problems that would have to be fixed before construction could begin, he said.

“The Lincoln site for construction costs is a better site, but because of the sentiment of the community over the Tuggle property, we can make some changes,” Barkan told the board.

He said he doesn’t yet have a cost estimate for how much more expensive building on the Tuggle site would be. The board cannot vote to change the plan tonight, since this is just a work session. The next regularly scheduled board meeting is next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

By


Marie Leech — The Birmingham News

February 01, 2010, 6:07PM

(The Birmingham News/Mark Almond)Craig Witherspoon was hired as the new superintendent of Birmingham City Schools following a legal battle that threatened to derail the school board’s vote.

At least 100 parents, community members and school system employees are gathered
for the District 8 Birmingham Board of Education forum tonight at Sardis Baptist
Church.

The forum will include a state of the schools address by interim Superintendent Barbara Allen, an introduction to new Superintendent Craig Witherspoon and a question-and-answer period.

Also, Witherspoon announced he will officially start his job March 22.

The forum just began and will continue until 7:15 p.m.

By


Anne Ruisi — The Birmingham News

January 31, 2010, 8:00PM

Expect temperatures to dip below freezing tonight, with a chance of rain Monday night, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight’s overnight low will be around 29, with clear skies in the forecast.

Monday calls for increasing clouds during the day and a high near 55. Monday night calls for a 30 percent chance of rain and an overnight low around 38.

Tuesday is expected to be mostly sunny, with a high near 55. On Tuesday night, it should be mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Wednesday’s forecast calls for sunny skies and a high near 57. Overnight, expect mostly cloudy skies and a low around 35.

Thursday’s forecast includes a 50 percent chance of rain and a high near 54. Thursday night, the chance of rain is 80 percent, with an expected overnight low around 45.