City officials in Montgomery are thinking about making much of their town a no smoking zone. The Montgomery Advertiser reports the proposed ordinance would also prohibit smoking within twenty feet of business entrances, public transportation stations or playgrounds. The city's Health, Education & Recreation Standing Committee on Tuesday heard concerns from residents. City Councilman C.C. Calhoun says more must be done before the ordinance is brought before the city council for a vote, such as whether to "grandfather" certain businesses that already allow smoking.
The state attorney general's office is asking a judge to give a former state education official and her husband 50-year sentences. A-P-R’s Stan Ingold reports, this is in an ethics case involving millions of dollars.
The attorney general is seeking the sentence for 51-year-old Deann Stone and 55-year-old Dave Stone of Wetumpka. Deann Stone is the former director of federal programs for the state Department of Education. A jury convicted her in October of five ethics counts involving using her position to provide more than $10 million in grant money to the company that employed her husband. He was convicted of aiding and abetting her on each count. The attorney general's office is asking that the Stones get 10 years on each count and that the sentences run consecutively. The Stones are scheduled for sentencing next week. ?
? It’s final exam time for students across Alabama. But, some community college are doing paperwork of their own. Schools across the South are applying for grants from the AARP Foundation. The group is offering grants to five community colleges across six states to help create programs for women over 50 to get job training. Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham is one of the applicants. Kelli Creamer is the director of resource development at Jefferson State. She says Jefferson won the last round of grants and that work should go on…
“It’s vital for community colleges to meet the needs of our community, and the needs right now of our community is training 50+ workers to get back to work as quickly as possible.”
The grant applications are due today. The grant period goes from March of next year through the beginning of 2018. ?
The check may be in the mail for customers of Sirius XM radio in Alabama. Attorney General Luther Strange says Alabama is among forty five states to strike a four million dollar deal with the satellite radio company. Sirius was accused of wrongdoing ranging from illegal advertising, unauthorized fees, and renewing contracts without customer permission. Sirius customers in Alabama who have a complaint need to contact the Attorney General’s office.
