There’s no finalized state budget. But Alabama lawmakers did pass one bill that lets members of certain agencies and boards to phone in their votes. The measure requires a majority of the panel's quorum would have to be physically present in the meeting room.The Alabama Public Service Commission, standing legislative committees, and the Alabama Ethics Commission would not be allowed to meet electronically. The bill now goes to Gov. Robert Bentley for his signature.
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued over a dozen citations this week to a north Alabama fireworks plant. Ultratec Special Effects was given 14 citations and will be expected to pay over $65,000 in penalties. An Occupational Safety and Health Administration revealed several cases of negligence that contributed to a deadly explosion earlier this year. Ramona Morris is the area director for OSHA in Birmingham. She says her goal is to keep accidents like this from happening.
“Basically in this particular case, we had two employees lose their lives. The employer is responsible for maintaining a safe and healthful workplace under the OSHA Act of 1970. So, my goal is to try to prevent these types of things from happening in the future and hopefully protect employees.”
The blast killed two employees and injured four others. Ultratec has a history of OSHA violations dating back to the mid-eighties as well as numerous fires and explosions.
Rural Alabama residents will finally be able to get broadband internet thanks to an FCC program. It’s called Connect America and its mission is to provide access to high-speed internet everywhere in the country. Mark Wigfield is spokesman for the FCC. He says Windstream Communications is the latest company to come on board with Connect America.
“They’ll get this five-hundred-thousand dollars a year to expand and support broadband service for these customers. The idea is that they have to have forty percent of it built out by the end of 2017, and then sixty percent by the end of 2018, and have it completely done by 2020.”
Wigfield says Frontier Communications is also involved with the program. AT&T and CenturyLink have been approached as well.
Blue Bell Creameries has resumed ice cream shipments and products from the company’s factory in Sylacauga could soon be included. The new shipments come four months after listeria contamination halted sales and production. The company didn’t specify where and when its ice cream would be sold. Blue Bell voluntarily recalled all products in April after they were linked to ten listeria illnesses in four states. The company stopped production and started extensive cleaning at its plants in Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma.
