The trial of Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard is entering its third week. Former Governor Bob Riley is expected to return to the witness stand. Last Friday, he told jurors how Hubbard emailed him several times asking for a job. Riley says other conversation were just banter. Prosecutors called Riley to testify as they seek to prove Hubbard improperly asked lobbyists for work, investments and financial favors. The speaker is facing twenty three ethics charges. Conviction of any one of them could mean his ouster from his post in the state house.
Two Alabama communities could soon be getting a downtown facelift. The non-profit group Main Street Alabama is picking Columbiana and Montevallo for revitalizations projects. The organization works for the state to coordinate efforts to spruce up selected communities. President Mary Helmer says she is always excited to see how the cities will grow…
“We see communities understanding what their market reality is and how they’re going to build towards that. We see buildings that were formally emptied being filled, vacancy rates coming down and jobs being created.”
Helmer says her group’s efforts have resulted in over twenty-three hundred new jobs and almost two-hundred million dollars in private investments since 2014.
Alabama will honor its linemen today, but not the people on the football field. The state is recognizing the work and duties of technicians who work on the electricity lines throughout the state. Michael Sznajderman* is with Alabama Power. He says these men and women cover over two thirds of the state, working twenty four hours a day to make sure power is there when you switch on the lights.
“We have about eighty-three thousand miles of line across our service territory so it’s a lot of ground to cover. Our linemen are out there every day making sure the system stays reliable. If or when we do have outages that those outages are kept to a minimum.”
A ceremony to honor linemen across the state will be held in Montgomery today at the state capitol building at 10:30 AM.
Today is considered noteworthy for two reasons. It’s D-Day Remembrance Day. But, it’s also Jefferson Davis’ birthday, so state offices will be closed. It’s one of three holidays related to the Civil War, and one of two that celebrated for another reason in the U.S. Robert E. Lee’s birthday is a state holiday on the third Monday in January in Alabama while the rest of the country remembers Dr. Martin Luther King day. Confederate Memorial Day is the fourth Monday in April.
