TUSCUMBIA, Ala. - "A famous Canadian photographer came and took her picture." A tour guide shows Ivy Green to visitors fasinated by Helen Keller.

Blind and deaf, Keller overcame her own challenges to fight for other people with disabilities.

Sue Pilkilton is exective director of Ivy Green.

"Helen Keller traveled all over the world speaking on behalf of the disabled," Pilkilton told WAAY 31 FirstNews. "We always like to refer to the birthplace as an international attraction."

Now, though, Keller is attracting international attention for another reason: Helen Keller sunglasses.

A Chinese fashion company, Xiamen Jinzhi, has seen fit to put Keller's name on its upscale shades.

"I was kind of shocked when you brought that to my attention," Pilkilton told us.

In its TV commercial, a glamorous looking woman steps off a plane where the paparazzi are waiting. They don't get excited until she pulls out her pricey sunglasses.

The eyeware company claims its paying respect to Keller's spirit of philanthropy.

But, Pacton Webb doesn't buy it.

"I don't know how it's respectful to name a sunglasses line after a blind person," Webb explained.

Bethany Hallmark sees it differently.

"She's an inspiring person," Hallmark told us. "And if it gets her name out there, that's great. More people will learn about her and see what she did when she was alive."

Helen Keller apparently never even wore sunglasses. According to the American Federation for the Blind, they don't have a single photograph showing her wearing a pair.

The tour continues.

"This is the dining room where Helen threw the big temper tantrum," the guide points out.

Any tempers flaring at Ivy Green over the sun shades?

"Having so many people from China and Japan, I really don't think they were trying to be disrespectful of Helen Keller," Pilkilton reasoned. "They are schooled so much about Helen Keller and they honor her in so many ways. I think it was just a tribute to her."

The company's slogan: "You see the world. The world sees you."

Sue Pilkilton chooses to see the up side. "They love Helen Keller and they respect her tremendously."

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - In Alabama, teens 14 years and older who are accused of committing crimes can be tried as adults.  But some feel locking up teens in adult prisons is more harmful than helpful. 

 

This issue has been brought to light several times lately in local murder cases.  This past week, youthful offender status was granted to 21 year-old Isaac Holdsambeck, who at 19, allegedly killed a high school student in a drunk driving wreck on prom night.

 

Meanwhile, 17 year-old Autumn Wood, recently charged with stabbing a 14 year-old to death in Florence, will be tried as an adult.  Accused Discovery Middle School shooter Hammad Memon, 14 at the time of the murder, will also be tried as an adult.  It’s something his family has taken desperate measures to avoid. 

 

Huntsville Attorney Mark McDaniel says determining whether teens should be tried as adults or juveniles isn't always easy: “Every case is different, every defendant is different."

 

By law, the judge must base the decision on the teen's mental health and behavior, previous crimes committed, and first and foremost, on the seriousness of the offense.  McDaniel explains, “If you have a heinous crime, an unwarranted crime, like walking up behind a person in the hallway of a school and shooting them in the back of the head, that's about as serious as you get."

 

But Clinical Psychologist Kenneth Sullivan believes locking teens up for life isn't always the best solution: “Children below the age of 18, there's more hope for rehabilitation generally."

 

Sullivan says that's because younger offenders are still maturing.  He says, “They act impaired compared to an adult.  They don't have the impulse control, they don't think things through, their sense of time, their sense of consequences, are very distorted and immature."

 

But McDaniel says his experience in court has shown him immaturity shouldn't be a "get out of jail free" card.  He explains, “It don't matter if he's 14, 24, or 34, if that person puts a gun to your head and forces you into a car and kidnaps you and takes you out and violates you, kills you, hurts you, rapes you, whatever, it don't matter if he's 14 or 24, that's a mean individual and that individual needs to be treated as an adult."

 

Ideally, Sullivan says the courts would find a way to punish these crimes without giving up hope for rehabilitation.  He says, “I think that what people are struggling with right now is, is there something in between for example, putting someone away for life, and letting them off with a slap on the wrist?"

Huntsville, AL -- On Thursday, May 17th, people representing a cross-culture of Madison County will come together to learn more about Islam. "Combating Islamophobia: Truths and Myths About Islam" is a community engagement workshop sponsored by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice, UA-Huntsville, and the Huntsville Islamic Center, among others. Aladin Beshir, director of community outreach for the Huntsville Islamic Center, hopes the event will help build bridges in the community. "This is a very, very small step and a very focused and great grand scheme of cooperation among law enforcement and the Muslim community, sending the message that we are all united to protect America."

Beshir says there are many misconceptions about Islam that have arisen, in part, by people taking portions of the Quran out of context. He says, "Islam does not teach violence. People love to pick and choose," adding, "the Holy Quran states, one destroys one soul as if he killed the whole humanity, and one saves one soul as if he saves the whole humanity." When it comes to addressing myths about Muslims, Beshir says the media represents one of the biggest challenges because, "if you listen to the media, you will think they're under the bed and coming to get you!"

The number of Muslims living in Madison County may be small, but they represent 20 percent of the world population. Beshir says it only makes sense to learn more about this faith shared by millions of people. "What we believe in doesn't need to be agreed upon by everybody else, but it will help for the majority to know more about the minority," he says. Through greater knowledge, he hopes will come greater understanding and acceptance.

The Huntsville Islamic Center is also working toward that end with a monthly open house. On the first Saturday of each month, the public is invited to attend a free pot-luck dinner at the HIC, which is located at 1645 Sparkman Drive in Huntsville. Also, Aladin Beshir is available to speak to community groups and schools. He may be reached at (256) 479-7221. For those who would like to learn more about Islam, he recommends www.whyislam.com and www.islamtomorrow.com

As for "Combating Islamophobia: Truths and Myths about Islam," it will be presented from 5:30-8:00 p.m. Thursday, May 17th in Room 107 of the Shelby Science Center at UA-Huntsville. There is no charge and no registration.

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Prescription pills and other abused drugs will be the topic of discussion at a Drug Forum hosted by the Madison County Drug Court and Partnership for a Drug-Free Community on Tuesday.

The event will be held at Redstone Federal Credit Union on Wynn Drive from 6:30PM until 8:30PM.

Parents, educators, social workers, counselors, law enforcement personnel, public health officials and anyone interested in the subject are encouraged to attend.

The forum is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

It will be moderated by Jackie Wolfe, Director of the Office of Alternative Sentence and Release who also serves as the Drug Court Administrator. 

The featured panelists will include Judge Martha Lynn Sherrod, Lt. Salomonsky of the Madison County Sheriffs Department, Rev. Dr. Dave Draper, Dr. Kitson Francis, Mr. Matthew Miller and the New Horizon Treatment Program.

For more information, call Partnership for a Drug-Free Community at (256) 539-7339 or email partner@hiwaay.net.

NASHVILLE, TN - OLED TV's are coming to a store shelf near you very soon. Samsung announced its ultra-thin HD TV sets will start being sold in June or July. When I say ultra-thin, I mean thinner than a couple of credit cards stacked on top of each other. And, they weigh just a tad over 16 pounds. Samsung will sell its 55-inch sets for a little more than $9,000. LG will start selling its version later this year. No word of any price just yet.

AT&T says it will soon offer family share data plans. This could be big for families with two, three or four phones in the house. It would allow you to buy a big chunk of data that is shared between all of the phones. Currently, AT&T requires you to pay for data plans on each phone, which costs $30 per device. That’s one of the things that bothers me the most about family plans and what keeps those bills so high. AT&T isn’t saying when the data packages might be available. Verizon says it will offer similar family data plans this summer.

Have you ever heard of the app Glancee? I hadn’t either, but Facebook knows about it. In fact, Facebook now owns it.
Glancee is an app that lets users know when people they know or share common interests with are near you. Using your phone’s location data, Glancee broadcasts to your friends where you are. Glancee users can then send messages and find each other. Of course, you’ll have to opt in for the feature. You can also turn it off when you don’t want to be found. Facebook isn’t saying how it’s going to use Glancee, or when we’ll see it.

When the Facebook announcement was made, the Glancee app was removed from the Google and Apple app stores. A spokesperson with Glancee says there are 30,000 people already using it.

Keeping you plugged in, I’m Jamey Tucker.

QUEENS, NY - The space shuttle Enterprise is one step closer to its final destination at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan.

Overnight, the shuttle was separated from a 747 aircraft at JFK Airport in Queens.

Last month, Enterprise arrived on that plane in New York City, in a thrilling flight over the city's major landmarks.

Beginning at 10PM Saturday, engineers carefully moved the shuttle back to a storage hangar.

They used two cranes and a special wind restraint system to gently offload
it from the 747 and onto a trailer.

NASA performed the operation Saturday night because the winds were less than
10 miles an hour.

The next step will come June 6th, when Enterprise is moved onto a tugboat
and carried around New York Harbor to the Intrepid.

The exhibit will open to the public July 19th.

Albertville, AL- The team from Montgomery took top prize Sunday at the FireFighters Combat Challenge in Albertville.  Firefighters from around the nation are in the fire hydrant capitol of the world for the competition. The men race head-to-head as they navigate an obstacle course which simulates real life challenges.

“You climb a tower, you hoist a hose, you come down the stairs, and you hit a sled,” explained veteran competitor Jake Baker. “Then you have got to drag hose, run around a little bit, and then the last thing is you pull a dummy backwards 100 foot,” he continued.

The dummy is 175 pounds of dead weight. The Montgomery fireman makes it sound easy but months of training is required to be the best at this tough physical competition.

The average time of completion is around 2 minutes but the individual record is 1 minute 19 seconds.

“Your top guys run 1:20s and the new guys will run up in the 2:00s a little bit but they get better as time goes on,” explained Baker.

Saturday was about individuals but Sunday was all about the teams. The men teamed up with their respective fire houses in the hopes of winning the top prize, a red fire hydrant. Each man took a different obstacle and a baton was passed between them, relay style. Montgomery won overall clocking in at 1 minute and 17 seconds.

It’s technically a friendly competition but when pride is on the line, these firemen are all business. Mark Hand from the Albertville FD says there is a rivalry between the regional teams.

“Boaz and are Guntersville are here. You have a little competition there between county teams and you have a little bragging rights.”

Guntersville, AL- Guntersville police have their hands full investigating 2 robberies that took place less than 24 hours apart.
 
The Chevron Food Mart on Highway 431 was robbed just before midnight Saturday night. According to the store manager, the clerk was cleaning behind the counter when three men armed with guns came inside. He says one of the men actually walked up to the clerk, put the gun against his chest, and demanded cash. The clerk complied handing over an undisclosed amount of money.
 
Just a few hours before and a few miles away another robbery took place. Bunch Pharmacy located on Henry Street was robbed early Saturday. Investigators say a man with a gun walked in the store around 9:30 am demanding prescription medication. He then fled the store.
 
Anyone with any information about either robbery is asked to call the Guntersville PD at (256) 571-7571.

DECATUR, Ala. – Saturday marked the beginning of a new tradition in the River City.  Roughly 4,000 people piled onto Point Mallard’s beach for the Dragon Boat Race and Festival: Decatur General Hospital's new big fundraiser.

 

Decatur General Foundation Chairman Wally Terry says, "You can't do this without a lot of folks in the community, and Toray was our lead sponsor.  They stepped up with a $25,000 donation anchor that got us going.”

 

This year, funds raised from these Dragon boat races will go towards cancer research.  Churches, companies and schools were happy to form teams and help out.

 

Paddling these exotic, canoe-like boats, based on ancient Chinese legend, is something Travis Cherry and fellow Epic Church members didn't want to miss.  Cherry explains, “We just wanted to be part of a community event, and support our community and be involved in something that was beyond our church walls, and just have fun doing it, all at the same time.”  He adds, “It was incredible, it was one of the most rushing rides of our lives."

 

The foundation’s chairman says the idea came from a similar competition in Montgomery.  Now, the River City's version will keep on growing.  Terry explains, “We've had so many suggestions on little things so we hope every year it'll be better and better."

 

The combination of fun and fundraising proved popular among competitors.  Cherry says his Epic Church team is already eager for next year’s race: “In fact we'll probably sign up as quickly as they have the signups."

 

But future competitors take heed: the enthusiastic West Morgan High School team is already set on defending their championship title.

 

West Morgan junior Jade Corum says, “We're very excited, we don't win much.  We were very excited to win this."  Fellow team member Nic Rogers adds, “It’s a great feeling, just knowing it's the first time us ever doing this.  We had one practice beforehand; we come out here and swept the whole thing, so it was a blast."

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WAAY and Decatur Daily) - Both sides involved in former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman’s 2006 bribery convictions are trying to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to either hear his appeal or allow a lower court’s verdict to stand.

The Birmingham News reports that prosecutors say in new legal arguments that overturning the convictions would make it easier for politicians to trade campaign donations for official acts.

Siegelman’s lawyers say campaign donations can’t be bribes unless there’s a clear agreement between the donor and the politician, and that there was no such agreement in Siegelman’s case.

Siegelman was convicted of selling a seat on a hospital regulatory board to former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in donations to Siegelman’s 1999 campaign to establish a state lottery.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - Huntsville Police say a man driving the wrong way on I-565 collided with three cars sending six people to the hospital.

Police say 65-year-old Lee Thomas Mayne was eastbound in the westbound lane at the Oakwood Avenue exit on I-565.  His truck crashed into a car head-on before hitting two other vehicles.  

One car flipped over onto it's roof.  The driver of the car Mayne hit head-on suffered life threatening injuries.

Charges against Mayne are pending at this time.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - Huntsville Police are looking for the man responsible for robbing Jet's Pizza at gunpoint Friday night.

Police say a man armed with a handgun entered Jet's Pizza on South Memorial Parkway around 10:20 p.m.  The suspect then demanded cash from an employee.  

The employee gave the man the contents of the register and the suspect fled on foot.

Huntsville Police officers searched the area with a canine unit but could not locate the suspect.

If you have any information, call police at (256)722-7100.

Albertville, AL- Firefighters from around the nation are in Albertville this weekend for the FireFighters Combat Challenge. The firefighters race head-to-head as they navigate an obstacle course which simulates real life challenges.

“You climb a tower, you hoist a hose, you come down the stairs, and you hit a sled,” explained veteran competitor Jake Baker. “Then you have got to drag hose, run around a little bit, and then the last thing is you pull a dummy backwards 100 foot,” he continued.

The dummy is 175 pounds of dead weight. The Montgomery fireman makes it sound easy but months of training is required to be the best at this tough physical competition. Lifelong athlete and rookie fireman Brian Powell says he is anxious.

“I’m excited but those nerves…I’m still real nervous about it,” he said.

The average time of completion is around 2 minutes. The record is 1 minute 19 seconds, for now.

“Your top guys run 1:20s and the new guys will run up in the 2:00s a little bit but they get better as time goes on,” explained Baker.

It’s technically a friendly competition but when pride is on the line, these firemen are all business. The to prize… a shiny new fire hydrant made in Albertville, the fire hydrant capitol of the world, but Baker has his eye on some thing else. 

“Pride. That’s it, that’s all you need.”

The competition continues Sunday with team challenges.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - Huntsville Police arrested Nicholette Scott Friday night after she allegedly robbed a man.

Police say the victim was at Scott's apartment at 6620 Old Madison Pike around 8:30 p.m.

An unknown male offender entered the apartment and pointed a gun at the victim's head.  At that time Scott took the victim's property and chased him out of the residence.

Police located Scott shortly after and took her into custody.

She is charged with First Degree Robbery.

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAAY and Times Daily) - Education is an expensive business to operate and with state funds being cut every year, the University of North Alabama is looking for ways to generate revenue.

The board of trustees will consider a bevy of fee increases for the 2012-13 academic year during its June board meeting. Some of the fee increases will help the university plug a $2.5 million to $3 million budget shortfall, UNA President William Cale said.

A portion of the shortfall is from a state allocation that is expected to be $1.3 million less than the current year’s allocation. That cut will make $11.4 million lost through state cuts and proration in the past four years.

The additional $1.2 million to $1.7 million comes from increases in fixed costs such as utilities and insurance.

Trustees also will discuss a tuition increase, and Cale has said previously it will be needed to make up for the shortfall.

The amount of that tuition increase has not been decided.

Among the fees the board will be asked to consider is a $20 increase to lab fees, taking the fee from $30 to $50.

The fee has been steady at $30 since 1993, UNA Provost John Thornell said.

The lab fee is assessed to any student enrolled in biology, chemistry or industrial hygiene course with a lab requirement.

The fee is then used to purchase supplies and equipment for lab courses.

But in recent years, the fee has fallen short of covering those purchases. When that happens, the departments must dip into their supplies fund allocated in the UNA budget.

Thornell, who spoke during the trustees’ board retreat Wednesday, said the 67 percent fee increase is staggering, but justified since the fee has not been changed in nearly 20 years.

“I wanted to present this here, so that when it comes before you in June, you won’t have sticker shock,” Thornell told board members. “This probably should have been done incrementally over the years, but it was not.”

In a handout presented to the board, a chart comparing supply prices from 1993 to the prices in 2011 showed an average 72 percent increase.

For example, a sheep brain costs $5.86 in 1993, and in 2011 it cost $10.50. In 1993 a culture dish cost $2.07, and in 2011 it cost $5.20.

No action will be taken until June.

Trustee Joel Anderson said the university might need to take the lab fee increase even higher to keep up with rising prices.

“Looking at this, it seems to me $50 is a little on the light side,” he said “I’d question that it might should be $60.”

The university does have a non-technology supply fund that at one time exceeded $1 million, but because of proration and other cuts the university has not been able to add funds to that account.

“The fund is still there, but it is not nearly the size that is used to be,” said UNA spokesman Josh Woods. “Money was not just taken out of it, but purchases were made and because of proration, money has not been added to that fund.”

The fund is used for major purchases across the campus, not just science departments.

Trustees in June also will discuss fee increases for residence halls, dining plans and dining dollars.

An increase from $75 to $105 in dining dollars will be brought before the board, Cale said.

Dining dollars is a program in which each enrolled student pre-pays for food items and other purchases made through Sodexo, the university’s dining vendor. Students pay the fee, currently $75 each semester, and have the rest of the semester to spend the money.

The fee could increase to $105 in the coming year and $135 the next year.

“Our students actually get this money back by spending their dining dollars,” board of trustees President Steve Pierce said.

Cale said the increases were in place in the contract the university has with Sodexo, but the timing of the increases would be accelerated if approved.

Vice President for Student Affairs David Shields said there is a plan to measure how much students are spending and to make sure the Sodexo vendors are fulfilling student needs.

Other fee increase requests are possible from different university departments and programs.

Trustee Marty Abroms is concerned about how fee and tuition increases will impact students and their families.

He asked the other board members to use caution when approving fee increases.

“We are going to fee these students and families to death,” Abroms said.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Gay marriage remains a heated issue around the country.  President Obama came out supporting homosexual wedlock, while North Carolina banned same sex marriages this week. 

 

An event Friday night at Huntsville's Lowe Mill focused on the role some say religion is playing in the debate.

 

It's been a challenging 15 years since Mary Lou Wallner lost her lesbian daughter to suicide.  She says, "I think she was internally homophobic because she knew her family, all of her family, extended family, disapproved."

 

Devoutly Christian, Wallner and her relatives were raised to believe homosexuality is a choice, and one that God frowns upon.  But after losing her daughter, she began to question the church's teachings on the topic: “We actually came to the belief that it wasn't true, and we changed our beliefs, and now we are full supporters of GLBT people."

 

Wallner's story is featured in a documentary that discusses religion and homosexuality.  "For the Bible Tells Me So" explores how very Christian American families cope with having a child who's gay.  She believes a key way to increase tolerance is for Christians to take another look at the Bible, when it comes to homosexuality.

 

Wallner explains, “Many parents whose children come out to them as gay or lesbian have understood that this isn't a choice, it's not a sin, it's not an abomination, it is just the way God made them."

 

Two GLBT non-profits, PFLAG and GLBT Youth and Advocate Services, brought Mary Lou Wallner and her documentary to Huntsville.  Bani Logreira is President of PFLAG, a support group for family and friends of homosexuals.  As a parent of a gay son, she hopes the documentary can increase dialogue in Huntsville and reduce the sinful light under which homosexuality is cast.

 

Logreira says, “It's very difficult to change the people here locally but I think the more they get to know us, the more they talk to us, the more we talk to them, the better communication we have."

 

Wallner says the tolerant message in the documentary has saved lives: “Lots of people have said, thank you so much, I'm so glad I saw this, I too had thought about suicide but now I'm not gonna do that."

 

Spreading this message has also saved her.  Wallner says, “I think it's kept me alive.  It's just something to do in her honor and hopefully she's up there looking at us and saying, way to go, mom."

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - Huntsville Police are looking for the man who robbed the Discount Daddies store Friday night.

Police were called to the store at 3490 Highway 53 around 9:50 p.m. Friday.  

According to police a man entered the store armed with a handgun and demanded cash.  The cashier complied and the suspect took off in a silver sedan.

If you have any information, call police.

Somerville, AL-Nestled in the small town of Somerville is a piece of Alabama History. In the center of town stands the oldest courthouse in Alabama and to Somervillians that's something worth celebrating. A festival was held today in honor of the courthouses' 175th birthday.
 
"This is the highlight of the year each and every year. Each year it grows and progresses a little more," said Mayor Darren Tucker.
 
Vendors, live entertainment, and even civil war re-enactors were all out and about to celebrate this building with a long history.
 
World War 2 veteran Robert Maples says he spent some of his best days inside the building. The courthouse was turned into a school after the county seat was moved to Decatur and that’s where Maples began his education.
 
"I learned how to get a paddling and recess and play period," Maples joked.
 
The Somerville Courthouse has been a county courthouse, a school, and a church; but now city court is once again held within its walls. Mayor Tucker says the Judge and Prosecutor like the nostalgia of the building.
 
"They like it so much being able to say that they, you know, presided in the oldest courthouse in the state that we bought a desk and put over there and now we just continued having court over there."
 
All of the money raised goes towards making sure this piece of History remains intact.
 
"It’s just great to be able to call this our own little piece of history and we are very excited to be able to try to preserve it."

DECATUR, Ala. (WAAY and Decatur Daily) - Organizers expect a crowd of a couple hundred in Decatur today at a rally against Alabama’s illegal immigration law.

Protesters will gather starting at 5 p.m. at La Guerrerense Mexican Store in Decatur Shopping Center on Sixth Avenue and march about a mile to the office of state Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, at 2128 Sixth Ave. S.E.

The chief organizer of the rally is Rosa Calderon of the Athens-based immigrants-rights advocacy group All Races United. She said the rally will single out Hammon because he sponsored the illegal-immigration law with Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale.

“He (Hammon) said there’s a big illegal immigration problem in Decatur,” Calderon said. “Well, we’re going to show him that problem.”

Hammon did not return calls for comment Friday.

Calderon said All Races United is a volunteer organization with six members and was established in October. She said the organization’s goal is to educate the general population about immigration law.

Calderon said Hammon doesn’t see a difference between undocumented immigrants and legal immigrants. “He puts everyone in one category,” she said. “There are good and bad people in any population.”

Hammon has said previously that his intention “was to make it difficult for illegal immigrants to live and work in Alabama.”

Holding the rally on May 5 — Cinco de Mayo — has significance, Calderon said.

“We’re here to take back our holiday,” Calderon said. “In America, Cinco de Mayo has become, ‘Let’s go drink a margarita and eat Mexican food.’

“But most people don’t know its true meaning.”

La Guerrerense owner Martin Perez said through a translator that he supports the march and allowed the protesters to use his parking lot as a gathering place because the laws are personally affecting his business by driving Hispanic families away from the area. He said he believes the laws target people who are hard workers and are trying to provide for their families.

Calderon said the rally will be peaceful. She has a permit for the demonstration from City Hall.

“There will be officers there for traffic safety,” Lt. John Crouch of Decatur police said.

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A proposal from Alabama lawmakers could shorten the school calendar to less than 180 days while lengthening the school day.

If Gov. Robert Bentley signs the bill, school systems could shorten their year so long as students receive 1,080 hours of instructional time. The Mobile Press-Register reports that the school year would have to end by Memorial Day.

Mobile County is debating whether to shorten its school year to 173 or 170 days. It would add 18 to 25 minutes of instruction time daily under those plans.

Supporters of the bill say it would boost the tourism economy and reduce school spending on transportation and air conditioning. Opponents say it's a step backward for a state that increased its school year requirement in 2006 from 175 to 180 days.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - A new kind of public database is in the works, dealing with Alabama's dangerous and growing meth problem.

 

For potential home-buyers, there's usually a checklist of potential deal-breakers, often including mold, termites, and neighborhood crime rates.

 

Now, lawmakers are saying meth labs should be added to that list.  Calling meth lab locations "uninhabitable,” a bill going through the state legislature would require the Department of Public Health to "place locations where methamphetamine labs have been discovered on the department's website for public disclosure."

 

That way, potential buyers can test a home to make sure it's completely meth-free.  Madison County Sgt. Mike Salomonsky, who often oversees meth lab busts, says they're extremely toxic and dangerous for everyone, even for those highly trained to clean them up.

 

He explains, "As they go through the bags trying to secure evidence for the prosecution of the case, there's a substantial risk to their health that they could become poked or stabbed by the needles and I don't have to tell you that numerous diseases can be generated from that."

 

So what happens to a home when it becomes ground zero for a meth lab bust?  Huntsville Area Association of Realtors CEO Oscar Gonzales explains, “The chemicals actually get into the fabric of the structure, like the insulation, the wood, and the sheet rock."

 

Gonzales says a bust could hurt the value of that home, but probably wouldn't impact a whole neighborhood: “If you had six meth labs on one street, yeah it probably could, but for the most part you're not going to see that happen."

 

Despite the potential impact on real estate values, Gonzales feels full disclosure of meth lab locations, just like awareness of asbestos or black mold, is more important.  He says, “It’s good information to have, especially when you're moving a young family into maybe their first home, and you don't want to subject them to any kind of danger with chemicals."

 

This bill is still pending committee action in the state house of representatives, and there are just three more days left in this year's legislative session.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Two bills aimed at further restricting abortions failed to come up for debate in the Alabama Legislature Thursday, hurting their chances of passing.

Only four legislative days remain in the 2012 legislative session.

The bills would establish new rules for abortion clinics and would allow doctors to not perform a medical procedure if it violates his conscience.

The two bills were on the House work agenda Thursday, but were delayed because of debate on other issues.

The sponsor of both bills, Republican Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin of Pelham said it's a "long shot" that the bills can pass in the session's waning days. Tuesday is the final day a bill has to pass the House if it has not yet passed the Senate.

Huntsville, AL- Ann Brown, owner of Ann’s Studio of Dance, pled not guilty Friday morning to charges of disorderly conduct. The charges stem from an altercation with Melissa Anderson, owner of Alabama Urgent Care. Anderson called a tow truck driver to take away several dance students' vehicles that were parked on her property despite signs warning that they would be towed.

Brown reportedly verbally assaulted Anderson and the tow trucks drivers, claims that are backed up by the driver's affidavits which say she cursed, charged at Anderson, and even ordered the dance students into the cars that were being towed.
Ann admits to raising her voice.

"Being a typical woman, as we discussed the matter my voice was raised because we think that if you don't respond in a proper way you don't hear us so we get louder and louder," explained Brown.

But says she did nothing that would justify the arrest. Police were at the altercation and did not arrest Brown at the time.

"The police were there on the scene and I feel like if I was totally out of order that they would have arrested me that night they didn't," she said.

Anderson filed a warrant Tuesday May 1st and Brown was arrested Thursday morning. She says the arrest was not the worst part of the whole experience, being accused of using foul language is.

"That has really hurt my feelings because I was raised by a mother that you didn't talk like that. I have never used the F-word in my whole life."
The issue began several years ago when Brown expanded her business and built a much larger building for her dance studio. The business has only 17 parking spaces to accommodate the students and their parents.

According to neighbors, the lack of parking has caused serious traffic woes for the surrounding neighborhood especially for the residents who live on Alabama Street.

“People couldn’t come down this way or get that way because there were cars parked on both sides of the street,” explained Kathy Biggs who lives on Alabama Street. “It’s still a problem to get out of your driveway when there are cars on both sides of the street,” she continued.

The residents of the Mayfair neighborhood have complained that the traffic caused by the lack of parking prevents them from getting to their homes on a regular basis. The group took their case before the Huntsville Board of Zoning Adjustment but Brown was granted an exemption due to the act that the city did approve the building plans. According to city code a business the size of the studio should have at least 23 parking spaces.

Biggs has lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years and says there was no problem until the studio expanded.

“When they added their second story now they have more students and there more traffic there are more people parking on the road.”

The neighborhood group, represented by Attorney Thomas Jefferson is appealing the decision to circuit court.

Brown's court date regarding the arrest is set for June 19^th.

Hundreds of new jobs are headed to Limestone County. The job growth is expected to make a major impact on the county.

Carpenter Technology has already broken ground in Athens. The Pennsylvania based company that produces steele products will bring 250 jobs to Limestone County. 700 additional people will be employed to build the plant.

Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks says a total of 618 total jobs are coming to Limestone County as a result of several companies expanding or moving to the area.
"Well its always important as we continue to build our quality of life it helps support our education system and a way for people to feed their families" Marks says.

The Electricfill Corporation located in Elkmont is in the process of expanding and adding as many as 100 jobs. Human Resource officer Lynn Lane says providing
good jobs to the community is a good feeling. "Being Here in a small town such as Elkmont the fact that we are bake to employ so many people from the area is a benefit not only to us but for the local town" Lane said.

Electricfill produces car sensors for engines. some of their customers include: Ford and Volkswagen.