Teachers in short supply
Just days before students return to classes, some school districts around the state are scrambling to find teachers.
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Archive of Alabama on Sunday August 07, 2005
Teachers in short supply
Just days before students return to classes, some school districts around the state are scrambling to find teachers. Read More
Riley OKs operating budget, raises
Gov. Bob Riley on Thursday signed into law a state operating budget for next year and across-the-board pay raises of 6 percent for the 36,000 people, such as prison guards, who work for Alabama's non-education agencies. Read More
Advocates seek youth justice reform
More than 70 percent of Alabama children sent to the Department of Youth Services run into more trouble with the law when they get out, a recidivism rate that demands an overhaul of the way the state treats young offenders, children's advocates said Thursday. Read More
Sex offender law could add psychiatric control
State Rep. Randy Hinshaw is proposing a new classification of sex offender in Alabama called a "sexual psychopath," who could be kept in psychiatric care indefinitely after becoming eligible for parole. Read More
No new taxes in wall of cash
The newly signed state budget to pay for health care, prisons, courts and other government services contains enough money to give almost every Alabamian $344. Read More
DHR asks court to dismiss R.C. case
The Alabama Department of Human Resources is again asking a federal judge to end court oversight of the state's child welfare system. Read More
Riley set to kill theme-park tax break legislation
Gov. Bob Riley on Thursday said he planned to kill a bill designed to use tax breaks to lure theme parks and other tourist attractions to Alabama. Read More
Sibley dies by lethal injection
ATMORE, Ala. - Alabama executed Florida mechanic George Sibley on Thursday, 12 years after his anti-government fanaticism fueled the slaying of an Opelika police officer. Read More
Alabamians have new tool in fight to quit smoking habit
The Medical Association of the State of Alabama recently endorsed Alabama Quitline, a free telephone line that links the state?s tobacco users with licensed tobacco counselors. Read More
PSC lawyer's contract delayed
A legislative panel on Thursday held up a lawyer's $85,000 contract with the Public Service Commission after members questioned what work was being done for that amount of money. Read More
Nuke plant plans aired
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. - Alabama officials plan to offer tax breaks that would help with the construction of an advanced nuclear plant near Scottsboro, Neal Wade, director of Alabama Development Office, said Wednesday. Read More
Activists stress importance of voting act
Jim Crow laws may have been abolished, but voting-rights activists say blacks and Hispanics still face barriers at the polls in Florida and throughout the South. Read More
Why the rise in pupils' test scores? The South.
Much of the national progress reported for 9- and 13-year-olds was driven by gains in the South. Read More
Cost of judicial races stirs reformers
State Supreme Court elections increasingly are battlegrounds for groups seeking to install judges who lean their way on major legal issues. Some states are considering changes to address what they see as threats to the impartiality and fairness of their courts. Read More
States act to ease troops' financial pain
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Tax breaks a prelude to school bells
Over the next several weeks, 10 states will exempt certain items that kids need for school from state sales tax for a period ranging from a single day to a week and a half. Read More
No letup in unrest over Bush school law
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Dogfight looms over Air Guard units
In July, the governors of Illinois and Pennsylvania sued to stop the Pentagon from eliminating Air National Guard units in their states. At risk are jobs and security, the governors contend. But legal experts said the outcome of these lawsuits could alter something bigger: how federal and state officials share the National Guard. Read More
Energy bill has pros and cons for states
The federal energy bill that is on its way to the president's desk is a mixed bag for states. Despite protests from governors and other state officials, the legislation grants broader federal authority to dictate where liquified natural gas ports and power lines can be located. But states will be allowed to sue makers of a gasoline additive that has polluted water sources across the nation. Read More
Send us your baby boomers, states plead
More states are trying to recruit retirees -- and the money they bring -- by promising an affordable paradise within their borders. Well-off baby boomers are being tempted with Web sites, guidebooks and tax breaks to relocate to live out their golden years. Hawaii beats last-place Texas in one ranking of wealth-friendly retirement spots. Read More
Abortion foes intensify efforts at state level
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States try new approaches, feds cool
In recent years, while the federal government has focused on terrorism and the war in Iraq, governors and state legislators have been tackling pressing domestic policy issues ranging from soaring prescription drug prices to environmental concerns. But as states plunge ahead, President George W. Bush and a Republican Congress often do not support the very activism that GOP leaders have encouraged for decades. Read More
Pa. gaming expansion roils historic site
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - About four miles from one of America's most sacred sites -- the Civil War battlefield here -- developers energized by a new Pennsylvania law that authorizes the largest expansion of gambling in state history want to build a slot machine casino. Read More
States fear cyberspace invaders
On an average day, state governments must beat back thousands of electronic attacks, ranging from viruses to identity thieves. While most times these threats don't succeed, experts warn the enemy is becoming more sophisticated. They say unless state defenses evolve, too, government computer systems could grind to a halt and millions of pieces of personal information could be put at risk. Read More
State laws vary on driving distractions
New Hampshire is the only state that doesn't require adult motorists to wear seat belts, but it's also the only state where drivers can be ticketed for eating, drinking, talking on a cell phone or fussing with their makeup while behind the wheel. The state whose motto is "Live Free or Die" passed the nation's first distracted driving law in 2001. Since then, every state has looked at ways to keep drivers' minds on the road, but lawmakers in most states are choosing to focus more narrowly on restricting cell phone use while driving. Read More |
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