WVAS Local

   Five new members have been added to the Alabama Academy of Honor. The Academy held a ceremony at the state capitol yesterday inducting the new members. Each new inductee was given the opportunity to speak at the occasion. The inductees are former U-S District Judge U. W. Clemon; civic leader Walter Bell; former Executive Director of Leadership Birmingham Anne D. Florie; former chairman and CEO of Compass Bank D. Paul Jones, Jr.; and W. Stancil (Stan) Starnes, CEO of ProAssurance Corporation. The Academy was created by

   A student at Alabama State University lost her life in a traffic accident last weekend. ASU officials have released a statement mourning the loss of 18 year old Kennedy Segars. The freshman was killed Sunday in Dekalb County, Georgia when the car she was a passenger in was hit by a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver. Segars had gone home to celebrate her mother’s birthday.

   Faced with concerns that the state parole board had freed violent offenders, Governor Kay Ivey and the state’s attorney general met with the panel yesterday. Following the meeting, Governor Ivey announced changes, including replacing the parole board chairman. The governor also signed an executive order placing a 75-day moratorium on early paroles. The order directs the board to stop considering inmates for parole before they complete a designated amount of their sentence. She also asked the board to develop a corrective action plan.

   Macon County will not be the site of a new training aircraft plant after all. The Air Force yesterday announced that it had chosen the Boeing Company for the contract to build the next generation of jet trainer. Italian Company Leonardo DRS was among the finalists for the contract and it had chosen Moton Field in Tuskegee for its manufacturing site. The plant would have created 750 immediate jobs and another 4-thousand at suppliers in Central Alabama. 

   A lawsuit has been filed against Alabama's secretary of state for blocking people on Twitter. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by three people who said Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill had blocked them from his Twitter account "because of opinions they expressed or questions they asked." American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama Director Randall Marshall said Merrill largely posts about the activities of his public office and blocking people deprives them of that information. The lawsuit argues it is a First Amendment violation to put a "viewpoint-based restriction" on access.

   Preparations are underway for this year’s annual Diversity Summit in Montgomery. The event is set for October 2nd and 3rd at the Renaissance Montgomery Convention Center with the theme of “The Future: Diversity. Talent. Innovation.” Meg Lewis with the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce says the summit is popular with companies of all sizes. 

   It was a concerned Montgomery County Board of Education that passed a deficit budget last night. The 231 million dollar spending plan for 2019 passed by a vote of 5 to 2. Even those voting for the budget bemoaned it’s 9.7 million dollar deficit. Board member Arika Watkins Smith said new revenue is needed. The 2018 budget would have also operated at a deficit if not for the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School to Pike Road.

   Police have made three arrests in a murder from early August in Montgomery. Police announced yesterday that 16 year old Marcus Brown, 16 year old Nicolas Moore and 25 year old Queneshia King have all been charged with two counts each of capital murder. It was on August 10th that 29 year old Samuel James was found shot to death in the 15-hundred block of South Hull Street. Investigators determined that James had been shot while in his vehicle during the course of a robbery. 

   In the end, the new budget for Montgomery passed without a dissenting vote, but some changes were needed from the original proposal to make that happen. The 254 million dollar spending plan was approved by the city council at last night’s meeting. Much of the consternation around the budget had to do with the proposed reduction of trash pickup to only one day a week. After some backlash from city residents, the council ultimately raised garbage fees, but kept trash pickup at two times per week. 

   Alabama State ended a six-year drought against Tuskegee in the Labor Day Classic Saturday, when they won a 26 to 20 overtime skirmish. It was also the first opener ASU has won in six years. The Hornets won in overtime when Ezra Gray took a handoff and ran it in from the left sideline, sending fans into a frenzy. Gray has been named SWAC Specialist of the Week for his efforts. More than 26-thousand people attended the game Saturday night. The Hornets return to action Saturday against Auburn. Kick is set for 6:30 p.m.