A Pell City man died at UAB Hospital Thursday from injuries sustained in a single-car crash on Interstate 459 Feb. 16.
State troopers identified the victim as Donald Vance Fain, 75.
His vehicle struck an interstate retaining wall, went over the wall and down an embankment, one mile north of Irondale.
Ginny MacDonald
Just in case the spring game isn’t enough to draw 92,000-plus fans by itself …
The University of Alabama and New York City-based MSL Sports and Entertainment today announced that the university will host Gridiron Bash™ The Ultimate Fan Competition™ the day before the annual A-Day Game. The event - the first of its kind at Bryant-Denny Stadium - will take place April 11 and include a live performance by Grammy award-winning country singer-song writer Alan Jackson, as well as a giant pep rally introducing the team, appearances by coaches, video highlights, and other festive fan activities.
Tickets are $56 for Field Seats (approximately 1,500 sold only through rolltide.com) and $39 and will go on sale on March 3, at 8 a.m.
(Read the full post about ‘UA to hold Gridiron Bash before A-Day game’…)
Alabama Department of Transportation officials plan to close the Interstate 65 southbound off-ramp at 33rd Avenue and shift three southbound travel toward the median Saturday at 11 a.m. if weather permits.
This work is part of the interstate widening for its tie-ins with Corridor X.
Temporary traffic stripes will be painted and a temporary barrier built between the three existing southbound lanes and the outside shoulder. A lane will be added on the outside shoulder.
The lanes will remain in a shifted configuration for approximately a year, ALDOT officials said.
The ramp will be closed until August.
Motorists should expect delays and use caution in these construction zones or take alternate routes.
(Read the full post about ‘I-65 lane shifts and ramp closing scheduled Saturday’…)
The boys of … late winter?
Good news first for Alabama baseball at the Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco, Texas …
The Crimson Tide nearly produced the biggest comeback in school history today. … True freshman Ross Wilson (John Parker’s little brother) produced 4 RBIs and his first collegiate home run. … All nine lineup starters had at least one hit. … And pitcher Casey Kebodeaux rebounded from a tough start Saturday to allow only one earned run in 4 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
Now the bad news …
Alabama lost 10-9 to Texas-Arlington, making the Tide now 1-3 against an early schedule comprised of the Big West and Southland Conferences.
Appalachian State is close to announcing Alabama graduate assistant Antonio Carter as its new receivers coach. According to ASU media relations director Mike Flynn, “The deal hasn’t gone through yet,” but an official announcement could come as early as today.
Carter was the first edition of Tyrone Prothro, a successful, popular Crimson Tide receiver who suffered a tragic, severe leg injury and never made it back full-time to the field.
(Read the full post about ‘Tide coach AC Carter on the move’…)
By Barnett Wright and Jeff Hansen
Birmingham News staff writers
Jefferson County told creditors in a filing Thursday night that it could offer no assurances it can meet its sewer debt obligations.
In two securities disclosure documents, the county said:
Soaring interest rates mean it may not be able to make payments on $3.2 billion in sewer bonds.
It may not be able to post $184 million in collateral required when credit-rating agencies lowered the grade for its interest-rate swap agreements.
Its sewer debt service reserve fund was now underfunded because of the credit downgrade, and the county could not guarantee it could properly fund or insure it.
The credit rating for $1 billion in school construction bonds, backed by a 1 percent countywide sales tax, had been downgraded from AAA to AA by Fitch Ratings Ltd., one of three major credit-rating agencies.
Per UA media relations …
The Southeastern Conference announced Thursday that Raycom Sports has picked up a couple of games for television broadcast on March 8, the final weekend of the Southeastern Conference basketball regular season. Among those selected was Alabama’s home and regular season finale against Vanderbilt.
Alabama will tip at 1 p.m. against Vanderbilt, moving the game from a night game to early afternoon
by Monolycus
(lifted from a comment)
Stanford University’s Philip Zimbardo makes the case that it wasn’t inherent rottenness, but the "Lucifer Effect" which turned all those good, honest, God-fearin’ US soldiers into sadistic, twisted tormentors at Abu Ghraib.
"The Devil made me do it." Yeah. In a Christian theocracy, that defense will, nauseatingly, go pretty far. At least it’s slightly less patently disgusting than "These were just frat pranks."
Why doesn’t anyone twig on to the obvious answer that the culture produces sick, twisted fucks? Oh, yeah…
This is an odd announcement:
The U.S. Navy has moved the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and other ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon, Pentagon officials said Thursday.
…
The destroyer and two support ships are close to Lebanon but out of visual range of the coast, Pentagon officials said. Another six vessels, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau, are close to Italy and steaming toward the other three, the officials said.
U.S. Navy ships move closer to Lebanon
Why is this odd?
Because the U.S. is sending empty ships.
The most important issue for U.S. voters is the current economic downturn. It is important to point out to them that the economic mailaise is a direct consequence of rightwing policies.
The U.S. puts a higher percentage of its population into jail than any dictatorship in this world. This is very expensive and driven by rightwing "law and order" policies and false incentives, i.e. privatization of prisons and lobbying by prison owners.
In 2007, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers, states spent $44 billion in tax dollars on corrections.
(Read the full post about ‘Economic Downturn - Policy Change?’…)