AUDIT
Representatives for Gov. Robert Bentley say the state will probably spend more than $500,000 on a forensic audit surrounding contract concerns at Alabama State University. AL.com on Monday reported the audit is the result of former university President Joseph Silver claiming he was told not to investigate contracts he found to be suspicious. Silver was placed on administrative leave in November, before he and the university settled on a mutual separation agreement. The university agreed to pay Silver $685,000 to resign from the position he held for about three months. A stipulation of the agreement calls for Silver to participate in any audit, investigation or lawsuit related to his employment with the school. After the resignation, Governor Bentley said he would help assemble a search team to find a replacement president.
QUADRANTID
Another meteor shower is expected to fill the skies late tonight and early Thursday morning. NASA says the Quadrantid meteor shower was first observed in 1825 and is the remnants of a comet that was first identified in 2003. The Quadrantids are expected to bring more than 100 pieces of debris per hour to the Earth’s atmosphere, which will burn about 50 miles up. Scientists say most of the northern hemisphere will be able to see the meteor shower with many Asian countries getting the best seats for the first meteor shower of 2013. With a bright moon and a forecast of partly cloudy skies for northeast Alabama, only the most patient and hardy sky gazers will probably see this lesser-known meteor shower in the Northern skies just before sunrise Thursday. For those not wanting to venture into the early morning weather expected to be in the upper 20s, NASA will provide a live internet stream of the meteor shower from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
CLIFF
Alabama lawmakers in Washington are sharply divided on the deal to avert the nationwide “fiscal cliff.” An Associated Press report Tuesday says Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions believes the legislation will help end a period of uncertainty that may impact opportunities for economic growth. Senator Richard Shelby voted against the legislation, saying “this package raises taxes, increases spending, and will lead to more borrowing.” Senator Shelby believes it falls far short of the measures necessary to promote job creation, economic growth, and fiscal stability. After passage in the Senate, the bill moved to the House of Representatives where it was approved in a bipartisan measure late Tuesday. Senator Sessions is quoted from a statement as saying “this legislation is necessary to prevent a large and painful tax increase from falling on the vast majority of Americans. Now, it is important that we place our focus directly on the real cause of our nation’s looming debt crisis: the continued surge in spending.”
INSURANCE
Alabama motorists without liability insurance on their vehicles will stand a greater chance of getting caught thanks to a new law that went into effect yesterday. According to the Associated Press, the Alabama Revenue Department will oversee the new mandate that allows police to electronically verify up-to-date insurance records while at traffic stops. An estimated 22-percent of Alabama vehicles do not have sufficient insurance which ranks 6th highest in the country. Department of Revenue commissioner Julie Magee hopes the new system will get that figure below 10-percent. The top Alabama insurance companies, Alfa, State Farm, and Allstate are prepared for the new verification system, according to Magee. Penalties for driving without insurance can include up to a $500 fine for the first offense and even lead to vehicle registration being revoked and the vehicle being towed.
SYLACAUGA
Sylacauga Police have released more details about a man who was found dead last week. Police say 67-year-old Ray Fednander was found unresponsive on the porch of his home on Morris Ave around 6 p.m. last Saturday. Officials say he was assaulted with an edged weapon and beaten to death. According to WSFA-TV, a neighbor says Fednander whispered the name of his attacker before dying. Fednander was pronounced dead at the Coosa Valley Medical Center. Neighbors remembered him as an extremely generous and caring man. Friends said he always gave away money to people who needed help, and some believed it could have been his generosity that led to him being a target. Sylacauga Police say they have a person of interest in the case, but they have not released that person’s name.
CRASH
Authorities say three people were killed when a small plane crashed in the Jasper area, northwest of Birmingham. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen tells The Associated Press that the Piper PA 30 went down less than a mile from the Walker County Airport in Jasper shortly before 11pm Thursday night. WBRC-TV reports that Walker County Sheriff’s deputies, Saragossa Fire Department and Alabama State Troopers searched in an area off Highway 5. Search crews say they are having a difficult time getting to the plane because it crashed into a heavily wooded area. A spokesperson from the NTSB said the plane went into “instrument meteorological conditions,” meaning the weather conditions required the pilot to fly primarily using instruments. The names of the deceased have not yet been released and the NTSB will continue the investigation.