These are some stories from the 10/18/12 version of Tennessee Valley news update (633, 733, 833am, 304, 404, 504, 604pm) …
A major expansion could be in store for John Hunt Park in south Huntsville. The Huntsville Times reports an updated master plan for the park includes construction of a 4-thousand-seat indoor sports arena plus an outdoor festival area with a lake and terraced amphitheater. The Ice Complex would get a third rink and arena seating would be expanded so the facility could host larger hockey and figure skating competitions. The city intends to raise money for the project by selling 25 acres near the corner of Airport Road and Memorial Parkway for retail development. Public input is being sought through the city’s interactive website <imaginehuntsville.com>.
Huntsville City Schools grabbed national attention with the launch of its Digital 1:1 Initiative, which uses online resources for student learning. Now, parents can get better in touch with the program through the school district's local public access television station, E-TV. E-TV will air a Digital 1:1 Initiative daily workshop through the end of the month to help parents better understand the new technology. E-TV is located on Comcast Channel 17 and on Knology Channel 99. The program will be aired each day at 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. You can also find this story on our Facebook page.
The Tennessee Valley Jazz Society-Hunstville is hosting a special workshop this evening at the Improv on Oakwood Ave. Topics discussed will be “Jazz History is American History” and The Future of Jazz”. The public is invited. Tomorrow, Ellis Marsalis will perform at 7 at the Cooper House on Randolph Ave.
A federal court has turned down Alabama’s appeal of a ruling that invalidated parts of the state’s immigration law. The Montgomery Advertiser reports the 11th US Circuit Court rejected a request that the full court review a decision made by a three-judge panel in August. The panel struck down provisions that made contracts with immigrants unenforceable and that made it a crime to "harbor, conceal or shield" undocumented aliens from law enforcement. The court gave no reason why it did not consider the appeal.
School officials in Montgomery are investigating claims that administrators in two city high schools were altering student grades. Employees who entered computer data at the schools say they witnessed school administrators giving students higher grades with little or no work. Data entry worker Edwina Riddlespriger says she was told to change grades, and "was written up" when she refused. The allegations come amidst an investigation into widespread cheating in the Montgomery County public school system.
The November 6th general election draw close and we’ll be spending time the next couple of weeks looking at constitutional amendments on the ballot. That includes Amendment 7, which has raised concern among some union organizers. The measure says Alabama citizens have a fundamental right to vote for public office and employee representation by secret ballot. But if approved by voters, it would also prohibit unions from organizing by card check, where they get more than half of the employees at a company to check a box on a card saying they want union representation.