Catch up on the week's biggest stories about people, places, events and activities happening in Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley for the week ending April 14, 2023.
A Madison County judge has set an April 20 preliminary hearing for Juan Laws. He is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Huntsville Police Department officer Garrett Crumby. Crumby was killed March 28 after responding to a shots fired call at the Governors House Drive apartments. A second HPD officer, Albert Morin, was severely wounded in the same incident. An HPD spokesperson said Saturday Morin continues to recover from his injuries and has been moved from the ICU to a private room. WHNT TV reports Laws has not yet been charged in Morin’s shooting, but the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s investigation is expected to produce additional charges.
Four bills Gov. Kay Ivey dubbed the Game Plan, to renew and expand the tax incentives the state uses to recruit industry, won approval this week in an Alabama House of Representatives committee. AL.com reports the bills have broad bipartisan support and are a priority by the governor and legislative leaders. Two of the state’s job recruiting laws, the Alabama Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Act, are scheduled to expire in July. The new laws would extend those by five years and increase the spending caps.
Alabama families could get $6,900 in taxpayer funding for private schooling or homeschooling their children if a broad school choice bill gets approved by lawmakers. The bill, filed in both
chambers last Tuesday, establishes the Parental Rights in Children’s Education, or PRICE Act. AL.com reports the key feature of the act is the creation of education savings accounts, or ESAs, that would send public funding to parents who choose to send students to homeschool or private school.
Three interstate message boards are coming to I-565 in Huntsville. The Alabama Department of Transportation made the announcement Tuesday. Work on the signs is expected to take about a year to finish after beginning in August, a delay ALDOT attributed to supply chain issues. AL.com reports the full-color digital signs, similar to those in Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, will be used to advise drivers about traffic delays, dangerous weather conditions or other relevant messages. Two westbound signs will be located just before the Jordan Lane exit and just before the Greenbrier Parkway exit. An eastbound sign will be located just before the Memorial Parkway interchange.
The University of Alabama in Huntsville held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for its new 80,000 sq. ft. Engineering Building. A statement from the university says that this is one of the newest buildings to be added during the campus transformation plan. The new facility will be located west of the existing Engineering Building, adjacent to the campus lake along John Wright Drive and just across from the WLRH studios.
“Glamping” or glamorous camping is coming to six Alabama state parks. According to an announcement from the state parks, glamping is “a form of camping featuring more luxurious facilities than those associated with traditional camping. Glamping sites provide tents, beds, linens, electricity and heating and air conditioning. AL.com reports it’s expected to be available at Lake Guntersville by Memorial Day, and Cheaha (near Anniston), DeSoto (near Fort Payne) and Monte Sano (in Huntsville) this summer. Once the sites are available, you can reserve them online at alapark.com.