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Jobs coming to Tuscaloosa County, Williams on second special session

Six Hundred and fifty new jobs are coming to Tuscaloosa County.

Governor Robert Bentley announced that Samvardhana Motherson Group plans to build a new $150 million automotive supplier plant in the area.

The new 700,000 square foott facility in Tuscaloosa will produce painted bumpers, rocker panels, spoilers, interior door panels and other parts. This plant will supply Mercedes Benz U.S. International plant in Vance.

The proposed site of the new auto supplier is located in east Tuscaloosa County. Construction will begin by the end of 2015.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley is expected to call lawmakers back to Montgomery in September to fix the general fund budget.  Legislators ended the first special session last week without a solution to fix a $200 million shortfall in the new budget year that begins October first.

Huntsville Republican Phil Williams says the legislature helped keep Bentley’s word on no new taxes when he campaigned for Governor.  But now he wants to raise taxes, which does not sit well with voters.  Williams says the legislature is willing to work with him…

 “But it needs to be broad-based, fair and it needs to fund the essential role of government.  Not some bloated government that doesn’t even tax some people that are special-interest or friends of friends or something like that.”

 If lawmakers cannot come up with a solution, Alabama could see medical and mental health care cuts, the closure of state parks and fewer state troopers on highways.

The A-L-S Ice Bucket Challenge is back in full swing this month. 

Commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a progressive, ALS is a fatal and neuromuscular disease. The affliction attacks and eventually kills the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles.  Last year, the Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $115 Million Dollars for research and care last year.

Huntsville native Rick Isaacs was diagnosed with the disease in November of 2013.  He says the Ice Bucket Challenge is making a difference in the efforts to eradicate the disease…

“Because of the Ice Bucket Challenge, most people at least understand what it is and that it’s a debilitating, terminal disease that has no treatment and has no cure.”

Officials with the ALS Association Alabama Chapter say it costs more than 200-thousand dollars a year to take care of someone with ALS.  To donate, you can go to A-L-S-dot-Alabama-dot-org.

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