A judge is refusing to delay the ethics trial of Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, at least for now.
Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker declined Hubbard's request for a postponement after a hearing Tuesday in Opelika.
But the judge noted that the case could still be delayed for other reasons, like an appeal of any of his pretrial decisions.
Hubbard is now set to go on trial on March 28. He had sought a postponement until the fall after his lead attorney left the case earlier this month.
Hubbard is accused on 23 felony ethics charges accusing him of using his public positions as speaker and former GOP party chairman to benefit his businesses and clients.
Hubbard maintains the transactions were legal.
Supporters and state officials rallied at the state capitol today for National School Choice Week.
Alabama is celebrating educational opportunities for children throughout the state that allows them to decide what type of school meets they want to attend.
Sonya DiCarlo is the Director of Communications for the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund. She says there are scholarship opportunities for families to pick the school of their choice.
“We gave out 2800 scholarships the first year and the second year it was closer to 2200 scholarships and for those families who receive scholarships it pays their tuition, their mandatory fees for them to leave a school move to a school of their choice.”
There was to be more than four-thousand people gathered at the capitol headlined by Governor Robert Bentley.
The Les Paul Foundation recently awarded a grant that will fund a 12-week guitar course at Fairhope Middle School. In addition to playing his signature solid-body electric guitar, students will learn all about the life of Les Paul and some of his other musical innovations.
Cori Yonge is the executive director of the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation. She says the students will be surprised to learn just how much Les Paul accomplished.
“Interestingly enough, when I asked the guitar teacher about it, she said ‘Kids just think that Les Paul is a guitar. They don’t understand that there’s a man behind it, and a man that really… He took a piece of wood, and he was able to turn that into an instrument that did change the way we see music today.’”
More than 40 Fairhope Middle School students are enrolled in the Les Paul course this semester. The class will culminate in a concert and showcase for students and faculty.