Acting Alabama House Speaker Victor Gaston says he isn’t interested in making that title any more permanent.
The Mobile Republican representative announced yesterday that he will not be a candidate for speaker. Gaston says he was grateful to the colleagues and friends who encouraged him to seek the post. He says he will dedicate his remaining time as acting speaker to making sure all the various House functions run smoothly.
Gaston was elected as House Speaker Pro Tem in 2010. He took over the duties of speaker after Mike Hubbard was convicted of a dozen federal ethics charges. Hubbard was automatically removed from office after the conviction.
The House of Representatives will elect a new speaker the next time lawmakers convene. The 2017 legislative session begins in February, but Gov. Robert Bentley has discussed the possibility of calling a special session this year.
New York theatergoers are getting a taste of a new play that has its roots here in Alabama.
Preview performances are underway for the show “Here I Sit, Broken Hearted.” The play was written by University of Alabama theater professor Seth Panitch and the first showings were staged in Tuscaloosa. The plot is based on graffiti in a men’s room.
Actor Ian Anderson says the show has been a blessing to work on. But he says it’s been one of the stranger plays he’s ever performed in.
“It’s one of those things were there’s a lot of singing and a lot of dancing and there’s no real true line to it. We really try to bring a true line to it but it’s really more of an hour long standup routine where four guys are riffing on the same theme.”
A true line is the structure of a play with a beginning, middle, and end. “Here I Sit, Broken Hearted” will run for three weeks at the Samuel Beckett Theatre off 42nd street.
Alabama’s Better Business Bureau is urging businesses to be forewarned and forearmed against scam artists.
The Bureau is sponsoring its annual Fraud Summit today. Experts from agencies including the FBI, Alabama Securities Commission and local law enforcement departments will be on hand to share the latest information on common schemes and how to avoid them.
Elizabeth Garcia is the President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of North Alabama. She says the summit will cover a wide variety of topics.
“How to protect your nest egg, how to safeguard your family against identity theft, specific scams targeting veterans and military personal… We will also talk about home improvement scams and door-to-door sale scams, and then there will be many more topics, as much as time will allow.”
The free event will be held at the BB&T bank in downtown Huntsville from 8:30am to 1pm today.