As Mike Hubbard’s sentencing date approaches, prosecutors are recommending the former Alabama House Speaker should spend five years in a state prison for breaking the state ethics law.
Attorney General Luther Strange’s office filed a brief yesterday afternoon asking a judge to give Hubbard an 18-year split sentence. Hubbard would spend five years behind bars and the remaining 13 years under supervised probation.
The sentence mirrors the 18 years Hubbard spent in the Alabama Legislature and the five he spent as speaker of the Alabama House. Prosecutors also recommend Hubbard should be forced to pay $1.6 million in fines and restitution.
Hubbard will be sentenced next week, on July 8. A jury convicted the former House Speaker on 12 felony ethics violations on June 10. Prosecutors say Hubbard used the power of his office to benefit his businesses.
Alabama's Attorney General starts impeachment proceedings against a sheriff accused of corruption and neglect of duty. APR’s Stan Ingold has more…
Sheriff Tyrone Clark Sr. is accused of helping an inmate with an extensive history of drug offenses to bring contraband into the Sumter County jail. Other allegations include taking pay from inmates in an unauthorized work-release program and trying to coerce a female employee into sex.
A grand jury recommended removing Clark from office in April and sent the case to Attorney General Luther Strange, who announced that the Alabama Supreme Court will decide Clark's fate. Any criminal charges would be considered separately; District Attorney Greg Griggers says the investigation is still ongoing.
Mobile expects an influx of visitors over the first two weekends of July.
Over ten thousand members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses from all over the Southeast will be attending a convention in town.
Robert Lee is the Media Service Overseer for the convention. He says the convention held last weekend was held entirely in Spanish.
“So, for Jehovah’s Witnesses, we have a long history of having conventions in Mobile and the next two conventions are in English. The theme of the convention is ‘Remain Loyal to Jehovah’.”
The convention will be held at the Mitchell Center at the University of South Alabama. Another convention will be held at the same location next weekend as well.
The state of Alabama is adding a new tool to its severe weather arsenal: a hurricane-proof welcome center near the coast.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and other state officials will cut the ribbon on a new state welcome center at Grand Bay on Interstate 10 at the Mississippi border. But this isn't like any other welcome center in the state. The governor's office says it is designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, with winds in excess of 156 mph.
Officials say the welcome center will be included in the state's disaster plan as a staging area for emergency response workers and vehicles during a hurricane. The welcome center is located less than 5 miles from the Gulf Coast.