Latest Alabama Headlines

All the headlines from our Alabama Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Former Hurricane Program Manager to Head Ala. Emergency Agency

Feb 1 2008 // Alabama Gov. Bob Riley appointed Brock Long to serve as director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Long has served in emergency management at the state and federal levels specializing in hurricane planning and...

Fire that Destroyed Alabama Animal Shelter Ruled Arson

Feb 1 2008 // Alabama fire marshals have determined that arson was to blame for a November fire that destroyed an unlicensed animal shelter in Rainsville, Ala., whose operator said more than 50 animals died as a result of the...

Alabama Supreme Court Reverses Course, Offers Hope to Ill Workers

Jan 30 2008 // In a 5-4 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed direction and allowed lawsuits from workers who become ill many years after being exposed to dangerous chemicals. The majority said the two-year statute of limitations...

Lawsuit Claims Ala.-Based Insurance Co. Discriminated Against Haitians

Jan 25 2008 // Three Florida residents have sued Alabama-based Liberty National Life Insurance Co. claiming their insurance was canceled or undervalued because of discrimination against Haitian-Americans. The new class-action lawsuit was...

Ala. Lawmaker’s Son One of Two Arrested in Arson Cases

Jan 25 2008 // The son of an Alabama legislator is one of two men charged with arson and attempted burglary in what Cullman County authorities say is an investigation of suspicious fires in the Hanceville, Ala., area. Jerrod Heath Fite,...

Fitch: Alabama-Based Alfa Group’s Ratings Remain on Watch Negative

Jan 24 2008 // The expected reduction in policyholders’ surplus when Alfa Mutual Group follows through on its plan to privatize Alfa Corp. later this year caused Fitch Ratings to maintain its negative rating watch on the following...

Disaster Assistance Available for 2 Storm-Battered Alabama Counties

Jan 23 2008 // Alabama residents of Lamar and Pickens counties may be eligible for federal assistance resulting from the severe storms and tornadoes that passed through the area on Jan. 10. These counties are eligible because they are...

Latest Ala. Church Fire Accidental, Officials Look for Arson Link in 2 Others

Jan 17 2008 // Alabama investigators said a blaze that gutted a Blount County church on Tuesday was an accident, but they are still trying to determine whether there was a link between two church fires in Chilton County. Flames burned...

A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Alabama’s Alfa Corp. and Subsidiaries

Jan 15 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Alabama-based Alfa Insurance Group and its members. Concurrently, A.M. Best has...

100-Year Old Alabama Home Destroyed, 9-Year Old Responsible

Jan 14 2008 // Baldwin County authorities said a 9-year-old boy has admitted to setting a fire on New Year’s Eve that destroyed his great-grandmother’s 100-year-old home in Marlow, Ala. Gib Hixon, chief of the Fish...

Ala.-Based Baggett Transportation Wins Insurance Co.’s Safety Award

Jan 9 2008 // First Guard Insurance Co., of Venice, Fla., awarded Birmingham, Ala.-based Baggett Transportation Co., with the “Fleet of the Year” award for 2007. The Fleet of the Year award is presented to the trucking...

Two Charged in East Alabama Church Fires

Jan 8 2008 // Two Smiths, Ala., men have been charged on arson and burglary charges in connection with three church fires that occurred since Jan 1, State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk announced Monday. Geoffrey Parquette, 21, was charged with...

3rd Alabama Church Arson in 2 Days Prompts Command Post

Jan 7 2008 // Investigators are trying to determine what started separate fires that gutted a church and two houses in rural Lee County, Ala. Authorities said a man was seriously injured in a house fire reported about 1 a.m. on Jan. 3,...

Ala. Insurance Agent Loses Runoff for House Distict 12 in Light Voting

Dec 21 2007 // Cullman County, Ala., Commissioner Wayne Willingham won the Republican nomination for Alabama House District 12 and advances to the general election Jan. 29 against Democrat James C. Fields. In light voting in the...

National Weather Service says Alabama at High Risk for Wildfires

Dec 19 2007 // National Weather Service forecasters and officials with the Alabama Forestry Commission say Alabama is at an unusually high risk for wildfires, despite a cold snap. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag...

Farmers Insurance Offers One-Year Auto Policy in Alabama

Dec 11 2007 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, including Farmers Insurance Exchange will offer an annual auto insurance policy in Alabama that will allow auto insurance policyholders and new customers to choose a full-year auto...

Ala.: Nabers Rejoins ProAssurance Board of Directors

Dec 7 2007 // The Board of Directors of Birmingham, Ala.-based ProAssurance Corp., elected Drayton Nabers Jr. to serve on its Board. Nabers previously served on the Board until he resigned to enter state government. Since leaving his...

Alabama Senator: English Only Driver Test Will Improve Highway Safety

Dec 5 2007 // An Alabama state senator who is vice chairman of a panel studying immigration issues in Alabama said Monday he will introduce legislation to require the state driver’s license exam be given in English only. The...

16 Alabama Federal Judges Step Aside from Scruggs Contempt Case

Nov 19 2007 // Every eligible federal judge in north Alabama has stepped aside from presiding in the criminal contempt case of Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs, who is accused of disobeying an order by failing to turn over...

Ala. Gov. Grants Pilot Program on School Bus Seat Belts

Nov 13 2007 // Some Alabama children who take the bus to school will be buckled-up during the trip for the first time next year thanks to a grant awarded by a special panel Gov. Bob Riley appointed. Riley convened the Governor’s...