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March is Women's History Month!

Grimsley Challenges "Double Dipping" Law

A legislator is asking a judge to block an Alabama law that prohibits legislators from having a second state job.  Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Shashy scheduled a hearing today on a suit by Rep. Dexter Grimsley that seeks a temporary restraining order against "double dipping" law that took effect with the election of the new Legislature on Nov. 4th.  The Democratic legislator has been a juvenile probation officer in Henry County since 1995.  He contends the law violates his equal protection rights and prohibits part-time legislators from maintaining gainful employment.  The attorney general argues that there is no equal protection issue and the double dipping ban is permissible.  Several legislators with state jobs either retired or moved to the private sector because of the new law.  

State Spending

A new national report says federal spending in Alabama equals 29.5 percent of the state's gross domestic product.  That's the fifth highest rate among the states, according to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.  The report says Alabama's total federal spending for fiscal 2013 was $56.8 billion.  Retirement benefits, including Social Security, and non-retirement benefits, such as Medicare and food assistance, made up nearly two-thirds of the federal spending in Alabama.  The Pew Charitable Trusts began tracking the geographic distribution of federal spending after the U.S. Census Bureau quit doing it a few years ago.  

Death Sentence

An eastern Alabama man has been sentenced in the death of his girlfriend and her unborn baby.  Court records show Keith Lamar Ware pleaded guilty Monday in the death of 31-year-old Cherri Dawson and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Dawson was five months pregnant when she was reported missing in October 2011.  Her car had been set on fire and was found in rural Chambers County.  The woman's remains were found about a month later.  Investigators haven't disclosed a potential motive that led to the attack.  Court records show that Ware had been charged with two counts of capital murder.  

Mayor Signing

The mayor of Autaugaville is stepping down.  To use his works, F.B. Ward says he is "tired, old and worn out."  The Montgomery Advertiser is reporting that Ward submitted his resignation to the Autaugaville Town Council, but so far the Council has not accepted it.  Ward says he has not been given a reason for the delay.  He was appointed to the position in 2007 after Mayor Curtis Jackson resigned.  Ward was elected to the position in 2008 and then won reelection in 2012.