WVAS Local

Montgomery, Alabama – MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabamians who have received
unemployment compensation benefits during the past year can now
visit the Web site of the state Department of Industrial Relations
to get the documentation needed for filing federal income tax
returns.
State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said the Web
site (http://www.dir.alabama.gov) should provide more convenient
access and make filing a tax return a little easier.
The tax forms are password protected and must be accessed with a

Montgomery, Alabama –
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A seven-term member of the Alabama
Senate, W.H. "Pat" Lindsey of Butler, has died. He was 72.
Lindsey was found dead in his bed Sunday morning while on a
hunting trip in Boligee in west Alabama. State Sen. Roger Bedford
and Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., who were also on the trip, said
Lindsey was found in his bed when the others started preparing to
leave from a home of friends who had invited them hunting.
Folsom said Lindsey was in good spirits the previous evening and

January 9,2009 – MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Former Alabama first lady Cornelia
Wallace has died in Sebring, Fla. She was 69.
Wallace's cousin, Melissa Boyen, said the former first lady, who
died Thursday, had been suffering from cancer.
Cornelia Wallace was the niece of former Gov. James E. "Big
Jim" Folsom. She married George Wallace in 1971, shortly before
his second term as governor, and they divorced in 1978. She threw
herself over her husband when he was shot while campaigning for
president in Laurel, Md., in 1972.

January 9,2009 – Alexander City is receiving some troubling news. Russell Corporation is announcing plans to phase out its fabric operations. This will mean the loss of jobs for 250 people.

Russell Corporation blames the poor state of the economy for the job cuts.

January 9,2009 –
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Hyundai Motor Co. has cut production at
its auto assembly plant in Montgomery because of unstable economic
conditions and poor auto sales.
The Korean-based automaker said in a statement Thursday, it had
implemented a "flexible work schedule" for January.
A spokesman for Hyundai declined to elaborate.
The factory opened in 2005 and produces the Sonata sedan and the
Santa Fe SUV.

January 9,2009 – Listen to the stories making headlines from the WVAS newsroom.

Montgomery, Alabama – U.S. Labor Department is reporting a sharp increase in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits putting the national average at 7.2 percent. In Alabama, the unemployment figures for December 2008 will not be available until January 23rd. Meanwhile, November's jobless rate in the state was 6.1 percent, an increase over October.

January 8,2009 – MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A new report shows that Alabama literacy
rates improved from 1992 to 2003 but some counties are still double
the national average illiteracy rate of 14.5 percent.
The study by the National Center for Education Statistics was
released Thursday and showed 15 percent of Alabamians lacked basic
literacy skills in 2003, an improvement from 21 percent in 1992.
The study didn't issue rankings, but 12 states had illiteracy
rates that were higher than Alabama's while 36 and the District of

Birmingham, Alabama – BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Two Birmingham-area coal-fired power plants are among the nation's top three for the amounts of arsenic deposited in onsite ash ponds and landfills, according to a new report.
A report the Environmental Integrity Project released Thursday listed the Gaston Steam Plant in Shelby County and the Gorgas Steam Plant in Walker County as ranked No. 2 and No. 3 for the amounts of arsenic deposited from 2000 to 2006.

January 8,2009 – Montgomery City Councilman Willie Cook is running for Mayor of Montgomery. Cook, who represents district six, so far, is the only city councilman announcing interest in running for the position.

Montgomery Resident John Down announced his candidacy Wednesday. Qualifying for the race begins January 13th with the special election scheduled for March 10th.