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scope it out for March 9, 2010

Posted on Mar 08, 2010 in News

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Largest casino in Alabama reopens; judge blocks raid

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s largest casino has reopened, after a judge ruled that the governor’s anti-gambling task force could not raid the gambling hall or seize any of its 6,400 electronic bingo machines.

The doors to VictoryLand in Shorter, a town of 461 about 20 miles east of Montgomery, reopened Friday after being closed for a month. Owner Milton McGregor gambled that the court order and his surrender of the facility’s liquor license would keep Gov. Bob Riley’s task force at bay.

The governor says the bingo machines are Vegas-style slots, which are illegal in the state, and has shut down nearly all the state’s casinos to halt their spread. The fight has stirred old civil rights tensions in poor, black areas where officials argue the gambling halls provide needed jobs and tax dollars.

UAB study looks to improve safety for kids, dogs

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — You’ve locked up any poisons, put in a car seat and insist your child always wear a bike helmet. But there’s one more risk many parents overlook: the family dog.

Almost half of all children will have been bitten by a dog by the time they’re 18, according to veterinarian Bonnie Beaver, a professor at Texas A&M University and past president of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Some of those injuries might be prevented by teaching youngsters how to be more careful around dogs and recognize the signs of impending attack, experts say. Now, a UAB psychologist and graduate student are conducting a study to evaluate computer software for children that aims to do just that.

“Dogs are wonderful pets, wonderful for a family to have … but they are animals and they can get angry and be aggressive,” said David Schwebel, director of Youth Safety Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Even the best-behaved dog can bite if provoked.”

Schwebel and Ph.D. student Aaron Davis are testing a program designed by the Blue Dog Trust, a nonprofit group based in Belgium. They’re working in tandem with a research team at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
The team has evaluated about 40 youngsters and needs to recruit a total of 100 before completing the study this spring. The children are all between the ages of 31/2 and 6 years and must have at least one dog at home.

Former mayor gets 15 years for bribery

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for taking some $235,000 in bribes in return for lucrative bond work.
U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler imposed the sentence Friday. Langford was convicted on 60 felony counts in October and removed from office.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to send the 63-year-old Langford to prison for at least 24 years, saying he hasn’t shown any remorse. The defense asked for no more than five years.
Two men who admitted bribing Langford while he was president of the Jefferson County Commission already have been sentenced to prison for at least four years each.

Gun found in Huntsville middle school

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Police have charged two Whitesburg Middle School students with carrying a concealed weapon after police recovered a gun inside the school Thursday morning.

Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Roberts says Whitesburg Middle School and Whitesburg Elementary were temporarily locked down while police investigated. Administrators found a gun in a boys bathroom inside the school at around 8:30 a.m. He says the gun was not loaded.

Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Ann Roy Moore says the gun was found after a grandparent sent a tip to school officials after overhearing a conversation between two students.

Roberts says the two students were boys and are currently being held at the Neaves-Davis Center for Children.