Governor declares Mobile Bay bridge ‘dead’
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared the most expensive transportation plan in state history as “dead” after the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to remove the Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project from its short-term plan. “With the action taken today, there is no pathway forward, and this project is dead,” Ivey said in a news letter moments after the MPO voted 8-1 to remove the project from its “Transportation Improvement Plan.” – AL.com
Union announces AT&T strike is over
A strike affecting about 20,000 AT&T employees across the Southeast ended Wednesday. The Communications Workers of America told its members to return to work at noon. CWA negotiators said the labor practice strike was ending. Employees who are members of the union, who work in call centers and maintain the company’s telecommunications network, walked off the job Saturday. – AL.com
NASA finally gets cool, attaches chopper to 2020 Mars Rover
How well can a vehicle fly in the Mars atmosphere? NASA just got a step closer to finding out, announcing Wednesday that its Mars Helicopter has been attached to the Mars Rover it intends to send to the Red Planet next year. The 2020 Mars Rover should arrive on the planet in February 2021, and if all goes to plan, the helicopter will then become the first aircraft to fly on a planet other than Earth. – CNET
Toyota recalls 191,000 cars with defective airbags
Auto-manufacturing giant Toyota says it’s recalling 191,000 cars in the United States and Japan to fix defective Takata-brand airbags that may not work properly in a crash. A Toyota Motor North America representative told FOX Business that certain 2003 to 2008 Corolla models, and 2005 to 2008 Matrix models, were affected by the flaw. – Fox
Historic school to convert into $13 million assisted living facility
Developers are transforming the former Cleburne County High School in Heflin into an assisted living facility. Lathan & Coleman is planning Carillon Oaks to open next year in the old school as a $13 million assisted living and memory care facility. Alex Flachsbart, the CEO of Opportunity Alabama, said the development will use, for the first time, a combination of opportunity zone credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits and new market tax credits to make the project happen. – AL.com
Alabama contractors having trouble filling skilled positions
A recent survey says that 73 percent of Alabama construction firms have a hard time filling some or all of their salaried and hourly craft positions. And that’s better than the national numbers. Eighty percent of construction firms nationally report they are having a hard time of filling those slots, which represent the bulk of the construction workforce. – AL.com
