Toyota donates $1M to boost family literacy
To help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), Toyota is donating $1 million to help break generational cycles of poverty through family literacy in the nation’s capital and northern Alabama. This new donation brings Toyota’s total contribution over its 28-year partnership with NCFL to $50 million. To date, 420 Toyota Family Learning Centers have impacted more than 4.5 million parents and children across the U.S. – News release
Investiture Friday for Tuskegee’s new president
The weeklong inauguration celebration of Dr. Lily D. McNair as the first female and eighth president of Tuskegee University will be the highlight of inauguration week events in Tuskegee and Montgomery during Women’s History Month. The investiture of the new university president on Friday will take place at Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Arena, Tuskegee University. – Black Engineer
Old Dominion cuts ribbon on new $6M hub in Mobile
Trucking company Old Dominion Freight Line held a ribbon-cutting Wednesday to celebrate its move to a new and larger facility for its Mobile service center, one of five in the state. Dave Bates, senior vice president of operations for the North Carolina-based company, said the new facility wouldn’t immediately result in new jobs. But it provides “lots of room, lots of capacity for growth,” he said. An Old Dominion spokesman said the company had invested $6 million in the new service center and had received no local tax breaks as incentives. – AL.com
Breaking down the new gas tax situation’s good, bad and ugly
The increased gas tax became law this week amid much Goat Hill fanfare, reminding me of a Clint Eastwood line from an epic western: “I’ve never seen so many men wasted so badly.” The Alabama Policy Institute has said for weeks that improved state infrastructure is important, but that conservative principles must guide the increase: taxes should be the last resort, and reforms should maximize every tax penny we already have. – Alabama Political Reporter
ServisFirst snags Raymond James Community Bankers Cup
ServisFirst Bancshares announced today that it has received the 2018 Raymond James Community Bankers Cup, which recognizes the top 10 percent of community banks. For the fifth year in a row, ServisFirst Bancshares has been ranked in the top five community banks. Additionally, ServisFirst Bancshares is the only bank in the Southeast to receive the 2018 award. – News release
Meet the ‘BitBros,’ Huntsville’s next step to the future
The future is Huntsville’s brand, but the city’s newest thing, a business called BitBros, is breaking ground even here. The brain child of two young men from Huntsville and one from Birmingham, BitBros serves the growing online phenomena known as blockchain and the cryptocurrencies that are traded using blockchain. – AL.com
Robotics competition set in Huntsville this weekend
FIRST Robotics Competition returns for the fourth consecutive year on Friday and Saturday, March 15 to 16 at the South Hall of the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. More than 2,000 high school students on 55 teams from 12 states and Brazil will compete against one another in a new robotics game, “DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE.” The FIRST Robotics Competition “Rocket City Regional” is supported by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. – News release
Leave a little early – new Mustang Shelby only does 180 mph
Ford famously claimed that the 2013 Shelby GT500 was good for 200 mph in a straight line. That car had 662 supercharged horsepower, so you might think that the 2020 GT500, with its 700-plus hp could go even faster, but that won’t be the case. Our colleagues at Car and Driver report that Ford has decided to limit the new GT500 to 180 mph. – Road & Track
