BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- Baldwin County Probate Judge Tim Russell hopes a federal grant can help increase voter turnout in the county and make the area a more powerful player in state elections.... More

Mayor William Bell is talking dome again. And a revamped Legion Field.What, no Trevi Fountain?He's building a government-subsidized hotel next to a struggling government-subsidized hotel, pushing an entertainment district curiously mislabeled a Market Place.What? No Fair Park equestrian center?That sound...... More

WASHINGTON — Hours before getting grilled Thursday by lawmakers on Capitol Hill, oil spill claims czar Ken Feinberg announced he will allow public review of, and comment on, the criteria for judging final claims payments.... More

Maj. Gen. Wendy Masiello, a senior contracting officer who reviewed the Air Force’s internal investigation of the incident, told a panel of U.S. senators Thursday that Pentagon leaders had determined the error was unintentional and did not compromise the selection process.... More

Alabama Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling was released from Jackson Hospital in Montgomery Thursday after undergoing quadruple-bypass surgery Jan. 20, said department Chief of Staff Ragan Ingram.... More

Gov. Robert Bentley told the state school board today there's "a possibility" there may be no need to declare proration in the 2011 state education budget.... More

The City Council is expected to revisit special zoning restrictions on businesses ranging from tattoo parlors to liquor stores, after the measure failed last week. The council decided at a work session Tuesday to add a vote on new limitations to next week's regular meeting agenda.... More

The Senate Armed Services Committee will conduct a hearing today in Washington, D.C. to look into the U.S. Air Force’s inadvertent release of bidding information to the two competitors for its $40 billion aerial refueling tanker contract.... More

New Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon said Wednesday that she has asked for a state audit of her office’s finances and may ask for an independent investigation of the “mess” left by her predecessor. Meanwhile, former District Attorney Judy Newcomb said Dixon’s complaints were “drama” meant to divert attention from the murder case against ex-Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine.... More

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