Andrews Space, Inc. (Andrews) announced the opening of an office in Huntsville, AL, near the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal. The new office, located at 555 Sparkman Dr., Suite 600-C, allows Andrews to strengthen its business and expand its role in space exploration and national defense initiatives.


Andrews is an integrator of aerospace systems that specializes in systems engineering and integration. A small, minority woman owned business, Andrews has worked for NASA, the Department of Defense, and aerospace prime contractors.

"Our Huntsville office will focus on supporting existing customers while pursuing new business that takes advantage of our unique capabilities," said Marian Joh, Andrews CEO. "Being in Huntsville allows us to better serve NASA, the Department of Defense (DoD), and other local customers with immediate and direct support."

MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer marian.accardi@htimes.com
Chamber hosts 12th annual expo, awards banquet next week

The North Alabama African American Chamber of Commerce will conduct its 12th annual Business Opportunity Expo and Awards Banquet next Thursday and Friday.

The awards banquet will be next Thursday at the Huntsville Marriott beginning at 7 p.m. The keynote speaker is Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale, CEO of Barnes, O'Neale & Associates, a former executive vice president for MTV Network and author of "7 Keys 2 Success: Unlocking the Passion for Diversity."

Awards will be presented at the banquet to the Business of the Year, the Emerging Business of the Year for a business which has been in operation less than three year, the Entrepreneur of the Year and the chamber's Outstanding Service Award.

Reporter: Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Funeral services for an Alabama Marine killed in Iraq will be held Thursday in Huntsville.

The Pentagon said Lance Corporal Adam E. Loggins, son of Huntsville Fire Chief Danny Loggins, died April 26th from wounds he received in combat operations in Anbar province in Iraq. He was 27-years-old.

Loggins was serving his first tour of duty in Iraq and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Visitation will be from 6 pm to 8 pm Wednesday night at Laughlin Funeral Home in Huntsville. Funeral services will be held at 10 am Thursday at Mayfair Church of Christ.

Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Huntsville, AL - YallCome.com, a online provider of travel information for travelers to the Southeast USA, has been acquired by Inspiritek, a Huntsville, AL -based Internet management firm. By adding YallCome.com to their portfolio of sites Inspiritek will now have another entry in the US travel sector.

"Interestingly, we made our decision to acquire www.YallCome.com after using it ourselves," said Jef Nordstrom, principal owner of Inspiritek. "Once we found out that the site was for sale we jumped at the chance to own it. We are excited to have YallCome.com in the fold."

Inspiritek plans to expand YallCome.com from its current form to include travel articles, more map resources, and more destinations in each section. YallCome.com is already known for providing information to travel trailer and motorcycle enthusiasts but hopes to grow in other areas such as bed and breakfasts, hunting and fishing destinations, flea markets, and vacation rentals. Plans are also under consideration to allow ratings and reviews by travelers that use the site.

By David Holden
Huntsville Times (Alabama)

A federal jury awarded $3.1 million in damages Friday to the family of a Madison County woman who was killed in a collision with a speeding ambulance from Tennessee in 2005.

A felony charge of manslaughter is still pending in Madison County Circuit Court against the ambulance driver, Charles Christopher Eakes of Tennessee.

Dianna Christine Bowden, 18, of Meridianville died in a two-vehicle crash Oct. 13 involving the ambulance owned by Lincoln County Medical Center Emergency Services. The wreck occurred around 9:45 p.m. at U.S. 231/431 and West Limestone Road, about seven miles north of Huntsville.

The ambulance driver, Eakes, 35, of Petersburg, Tenn., and another emergency services employee, Joe Posey, 33, of Fayetteville were taken to the hospital.

By Eric Fleischauer
eric@decaturdaily.com · 340-2435

EBSCO Industries Inc. increased its Decatur holdings Tuesday with the purchase of First American Insurance, formerly Rankin Insurance.

EBSCO acquired Summit Treestands in 2002. It is in the process of moving a $700,000 facility for Modern Muzzleloading Inc. to Decatur.

First American Insurance was part of Birmingham-based ANB Insurance Services, a subsidiary of First American Bank. First American is a subsidiary of Alabama National Bancorporation.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Synapse® announced its out-of-the-box, plug-and-play, self-forming wireless control and monitoring network solution that provides the ability to control anything, anytime, from anywhere with no programming required.

As part of this announcement, Synapse is offering the Synapse Network Evaluation Kit to allow potential customers to evaluate Synapse’s solution (receive sensor data, monitor processes, drive relays and switches, etc.). Included in the kit is one Synapse Coordinator™, three Synapse End Devices™, and a free starter version of the intuitive Synapse Portal® PC-based network administration and configuration software.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) � Two men fatally shot were found inside a sport utility vehicle that slammed into a house in Huntsville.

Police found the bodies inside a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder about 4 a.m. Saturday on Cobb Road.

Police spokesman Wendell Johnson said the investigation was incomplete Sunday. The names of the victims were not immediately released.

Johnson said the resident of the home was alone and in a room on the other side of the one-story, brick house when the SUV slammed into its south side, caving in a bedroom.

The resident was not involved in the shooting deaths, Johnson said.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- This summer, Alabama and Mississippi are set to become the only states that apply their full state sales tax to groceries without any relief for low-income families.

All other states either exempt groceries from the sales tax, have a reduced tax on food, or provide a tax credit or rebate to low-income citizens.

South Dakota and four other states tax groceries but offer tax credits or rebates to low-income citizens.

Ferrel Guillory, director of the University of North Carolina's program on Southern politics, says the fact that everybody pays the sales tax -- even a little -- appeals to political conservatives.

What you see in Mississippi and Alabama, says Guillory, is a legacy of that rationale.

DreamWeavers will hold auditions for “Disney’s High School Musical” on May 11 at 6 p.m. and May 12 at 10 a.m. at Austin High School’s auditorium.

Susan Godwin Thompson will direct this story of a high school basketball captain and a shy math standout who try out for lead parts in their school musical.