The largest building permit issued during the week of April 16-20 in the city of Huntsville went to Story Construction, $972,545, for alterations to a building for O&S Holdings at 305 The Bridge St.

The Alabama House of Representatives has approved tax-relief incentives for corporations that employ 2,000 people or more and invest $2.5-billion in capital projects. The bill is tailored to lure ThyssenKrupp Steel and Stainless U.S.A. L.L.C.'s new carbon/stainless steel mill, a $2.9-billion project announced earlier this year..

Alabama is competing with Louisiana to win the installation, but Louisiana state officials this month expressed doubt that their incentive package would be rich enough to succeed.

The Alabama legislation was approved by the lawmakers 102-0. The state House speaker expressed confidence that the state Senate will take up the legislation soon.

MADISON, Ala. (AP) — Madison's mayor claims the city's success in defeating legislation that would have deannexed a valuable commercial tract is further proof that it's no "small backwater town."

Mayor Sandy Kirkindall said the deannexation fight topped his list of the city's recent accomplishments.

He said the city's population is now estimated at 39,500, up from 29,329 in 2000, which would make Madison the state's 10th-largest city, just ahead of nearby Florence.

About 50 residents heard the mayor's comments Thursday during his State of the City address.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. held a business supplier conference here on Friday, April 27, to build relationships with potential local suppliers with applicable capabilities to support the company's pursuit of the Instrument Unit contract for the Ares I Launch Vehicle.

Since opening its office in February, Ball Aerospace has relocated 35 employees to Huntsville, including Bill Townsend, vice president for Exploration Systems. Ball Aerospace is accessing suppliers for fulfilling future requirements expected from NASA to support its design, development, and production phases of the Ares I Instrument Unit. The event created the opportunity for local suppliers to describe their capabilities to fulfill associated needs of the Instrument Unit life cycle. The Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle will launch the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the system currently being designed to replace the space shuttle after its retirement in 2010.

Montgomery – Continuing her previously announced “Ten Great Things to do with Your Tax Refund”, Treasurer Kay Ivey today released her latest piece of financial advice to Alabamians. Her final tip in the ten tip series is to save for college.

“If you haven’t written a check to a college or university for tuition in a while, you might experience sticker shock to find out how much it costs to send a child to college today,” Ivey stated. “The Alabama Treasury has two college savings programs, the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program and the Alabama Higher Education 529 Fund, to help Alabama families save for college.”

The Alabama Treasury partnered with the Bond Market Foundation in 2004 to provide Alabamians with online money management resources. Through this partnership, the websites www.alabama.tomorrowsmoney.org and www.alabama.ahorrando.org (ahorrando means “saving” in Spanish) provide easily-accessible information on personal finance concepts to help individuals begin to save and invest.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Apr 26, 2007 -- /prbuzz/ -- FINAO Corp. releases its SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) application for medical practices.

An application designed BY doctors FOR doctors

FINAO is pleased to announce the availability of its SOAP application that allows for doctors to simply point and click generating a progress note and patient encounter on the fly.

The term SOAP refers to a particular format of recording information regarding treatment procedures. Documentation of treatment is an extremely important part of the treatment process. In virtually all medical practice settings, some form of documentation is required and SOAP notes are the most popular format in medical settings.

On May 12, 2007 Relax Release Renew will host it's first retreat preview at Community Family Ministry in Madison, AL. The program will begin at 6pm and light refreshments will be served afterwards.

If you've ever wondered what exactly goes on at our retreats, here is a wonderful opportunity to learn about this ministry and get information about our upcoming retreat to the Bahamas October 4-7.

If you are unable to attend, but are interested in having a sneak preview at your church or group meeting, please call Charity at 256-325-2223.

Community Family Ministry is located at 102-B Commerce Circle, Madison, AL (located behind Walmart on Hwy 20)

A Santa Monica-based development team has bid $41 million to purchase the lease to the Queen Mary and its surrounding property, signaling a strong start to what could become a bidding war for the oceanfront acreage as early as this summer.

O&S Holdings has signed a noncontingency purchase agreement with Howard Ehrenberg, the bankruptcy trustee for Queen's Seaport Development Inc., which holds the lease to the city-owned ship.

The company has released no detailed plans for the Queen Mary's 40-acre site, but its newest development -- the Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, Ala. -- offers a possible glimpse into the company's vision for Long Beach.

The Town Centre is a hub of shops and restaurants in addition to a 10-acre lake and a 14-screen Monaco Pictures cinema -- an upscale venue with luxury seating, a lobby bar, high-end concessions and plasma screening rooms,.

Flowing lakes, serene mountains, and wooded surroundings, these are the types of settings that create a natural habitat for many different bird species. Located in the heart of all of this is the town of Decatur, home of the new North Alabama Birding Festival.

Set for May 4-6, the North Alabama Birding Festival offers a free day-long birding EXPO with children’s activities, craft workshops, and live wildlife demonstration; nationally known speakers; guided field trips; and other art exhibits and presentations.

With the purpose of introducing children and adults of all ages to birding and wildlife in general, organizers of the festival take learning and fun to a new level. The free expo offers various workshops and activities designed for children and adults at the riverside Rhodes Ferry Park in Decatur. Lined up for the 2007 festival are exhibits, activities for children, a raptor demonstration, and a book signing by James T. Felder and Charles Seifried. Together, Felder and Seifried produced Alabama Canyons, an in-depth guide to Bankhead National Forest.

Decatur Utilities and a residential developer appear to be in agreement regarding a prorated payment plan that would bring sewer service atop Burleson Mountain, clearing the way for 400 to 500 upscale homes.

Though they gave no official approval, DU board members indicated they favor letting Joe Brown Duckworth of Tuscaloosa recoup the estimated $500,000 needed to extend sewer service from Red Bank Road to the mountain by charging people outside his development to tie into the system.