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Huntsville City Council approves entertainment districts

Friday, May 24th, 2013, 7:12am

Huntsville City Council approved the two separate entertainment districts Thursday night.

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)-

In about four weeks you'll be able to walk around downtown Huntsville with a cocktail or beer in your hand.

Huntsville City Council approved two separate entertainment districts Thursday night.

The new ordinance takes effect June 20th but only applies to Thursdays and Fridays, not Saturdays. Mayor Tommy Battle said that's because there's not enough police officers to go around.

The ordinance will go through a 90 day test period to see what adjustments need to be made. Mayor Battle hopes the council can find a way to add Saturdays.

A new petition is also circulating in the middle of the boost to Huntsville's nightlife. Entertainers are petitioning for a lift to the city's noise ordinance.

The group "Keep Downtown Loud" is calling on the city to lift the noise cap which sits at 62 decibels.

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20 suspects arrested in large-scale drug operation

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013, 11:28pm

Cortez Deaundra Carr and Tyris Terville Carr

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)- Authorities said they broke up a huge drug operation in the Tennessee Valley. Twenty people were arrested Thursday morning and two more are charged in what investigators called overlapping drug rings.

Investigators said the operation put thousands of grams of powder and crack cocaine on the streets.

At the press conference in Huntsville, investigators said federal and local drug agents went undercover and infiltrated the operation about a year ago.

Cocaine was being moved in bulk in Madison and Morgan counties. Around 6 a.m. Thursday, a roundup of the suspects began. Authorities said 20 were in custody within 75 minutes, 19 in Huntsville and one in Decatur.

The alleged ringleaders are brothers, Cortez Deaundra Carr and Tyris Terville Carr.

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Huntsville school board moves personnel around

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013, 11:16pm

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)- Huntsville City school board held a special called meeting Thursday afternoon.

The meeting took place at the VBC after the Butler Graduation Ceremony. The purpose of the meeting was to move more personnel around.

Dr. Casey Wardynski said they are positioning key leaders as they prepare to build to new schools.

"We've transferred Lisa Hatcher who was the principal of Butler High School. Under her tenure, graduation rate went up 20 percent at Butler. We've now asked her to go and help begin the work on building a new elementary school to replace University Place," he said.

Sanchella Graham, the principal of Chaffee Elementary, will replace Hatcher as principal of Butler.

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Fire Marshal investigates RV fire in Madison Co.

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013, 1:48pm

Emergency crews responded to an RV fire in Madison County.

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)- Emergency crews responded to an RV Camper fire in Madison County around noon on Wednesday.

The fire started before noon on Lacy Circle near Pulaski
Pike.

Toney Volunteer Fire Department and HEMSI responded.

No injuries were reported, the Madison County Fire Marshal
is headed to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. Stay with WAFF 48
News and WAFF.com for more updates.

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Huntsville Police investigate China Moon robbery

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013, 8:47am

China Moon was robbed on Wednesday night.

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)- Huntsville Police responded to a robbery at China Moon on Sparkman Drive around 10 p.m. Wednesday.

The victim told police two men entered the restaurant with bandanas over their faces and pulled out handguns, demanding cash from the register.

The victim was not able to get the register open and one of the men fired a shot inside the business before both offenders fled the store.

No injuries were reported and no arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.

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Crook attempts to steal from Walmart

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013, 9:59pm

Huntsville Area Crime Stoppers is looking for this man.

MADISON, AL (WAFF)- As crooks go, he won't rank near the top of any lists, but he did have an escape plan as he went running and jumping from the crime scene.

Madison Police say the crook decided to organize his own little sales event at the Walmart on Madison Boulevard. His "sale" was 100 percent off everything in his shopping cart.

They said he put a few items, including a 46-inch TV, into his cart and attempted to wheel right out of the store without paying.

When employees confronted him, he left the cart and ran.

As he ran out of the store, there was a black, GMC pickup truck waiting for him. Police said the crook dived into the back of that truck.

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Former Director pays visit to Marshall Center

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013, 5:52pm

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF)- The former Director of Marshall Space Flight Center was back in Huntsville Wednesday to take a look at a piece of hardware that could play an important role in the future of space exploration.

Robert Lightfoot is now the Associate Administrator of NASA. He got to check out an adapter that is currently being crafted by machinists and will be used as part of the Space Launch System, or SLS, project. The adapter will connect the Orion spacecraft with rockets that will end up taking astronauts beyond our current exploration limits.

Lightfoot says he is "excited about where the agency is heading from an aeronautic and exploration and science perspective."

The adapter will first be used in 2014 as part of an exploration test flight. That test will provide engineers with important data before its first official flight on SLS in 2017.

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