The work will begin at 9:00 a.m. and should be completed by 2:00 p.m.

This work will require the closing of the two southbound lanes of Whitesburg near Garland Avenue and will result in some traffic delays. Southbound traffic will be diverted into the turn lane.

This work was originally scheduled for May 6, but had to be delayed due to weather.

Antonio Leonard told officers two men robbed him at gunpoint in the 3800 block of West Wind Circle off Drake Avenue around 11 p.m.

No arrests were made and no other details were released.

John McBride told police he had arrived home in the 4700 block of Mastin Lake Road just after 10 p.m. and parked behind the house.

He was walking to the back door when he was accosted by two men.

One of them had a gun and demanded McBride's property.

McBride complied and was then hit in the head by one of the robbers, who then fled.

McBride suffered a minor injury. No arrests were reported.

In the second inning, the Stars were able to get out to the initial lead. After shortstop Tommy Manzella and center fielder Juan Sanchez came through with back-to-back singles, third baseman Josh Prince delivered a two-out RBI single that scored Manzella and gave the Stars a 1-0 lead. Sanchez was thrown out at the plate by Lookouts’ CF Nick Buss.

That lead was short-lived though. In the second inning, the Chattanooga offense broke out for three runs, highlighted by a two-run triple off the bat of pitcher Aaron Miller to give them a 3-1 lead.

After Chattanooga was able to score another run in the third inning, the Stars cut the lead back to two in the fifth inning on a RBI double by first baseman Hunter Morris. For Morris, the double was his Southern League-leading 17^th of the season.

That was as close as Huntsville would get though Up 4-2, the Lookouts tacked on a run in the fifth inning as a byproduct of two Stars errors and then another run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by catcher Griff Erickson to increase their lead to four.

However, the Stars had their chances. After another RBI single by Prince in the eighth inning cut their deficit to three, Huntsville squandered a chance as second basemen Scooter Gennett grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. Then, with two-outs in the ninth and the tying run at the plate, Sanchez grounded out to Chattanooga first basemen Nick Wise to end the game.

For Huntsville, starting pitcher Josh Stinson fell to 4-2 on the season with the loss, giving up five runs (four earned) and seven hits over five innings.

For Chattanooga, LHP Aaron Miller improved to 2-4 on the season as he gave up just two runs over five innings of work.

On offense, the Stars were still able to churn out 12 hits, with Morris and Prince leading the way with three apiece.

The loss was the Stars third in a row and fourth in their last five games.

The Stars and Lookouts will continue their series on Friday as Huntsville will send RHP Evan Anundsen (2-1, 2.48 ERA) to the mound to face off against Chattanooga RHP Matt Magill (3-2, 3.44 ERA). First pitch is at 7:15 ET (6:15 CT).

May 17, 2012

Acting Center Director Gene Goldman updated attendees on the status of major projects at the Marshall Center and recognized the workforce leading to the success of the center with the theme of this year's event: "People, Progress, Partnerships."

"Our theme this year is very appropriate," said Goldman. "Our people and their skills make us unique, and these same people help the agency make progress towards our scientific and exploration goals. Plus, we are here today to honor the great partnerships between NASA and the space exploration industry."

Goldman presented three companies with 2011 Marshall Center Contractor Excellence Awards for significant contributions to the Marshall Center's mission.

Recipients of the contractor awards are Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif.; SAIC of Huntsville; and HPM Corp. of Kennewick, Wash.

Eligible contractor companies were evaluated for the award on seven criteria: contract technical performance; schedule and cost performance; leadership and quality improvements; customer satisfaction; innovation; and a category that included safety, diversity and outreach.

Recipients of the Marshall Center's Contractor Excellence Award may become nominees for NASA's George M. Low Award. Named for the former NASA deputy administrator who served from 1969 to 1976, the Low Award is the agency's oldest and most prestigious award for quality and performance in the aerospace industry.

For more information on the Marshall Space Flight Center, visit us on the web: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall

Energy Huntsville's Jay Newkirk talks about the organization as Mayor Tommy Battle looks on Thursday. WT Martin/HNW

(From release) Energy Huntsville is providing the spark for collaborative solutions to energy opportunities that leverage the City’s technologies and talent. Now entering their second year, the 80 local companies comprising Energy Huntsville see continued growth in their sector.

Formed by Mayor Tommy Battle in 2011, Energy Huntsville seeks to bring together the energy technologies of government, industry, academia and utilities into a structure that will ultimately create more jobs in the Tennessee Valley.

“We are beyond pleased with the progress of Energy Huntsville,” said Chair Jay Newkirk. “We have more than 100 local companies looking to us for creative ways to diversify their workforce and apply energy management practices to their buildings and campuses.”

Energy Huntsville is holding monthly meetings to keep abreast of the latest updates in the energy sector. They highlight trends and innovations through local and national speakers and provide networking and follow-up.

“Just today we learned that the small nuclear reactors we thought were years away from being produced are going full speed ahead in the private sector,” said Newkirk. “This has huge implications for the Army that is looking for innovative ways to be energy independent and sustainable in the event of a disaster.”

Newkirk noted that Redstone Arsenal was without power for days following the April 27, 2011 tornadoes and critical work had to be sent to other installations.

“What is exciting to us is that Huntsville has the intelligence, skill, and manufacturing capabilities to design, create and produce energy solutions,” said Mayor Battle. “It is natural for us to draw on the enormous pool of talented workers in the aerospace and defense sectors. Energy Huntsville is providing the forum and the opportunity for those connections to take place.”

Mayor Battle says he is pleased and proud of the progress Energy Huntsville is making and that the effort is garnering national attention. Last month, the Mayor was asked to join the mayors of Cincinnati and Washington D.C., in a Planet Forward sustainability forum at George Washington University to talk about the energy innovations and solutions in Huntsville.

Toyota Motor North America Senior VP Steve St. Angelo talks about the company's planned Huntsville expansion Thursday. WT Martin/HNW

(From release) Toyota announced Thursday it will expand its Huntsville engine facility to increase North American production of V6 engines.
The approximately $80 million investment will bring total plant investment to more than $700 million. Approximately 125 new jobs will be created, increasing employment nearly
10 percent to 1,150.

The expansion will allow Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. (TMMAL) to build an additional 216,000 engines each year, boosting total V6 annual capacity to 362,000. A new 300,000 sq. ft. building will be constructed. The increased production will begin in March 2014.

TMMAL currently assembles 4-cylinder, V6 and V8 engines for eight of 12 Toyota North American built vehicles. TMMAL is the only Toyota plant globally to produce these three types of engines in one facility. This investment will increase engine production at the Huntsville plant to more than 700,000 annually, and will increase total Toyota engine production in the U.S. to more than 1.4 million per year.

Governor Robert Bentley praises Toyota's plans Thursday. WT Martin/HNW

Toyota also builds engines in Kentucky and West Virginia. “We are proud to announce our fourth expansion, only a few months after celebrating 10 years of success in Huntsville and Madison County,” said Jim Bolte, President of TMMAL. “Today wouldn't be possible without continued commitment from our outstanding team members and support from our community partners.”
“Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama has been a dedicated corporate citizen in Alabama for more than ten years, and today’s announcement is an exciting new chapter for this company and this community. Toyota’s success in Alabama is a testament to the hard-working men and women of the production and leadership teams who have dedicated themselves to producing quality products,” said Governor Robert Bentley. “This expansion is also a testament to the business climate we’ve worked hard to create in Alabama – a climate in which companies are encouraged to expand, innovate, and create new jobs. We thank Toyota for the company’s continued confidence in Alabama and Huntsville, and we look forward to a continued long-term relationship."

Today’s announcement is the latest in a string of Toyota production increase announcements since February including Toyota plants in Indiana, West Virginia, Canada and Kentucky. Cumulative investment total is approximately $645 million and more than 1,100 jobs are being added.
“This V6 line addition continues to reflect our growing optimism for an improving North American market, and we continue to study more localization in North America,” said
Steve St. Angelo, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Oliver Williams said he woke up around 9:30 a.m. Thursday and found someone had forcibly entered the residence and took items of property.

No arrests were reported in the incident which happened in the 3200 block of Westheimer Drive.

For the past 10 years with MP&F Minish managed health care, transportation, workforce development and federal government accounts. She specializes in media relations, event planning, video production, social media, and marketing materials development.
Minish graduated from Auburn University in 2001 with a B.A. in public relations and an emphasis in marketing. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville-Madison County and active with her church, Southwood Presbyterian.

Crews from Quality Glass of Huntsville spent Wednesday morning installing three windows at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Each of the double pane windows measures nearly 6' high and nearly 8' long and weighs close to 300 lbs. The panes replace several damaged by gunfire earlier in the month.

Police are investigating the incident but no arrests have been made.

Watch our exclusive time-lapse video as an hours worth of work is compressed into about 30 seconds.