U.S. Steel Corp. said it will curtail production at pipe-making plants in Alabama and Texas and may lay off almost 2,000 workers because of “softening market conditions” in the oil and gas industries.
The announcement Monday highlights the fallout from the global collapse in oil prices and rising price competition for pipes, U.S. Steel’s most profitable product.
The Downtown-based steelmaker said it will “temporarily adjust operations” at Lone Star Tubular Operations in Texas, Fairfield Tubular Operations in Fairfield, Ala., and Fairfield Works, the primary flat-roll supplier of rounds to Fairfield Tubular Operations.
Pipe production has been key to U.S. Steel’s efforts to improve its financial health after five years without an annual profit. The company has closed mills and saved almost $1 billion under its Carnegie Way initiative to cut costs and by halting an iron ore expansion project in Keewatin, Minn.
U.S. Steel officials will be pressed to give analysts some picture of the road ahead after they report the company’s fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, said Charles Bradford, an analyst at Bradford Research Inc. in New York City.
“The big question that they have to answer … is what’s their outlook?” Bradford said.
U.S. Steel spokeswoman Sarah Cassella declined to give details about the adjustments but said company officials would discuss the move in more detail with analysts Wednesday morning.
Several weeks ago, U.S. Steel said it will shut down two oil and natural gas pipe plants and lay off 756 workers in Ohio and Texas. Last week, the company said it plans to close two aging plants that make fuel for blast furnaces and a tin mill that makes sheet for food cans at plants, affecting 545 workers.
Companies that serve the drilling industry are preparing for a slowdown in the sector as low oil and gas prices prompt producers to reduce exploration and production spending. The three biggest oilfield services companies — Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes — this month announced thousands of layoffs as the number of active, onshore drilling rigs fell by about 16 percent since October.
A glut of oil driven by increased domestic production, flat global demand and a refusal by OPEC to reduce exports has cut crude prices by more than 50 percent in the past year. Natural gas prices dropped to two-year lows because of an oversupply from shale producers and low demand from moderate weather.
But the challenges facing U.S. Steel go beyond a slowdown in the energy industry, Bradford said. The company is facing rising competition from overseas pipe manufacturers.
“They made a lot of money over the last few years in pipe,” he said. “They made so much money that they attracted new competitors.”
A rising dollar has not made matters easier, as it has had the effect of making U.S. Steel’s products more expensive relative to those competitors, Bradford said.
Union officials at the United Steelworkers national office in Pittsburgh and at Local 1013 in Alabama could not be reached.
Kris Evans, a member of Local 4134 in Texas, said he worked at the Lone Star plant for 11 years. He was at a doctor’s appointment Monday when he received text messages from co-workers about the layoff notice, but was unsure of whether he was affected.
“I don’t know what the heck is going on,” he said.
The company notified 1,918 employees across the three locations that are expected to be affected. The plants in Alabama stand to be affected the most. At Fairfield Works, 1,214 of the location’s 1,465 workers received notices, and more than half of the 716 people at Fairfield Tubular Operations were notified, Cassella said. In Texas, 318 out of 1,123 workers could be affected.
James Strawser, left, and John Humphrey won the right to marry each other after a federal judge in Mobile, Ala., ruled in their favor on Monday, Jan. 27. 2015.
A second gay couple in Mobile has won the right to marry in Alabama.
U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. “Ginny” Granade, who on Friday declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, ruled on Monday in favor of James Strawser and John Humphrey in a separate case. The Alabama Attorney General’s Office immediately vowed to appeal.
Humphrey, 38, said he did not have the highest level of confidence when he and Strawser filed the federal lawsuit in September. Alabama is a conservative state, he noted, and the couple did not even have a lawyer.
“I am just ecstatically pleased. We didn’t realize it would be so soon and did not even think she would consider it,” Humphrey said. “This is the Bible Belt for Christ sake.”
As she did in a case involving Cari Searcy and Kim McKeand, Granade delayed the ruling in this case from taking effect until Feb. 9 to give the state a chance to try to persuade the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block it until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a same-sex marriage case later this year.
Strawser, 51, said he and Humphrey plan to go to Mobile County Probate Court on that day to apply for a marriage license.
Granade cited her ruling in the Searcy-McKeand case in her decision in Strawser’s suit. She noted that the facts differ slightly. In the case of the women, Alabama refused to recognize their marriage from California, while the state refused to issue a marriage license to Strawser and Humprhey. But the judge ruled the issue is the same.
“Although the Plaintiffs in this case seek to marry in Alabama, rather than have their marriage in another state recognized, the court adopts the reasoning expressed in the Searcy case and finds that Alabama’s laws violate the Plaintiffs’ rights for the same reasons,” she wrote.
Strawser and Humphrey said they were living in different cities when they met through Facebook. Eventually, Humphrey moved to Mobile from his home in Gulfport and the two have lived together since April or May of last year.
“I am just ecstatically pleased.” — John Humphrey
Strawser, a native of Columbus, Ohio, said he moved to Mobile about 10 years ago to care for his ailing mother. He said they applied for a marriage license and the clerk “had a fit” and told them she could not issue it.
“I just wanted to see how far we could go with it,” he said.
Strawser said the marriage is important for practical, as well as emotional reasons. He said he wears a pacemaker and has had several significant surgeries. He said he wants Humphrey to have the right to be informed by doctors about his medical condition and make decisions on his behalf.
“If I go into a coma or something, I don’t want to live on machines,” he said.
Granade’s ruling cites testimony from Strawser that he gave Humphrey a medical power of attorney but that hospital official said they would not honor it because Humphey was not a spouse or family member. He also testified that he was concerned Humphrey would not be permitted to assist Strawser’s mother in the event that he died.
Strawser said neither he nor Humphrey were in a financial position to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a lawyer to fight the case. He said he is a retired construction worker, while Humphrey is seeking disability status.
So they proceeded “pro se,” in legalese.
Strawser said the case has opened his eyes to hatred of gays in some quarters. He said he kept his orientation hidden for years, denying it even to himself. He had three failed marriages to women and two sons – one who talks to him and one who does not.
“I could not make a marriage work with a lady,” he said.
Despite the seemingly long odds when he filed the suit in September, Strawser said he always thought the law was on his side.
“I felt like we had just as much right to marry as anyone else,” he said.
A state task force formed to propose regulations for drones has, for now, left the issue on the runway.
Gov. Robert Bentley formed the Alabama Drone Task Force last August as a way of addressing issues related to unmanned aerial systems, also known as drones.
The task force was charged with reviewing expected Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations on the use of commercial drones and recommending regulations on the use of drones in the state. While drones can be used for recreational purposes, non-recreational use of drones, such as research, generally requires sponsorship by a public entity, like a state agency or university.
The group was tasked with delivering a letter to the governor by Jan. 15. According the Agriculture and Industries Commissioner John McMillan, who served on the task force, the letter only included a recommendation that the Alabama Department of Transportation be designated as the lead state agency on drones, and that the task force remain together to continue studying the issue.
McMillan said in an interview last week that a delay in FAA regulations, combined with the complexity of the issue, made it difficult to develop other guidelines on drone use. “One of the reasons we wanted to continue as a group (is) we’ve collected a good bit of information, and I think we can be a resource to this administration,” he said.
The FAA is expected to release its regulations some time this year.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 20 states have passed legislation dealing with drone use; 10 states passed legislation in 2014 on the issue. Most of the bills dealt with public use of drones, and required law enforcement to obtain warrants before deploying drones; Iowa banned the use of drones in the enforcement of traffic laws.
The Alabama task force was most interested in North Carolina’s sweeping legislation, which not only regulates the use of drones in law enforcement, but also technology that can be used in certain applications while addressing privacy concerns.
“I think North Carolina has done the best job of anybody I’ve seen,” McMillan said. “They have passed legislation addressing these key issues.”
A report prepared for the North Carolina Legislature last year noted the possibility of drone use in disaster response, as well the technology’s potential for use in the private sector.
Tony Harris, a spokesman for DOT, said Friday the department was assessing the report and formulating its response.
As of Friday, no legislation related to drones had been prefiled for the 2015 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, which begins in March. The Alabama Senate last year approved a bill that would ban the use of drones to interfere with hunting or fishing activities; the legislation was triggered by an effort by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to monitor hunting with drones. The legislation did not make it out of the House.
McMillan said he expected the legislature to come up with some drone-related legislation this year, though the task force itself did not recommend any. McMillan also noted that lawmakers will have their hands full with the General Fund deficit and expected legislation to address overcrowding in the state’s prisons. However, he said keeping the task force together could help the state keep up with the rapid advance of drones.
“The whole thing is going to be a moving target, with this exploding technology,” he said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has amended its position on marijuana to include in development treatments of cannabis oil.
The cannabis, or CBD, oil has grown in popularity over the last year as parents seek alternative treatments for their children suffering from debilitating seizures.
Many families including those from Alabama have flocked to Colorado where a study is already underway.
UAB is in the early stages of preparation to conduct its own study of the oil.
But in its most recent publication the AAP stands firm writing that… “With virtually no hard proof that medical marijuana benefits sick children, and evidence that it may harm developing brains, the drug should only be used for severely ill kids who have no other treatment option.”
The AAP does support reclassifying marijuana under the law to allow further study of drug.
You can read more on the AAP’s stance by clicking here.
UAB is in the early stages of conducting its own study on CBD oil extracted from marijuana and its impact on treating people with debilitating seizures. State legislators cleared the way for the study by passing Carly’s law in spring of 2014 and offering a million dollars to UAB to conduct the research.
Dothan residents in the process of renovating their dream house may be able to get a little screen time, and help, with the job as part of a new upcoming show on HGTV.
The show, called “Saving America,” focuses on people fixing up their homes in small towns across the United States. Participants on the show will receive help from hosts Brian and Rachelle Lazzaro in renovating their home so it meets its full potential.
“After living in California for a decade, Brian and Rachelle Lazzaro quit their entertainment jobs in order to pursue their longtime passion, renovating old houses,” reads the show bio on the casting site.
“Now, they are embarking on a journey across America in their Airstream trailer to find those who are fixing up that dream home and Saving America, one home at a time!”
“Saving America” is looking for for homeowners of unique houses in the Dothan area for the project, which is expected to take place in Feb. and March of this year.
Parnell Jones and Raheeme King. Source: Vestavia Police Department
Vestavia Police arrested two men they say stole an iPhone 6 from someone who was trying to sell it to them through Craigslist.
The seller agreed to meet the buyers in the 1900 block of Kentucky Avenue on Jan. 13. But during the transaction, one of the suspects took the cell phone by force and the other pulled out a gun.
Police say the suspects were identified in a line up as 25-year-old Parnell Jones and 20-year-old Raheeme King, both from Birmingham.
Vestavia officers arrested Jones on Jan. 16 and U.S. Marshals arrested King on Thursday, Jan. 22 in Birmingham. They’re both charged with first degree robbery.
Jones has outstanding warrants for similar crimes in other areas, according to Vestavia Police.
Jones is being held in the Jefferson County Jail and King is waiting to be transferred from Vestavia Hills to the county jail. They have a bond of $60,000 each.
Vestavia Police Chief Dan Rary reminded everyone to be careful when meeting up with someone for a Craigslist or similar transaction.
“Be certain to choose a safe location, time of day and avoid doing so alone. Police Department parking lots are an excellent choice. If the other party refuses, that would be a good reason to become suspicious,” Rary said.
Hayden punched Muhammad in the face after the two got tangled up following a free throw in Thursday night’s game in Tuscaloosa. An official trying to separate the two was knocked down, and Muhammad threw a punch after chasing Hayden toward Alabama’s bench.
Alabama’s Breanna Hayden and Auburn’s Hasina Muhammad have been suspended for two games each for fighting during a game.
Hayden punched Muhammad in the face after the two got tangled up following a free throw in Thursday night’s game in Tuscaloosa. An official trying to separate the two was knocked down, and Muhammad threw a punch after chasing Hayden toward Alabama’s bench.
The NCAA imposes an automatic ejection and one-game suspension for players issued a Flagrant 2 foul for fighting. The Southeastern Conference announced Friday that it has accepted each school’s additional one-game penalty.
Alabama player Meoshonti Knight was also ejected for leaving the bench when the fight broke out late in the first half. The SEC didn’t announce a penalty against her.
Kim McKeand, left, and Cari Searcy , who legally married six years ago in California, are pictured with their son Khaya Searcy, 8, on Tuesday November 11, 2014 in Mobile, Ala. State officials, citing Alabama’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, denied Searcy’s second-parent adoption of the child. (Sharon Steinmann/ssteinmann@al.com)
A federal judge in Mobile on Friday struck down Alabama’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that a woman could not be denied her desire for a second-parent adoption of a 9-year-old boy whom she has helped raise since birth.
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade ruled that the Alabama Marriage Protection Act and the amendment that later enshrined it in the state constitution both were unconstitutional.
“It’s amazing. I was not expecting it at all (on Friday). Happy, happy news. I kind of expected them to sit on it because of the Supreme Court,” said Cari Searcy, one of the plaintiffs. “It’s so encouraging that we got a positive ruling from our home state.
“Love did win,” she added.
David Kennedy, an attorney for Mobile residents Searcy and Kim McKeand, praised the ruling.
“We’re obviously quite pleased with it,” he said. “It was the ruling that, frankly, we expected.”
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office indicated it would continue to fight the case. Late Friday, attorneys filed papers in court asking the judge to put the decision on hold.
“We are disappointed and are reviewing the Federal District Court’s decision,” spokesman Mike Lewis said via email. “We expect to ask for a stay of the court’s judgment pending the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling which will ultimately decide this case.”
Other challenges pending
It is the first of several pending same-sex marriage cases in Alabama to be ruled on. The decision adds to a growing list of decisions across the country in favor of same-sex marriage.
“Careful review of the parties’ briefs and the substantial case law on the subject persuades the Court that the institution of marriage itself is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution, and that the State must therefore convince the Court that its laws restricting the fundamental right to marry serve a compelling state interest,” Granade wrote in her 10-page order.
If Grande agrees to put the case on hold, Searcy will have to wait until the high court rules before she can become a legal parent to the boy. If the judge refuses, than Searcy could begin that process immediately.
Kennedy said his interpretation is that same-sex couple also would be able to marry statewide.
“Love did win.” — Cari Searcy
An attorney for April Brush and Ginger Aaron, the plaintiffs in one of the Alabama same-sex marriages that has yet to be decided, predicted a similar outcome.
“It’s so exciting. Precedence from the same state should have a compelling impact on our case in the Northern District,” said the attorney, Wendy Brooks Crew. “This judge clearly recognizes that family is family and that marriage is a fundamental right to all Americans – black, white, gay or straight and there is no compelling state interest to say otherwise.”
The judge’s ruling comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in a same-sex marriage case that supporters and opponents, alike, hope will settle the question once and for all.
The high court surprised many observers in October when it declined to hear appeals from a number of states. At the time, every appellate court that had considered the issue had ruled in favor of same-sex plaintiffs.
But the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturned lower court rulings in favor of same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee in November. The Supreme Court announced last week that it would review that case.
Granade, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote that she considered the arguments of the Sixth Circuit but found more persuasive the legal reasoning of four other appellate courts in favor of same-sex marriage. She rejected Alabama’s argument that it has a legitimate interest in protecting ties between children and biological parents.
“The Attorney General does not explain how allowing or recognizing same-sex marriage between two consenting adults will prevent heterosexual parents or other biological kin from caring for their biological children,” the judge wrote. “He proffers no justification for why it is that the provisions in question single out same-sex couples and prohibit them, and them alone, from marrying in order to meet that goal.”
Granade wrote that if anything, the state’s same-sex marriage ban detracted from its stated goal of providing the optimal environment for children. The children of same-sex parents are “just as worth of protection and recognition” by the state as the children of heterosexual parents, she wrote.
“In sum, the laws in question are an irrational way of promoting biological relationships in Alabama,” the ruling states.
Searcy and McKeand sued last year after Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis, citing the state’s gay marriage ban, rejected Searcy’s adoption petition. They had been legally married in California.
Both sides in the case agreed that the petition would have been granted as a matter of routine if Searcy and McKeand had been a heterosexual married couple.
Kennedy, the women’s lawyer, said he would ask Granade not to stay the ruling so that his clients can follow through with the adoption immediately.
“Justice delayed is not really something we’re interested in,” he said. “We’re of the opinion that our clients have been waiting for a very long time.”
National, local reaction
Granade’s ruling drew cheers from gay marriage supporters nationally and in downtown Mobile and jeers from opponents.
“Judge Granade’s ruling today affirms what we already know to be true – that all loving, committed Alabama couples should have the right to marry,” Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said in a prepared statement. “As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a landmark case on marriage equality, today’s ruling joins the dozens and dozens of others that have recognized that committed and loving gay and lesbian couples deserve equal treatment under the law.”
Ben Cooper, chairman of Equality Alabama, said in a statement that he was thankful the state’s “irrational” marriage law had been struck down.
“I am positive with this landmark decision there will be many questions,” he stated. “Yet opportunities now to reinforce and bring Alabama among its fellow states where equality is undeniably a reality.”
I am positive with this landmark decision there will be many questions. Yet opportunities now to reinforce and bring Alabama among its fellow states where equality is undeniably a reality.
At the Flip Side, the gay bar on South Conception Street in Mobile, many patrons welcomed the news.
Bob Brunson, the bartender, called the ruling “an awesome thing” and said he knows the couple personally.
“We’ve fought this battle for so many years,” Brunson said. “I think it’s incredible and very exciting, one step closer to equal rights.”
Dewayne Kemp, 42, called the decision a step forward.
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “It’s going to happen when the U.S. Supreme Court votes it in. I don’t look to Alabama or Mississippi or Louisiana to vote it in.”
Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, blasted the ruling.
“It is outrageous when a single unelected and unaccountable federal judge can overturn the will of millions of Alabamians who stand in firm support of the Sanctity of Marriage Act,” he said in a prepared statement. “The Legislature will encourage a vigorous appeals process, and we will continue defending the Christian conservative values that make Alabama a special place to live.”
An investigation focused on human trafficking in Mobile led to 16 arrests on prostitution and other illicit activities, according to the Mobile Police Department.
Investigators with MPD’s narcotics and vice unit and the Department of Homeland Security teamed up for the investigation, which took place on Jan. 20 and 22, said officer Terence Perkins.
Officials did not make any human trafficking-related arrests but picked up 16 people on five felony and 16 misdemeanor charges. A majority of the arrests were on prostitution-related charges, according to Mobile County Metro Jail records.
Investigators identified 15 of the suspects Friday.
Police did not say what prompted the joint investigation. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
Alabama’s unemployment rate has dropped to 5.7 percent, which is the lowest rate in more than six years.
Gov. Robert Bentley says December’s seasonally adjusted rate is down from 6.0 percent in November, and it is lower than the 6.1 percent recorded a year ago. It is slightly above the national rate of 5.6 percent.
Bentley says 2104 ended on a positive note, with unemployment staying at or below 7.0 percent the entire year.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates for December are Shelby at 3.7 percent, Lee at 4.1 percent and Cullman at 4.2 percent. Counties with the highest rates are Wilcox at 12.5 percent, Bullock at 10.7 percent and Dallas at 10.1 percent.
U.S. Steel Corp. said it will curtail production at pipe-making plants in Alabama and Texas and may lay off almost 2,000 workers because of “softening market conditions” in the oil and gas industries.
The Alabama Animal 