Alabama: UAB partners with NASA. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has doubled its contract with NASA, expanding up to $50 million to provide and maintain cold-stowage units for the International Space Station. UAB has long been a player in NASA’s International Space Station Division. Tennessee: Nashville mayor shakes up staff. Nashville Mayor David Briley has gotten rid of two top aides – chief operating officer Rich Riebeling and chief of staff Debby Dale Mason. The shake up is part of an overhaul by newly elected Briley, who is seeking to leave his mark on an office racked with controversy in recent years. Florida: Marsy’s Law supporters to make huge ad buy. Supporters of Marsy’s Law, a crime victim’s rights movement that will appear on the Florida ballot in November, have made a $17 million ad buy in the state ahead of that vote. Already passed in some neighboring states, (including Georgia) the constitutional amendment must receive 60% of the vote to be amended into the state constitution.
