NJN/am for Monday, February 9, 2015

Published 8:35 am Monday, February 9, 2015

Ugh! Monday already? Yep, we double-checked…

Weather: Cold snap ahead. We hope you enjoyed the relatively-warm, temperatures this weekend, because they’re about to go away. There may be a few periods of rain today, otherwise temperatures will start out in the lower 60s this morning and fall throughout the afternoon. Clearing skies tonight with lows in the middle 30s. Tuesday will be mostly sunny with highs in the lower 50s and lows near freezing. Later this week we’ll see a cold front come through that could drop nighttime lows into the teens by the weekend.

Gardendale man arrested for murder. Ronald Austin, 21, is accused of killing the boyfriend of his sister during an argument Friday in a housing project near Birmingham’s Gate City community. The victim, 29-year-old Raphael Roman, died at the scene from a gunshot wound. Roman himself was awaiting trial on charges of kidnapping and assault stemming from an incident at the Candy Mountain Apartments just east of Fultondale early last year, during which he apparently shot himself. Austin is held in the Jefferson County Jail.

For better or worse. Barring a last-minute stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, today is the first day for gay marriage in the state of Alabama – but whether or not a same-sex couple can get a marriage license may depend on the county they’re in, thanks in part from an order by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore telling probate judges to defy a ruling by a federal judge in Mobile. Early reports indicate the licenses will be available in Jefferson and Montgomery counties, but not in Tuscaloosa.

Sports: Busy weekend, with more in store. High school basketball area tournaments wrapped up on Saturday, as did wrestling’s super-sectional qualifiers, and many local teams are still very much active in the post-season. In hoops, sub-regional girls’ games are played tonight, with three local teams on the road: Mortimer Jordan travels to Anniston, after the Blue Devils’ heartbreaking overtime loss to Springville in last Friday’s area finals; Locust Fork goes to Priceville, after similarly losing in overtime to Oneonta in the area finals’ and Fultondale heads to Aliceville. On the boys’ side, two local teams won their area championships on Saturday: Mortimer Jordan, who took down Springville; and Pinson Valley, which staged a big comeback to defeat Clay-Chalkville. In tomorrow’s sub-regionals, the Devils host Alexandria while the Indians welcome Shades Valley, while Locust Fork travels to North Jackson and Fultondale goes to Aliceville… Wrestling: The six local teams did very well at the North Super Sectionals at the Birmingham Crossplex Harris Arena. Hayden finished second in the team standings in Class 1A-5A, behind Madison County and just ahead of Dora, Sumiton Christian and Mortimer Jordan. Pinson Valley placed fourth as a team in Class 6A, but Hank Turner won the 152-pound weight class again, which makes him a favorite to win another state championship this weekend in Huntsville. Greg Abramson also took gold in his class for Jordan. We’ll have a full rundown of the North Super Sectional later today… Indoor track and field: Jacob Dean became the first Mortimer Jordan athlete to win a championship in the AHSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships since the event moved to the Birmingham Crossplex three years ago. Dean won the triple jump in Class A-5A.