Juneteenth + Apple Grant + Trash Pandas

Get up and moving, Huntsville! In today's Daily, we will look at what Juneteenth is now that it is a federal holiday, what Huntsville school received a grant from Apple, and the new ways to watch Trash Pandas games!

First, today's weather:

Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. High: 92 Low: 70

Today's Huntsville Daily from Patch is brought to you by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Huntsville!

Patch Pick:

Dr. Earnest Eugene Rogers, a retired Oakwood University professor, celebrated turning 105 on June 17 with a drive-by celebration. According to Dr. Rogers, his secret is, "Be sure you get your proper rest, eat good nutritious food and stay happy. Keep a smile on your face. As long as you are happy it will manifest itself on your face and it will jump out." Happy birthday, Dr. Rogers! (WAFF)

Here are the top five stories today in Huntsville:

1. Governor Ivey has awarded $2.9 million to go to various locations across the state, including several in our area, to help elderly or low-income residents weatherize their home. Here’s the breakdown for North Alabama: (WHNT)
   1. $206882 for Community Action Partnership Huntsville/Madison and Limestone Counties Inc. (This is for Madison and Limestone counties)
   2. $105,450 to Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama (This helps Colbert, Lauderdale, and Franklin counties)
   3. $300,073 to Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama (This will help Marshall County in our area)
2. Alabama A&M has received an Innovation Grant from Apple for $1.25 million. Apple’s goal was to award Innovation grants to four historically black colleges and universities through their New Silicon Initiative. A&M plans to use it to strengthen their engineering program and help their students transition into the workforce, according to the university’s president, Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. (WHNT)
3. Goodall Homes has announced that the company has acquired Legacy Homes of Alabama, which was the largest private homebuilder in the city. Legacy Homes will maintain their brand and their leadership team will remain intact. (HuntsvilleBusinessJournal)
4. The Trash Pandas will now be available on several new networks through This TV, WAAY-31’s newest channel. This TV (including Trash Pandas games) is now available on: (WAAY)
   1. Channel 31.6 over the air/antenna
   2. Channel 1181 on Xfinity (Comcast)
   3. Channel 155 on WOW! Legacy
   4. Channel 46 on WOW’s TV+
   5. Channel 150 on Scottsboro Cable
   6. Channel 176 on Fayetteville Utilities
5. HEMSI, the ambulance system for the Huntsville area, is still struggling with shortages. Now, their response time is being affected. In just one year, their response time has gone up by about five minutes in Huntsville, 10 minutes in Madison, and five minutes in Madison County. According to Ashtyn Hiron, this means that sometimes, other first responders are the first on the scene to make contact with the patient. If you’re interested in being part of the solution and training to work for HEMSI, apply HERE. (WHNT)

Today in Huntsville

• Astronomy for All: Mars Update @ U.S. Space and Rocket Center (7 p.m.)
• It's food truck week! Tonight, food trucks will be at Big Spring Park (5 p.m.)
• Friday Night Flip Out- The third Friday of every month is a chance for 10-18-year-olds to eat pizza, play games, and have free play at Matrix Gym (6:30 p.m.)
• Iron Horse is performing at Burritt on the Mountain’s City Lights and Stars Concert Series- buy tickets before 4 p.m. (7 p.m.)

What to know about Juneteenth in Huntsville:

• With President Biden declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday and Governor Ivey following and declaring a state holiday, here is what you need to know about what Juneteenth is and what will be closed today in Huntsville. (WZDX)
• Here are events around north Alabama to celebrate Juneteenth. (WAFF)

You're all caught up for today! I'll see you tomorrow for a weekend update! For today, lets follow the advice of Dr. Rogers and stay happy!

- Amy