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Civil Rights
Civil Rights District Groups Get Nearly $2.7M in Support From JeffCo Commission
The Jefferson County Commission today approved $2,691,642 in federal ARPA funding to organizations in the Civil Rights District to improve civil rights tourism.
The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill was enacted to speed the country’s recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jefferson County determined that tourism had been affected by the pandemic. After their applications were vetted by consulting firm Witt O’Brien, 16th Street Baptist Church, Urban Impact Inc., Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and historic Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville were allotted funds for unique projects. Read more.
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Economy
With the NCAA Tournament in Town, Birmingham Is Ready for Thrilling Games, an Economic Boost
Birmingham is hosting NCAA Tournament games this weekend for the first time since 2008. It’s the latest addition to the city’s growing profile as a sports hub. Read more.
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Birmingham City Council
City Relinquishes Power Over Old Powell School, Raising Concerns About Historic Preservation
After a contentious discussion, the Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to relinquish its interest in the historic Powell School building, which has been vacant for more than two decades.
Though developers of the property told councilors that historic preservation is their priority, they expressed doubts that they’d be able to save most of the 134-year-old structure. Now, with the city stepping out of the way, they won’t be compelled to.
Councilors split over the discussion. District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott said she was “aghast” at the idea of “giving the property away” to a developer with no guarantee of historical preservation.
Mayor Randall Woodfin retorted that it made less sense to leave the dilapidated school building standing. “It is clear blight,” he said. Read more.
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Alabama Department of Environmental Management
Working Group Appointed to Learn What Went Wrong With Response to the Moody Landfill Fire
The Alabama Department of Environment Management on Friday announced the formation of a working group to assess whether changes in laws, regulations and resources are needed following the fire at the vegetative waste disposal site near Moody.
In a press conference, ADEM officials said the fire revealed shortcomings in the ability and authority of state and local governments to respond to situations that are outside the scope of their regulated activities but pose risks to the public. The working group will examine the response to the fire and make recommendations for improving the ability of state and local agencies to respond to similar emergencies in the future. Read more.
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Economy
As Alabama Coal Miners Strike Nears End, a Look at Why It Started, How It Failed
After 700 days, the United Mine Workers of America Union asked Warrior Met Coal to allow the strikers to come back to work unconditionally. Read more.
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Red Mountain
Red Mountain Cut Features Time Capsule of Alabama’s Robust Geologic History
A national natural landmark, the road cut along Birmingham’s Red Mountain Expressway documents more than a hundred million years of geologic history and was once an educational centerpiece. Read more.
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Coronavirus
Alabama Health Officer Reflects on Lessons Learned From COVID-19
Three years ago, Alabamians were beginning to see the impacts of a new respiratory virus sweeping the nation.
“Everybody remembers watching in horror at what was transpiring in Washington State in this skilled nursing facility,” recalled Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health. “We just didn’t know how much we didn’t know.”
Harris made the comments during a monthly meeting of the Alabama Board of Health on Thursday. He discussed lessons learned from the pandemic and future challenges amid the looming removal of a federal emergency declaration. Read more.
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Education
A Local Hip-Hop Education Group Teaches Kids Life Skills
The education collective Knowledge Rhythm and Understanding, known as K.R.U., is using the music genre to teach life skills. Read more.
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Downtown Birmingham
JeffCo Approves $5 Million Toward Construction of Amphitheater
The Jefferson County Commission today approved the next step in making a 9,000-seat, $50 million amphitheater part of The Star Uptown development on the campus of the former Carraway Hospital.
A $5 million contribution from the county’s economic development fund goes toward building the event venue. The county also approved a guarantee to cover any shortfall on the project up to $10 million.
The matter was approved on a 3-1-1 vote with Sheila Tyson voting no and Lashunda Scales abstaining.
The panel vote came after citizens – mostly residents of the area where the venue will be built – voiced their concern about the future of their community. Read more.
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Alabama Legislature
Judicial Funding Fight Likely to Continue in Upcoming Legislative Session
An additional eight circuit court and five district court judges are needed in various parts of Alabama, including Madison and Baldwin counties, according to a recent report.
That same report also says Jefferson County has more judges than caseloads there require.
But reallocating judgeships has become a politically complicated issue in recent years. Fiscal conservatives in the State House have balked at spending millions on additional seats when Jefferson County and other districts have a surplus. Jefferson County’s well-muscled delegation has protected its judicial seats.
But now, more lawmakers, including the new chairman of the House General Fund budget committee, appear willing to spend on at least a few new seats. Read more.
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Birmingham City Council
Pay Raises, Recreation Areas Provided Under Woodfin’s Budget Surplus Plan
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to unanimously approve Mayor Randall Woodfin’s plans for spending the city’s $81 million budget surplus, with money allocated to a cost-of-living adjustment for city employees, capital improvement for parks and libraries, and funding for a new amphitheater in the city’s Uptown entertainment district. Read more.
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Birmingham City Council
Birmingham Council Looks to Reduce Crime With Statistical Analysis
The Birmingham City Council has approved a partnership with the nonprofit Aspen Institute to gather and analyze a wide variety of data about the city’s 99 neighborhoods.
The project, named the Birmingham/Aspen Justice and Governance Partnership, is intended to reduce crime by gathering and analyzing hyperlocal statistics — for example, the number of traffic stops or emergency room admissions in a given neighborhood. This information would be made publicly available and could be used by lawmakers to inform policy. Read more.
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Coronavirus
What a Difference a Year Makes, but COVID’s Still Around
One year ago, Alabama was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the state’s peak, on Jan 21, 2022, the 7-day average of new COVID cases per day was 12,918, according to the New York Times’ COVID tracker.
The year before, in February, 2021, deaths hit their high with an average of 147 Alabamians a day succumbing to the disease.
This week, as of Wednesday, Jan. 18, the 7-day average of new cases per day statewide was 963, and the daily average of deaths was 3.1 on Thursday.
Despite the steep drop, health officials have urged people to remain vigilant, keep up with their vaccinations and mask if their community is at risk of COVID or if they are at heightened risk from the virus. Read more.
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Economy
An old school in Birmingham’s Bush Hills is now an urban farm. Residents are thinking bigger.
At west Birmingham’s old Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, on the near-four acres that were once the school’s grounds, area residents tend to their own small garden plots with all manner of fruits and vegetables. The potatoes, greens, squash and other produce raised here — as much as 50,000 pounds a year — is distributed within the community, free of charge.
What started as a means to prevent the old school from becoming a blight on the neighborhood is now the Bush Hills Community Garden and Urban Farm. Located about a mile from Legion Field, plans are underway for more than just agriculture. Some residents believe it is a model for other projects that adapt existing structures to the needs of their surrounding communities. Read more.
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Ethics
Investigation Accuses Alabama Power of Funneling Money to Local News Sites for Favorable Coverage
A trove of leaked documents appears to show Alabama Power indirectly and covertly paid news outlets for favorable coverage. A story from NPR and the nonprofit news collaborative Floodlight says the practice continued for almost a decade and hid transactions by utilizing nonprofits and shell companies. Read more.
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Birmingham City Council
Birmingham Council Delays BSC Funding Decision Until at Least Mid-April
The Birmingham City Council needs more questions answered before it will officially lend its support to the financially struggling Birmingham-Southern College.
A “resolution of intent” on the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting would have seen the city promise to provide financial support to BSC — if the college could also secure binding funding commitments from the state of Alabama and the Jefferson County Commission.
But some councilors were reluctant to make that commitment without further discussions with college administrators first.BSC President Daniel Coleman has said the board of trustees must decide the college’s future by the end of March to give students time to decide where to transfer and help faculty and staff make plans for their future. Read more.
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Economy
Jefferson County About Halfway Through With Houses Listed for Demolition
Docena is next up in Jefferson County’s bid to remove dilapidated houses.
At its committee meeting Tuesday, the Jefferson County Commission moved to the agenda of its Thursday meeting a resolution declaring 29 structures in the unincorporated community off Minor Parkway public nuisances and targeting those structures for demolition.
Those structures are part of Batch 3 of the county’s demolition program. Read more.
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Education
BSC Prez ‘Disappointed’ Legislature Didn’t Approve Funding but Will Continue Push to Stay Open
Birmingham-Southern College President Daniel B. Coleman acknowledged “disappointment” that the Alabama Legislature opted not to spend some of the state’s $1 billion-plus allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act to keep the financially troubled liberal arts college open.
BSC officials had hoped the Legislature would tap ARPA funds to throw a lifeline to the school, which revealed late last year that the campus could close as early as this year due to years of financial stress coming to a head. The private college is now asking for $37.5 million in public money — $30 million from the state and $7.5 million from the local government — to keep its doors open. Read more.
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Alabama Legislature
New Exhibition Driving Bill Would Stiffen Penalties, Including Fines and Jail Time
People have been injured, even killed, in exhibition driving-related incidents in Birmingham. Now, lawmakers are addressing the issue on a statewide level. Read more.
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Alabama Department of Environmental Management
Legal Complaint Claims Alabama Discriminates When Distributing Sewage Infrastructure Funds
Alabama only allows state funds for sewage infrastructure to go to public bodies. A civil rights complaint argues the policy hurts communities of color. Read more.
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Economy
Knight Backs Plan to Sock Away County Money for a Rainy Day
Jefferson County Commission Finance Chairman Joe Knight repeated Tuesday his plan to continue on a conservative path that includes squireling away money in the county’s reserve accounts. Read more.
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Economy
How This Year’s Selma Bridge Crossing Could Mark a Community Renaissance
President Biden visits Selma for the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Residents there are still recovering from tornadoes that ripped through the city in January. Read more.
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Reading Birmingham
New Book Offers Glimpse Into the Life of Harper Lee
“Afternoons with Harper Lee” (NewSouth Books, 2022) by Wayne Flynt
Among the millions of documents preserved in the Birmingham Public Library Archives, there is a brief, handwritten letter from Harper Lee to a fellow writer. In the letter, Lee explains that she cannot read a book that has been sent to her and lists a variety of ailments that have made reading difficult. “As Gilda Radner would say.” Lee writes, “It’s always something.”
This is one of the items that archives staff regularly bring out to show visitors, although it is wasted on 21st century college and high school students, who rarely have a clue who Gilda Radner was or that she was one of the comic geniuses of the last century.
But what makes this letter intriguing is that it tells us something about the life and tastes of a widely beloved but intensely private author. Like many people, Harper Lee watched Saturday Night Live and quoted lines from the show.
Small nuggets like this are at the heart of Wayne Flynt’s new book, “Afternoons with Harper Lee.” Flynt, a professor of history at Auburn University, and his wife Dartie, befriended Lee after a stroke forced her to leave New York and return to her hometown in Monroeville. Read more.
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Jefferson County Commission
JeffCo Commission Agrees to Support Magic City Classic for 1 Year, Will Consider Longer Contract Later
Lashunda Scales was moved to tears Thursday as she lobbied to get a 3-year deal for Jefferson County to support the Magic City Classic.
But Scales’ tears didn’t move her fellow Jefferson County commissioners to go beyond the 1-year, $500,000 commitment that was on their meeting agenda.
The commission approved the professional services agreement with the Alabama Sports Council on a 4-1 vote with Scales voting no. Sheila Tyson hesitated before voting with commissioners Jimmie Stephens, Joe Knight and Steve Ammons.
The money comes from the county’s economic development fund, although Stephens, the commission president, questioned whether that was the appropriate source. Read more.
Earlier this week
Commission Considering Funding to Keep Magic City Classic in Birmingham,
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Birmingham City Council
Councilors Discuss Spending $500K to Send Neighborhood Leaders to Convention but With Report Requirement
Each year, the Birmingham City Council approves funding for hundreds of neighborhood officers to attend the Neighborhood USA conference. This year, though, that approval will likely come with the stipulation that attendees report back to their neighborhood associations on what they learned.
Pending a council vote next week, the city’s 99 neighborhoods will each have the option to send two representatives to NUSA, which this year will be held in El Paso, Texas. The conference offers what it describes as “cutting-edge workshops” and “tools and training to improve and maintain great neighborhoods every year.” Read more.
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Alabama Department of Environmental Management
Work on Landfill Fire ‘Proceeding Well,’ ADEM Director Says
ADEM Director Lance LeFleur said on Friday that smoke from the underground landfill in Moody has been greatly reduced and the EPA expects the fire to be out in a matter of weeks, or sooner. He said work on putting out the fire is proceeding well, and ADEM and EPA are continuing to monitor air and water quality in the area. Read more.
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