BirminghamWatch Recommends is a rundown of stories you might have missed this week. It offers insight into issues important to our area and sometimes tickles your curiosity.

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City of Pelham Reaches Agreement to Purchase Oak Mountain Amphitheatre (Shelby County Reporter)

Pelham agreed to buy 43 acres that include the amphitheater from Live Nation for a price of $5.3 million. The city plans to demolish the theater and to expand its Pelham Arts & Entertainment District.

Kids Count Report: Alabama 39th in Overall Child Well-Being (Alabama Reflector)

The Kids Count Data Book is based on indicators including health, education, safety and economic security factors. It cited major problems with health care access, gun violence and poverty. The state improved from its ranking of 45^th in 2023.

Alabama’s Academic Recovery Leads Nation, Yet Deep Disparities Remain (Alabama Daily News)

The Education Recovery Scorecard indicates that Alabama has returned to pre-pandemic levels in math and is nearing that milestone in reading. But, in some school districts students are as much as four grade levels below the national average while in others students are nearly three grade levels ahead of their peers.

Deep Cuts to NIH Funding Would Cause Economic Harm Across Trump-Friendly Alabama (WBHM)

If the full cuts are made, “virtually all areas of research would slow,” UAB representatives said in a statement. The budget slashing also would send harmful ripples across a state that has built biomedical and other research into a cornerstone of its economy.

Alabama Legislative Committee Recommends Hybrid K-12 Funding Model (Alabama Reflector)

Legislators are tackling changes to school funding this year. A committee recommended they consider a plan that would keep the basic funding formula now in place and allot additional money for special student populations, such as those in special education.

Stephen Boyd: The Washington Brief – Feb. 17, 2025 (Alabama Daily News)

ADN correspondent Stephen Boyd interviews a legal expert on the limits and expansive nature of a president’s powers, trying to get closer to answering the question, “Can he do that?”

In Chestnut, Black Alabamians Have Lived for Years Without Access to Public Water. There’s Little Hope in Sight (Inside Climate News)

As aging private wells in Chestnut and other communities throughout the state fall into disrepair, residents are left traveling miles to access or buy clean drinking water. Public officials say it’s a humanitarian crisis but argue there’s little they can do.

Cahaba Riverkeeper Announces Launch of Digital River Map “Cahabapedia” (Bham Now)

Cahaba Riverkeeper has just launched “Cahabapedia,” an interactive digital map and data repository that provides information on water quality, bacterial contamination at recreation areas, nearby areas of interest and other data.

WorldAtlas Ranks Top 8 Off-the-Beaten-Path Towns in Alabama (Bama Buzz)

Fairhope tops this list of eccentric small towns that offer history and adventure. Eufaula and Mooresville also are among the places that made the list of short-trip destinations.