BW 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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Laid-Off Workers Protest Outside Birmingham Water Utility Offices After 135 Jobs Cut (AL.com)

Central Alabama Water remained in the news this past week, culminating with the utility on Friday laying off 135 workers, about 23% of its workforce, in an effort to cut costs. AL.com’s coverage is behind a paywall, but the story also was covered by other outlets such as WVTM 13  and ABC 33/40. Earlier in the week, the utility released a report detailing two decades of financial and operational information, as reported by WBRC, including the regular loss of more than half the water it processes. The developments come as the utility’s board of directors, appointed in May after the state reorganized what once was the Birmingham Water Works, faces criticism about its financial management and the lack of information provided to the public and even some board members about its actions, as summarized by BirminghamWatch.

Alabama Poised to Drastically Overhaul Utility Regulation. Will It Lower Electric Bills? (Inside Climate News)

High electricity costs have been the talk of the session in the Alabama Legislature, and the state seems poised to totally revamp its utility regulatory process. But which changes will be made and how effective those changes will be are very much in question, as the session winds down with multiple utility bills still in the works. The latest bill, passed by the Senate last week, would expand the Public Service Commission from three to seven members.

Coca-Cola UNITED Selling Iconic East Lake Campus After 47 Years (BhamNow)

Since 1979, Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED has sat at 4600 East Lake Boulevard — one of the first things welcoming you into the Magic City when you fly into BHM. With the company opening a new campus on the old Stockham Valves and Fittings site, the iconic location is now officially on the market.

Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence of Man Whose Accomplice Fired Fatal Shot (Associated Press)

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a 75-year-old inmate who had been set to be executed this week even though he was not in the building when the victim was killed during a 1991 robbery. Ivey reduced Charles “Sonny” Burton’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, marking just the second time the Republican governor has granted clemency to a death row inmate since taking office in 2017.

Alabama Senate Passes Bill to Expand Public Service Commission (Alabama Reflector)

The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would expand membership on the state’s public utility regulator from three to seven elected members, one from each of the state’s seven congressional districts.

Britt, Tuberville Split on Bipartisan Housing Affordability Bill (Alabama Daily News)

Alabama’s U.S. senators were on opposite sides of a vote Thursday to pass bipartisan housing legislation aimed at increasing the housing supply and cutting regulations.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., voted for 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act “empower more Americans and Alabamians with the opportunity to own a home.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala, was one of just 10 senators who opposed the housing measure, citing President Donald Trump’s vow not to sign any bills until Congress passes the Republican-led voter ID bill. The bill now heads to the House, which passed similar legislation last month.

What passed in the Alabama Legislature: March 10-12, 2026 (Alabama Reflector)

Action last week as the regular session of the Legislature nears its end.