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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A Proposed Alabama Data Center Faces New Hurdles: A ‘Road to Nowhere’ and the Birmingham Darter (Inside Climate News)

With the City Council in Bessemer scheduled to vote Tuesday on a “hyperscale” data center, challenges from an environmental group and the Alabama Department of Transportation present potential obstacles for the unpopular project.

Birmingham City Schools Record Highest-Ever Grade on State Report Card (Birmingham Times)

Birmingham City Schools earned a 77 on the Alabama State Department of Education Report Card for 2025 — its highest-ever grade on the report card, a three-point increase over last year and a 7% rise in just three years. Highlights from the BCS Report Card included: The number of schools with an “F” letter grade decreased by 93%, from 15 schools in 2023 to one in 2025; 15 schools improved by at least one letter grade; all high schools increased or maintained their letter grades; two schools improved by two letter grades; and the chronic absentee rate decreased from 29% in 2023 to 14% in 2025.

Alabama Daily News wrapped up scores for the state’s K-12 system, which improved its overall grade to 87 points, slightly above last year’s 85.

Alabama Public Television Considers Cutting Ties With PBS (Associated Press)

The Alabama Educational Television Commission is considering becoming the first state network to sever ties with PBS. The move would remove shows such as “Sesame Street,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Antiques Roadshow” and “PBS Newshour” from the airwaves of APT. The commission last month discussed the possibility of dropping PBS and is expected to discuss the matter again during its Tuesday meeting.

The possibility comes after President Donald Trump and Congress in July withdrew funding for the nonprofit The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to public radio and television, and as some state commissioners accused PBS of being an unneeded expense or politically biased.

City of Birmingham Updates Neighbors on $50 Million Development; Residents Say Progress Is Slow (WVTM)

The city of Birmingham more than two years ago announced a $50 million renovation project focused on College Hills, Smithfield and Graymont, but some residents said they aren’t seeing much progress. Last week, the city hosted a meeting to give neighbors an update on the Community Choice Neighborhood Initiative, which will plant more trees, create dedicated bike lanes, give people the opportunity to own homes and create funding for people to renovate their homes and businesses.

Sewell: After Dems’ Fold, Alabamians Face “Dire” Insurance Premium Increases (Alabama Political Reporter)

Angry with her colleagues who voted to reopen the federal government without concessions from Republicans, Sewell said the only hope for people at this point is for Republicans to defy Trump to restore ACA subsidies. An uncharacteristically animated Sewell spoke during the Alabama Politics This Week podcast, saying, “I thought that we were showing such a force of unity as a party, and at a time when this country needed us to do that.”

Children’s of AL Receives $455K to Double Pediatric ICU Capacity From Norfolk Southern (BhamNow)

Norfolk Southern has gifted $455,000 to Children’s of Alabama to go toward expanding its pediatric intensive care unit and acquiring simulation training manikins. The donation, announced Friday, will expand the hospital’s PICU beds from 24 to 50.