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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Alabama Attorney General Files Motions With U.S. Supreme Court Seeking To Redistrict (Alabama Reflector)

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Friday filed motions in three separate cases seeking to lift a federal court’s injunction against the state changing congressional district lines before 2030. The office used the same motion in the filings with the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting the justices reconsider its ruling in light of last week’s Louisiana v. Callais that significantly narrowed the scope of Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In the majority opinion in Callais, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the court’s ruling did not affect the opinion in Allen v. Milligan, the main Alabama redistricting case before the court. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas set a deadline for Monday for the plaintiffs in Milligan and the two other cases to file their response to the Attorney General’s request. Friday’s request came hours after Gov. Kay Ivey signed bills allowing special primaries if the state prevails in the redistricting case. Media in Alabama covered a range of angles on the story, including:

• Protesters Rally at Alabama Statehouse After Ivey Calls Special Session on Redistricting (WIAT)
• Alabama NAACP: State attempt at redistricting a ‘contrived crisis’ (Alabama Reflector)
• Tuberville: Redistricting Fight in Alabama, Other States ‘Backlash’ From Gerrymandered Northeast States (1819 News)
• 10 Days That Shook the House Map and Democratic Confidence (New York Times)
• Officials and Organizations in Alabama React as Gov. Kay Ivey Signs House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 (CBS 42)

Public Service Commission Candidates Call for Transparency, Improved Utility Oversight (Alabama Reflector)

Three Democratic candidates for the Alabama Public Service Commission presented similar ideas to address the spiraling cost of utility prices at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Alabama on Tuesday. James Gordon, Jeff Ramsey and Sheila McNeil all proposed improving the transparency of the rate-making process and holding utilities more accountable.

$2.6B Impact: Birmingham Tourism Sets New Records, Visitors Bureau Touts (Bham Now)

At the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau’s annual meeting Thursday at Red Mountain Theatre, the atmosphere was more like an energetic rally than a business meeting. Birmingham is no longer “lingering,” the bureau emphasized. It is holding its own on a global stage. Bureau President and CEO Dan Williams delivered the 2025 data, painting a picture of an industry that has become a fundamental pillar of the local economy. Among its findings, the bureau reported 4.17 million visitors to the Greater Birmingham region in 2025, a 3.2% increase year over year; $2.62 billion total visitor spending in Jefferson County; and $309 million tax revenue generated.

Central AL Water/Birmingham Water Works Ranks Last in Customer Satisfaction Survey (WBRC)

Central AL Water/Birmingham Water Works ranked last among water utilities in its category for the third consecutive year in the latest JD Power customer satisfaction survey, scoring 416 out of 1,000 points. Central Alabama Water said it has implemented changes since late 2025 designed to reflect industry best practices and improve service levels, and recently it unveiled an online tool that makes it quicker and easier for customers to contact the utility when they experience a problem.

Mother Questions How Her Son Died at the Jefferson County Jail: ‘They’re trying to hide something’ (AL.com)

The mother of a Jefferson County Jail inmate who died after being taken to a Birmingham hospital said she has questions about his care and subsequent death. Doerita Maul Patrick said her son told her on the phone for several days that he was sick and could get no medical care. She tried contacting jail officials but was stonewalled even after another inmate had called her and told her that her son had died. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said there was no foul play or trauma involved in his death.