Subscribe to the BirminghamWatch Newsletter
The WeeklyWatch will be delivered to your inbox each Friday morning.
State of the Union
-
Alabama on Display at State of the Union
Alabama will be on display during tonight’s State of the Union address by President Joe Biden.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama will be giving the rebuttal on behalf of the Republican Party after the speech ends.
She is the first woman elected senator from Alabama and, at 42, the youngest Republican woman elected to the Senate.Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat, is taking three of the foot soldiers from the Selma to Montgomery marches as her guests to the State of the Union. She said in a press release that her choice was especially fitting because the address is falling on the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
Jefferson County Commission
-
JeffCo Approves Land Sale to BJCC
Jefferson County Commissioners on Thursday approved the sale of the old Salvation Army Building on Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard to the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority.
Read more.
Jefferson County
-
‘Don’t let a pandemic go to waste:’ Y Leader Says COVID Shined a Spotlight on Community Needs
Despite speaking on Super Bowl Sunday, Dan Pile chose not to say the Northeast YMCA will be a “Super Y” after a major redevelopment on that Roebuck campus.
His hope, Pile said, is that the redevelopment will be the new norm, the standard for all YMCAs.
“Actually, what I believe will happen is this will become a prototype of future YMCAs,” said Pile, the president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Birmingham. “We’re not the only provider but we’ve convened in bringing in other providers. I really believe this represents the future of the YMCA, especially here in Birmingham.” Read more.
Birmingham City Council
Alabama Legislature
-
The Alabama Legislature is returning. Here’s what to expect.
The Alabama Legislature will kick off the 2024 session on Tuesday with work on the state’s two budgets and a host of other issues awaiting them.
Lawmakers this year are expected to take up legislation that would create a voucher-like program for schools in the state and possible legislation creating mandatory kindergarten or something very close to it. Legislators may also consider bills on gambling; ethics and trafficking and kidnapping. Read more.
Alabama History
-
What the Lost Cause Narrative Masks About Alabama History
Many Alabama officials have for generations pushed the false narrative that residents of the state were nearly unanimous in their support for secession prior to the Civil War. Howell Raines, former executive editor of the New York Times and an Alabama native, says otherwise. Read more.