Lawyers for the state defended Alabama’s new congressional map before a panel of judges who previously ruled the 2021 map violated the Voting Rights Act. Read more.
Alabama state health officials are asking workers in the region’s poultry industry and their close contacts to get screened for TB after the outbreak. Read more.
COVID-19 is trending upward in Alabama and across the country, following a pattern of summer spikes set since the virus first arrived in the U.S. in 2020. Read more.
The opening to Thursday’s Jefferson County Commission meeting was a little like a scene from the 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller's Day Off.” County Clerk Millie Diliberto called roll, beginning with the newest person of the dais, Mike Bolin. But he didn’t answer when his name was called. “Say, ‘Here,’” Commission President Jimmie Stephen prompted. “Oh. Here,” Bolin said. “Sorry.” The District 5 commissioner acknowledged having not initially heard his name. “I'm a little hearing impaired and I didn't understand,” he said. “I'll turn my volume up.” Bolin was elected this summer to fill the position left vacant when Commissioner Steve Ammons resigned to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance, and Thursday was his first official commission meeting. Read more.
Members of the public will be able to address Birmingham city councilors Aug. 29 regarding proposed changes to local ordinances regulating towing from paid parking lots in the city. City councilors are considering revisions to the ordinances after widespread public complaints about predatory towing and other parking-related issues around Birmingham. Read more.
Mike Bolin took his first dip into the legislative branch of county government Tuesday as he took part in his first committee meeting as a member of the Jefferson County Commission. The former Jefferson County probate judge and Alabama Supreme Court justice admitted to some trepidation as he “put a foot into the water” since this was just his sixth day on the job. “I don't care how smart or how dumb you are, you can't acclimate to everything that goes on in there until you've gone through two or three rounds,” Bolin said. “I enjoyed being there. I enjoyed the back and forth. Read more.
Marrazzo, who has led UAB's Division of Infectious Diseases since 2016, served as a national expert throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
UPDATED —The Birmingham City Council has passed on the option to submit a full slate of nominees to the Jefferson County Board of Equalization, the body that oversees property tax appraisals in the city and countywide. At its Tuesday meeting, councilors voted to nominate only one candidate, incumbent board member Karen Wadlington, to continue service on the board. Alabama law allows the council to nominate up to three candidates for each vacancy on the three-member board. The terms of two of the board’s three members have now expired, according to a county spokesperson, which allowed the City Council six total nominations. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission is back up to its required five members after Mike Bolin was sworn in Monday as the newest commissioner. Shown are commissioners Lashunda Scales, Joe Knight, Bolin and Sheila Tyson, with Chairman Jimmie Stephens (center front). Bolin recently was elected to the District 5 seat, left vacant when Steve Ammons resigned to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. Read more.
In a setting that felt more like a tent revival than a press conference, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced Wednesday that Birmingham had landed a $50 million community redevelopment grant. Read more. Read the Details: Birmingham OKs Rezoning in West Birmingham Ahead of Possible Redevelopment Plan
