Here’s a round-up of the bills that passed the Alabama Legislature this week. Thursday, Mar 23, 2023Senate SB63, sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, which allows the city of Vestavia Hills to raise property taxes. The bill passed 16-0 with two abstentions. It moves to the House of Representatives. SB113, sponsored by
The Jefferson County Commission today approved $2,691,642 in federal ARPA funding to organizations in the Civil Rights District to improve civil rights tourism. The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill was enacted to speed the country's recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jefferson County determined that tourism had been affected by the pandemic. After their applications were vetted by consulting firm Witt O’Brien, 16th Street Baptist Church, Urban Impact Inc., Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and historic Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville were allotted funds for unique projects. Read more.
Docena is next up in Jefferson County’s bid to remove dilapidated houses. At its committee meeting Tuesday, the Jefferson County Commission moved to the agenda of its Thursday meeting a resolution declaring 29 structures in the unincorporated community off Minor Parkway public nuisances and targeting those structures for demolition. Those structures are part of Batch 3 of the county’s demolition program. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council needs more questions answered before it will officially lend its support to the financially struggling Birmingham-Southern College. A “resolution of intent” on the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting would have seen the city promise to provide financial support to BSC — if the college could also secure binding funding commitments from the state of Alabama and the Jefferson County Commission. But some councilors were reluctant to make that commitment without further discussions with college administrators first. BSC President Daniel Coleman has said the board of trustees must decide the college’s future by the end of March to give students time to decide where to transfer and help faculty and staff make plans for their future. Read more.
The Southern Research team is studying how bacteria reacts in the microgravity environment, and whether it prompts the development of novel cancer therapies. Read more.
Fox News may not be capable of shame, but the public humiliation of it from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit just keeps getting better. Dominion claims Fox News damaged it by knowingly broadcasting false claims that Dominion engaged in vote fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Among the current legal contests in the case is whether to protect or reveal some internal Fox communications that are currently blacked out in legal filings. On March 10, Fox lawyers argued for continued secrecy because “prematurely disclosing these other details on Fox’s internal and proprietary journalistic processes may allow competitors to appropriate these processes for their own competitive advantage.” Just goes to show that you can find good comedy anywhere. Read more.
Birmingham-Southern College President Daniel B. Coleman acknowledged “disappointment” that the Alabama Legislature opted not to spend some of the state’s $1 billion-plus allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act to keep the financially troubled liberal arts college open. BSC officials had hoped the Legislature would tap ARPA funds to throw a lifeline to the school, which revealed late last year that the campus could close as early as this year due to years of financial stress coming to a head. The private college is now asking for $37.5 million in public money — $30 million from the state and $7.5 million from the local government — to keep its doors open. Read more.
Birmingham is hosting NCAA Tournament games this weekend for the first time since 2008. It's the latest addition to the city's growing profile as a sports hub. Read more.
People have been injured, even killed, in exhibition driving-related incidents in Birmingham. Now, lawmakers are addressing the issue on a statewide level. Read more.
Alabama only allows state funds for sewage infrastructure to go to public bodies. A civil rights complaint argues the policy hurts communities of color. Read more.
