Author: Virginia Martin
Army Corps Studying Dams, Fish Flow in Alabama River
The Army Corps of Engineers is in year one of a three-year study of possible ways to get fish around two dams on the Alabama river – the Millers Ferry Lock and Dam, southwest of Selma, and the Claiborne Lock and Dam, northwest of Monroeville. “The basic idea is to restore a fish passage to the lower Alabama River and to connect the Cahaba River to allow the passage of fish naturally up the Alabama River into the Cahaba River, as was historically the case,” said Paul Johnson, program supervisor at the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center. Read more.
Gulf States rank at the bottom for climate-adapted housing. Organizers want to change that.
As natural disasters and extreme weather become more frequent in the Gulf South, a new report hopes to be a road map to providing more climate-adapted housing. Read more.
Birmingham Councilors Allege Promises Broken but City Still Renews Via Contract
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to renew its contract with the ridesharing service Via, despite frustration from some councilors that promises of expanding the program had not been kept.
Under the contract, the city will pay Via up to $2.64 million per year to provide transit services in the city for a term “not to exceed three years.” Every 12 months, the council will have the option to continue funding or to cancel the partnership.
Even so, some councilors expressed anger that they were being asked to recommit to an organization that had not fulfilled its promises to expand its services, despite previous increases in city funding ostensibly for that purpose. Read more.
Scottsboro is home to the largest gray bat summer cave. They’re leaving for the winter
At Sauta Cave anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 gray bats emerge to feast on insects. It’s thought to be the largest emergence of bats east of the Mississippi River, a spectacle that draws curious onlookers from across Alabama. Read more.
COVID-19 Takes Another Dip in Alabama
COVID-19 continues to trend downward in Alabama and this week is averaging about 90% fewer average daily cases and hospitalizations than when the state hit its all-time peak in January. Read more.
Birmingham’s New Xpress Rapid Bus Line Gives Residents a New Option to Travel Across the City
The Birmingham Xpress is a single route that runs east to west between Five Points West and Woodlawn. A total of 32 stops take riders by places such as Princeton Baptist Hospital, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Railroad Park and Sloss Furnace. Read more.
Groups Lining Up for Extra Funding as Budget Year Closes, Commissioner Warns
Joe Knight alerted his fellow Jefferson County commissioners Thursday that some entities are lining up for any money left over from the county’s fiscal 2022 budget. Read more.
A Journalist Who Doesn’t Want You to Buy His Book
When the best journalists put their work in book form, they invest exhaustive effort to portray the subject as completely and truthfully as possible. Often, they nail it.
Sometimes, in hindsight, they miss.
Sportswriter Jeff Pearlman, a New York Times bestselling author whose work includes books on Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Cowboys, believes he missed with his 2016 book “Gunslinger: The remarkable, improbable, iconic life of Brett Favre.”
Remarkably and improbably, Pearlman went on Twitter on Sept. 13 and told his followers not to buy or read Gunslinger. He did so in the immediate wake of news reports that Favre, the retired Green Bay Packers and Southern Mississippi quarterback, knowingly participated in steering $5 million in government money intended for impoverished Mississippi families to building at new volleyball stadium at Southern Miss, where his daughter played on the team. Read more.
Garbage Point of Discussion for Jefferson County Commission
Discussion of garbage segued to garbage of a different sort during Tuesday’s committee meeting of the Jefferson County Commission.
The agenda included a resolution to address garbage pickup at county facilities, including the courthouse. The resolution calls for EcoSouth Services of Birmingham to handle county facility garbage collection and disposal for three years for $785,400.
County Manager Cal Markert said that cost is double what it had been. The aim, he said, is to keep coverage in place until proposals can be accepted from other vendors. Read more.
Birmingham Community Police Academy Kicks Off Oct. 4
The Birmingham Police Department will host a 10-week “community police academy” beginning Oct. 4. The program, approved by the City Council Tuesday, will be free and is intended to provide “an opportunity for the community to find out how the police department operates,” said Captain Janice Blackwell, the BPD’s community engagement liaison. It also provides guidance for setting up neighborhood watches and has the goal of strengthening trust between the public and the police department, particularly in the wake of rising gun violence in the city. Read more.
