Auburn University has been ranked as the best university in Alabama and tied for 97th best in the National Universities category in U.S. News and World Report’s latest Best Colleges rankings. The magazine's annual rankings were released Monday. Other universities that landed at the top of the list for Alabama included Samford, University of Alabama, UAB, UAH and Birmingham-Southern College. Read more.
Parents’ school safety concerns carry more weight this year after the mass shooting in May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. School resource officers in Hoover are adjusting by placing a greater emphasis on mental health. Read more.
A town hall on public safety will be held Monday at 6 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Huffman Road. Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales is sponsoring the meeting for her District 1 residents in response to the rise in shootings and murders. She said in a statement that many residents are
In July, Kathleen Costello along with dozens of other musicians performed on a stage at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham to welcome athletes from across the globe to The World Games. Playing as part of the opening ceremony was a unique opportunity for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s principal clarinetist. But it has turned into a financial headache as Costello has yet to be paid in full for her performance. Costello is not alone. WBHM has spoken with a number of individuals and organizations who are concerned they will not get paid for the work they did for The World Games after event organizers announced a $15 million dollar deficit. Read more.
With no fanfare, the Jefferson County Commission passed the county’s 2023 fiscal budget at its meeting Thursday. The budget was one of 73 resolutions that passed without discussion as part of the commission’s consent agenda. The proposed budgetary appropriation for all funds is $962,149,935 with $672,306,998 in the operating budget and $289,842,937 in the capital
Sheila Tyson was determined to take her stand, even if she stood alone. The Jefferson County Commission today approved allotting an additional $4 million to help offset the deficit incurred by organizers of The World Games. The matter passed on a 4-1 vote with Tyson casting the dissenting vote. The District 2 commissioner said there was too much information that had not been made available to the commission or citizens. “We don’t know who they hired, how much they paid. Nothing was brought up about how the money was spent,” Tyson said. “I just feel like the taxpayers were due this information, that the commission was due this information.” Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission is set to consider the county’s 2023 fiscal year budget during its meeting Thursday. The proposed budgetary appropriation for all funds is $962,149,935, with $672,306,998 in the operating budget and $289,842,937 in the capital budget. The capital budget represents 30% of the total budget and the operating budget accounts for 70%. Read more.
Continuing in the spirit of participation and cooperation, the Jefferson County Commission today put things in motion for helping The World Games overcome the deficit it had from the 11-day athletic competition held in metro Birmingham in July. Organizers of The World Games found themselves in a $14 million hole when the international event was done. Commissioners moved to the agenda of Thursday’s meeting a resolution to allot $4 million to The World Games from the American Rescue Plan Act funds. Read more.
Birmingham has renewed its contract with Avenu Insights & Analytics LLC, the company in charge of the city’s online business license renewal service. The renewal came despite misgivings from officials about complaints that the company’s customer service is subpar, so the city added a 90-day termination clause to the contract. Online business license renewal was a priority for Mayor Randall Woodfin’s first term, and a contract with Avenu was approved in 2019. While Avenu’s online service has increased licensing efficiency, Woodfin said, its customer service “has not been the smoothest.” Talks with the company about improving its “quality control … weren’t necessarily the smoothest” either, Woodfin said, and eventually led to him having a one-on-one call with the company’s president. “I expressed on behalf of our team (that), in its current form, the service doesn’t meet our core values,” he said. “It’s not working for the small business owner. The team in the (city) finance department is not pleased, and there are some trust issues, etc.” Read more.
The Colony, Cullman County’s only Black community, has a rich history of resilience and self-made success. Its current residents are working to continue it. Read more.
