Virginia Martin

Ouch! Pain at the Garbage Bin Comes to Residents of Unincorporated Jefferson County

Pain at the pump will be felt at the garbage bin for residents of unincorporated Jefferson County. The Jefferson County Commission on Tuesday approved an emergency contract amendment with AmWaste, the franchise holder for residential garbage pickup in unincorporated parts of the county. The amendment allows the company to establish its rates based on fuel costs, which are based on the Alabama Department of Transportation Fuel Index, and the consumer price index. For instance, residential customers with regular trash pickup will see an increase of about $30 on their quarterly bills – $39 if they also have yard waste pickup. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Puts Beavers at Top of Most Wanted List on Accusations of Abetting Flood Waters

Beavers do what beavers do, so Jefferson County has to do what it has to do. During its committee meeting today, the Jefferson County Commission moved to its agenda a resolution to award a contract to Nuisance Wildlife Control for the removal of beavers from designated zones in the county as needed and directed by the county sheriff. “It's been an ongoing issue,” said Heather Carter, director of the county’s roads and transportation department. “Obviously, we have lots of areas of habitat and the little critters are industrious. Especially in the areas where we have more floodplain, they tend to get in there and dam things up.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Should Taxi Fares Be Increased Because of Rising Gas Prices? Birmingham Sets Public Hearing to Decide

The Birmingham City Council will hold a public hearing on June 21 to discuss raising maximum taxicab fares in response to rising fuel costs. District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, chair of the council’s transportation committee, said the council had been approached several times by local taxicab companies — mostly zTrip — expressing concerns over rising gas prices. “Those are costs that are borne by the drivers, so they have requested that we revisit the ordinance that sets the taxicab fare and have specifically requested consideration of a temporary surcharge to address the increased fuel costs,” he said. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Awards Diplomas to Students Who Died Before Graduation

Not every student who starts school lives to graduate. It’s estimated nearly 2,000 children and teens die from gun violence every year in the United States. This week Birmingham City Schools awarded diplomas to the families of some of those lost students. Read more.

by Kyra Miles, WBHM

Scott Thurmond Named Birmingham Police Chief

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Thurmond’s appointment as police chief Thursday. Thurmond succeeds Patrick Smith, who announced his resignation as police chief in January. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM

Policing the Truth: Yes, the Cops May Be Lying

Whenever a large-scale crime of violence grabs national media attention, it’s gut wrenching to watch those interviews with grieving families and witnesses. It’s only natural to think, “Leave those poor people alone.” But reporters have reasons for doing it. Here’s one: To try to figure out if the police are lying to everyone. We are seeing this now with the mass murders at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Interviews and social media videos have shown that early law enforcement accounts of quick confrontation and bravery by officers were bogus. Read more.

by Tom Arenberg

With Vanpooling, Workers and Employers Find a ‘Win-Win’ Amid a Tight Labor Market, High Gas Costs

As 2022's economic woes continue, more people are using vanpools as a cost-effective way to get to work. It’s also helping out their employers. Read more.

by Stephan Bisaha, Gulf States Newsroom

Déjà Vu: Two Years Later, and Coronavirus Case Levels Are Virtually the Same

The number of new coronavirus cases a day in Alabama now is almost exactly the same as it was two years ago heading into Memorial Day. Cases have been trending upward for more than a month, and Alabama averaged 510 new cases a day in the 7-day period that ended Friday, according to information from the Alabama Department of Public Health. At this time in 2020, Alabama was averaging 501 cases per day. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

New Face Moves Into Jefferson County Deputy County Manager’s Office

County Manager Cal Markert has moved into the office of his former boss. Now he has someone to move in next door, in the office where he worked as deputy county manager. Jefferson County has hired Dave Strahl to fill Markert’s former post. Strahl comes from Illinois, where he served as interim village manager of Schiller Park. He has more than 30 years of experience working with municipal governments of all sizes. Markert said being short-handed has made things pretty difficult because there are vacancies in some director positions, including human resources. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Complete Election Results from Tuesday’s Primaries

Gov. Kay Ivey has won the Republican nomination for governor without a runoff, despite having eight opponents. In the other most-followed race in the state, the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate is going to a runoff between Katie Britt and Mo Brooks. But there were far more nominations than those decided Tuesday, including several high-profile Jefferson County races in addition to races for the statewide constitutional offices. See complete election results.

by BirminghamWatch