Virginia Martin

Birmingham Mayor Promises Raise for Police in Next Budget

Mayor Randall Woodfin has promised Birmingham police officers a raise in the city’s next fiscal year. “Officers are feeling a considerable amount of pressure over not being appreciated,” Woodfin said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, which was attended by several “concerned” off-duty police officers. Woodfin mentioned stressors on the police department, including smaller recruitment classes and growing retirement rates, as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s not just our police,” he said. “Our fire department, public works and general service employees all feel the pinch. (But) what’s unique about these men and women that you see (here) is that they were not afforded the opportunity to take off over the last two years. They were not afforded some other things other employees received because they’re on the front line of public safety. As an administration, I know this council (agrees). We as an administration agree, they deserve a raise. They’re going to get a raise.” Read more.

Record-high gas prices are cutting into Alabama drivers’ budgets. Here’s how they’re coping.

The added expense affects people in Alabama’s Black Belt differently, including road trippers, commuters and even those who can’t drive. Read more.

COVID Hospitalizations Fall Below 200

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alabama hospitals dropped below 200 this past weekend for the first time since late March. Read more. The Pandemic, Two Years In

COVID Pandemic Closed Down Businesses, Schools and Sports and Brought a Sea Change for Health Care

Timeline: It’s Been a Long Time Since the World Learned of COVID on New Year’s Eve 2019

Educators, Psychologists Say Attending School at Home Hampers Students’ Development

Birmingham Grappled With Budget as COVID-19 Slowed Economy

Jefferson County Commissioners Pivot to Handle Unfamiliar Challenges

Fewer Cars on the Road but Traffic Deaths Rise

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Nomination Sparks Black Girl Magic in Local Judges

Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the high court. But in Jefferson County, Black women already hold many judgeships in the court system. Read more.

JeffCo Commission Again Stalls Food Assistance Funding for Questions

Sheila Tyson took another swing Thursday at getting federal funding to three organizations with sights set on feeding people. Once again, her swing came up empty as her fellow Jefferson County commissioners couldn’t agree unanimously to bring the matter up as new business during their morning meeting. Tyson admitted after the meeting that she held little hope that the matter would come up for discussion and possibly a vote. “No, I did not,” she said, recounting that she talked to her fellow commissioners before the meeting. Read more.

Food Program Funds Delayed by JeffCo Commission Questions

Jefferson County Commissioners on Tuesday put the brakes on doling out federal money to COVID-prompted food programs. The agenda for the commission’s committee meeting had three entities that were being considered for awards of American Rescue Plan Act funds. Some commissioners said they wanted more information on how and where each organization is distributing food and their policies for doing so. Sheila Tyson cast the lone “no” vote. “So let me get a full understanding,” Tyson said. “We're getting ready to pull these off of the agenda, these programs that will be feeding hungry senior citizens, for our lack of understanding?” Read more.

JeffCo, Birmingham Spend Federal Money on Housing Assistance, Other Needs

More than $359 million in federal dollars flowed through the hands of Jefferson County and Birmingham city officials in the past two years to help the area get through and get past the pandemic, and more money is yet to come this spring. Related: JeffCo Commissioners Pivot to Handle Unfamiliar Challenges; Birmingham Grappled With Budget as COVID-19 Slowed Economy

Birmingham Grappled With Budget as COVID-19 Slowed Economy

At first, Birmingham officials predicted that COVID-19 would have a dire impact on city coffers. Though officials had immediately responded to the pandemic by allocating $1.2 million to a loan program for small businesses that had been affected, by June 2020, business tax revenue had fallen by nearly 20%, leading Mayor Randall Woodfin to call the situation an “economic crisis” that would result in “painful” budget cuts. Read more.

Jefferson County Commissioners Pivot to Handle Unfamiliar Challenges

Tony Petelos brought a lot of government experience when he took the job as Jefferson County’s first county manager. He had been a state representative, a commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources and mayor of Hoover. But Petelos – like nearly everyone else – didn’t have much preparation for dealing with a pandemic “We had almost none,” said Petelos, who recently retired. “When the governor in March of 2020 shut everything down and then we decided to open back up in May, it was, 'OK, how do we handle this?' And not just us. Everybody was flying by the seat of their pants as far as, ‘What do we do?’ ‘How do we do it?’ and getting it done. Read more.

Fewer Cars on the Road but Traffic Deaths Rise

COVID had more than one way to kill people. Fatalities on state and national roadways that began to rise during 2020 has reached “an unacceptable crisis,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this year. Federal traffic analysts say the number of highway deaths began to increase in 2020 during the first stages of the pandemic and continued to rise through the first nine months of 2021. Read more.