Alabama Lawmakers Advance a Record-Setting Education Budget
Legislators also took up measures to improve math education and attack what's known as "period poverty." Read more.
Virginia Martin
COVID-19’s Stranglehold on Alabama Lightens
Jefferson County has dropped back into the moderate category for risk of community COVID-19 transmission as instances of the viruses have lessened across Alabama. Only eight counties remain in the high-risk category and 12 are at substantial risk, under the state’s risk classifications. Seven have dropped to the low-risk category, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s COVID data and surveillance dashboard. The state as a whole is classified as being at moderate risk for community transmission. The state’s positivity rate, or the rate of COVID-19 tests that have been returned positive in the past week, has dropped to 5.9%, and Jefferson County’s positivity rate is now 4.4%. Both topped 40% a few weeks ago. Read more.
Birmingham Leaders Say Decision to Ban Russian Athletes From the World Games ‘a Show of Solidarity’
The World Games’ ban was in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week. Read more.
Supreme Court Backs Move to Protect Land Around Water Source
The Alabama Supreme Court has sided with environmentalists who say the Birmingham Water Works Board is not abiding by a court order to protect land around Lake Purdy and parts of the Cahaba River, which are the largest source of drinking water in the Birmingham area. The Supreme Court overturned an earlier court ruling that sided with the board and sent the case back to the circuit court. Read more.
Jefferson County Delays Request to Rescue Birmingham Residents After City Ran Short of Housing Relief Money
The Jefferson County Commission today opted not to ride in and rescue Birmingham residents, tabling a resolution to make some federal relief funds available after the city exhausted its allotment of federal funds to aid people with rental and utility assistance. The county has been spending that money to help persons in unincorporated Jefferson County and cities outside of Birmingham. Commissioner Sheila Tyson on Tuesday appealed to other commissioners to help Birmingham residents, but some of them were concerned about limiting their ability to help others, and they said they needed more information about other funds that might be available. Read more.
Birmingham Council Shuts Down Mahogany Bar Despite Some Community Support
The Mahogany Social Bar and Lounge will remain permanently closed after a vote by the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday. Owner Montego Temple had moved the club to its 1709 Third St. W location after its previous location across the street burned down. Though Temple told councilors he believed he had secured a transfer of his liquor license and dance permit to the new location, he was arrested in December for operating without a proper license. But complaints from the Birmingham Police Department that the club was a threat to public safety ultimately stymied his efforts to legally reopen Mahogany. Police pointed to 10 calls for service to the club in the past six months — ranging from gunshots to car break-ins — as well as an inspection by Detective Victor Langford that showed multiple safety issues and culminated with a fistfight in the club. Read more.
A rodent infestation shut down Family Dollar stores. How one Alabama town is coping.
A Family Dollar in York, Alabama is one of the few shopping options in town. But it's shuttered due to a warehouse rodent infestation. Read more.
Alabama Educators Push Back on Bill Banning ‘Divisive Concepts’ From the Classroom
Lawmakers also took action this week on a delay to a school reading requirement and a ban on transgender treatments for youths. Read more.
World Game Medals Make Their Debut in Birmingham but Will Soon Be All Over the World
WBHM Medals for the World Games, which will take place in Birmingham in July, were unveiled by city leaders and games organizers Wednesday at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Read more.
Public Figures Race to Court With Bogus Grievances (And They Know It)
Sarah Palin: I think I’ll file a libel lawsuit against a news organization that’s so legally flimsy that both the judge and jury will decide against me. Kyle Rittenhouse: Hold my beer. It’s becoming fashionable for individuals on the far right of the political spectrum who believe they are the unfair targets of the news media to engage in defamation litigation that’s purely grandstanding and harassment. Palin, a former Republican vice presidential nominee, unsuccessfully sued The New York Times over an editorial that wrongly stated that a campaign advertisement by her political action committee had prompted a man to kill multiple people at a political rally in Arizona six years earlier. Then Rittenhouse, the acquitted killer of two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020, announced this week on various media forums that he plans to sue selected celebrities and news organizations for their negative coverage of him, including labeling him as a “murderer.” He’s launching “The Media Accountability Project” to raise money for his efforts. This is so heroic that I have tears in my eyes. Read more.