Virginia Martin, Author at BirminghamWatch - Page 189 of 480
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Virginia Martin

The Best Thing About This Post: It’s Free

To get background for this article, I wanted to read a particular article about news organizations removing their website paywalls so people could see important COVID-19 stories for free. But it was behind a paywall. I now have a new classroom example of a paradox. Many major news organizations that require digital subscriptions to view content generated much debate about the wisdom of their making COVID-19 coverage available to anyone who clicked. They cited a vital public service mission of delivering potentially lifesaving information to their communities. Critics argued that they sacrificed much-needed new revenue that would have helped to pay for continued work on this and other essential topics. This debate arose again last week. Read more.

by Tom Arenberg

With COVID Cases on the Rise, Health Officials Say They’re Seeing Last Year’s Pattern Repeat Itself

Health officials warned Wednesday that Alabama may be headed toward an explosion in the number of COVID-19 cases, similar to the pattern last year when there were thousands of new cases every day. The state has averaged 275 new cases a day over the past week, compared with 153 new cases per day two weeks ago. Jefferson County’s increase is even greater, with cases doubling from 90 in mid June to 190 last week. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Primary Challengers, Incumbents Raising Funds for ’22

The 2022 state primary elections are nearly 11 months away, but several candidates in contested races got off to strong fundraising starts in June. One candidate lent himself $250,000 for his statewide office bid. House District 54 Incumbent Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, raised nearly $19,000 in cash contributions in June. Brit Blalock in her bid to

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

4 Things to Know About Birmingham’s Homicides So Far This Year

Scroll in and click on each location to read more about the person who was killed. A red ‘X’ indicates a homicide. A blue ‘X’ indicates an officer-involved shooting where a civilian was shot. The city of Birmingham has recorded 63 homicides so far in 2021, according to data from the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. Last year, Birmingham hit a record for the highest number of homicides in 25 years. The city’s police chief, Patrick Smith, told WBHM that even with that record high, the city fared well in comparison to other areas across the country. “It could have been a whole lot worse,” Smith said. “Certainly, we don’t want to see the loss of life anywhere at all. And I wish that we could do more. But we’re trying to work within the confines of what we have as a department.” Read more.

by Miranda Fulmore, WBHM

State Leaders Discuss Building New, Renovating Old Prisons

State leaders are now discussing building two new prisons and renovating others in an effort to improve the state’s dangerous and crowded correctional system. Legislative and Alabama Department of Corrections leaders met Thursday in Montgomery for the third time in less than a month to discuss options. Another meeting is scheduled for next week, Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, told Alabama Daily News. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Economic Opportunity, Community Policing Among Solutions to Birmingham’s Gun Violence

Birmingham has been riddled with crime for decades, and people are concerned about the increasing number of homicides. In 2020, violent crimes such as rape and robberies decreased, but gun-related violent crimes increased almost 20%. Last year ended with a total of 122 homicides, the most in the last 25 years. So far in 2021, there have been at least 60 homicides in the city of Birmingham, according to data from the Jefferson County Coroner's Office. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM
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