A remarkable student finished my News Writing and Reporting class this past semester with an A-plus. She wants to practice law. Another remarkable student also finished with an A-plus. He wants to work in sales. Journalism is freakin’ doomed. OK, two anecdotes do not a crisis make. But I wish — unrealistically, of course — that all the talent I see in my courses would want to choose journalism as a career. Read more.
As the clock ran out on Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to lease new prisons, several lawmakers say they want to consider using some of the more than $2 billion in new federal Coronavirus relief money on improved prison infrastructure. Earlier this year, Ivey signed lease agreements with Tennessee-based CoreCivic to build two large men’s prisons. Tuesday was the deadline for those agreements to be final and Ivey confirmed to reporters Wednesday that the lease route is no longer an option as support from potential underwriters has fallen away. “To that end, my team and I will meet with legislative leaders again in the coming days to review all that we have learned through this process thus far, including the complexity and depth of the multi-faceted challenge at-hand," Ivey said in a statement. "Anyone who is serious about these issues understands that replacing our failing prison infrastructure with safer, more secure facilities that accommodate the rehabilitation of incarcerated people is essential. It is not a question of if this will happen, but how. Read more. More prison debate: Report: More Data, Tracking Needed on Prison Education Efforts
For those who wondered whether the oldest sitting governor in the United States would seek four more years in office, Kay Ivey has provided her answer. Ivey announced Wednesday that she will seek a second full term in the 2022 gubernatorial election. In a video announcement, Ivey touted the accomplishments of her administration since 2017, with a handful of her famous homespun expressions thrown in for good measure, including one of her most famous lines, “There’s no step too high for a high-stepper.” In scenes filled with sweeping vistas and familiar Alabama sights that are staples of many a campaign ad, she described Alabama as a place “where a red dirt road can take you anywhere, and the sky is never the limit.” Read more.
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposal to give $5,000 to each full-time city employee and $2,500 to each part-time employee. These one-time payments will total about $16.8 million, which will come from the city’s American Rescue Plan funding. The premium payments, designed to reward employees for their work through the pandemic, still need to be approved by the Jefferson County Personnel Board, which will meet June 8. If that happens, city employees can expect payments by June 30. Read more.
The death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement sparked police reform efforts and organizing all over the country. But in the birthplace of the civil rights movement, there hasn’t been as much action. Read more.
Birmingham City Schools and Alabama Regional Medical Services will be giving COVID-19 vaccinations to city school students and their parents over the summer in an effort to make schools and their communities safer when they reopen in the fall.
LifeTech, a previously successful residential job-training center for the recently paroled, is expected to reopen later this year. The center was shuttered last year in a controversial move by the then-leader of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Now, new director Cam Ward says he expects a “soft opening” of the Thomasville center in late summer. Read more.
State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, will seek a fifth term in the Alabama Legislature next year. The Morgan County native had considered a run for Congress in Alabama’s 5th District, the north Alabama seat Mo Brooks is leaving to run for the U.S. Senate. Orr said he had potential donors and supporters discuss a congressional bid with him. “I think with the current field of candidates, the race is wide open, but the Lord is just not calling me to do that at this time in my life,” Orr, 57, said. “It was an easy decision.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has vetoed a bill that would have delayed until 2024 a requirement that third-grade students who are not reading proficiently repeat the grade. Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, would have delayed the holdback provision in the Alabama Literacy Act from spring 2022 to spring 2024. Democrats and many Republicans supported the bill arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected students’ education, forcing some out of the classroom, and to test them after next school year under the act would be unfair. Read more.
Community activists in Birmingham called for police reform at a vigil Tuesday evening as they marked the first anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. A few dozen people gathered at Kelly Ingram Park to remember the life of Floyd and other Black people killed by police. Aside from police reform, speakers also called for resources to be directed away from traditional law enforcement operations. Read more.
