Virginia Martin

Alabama Black Mayors Say It’s Time for a New Reconstruction, Lament Capitol Insurrection

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin described the Jan. 6 Capitol insurgency as a time when people "identified themselves as white supremacists," which he said the country must acknowledge. "To move the country forward, we have to acknowledge the pain it caused, have accountability and move forward," he said during a livestreamed interview with Karen Attiah, global opinions editor for the Washington Post. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed described the insurrectionists as people who felt they could get close enough to use deadly force. The terrorists exhibited "a level of privilege, entitlement and outright brazenness," he added. The two black mayors, whose cities represent the cradle and battlegrounds of the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s to the present day, were interviewed during a Facebook Live event by Karen Attiah, the global opinions editor of the Washington Post, on Friday, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Alabama Representatives Split Along Party Lines in Vote on Trump Impeachment

Six of Alabama’s seven members in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against impeaching President Trump on Wednesday. Rep. Terri Sewell, the state’s lone Democrat, voted for impeachment. Voting against it were Republicans Jerry Carl, Barry Moore, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer. Overall, the House voted 232-197 to support one impeachment

by BirminghamWatch

More Data Irregularities Confuse Number of Recent Deaths From COVID

COVID-19 deaths have appeared to spike recently, but officials say some of those deaths date as far back as early November and went unreported when they happened. In BirminghamWatch’s weekly analysis of COVID data across the state, the numbers from the holiday period are starting to show up. Just how much of the data spikes can be attributed to catching up with past deaths is uncertain. In the past seven days, the ADPH has reported 766 deaths from the virus, with more than half — 413 — Tuesday and Wednesday alone. But a notice on the department’s dashboard posted Tuesday states that the agency is continuing to review “a large number of deaths from our Alabama Center for Health Statistics,” adding that most of the 226 deaths reported that day were as a result of that review. However, the ADPH did not provide a specific number of delayed death reports. Because of that, the 7-day and 14-day moving averages of daily deaths would be unreliable. The statewide death toll since the pandemic began stood at 5,760 as of Wednesday. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Annual Population Numbers Indicate Alabama Might Hold On to Its Congressional Seats — Barely

The U.S. Census Bureau's annual population estimate of U.S. residents indicates Alabama could be pitted against New York for the possible loss of a U.S. House of Representatives seat after the decennial census is released. The estimates as they stand now would put Alabama's population just high enough to keep its present seven representatives, with New York losing a seat, according to an analysis by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Birmingham Gets New Economic Director, Water Board Members

Although still recovering from COVID-19-related pneumonia, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced three major political appointments Tuesday morning, including a new director of innovation and economic opportunity and two members of the Birmingham Water Works Board. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

No Easy Way to Make Fox News Change Its Bad Behavior

No one is more responsible for the devastation to life and property at the U.S. Capitol than the criminals themselves, but retributions are under way against parts of the media environment that allowed it and even encouraged it. Under public pressure, and perhaps stunned by events, major social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have temporarily or permanently suspended selected accounts, including the president’s, deemed to potentially incite violence. Amazon, Apple and Google essentially shut down Parler, a social media platform popular with conspiracy theorists. It’s not as clear what to do about traditional news media, such as Fox News, that also stirred unfounded anger with repeated lies by opinion hosts, commentators and guests about the validity of the presidential election. Read more.

by Tom Arenberg

Next Phase of COVID-19 Vaccinations in Jefferson County Could Start Next Week

Jefferson County health officials say efforts to vaccinate people who are most at risk for catching the COVID-19 virus are moving along, and those in the next phase of the process may start to get their shots as early as next week. In a press conference Monday afternoon, Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson said that people in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refers to as phase 1-a — hospital workers in high-risk environments, emergency medical service personnel and those working or living in long-term care facilities — are moving through the process. Next in line are people in phase 1-b, which includes anyone aged 75 or older plus additional front-line essential workers such as law enforcement and firefighters. If all goes as planned, Wilson said, the county could start putting people in phase 1-b on a list for vaccinations as early as Jan. 19. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Electoral College Vote Certified in Tumultuous Week on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, and Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat, were the only two of Alabama’s congressmen who voted last week to accept presidential election results certified by the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania. But Electoral College votes eventually were certified and President-elect Joe Biden was declared winner of the election. Opponents of accepting, or certifying, the votes said Congress should appoint a commission to audit the 2020 presidential balloting in Arizona and five other states Biden narrowly carried. The votes occurred the night an armed mob of Trump supporters streamed through the Capitol, destroying property, defiling historical spaces and forcing lawmakers to shelter in place for extended periods, many behind barricaded doors. Read more.

by Richard G. Thomas, Voterama in Congress

Alabamians and Politicians Connect to the Insurrection From Start to Finish

Whether you call it a coup attempt, an insurrection or a protest that went horribly wrong, the Jan. 6 invasion by supporters of President Trump into the U.S. Capitol involved Alabamians in several ways. A Falkville Trump supporter has been arrested on charges involving weapons and Molotov cocktails filled with a homemade napalm-like explosive. An Athens man died of a heart attack outside the Capitol as police were trying to repel the mob. Fingers are pointing at U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, because of his speech at a Trump rally before the riot in which he urged the crowd on toward dramatic action. Freshman Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s name has come up in reports about the day as Trump and Rudy Giuliani tried to call Tuberville’s office to urge him to delay action while senators were debating the certification of the electoral college votes. And the state’s attorney general is calling for the investigation of a group he leads after learning it actively promoted attendance at the rally. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Bernard Lockhart’s Work Ethic Fueled His Passion for Jazz and Community-Building

As a kid growing up in Leeds, NBA great Charles Barkley recalls seeing Bernard Lockhart running through the community. At the time, Lockhart was a star point guard on the Leeds High School basketball team with dreams of going pro. “You know how hot it is in the middle of summer, but Bernard was running and training all of the time,” Barkley said. “We just wanted to play ball, but Bernard showed us it takes hard work if you want to be great. He had this amazing work ethic.” Friends and family said Lockhart applied that same ethic in tackling almost every project, especially Magic City Smooth Jazz and its flagship project, Jazz in the Park. Sometimes, he would get up in the middle of the night to scribble his ideas and sketch plans for the nonprofit arts and entertainment series, said his wife, Jackie Lockhart. But then in November, the 59-year-old Lockhart was confronted with a challenge he could not overcome — even with his strong determination to survive. Read more.

by Sherrel Wheeler Stewart