Virginia Martin, Author at BirminghamWatch - Page 261 of 480
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Virginia Martin

New Jefferson County Health Department Map Paints COVID-19 Cases in Broad Strokes

The Jefferson County Department of Health has released COVID-19 numbers by areas in the county, but not down to the ZIP code level that local officials and the media have been requesting. Health department officials have said releasing information by ZIP code would violate federal medical privacy laws. So, they created regions, which can include one or more ZIP codes, that take in 20,000 or more people where there have been at least 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The material does show some areas where the coronavirus has penetrated more deeply, including several western, southwestern and north-central areas of the county and sections of Birmingham, but the concentration is lighter in other areas. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Jefferson County Sets Curfew to Curb Violence

Following the lead of Birmingham and other municipalities in the metro area, the Jefferson County Commission today implemented an emergency curfew to thwart violent, destructive acts like those seen Sunday night. “This coincides with the curfews of many of our municipalities,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said at an emergency commission meeting, “and is an effort to unify our response to this crisis.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Confederate Monument Removed From Linn Park — Mostly

All that’s left of the Confederate memorial in downtown Birmingham’s Linn Park is a graffiti-covered base. The obelisk was taken apart and loaded onto a flatbed truck Monday night, a day after it sparked protests and looting of nearby businesses. Mayor Randall Woodfin had promised to remove the monument by Tuesday to stop any more of the violent reactions like those seen Sunday night. Read more. More on the protests in Birmingham Confederate Monument Taken Down in Linn Park Birmingham Mayor Sets out Curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Cleanup Begins After Looting Damages Downtown Birmingham Businesses Birmingham Protestors Vandalize Downtown Buildings, Try to Take Down Confederate Monument Protesters Gather in Birmingham to Honor George Floyd

by Virginia Martin

Birmingham Mayor Sets out Curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Birmingham has once again been placed under curfew — though this time, the curfew is intended to quell civil unrest, not COVID-19. The curfew is a response to Sunday night’s violent protests, Mayor Randall Woodfin said. Those demonstrations, which were ostensibly to protest the May 25 death of Minneapolis man George Floyd at the hands of police officers, turned angry as protestors in Linn Park defaced a controversial Confederate monument and, tried to set fire to a statue of Thomas Jefferson, and deface two monuments to post-confederacy military workers outside the Jefferson County Courthouse. Pockets of the protest looked more like riots as they spilled over into the north side of the downtown area, Birmingham Police Chief Patrick D. Smith told reporters Monday that 14 businesses had been burglarized, while another 13 businesses “had significant damage — property damage, looting, broken windows, and things of that nature.” Fire Chief Cory Moon added that his department had responded to 22 fire calls Sunday night as a result of the protests. Police also reported 24 arrests among the protestors. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Protestors Vandalize Downtown Buildings, Try to Take Down Confederate Monument

Protestors who gathered for a demonstration in Linn Park on Sunday night defaced monuments in the park and, as they left, smashed windows and vandalized buildings along downtown streets and set several fires. Police, who had taken a hands-off stance even as the protestors defaced monuments in Linn Park, moved in after the crowd began its destructive trek through downtown. It was unclear after midnight how many people were still downtown or the extent of the damage. Several hundred demonstrators had gone to Linn Park after an earlier, peaceful protest in Kelly Ingram Park.¬ Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson, a local comedian, during the first rally, dubbed “Birmingham the World is Watching Rally for Justice and Peace,” had told the crowd he was going to Linn Park to topple the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument there. That’s what the crowd attempted to do, using a truck and cords. That was after they had defaced it by spray painting messages and taking out chunks with implements such as shovels. But the monument still stood. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin later gave the crowd his word that the statue would be gone in 24 hours. Read more.

by Tom Gordon and Virginia Martin

Birmingham Protestors Turn on Confederate Monument

UPDATING — Protestors as they were leaving a protest in Linn Park have begun vandalizing downtown buildings and have set fire to buildings at and near the People's Bank. Fox6 News was showing video of protestors setting fires, smashing windows of the Wells Fargo building, and looting the Alabama Power Co. museum. Police are moving into the area in force. A crowd of several hundred protestors attacked the Confederate monument in Linn Park on Sunday night. The protestors tried to topple the monument using a truck and chains, and earlier they defaced it by spray painting messages and taking out chunks with implements such as shovels. As the crowd became more rowdy, defacing or toppling three other monuments in the park, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin arrived and asked people to peacefully disperse, but the crowd shouted him down. After Woodfin talked with protest organizer Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson, a comedian, and Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, who also was leading the protest, Johnson asked people to disperse and the mayor said the crowd to give the city 24 hours to remove the monument itself. Johnson said that if the monument isn't removed by Tuesday morning, protestors will return at noon. Taking down that monument could be tricky since the state has a law banning the removal of historic monuments. Read more.

by Tom Gordon

In the Middle of Protests, Reporters Find News — and Danger — on the Streets

Hey students: Are you interested in a career in journalism? This exciting field offers not only low pay, long hours and no job security, but also the chance to go to dangerous places where everyone hates you. Sound good? Recent street protests in Minneapolis and other cities have illuminated the risks that journalists face when they report from the scene of civic unrest. At least six reporters have suffered physical harm in Minneapolis, primarily from getting hit with crowd control ammunition, according to reports on the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker website. One photographer was permanently blinded in one eye from a rubber bullet, according to her social media post. In an especially alarming case – because a clearly identified journalist was singled out – a police officer used a baton to strike a cameraman. Read more.

by Tom Arenberg

Alabama’s COVID-19 Cases Increase by … 58?

Yep. After a week when new COVID-19 cases most days hovered around 500 – and one day 664 new cases were reported – the total Saturday rose by only 58 cases. Unfortunately, that doesn’t indicate that the disease has dropped drastically and suddenly, but that the state changed the way it reports cases. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch
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