Virginia Martin

Scales Proposing All Economic Development Spending Go Through Full Jefferson County Commission

Commissioner Lashunda Scales presented a resolution at the Jefferson County Commission’s committee meeting to bring all spending from the commission’s economic development fund before the full commission. Scales’ resolution to consider the issue, which passed 2-1 with commissioner Joe Knight voting no, will be considered during Thursday’s commission meeting at the Bessemer Courthouse. Commissioner Steve Ammons, who chairs economic development, and President Jimmie Stephens were absent Tuesday. “We’d just like to have transparency with the public,” Scales said. Read more.

Birmingham Council Elects Parker as New President

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to appoint District 4 Councilor William Parker as its new president and District 7 Councilor Wardine Alexander as president pro tempore. Parker takes over from District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, who had held the seat since October 2017. The council’s vote was narrowly split between Parker and District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, who had just been sworn into office after winning his first public election; he originally was appointed to the council in December. Abbott and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt both jockeyed for the decisive vote, repeatedly asking the city clerk to pass over them until everyone else had voted. Read more.

Senate Rejects Plan to Restore Obama Rules Aimed at Climate Change

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate last week defeated a Democratic bid to restore the Obama administration's "Clean Power Plan," which was aimed at reducing carbon emissions by coal- and natural gas-fired electricity plants. Senators voted 41 for and 53 against in the Oct. 17 vote, with both Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Sen. Doug Jones voting against the change. Read more.

Changing Climate: Alabama Sees Heat, Storms, Drought and Turtles

Over the next year, BirminghamWatch will visit places in Alabama where ways of life have been affected as climate changes and look at what’s being done to mitigate or avoid the effects. This is the first in a series of four stories from Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Next week, read about the impact climate change is having on Dauphin Island. Alabama’s a long way from the South Pole, but Jim McClintock knows the places are connected. For decades, the UAB researcher has been witnessing effects of climate change on the polar region. He sees that his state is starting to feel the impacts, as well, and predicts greater changes ahead. From his vantage point as a UAB polar biology researcher, McClintock has seen the future in vast chunks of ice breaking off from the southern continent and he’s seeing how it affects sea levels on the Alabama coast. He sees how some small and large flora and fauna that used to thrive in the polar cold are suffering as temperatures rise. They either adapt to the warming waters and atmosphere or give way to others that expand their habitat southward. Scientist Ken Heck not only sees the sea rise onto beaches near the Dauphin Island Sea Lab he directs, but also watches the movement of subtropical species such as mangrove trees into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Parrot fish, black snapper and green sea turtles also are extending their range northward, and with the intrusion comes change. Read more.

Most Birmingham-Area Schools Improve From Last Year in Latest Report Card, But Work Still Needed

Two Birmingham-area school systems scored better than last year on the 2018-2019 annual Education Report Card issued by the Alabama State Department of Education. Jefferson County Schools and Birmingham City Schools each improved overall by one letter grade. Jefferson County received a B and Birmingham City Schools scored a C. The statewide grade was a B, with 84 points. The department has revamped presentation of the report card on its website to make viewing and searching for information easier. The enhanced site allows side-by-side comparison of up to four schools and uses colorful graphs and illustrations to make detailed information on student demographics, teacher credentials and school performance easier to read and understand. Read more.

You can research information on each school and compare up to four schools on the ALSDE site.

Jones Joins Critics Questioning Trump’s US Troop Pullout in Syria

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of senators who questioned President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, leaving Kurdish forces vulnerable to attack by Turkey. Jones, a Democrat who represents a state where 62% of the vote went for Trump in 2016, has taken a cautious approach to partisan issues as Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate election approaches. He defeated Republican Roy Moore in a bitter special election in 2017 and is seeking to win his first full term in the Senate next year. He joined two bipartisan groups of senators Thursday in voicing concern about the administration’s action regarding Turkey. One group wrote a letter to Trump, and the other prepared legislation that would require the president to devise a strategy for dealing with the situation. Read more.

Jefferson County BOE May Have New Superintendent Chosen Before Thanksgiving

If everything goes according to plan, the Jefferson County Board of Education may hire a new superintendent before its students take off for the Thanksgiving holiday break. Read more.

Jones Stockpiles $5 Million for Senate Race, Byrne Leads GOP Candidates With $2.5 Million Nest Egg

Sen. Doug Jones enters the final quarter of 2019 with more than $5 million in the bank as he campaigns for a full term in the U.S. Senate. Jones, who became the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate since 1997 when he defeated Roy Moore in a special election in December 2017, has amassed almost twice as much cash as any of his potential Republican challengers. Read more.

The Opioid Prescribing Problem: A JR Long Read

Blame for the opioid crisis in the U.S. often falls squarely on pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies or rogue prescribers — like the Virginia doctor who prescribed more than half a million opioid doses in two years. But the whole story is more complicated, and it implicates a large portion of health care providers. Research shows that many doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants across the nation have oversupplied patients with opioids, spurring a national crisis that each year claims tens of thousands of lives. “This isn’t just a story about rogue prescribers and pill mills,” says Caleb Alexander, co-Director of the Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. “A much broader swath of the medical profession is responsible for the oversupply of opioids in clinical practice.” Read more.

Tax Bills Increase for Many in Jefferson County

WBHM The former AT&T City Center is a vacant skyscraper in downtown Birmingham. This year’s property tax bill will be nearly half a million dollars more than it was last year. That’s one of many properties whose owners can expect to pay more in taxes this year, including owners of homes. That’s because of a strong economy and high interest from developers in some areas. Ty West, editor of the Birmingham Business Journal tells WBHM’s Janae Pierre the biggest factor driving these increases is the new Alabama Appraisal Manual. Read more.