The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to place a temporary moratorium on new self-storage, mini-warehousing developments in the city. The ordinance halts all city involvement in the development of those facilities — including permitting and zoning — except in areas already zoned as M-4 (Planned Industrial) or I-4 (Industrial Park) districts. Read more.
Despite warnings that doing so might backfire, the Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to increase the city’s lodging tax. The ordinance, which drew fierce criticism from local hoteliers, adds a $3 per night, per room surcharge to the city’s lodging tax code. The revenue generated by that surcharge is to be allocated “exclusively for sports and entertainment recruitment and development, tourism and infrastructure improvements.” That surcharge is in addition to the city’s current 17.5% lodging tax rate, which is above the national average of 13.4%. The ordinance was proposed — and at times angrily defended — by Council President Pro Tempore William Parker, who said the increase would add $4 million in annual revenue. Parker argued that this extra money would make the city “more competitive” in recruiting sporting events, which would in turn increase the city’s tourism. Read more.
New Developments:
Attorney Explains Motion to Dismiss in Case of Alabama Woman Indicted in Death of Her Fetus
UPDATED — The town of Pleasant Grove, about ten miles outside of Birmingham, Alabama is a quiet place with one grocery store, a few restaurants and a gun shop. But recently, it has been in the international spotlight.
Last December, in the parking lot of a local Dollar General, Marshae Jones, now 28, got into a fight with 23-year-old Ebony Jemison. Officials say Jones, who was five months pregnant at the time, started the fight, which led Jemison to shoot Jones in the stomach in self-defense, killing the fetus.
Initially, charges were filed against Jemison, but two months ago the Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff grand jury dropped those charges and indicted Jones instead. They wrote Jones “did intentionally cause the death” of her fetus by “initiating a fight knowing she was five months pregnant.”
The charges against Jones were made public last week when she was arrested and later released from jail on a $50,000 bond. Since then, the case has drawn outrage from women’s rights groups and legal advocates. Read more.
Related stories:
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. often planned strategy for the civil rights movement in room 30 at the A.G. Gaston Motel. For others, it was a place for wedding receptions and fancy dances. As restoration of the famed but deteriorating structure begins, Birmingham celebrated the motel’s anniversary and its founder on Monday. Read more. WBHM
Lawyers for a Jefferson County woman who was charged last week with manslaughter in the death of her 5-month-old fetus filed a motion to dismiss on Monday. White, Arnold & Dowd P.C. say the charges against Marshae Jones are “completely unreasonable and unjust.” In December, Jones and another woman, Ebony Jemison, got into a fight outside a Dollar General in Pleasant Grove. Jemison shot Jones in the stomach, killing the fetus, and was charged with manslaughter, but a grand jury failed to indict her, believing that Jemison shot in self-defense. On April 12, the Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff grand jury indicted Jones, saying she “intentionally caused the death of … unborn baby Jones by initiating a fight knowing she was five months pregnant.” Last week, Jones was arrested and charged with manslaughter. In an interview with WBHM, Attorney Mark White said the ruling was manipulated and unprecedented. Miranda Fulmore, WBHM 90.3, July 1, 2019 Read more.
Three weeks after telling a friend on social media that she was “having a great time” in her job, Michelle Rodrigues has been fired from her post as the head of human resources for Jefferson County. “Michelle Rodrigues is no longer working for the county,” county manager Tony Petelos told BirminghamWatch. “On personnel matters, I can’t comment on that. All I can say is she’s no longer working here.” Rodrigues declined a request for comment from BirminghamWatch. Rodrigues is the second top manager the county has lost in a week. Armika Berkley resigned from her position as executive director of Cooper Green Mercy Health System. Petelos squelched thoughts that the actions might be related. “No, it had nothing to do with that,” he said. “Michelle has absolutely nothing to do with Armika leaving or her contract.” Read more.
WASHINGTON — All but one of Alabama’s House members and senators voted to approve a bipartisan $4.5 billion emergency package to address a humanitarian crisis on the southwest border centered on hundreds of thousands of migrants from Central America who have entered the United States in recent months to apply for asylum protections under federal and international law. Read more.
WBHM In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education struck down racial segregation in schools. While the court ordered public schools to desegregate “with all deliberate speed,” the vague language allowed Southern officials to delay and resist school integration for years. It wasn’t until 1969 that the court forced school integration in a case called Alexander v. Holmes. Read more.
View Birmingham’s planned paving map. The city of Birmingham has released a map showing plans for repaving roads in the city. Roads shown in green are projects already funded in the city budget. The red streets are identified as priority projects but have not yet been funded. The map allows you to zoom in to see details of any projects, or you can search for a specific address. These plans are part of an ongoing $5.1 million repaving project. The roads in green are expected to be finished about November. Read more.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management Director Lance LeFleur, who survived scathing attacks from environmental groups on his job performance last year, faces renewed efforts to remove him from office this year. The department’s overseeing body, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, announced this week that it is seeking public comment on LeFleur’s record as head of the state’s environmental regulatory department for his annual job review. Negative comments about LeFleur’s job record last year centered on his handling of industrial pollution in north Birmingham and whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s 35th Avenue Superfund site should be expanded. Criticism of LeFleur’s department this year has included its handling of industrial pollution discharges that have resulted in large fish kills on the Mulberry Fork as well as water quality issues on the Tennessee River near Decatur. Read more.
