Virginia Martin

Report Highlights Alabama’s Poor Roads as Officials Consider the ‘T Word’

By WBHM The state’s roads are in bad shape. Those potholes and accidents cost the average driver in the Birmingham area about $1,800 a year, according to a new report from a transportation group. The report comes as state lawmakers prepare to convene next week in Montgomery for the start of the legislative session. Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to announce a plan to improve state infrastructure Tuesday. She supports a gas tax increase for roads and bridges. More than 40 percent of Birmingham’s major roads and highways are in poor or mediocre condition according to Trip, a national transportation nonprofit research group. Read more.

Reaching Everyone in the 2020 Census Might be Harder in Alabama

By WBHM A census reminder might not be the most memorable part of an inaugural speech. But that didn’t stop Gov. Kay Ivey from mentioning next year’s decennial count in her address in January. Leaders in Alabama say the 2020 Census is especially important for the state. It’s for two main reasons. First, billions of federal dollars a year are divvied up based on census numbers. Secondly, Alabama could lose a congressional seat. That’s because the state’s population hasn’t been growing as quickly as other states. Meanwhile, Alabama has been a historically difficult state to count. Read more.

New Birmingham Councilor Woods Is a Quiet but Focused Addition to the Council

Compared to his predecessor, Clinton Woods has been a quiet presence on the Birmingham City Council since he took office in January. He was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Lashunda Scales, who resigned in November to join the Jefferson County Commission. Scales defined her role as councilor as that of a vocal advocate for her district, and she rarely missed opportunities to speak at length about items that came before the council. “When you saw me with my mouth in those long meetings, (it was because) my district had been overlooked for a long, long, long time,” she said at her last council meeting. Woods has yet to deliver any soliloquies from the dais, but he said he has spent considerable time speaking to the constituents in his district, finding out what their priorities and needs are. In his interview with councilors before he was appointed, he lamented “that people have come to city council meetings for entertainment value,” and instead presented himself as someone focused on delivering results. “I’m not going to sell 100 … things I’m going to do,” he said then. “I want to tell (residents) about three things I know I can do.” After the Feb. 5 council meeting, Woods spoke with BirminghamWatch about what those priorities are, as well as his stance on the issues facing the council in 2019. Read more.

Judge Delays Decision on Whether Ed May Remains Fairfield’s Mayor, Orders May to Include Council in His Lawsuit

The question of who is Fairfield’s rightful mayor won’t be answered definitively any time soon, as Circuit Court Judge Pat Ballard ordered Ed May II, who was elected mayor, to add members of the City Council to his suit against the Jefferson County Personnel Board. “The members of the City Council are necessary to this proceeding,” the judge said Friday morning. “Either you add them in within the next 30 days or I will dismiss this case without prejudice because of that lack of necessary parties.” Read more.

Third Rejected Birmingham Charter School Plans to Appeal

The Birmingham school board informed the state this week that it denied an application for a Woodlawn-area charter school. This marks the third charter school proposal Birmingham has rejected since 2017. Read more.

Behind Teacher Shortage: Fewer New Educators Graduating From Alabama Schools

The number of new teachers coming out of education colleges and programs in Alabama fell by about 40 percent comparing 2010-2011 and 2015-2016, according to the latest available federal data. The decrease could be worse nearly three years later. “What bothers me most is that I don’t think this has bottomed out yet,” said Peter Hlebowitsh, dean of the University of Alabama’s College of Education. “It’s basically a decline everywhere with the possible exception of elementary education,” he said. As education leaders and elected officials look at the state’s teacher shortages, its pipeline of new teachers is a major concern. “I have 100 certified teachers,” Roanoke City Schools Superintendent Chuck Marcum told BirminghamWatch. “Fifteen have 25 or more years’ experience, meaning they could retire now. I hope they don’t. I don’t know what we’d do.” Marcum is leading a task force of educators and education groups studying the shortage’s causes and potential solutions. He said a shotgun approach will be needed, including getting more students into colleges of education. “Even if we increase enrollment, it’s three, four years down the road (that we see results), but it needs to be done. Something has to change.” A 2015 federal report said 17 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years. Read more. More Stories on the Teacher Shortage

Alabama’s Teacher Shortages Reach ‘Crisis’ Level

Lawmakers, Advocates Discussing Increases to Teachers’ Retirement Benefits to Battle Teacher Shortage

Riverkeeper and BWWB Warn Another Coal Mine Threatens the Mulberry Fork

Four years ago the Black Warrior Riverkeeper roused public opinion to keep the Shepherd Bend coal mine from opening. Now the river protection advocacy organization is warning of another proposed mining operation – this one three miles upstream on the Mulberry Fork from Shepherd Bend. What’s called the No.5 Mine is in the Walker County community of Dovertown, near the city of Cordova. Mays Mining Inc. would operate the mine at a former industrial site that was left with contaminated groundwater, according to Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke. Read more.

Plant Gorgas Latest Coal Giant to Fall as Power Companies Turn Toward Natural Gas, Renewables

In the past four years, Alabama Power has reduced its coal-fired units from 23 to 10. After Plant Gorgas closes, only three coal-burning plants will remain in the company’s energy portfolio. The Plant Gorgas news came hard on the heels of PowerSouth Electrical Cooperative’s recent decision to shutter Plant Lowman on the Tombigbee River next year. Last week, the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors voted to close two of the eight coal plants in its inventory. And just two weeks ago, Georgia Power Co. proposed to retire five such units at two power plants. These are just the latest in a trend across the country to reduce reliance on coal and diversify utility portfolios with other sources of energy, principally wind, solar and other renewables. Read more.

PowerSouth CEO Blames ‘Extremist Environmental Ideology’ for Shuttering a Coal-Fired Plant in South Alabama

Jefferson County Commissioners Talk About Distributing Economic Development Efforts to Underserved Areas of the County

Lashunda Scales used a discussion of a possible development in Warrior to remind her fellow Jefferson County commissioners that there are other underdeveloped areas in the county. Commissioner Steve Ammons agreed. “We have a lot out in McCalla. We don’t have as much opportunity in north Jefferson County. We’re trying to take those opportunities and distribute them,” he said. Read more.

Woodfin to Seek Limits on Dollar Stores as Way to Encourage Grocery Store Developments

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has announced legislation he believes would address the lack of healthy food options faced by a majority of the city’s residents. A proposed healthy food ordinance will be officially released in coming weeks, Woodfin told the City Council on Tuesday, and will include measures to “limit the development of new dollar stores in our city… as well as open more opportunities for fresh food producers (and) lowering the overall costs for grocers.” Read more.