Author: Virginia Martin
JeffCo Approves Contracts With Community Health Care Providers, Will Continue Conversation About Cooper Green System
Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens described the Cooper Green Mercy Health Services as “ever evolving but always moving for the better,” after Thursday’s County Commission meeting.
“What we want to do is we want to have a best practices health care (system) for our citizens,” Stephens said. “That’s our intention and that’s our goal.”
Commissioners moved forward with a plan to extend the hub-and-spoke model of county health care by adding partners to the network that would be providing care out in the communities. Read more.
JeffCo Plots a Course for Road Repairs
Jefferson County is moving in the right direction in the area of road repairs but it’ll be a while before the county reaches its desired destination.
“The commission has worked real hard to get us funding,” said Cal Markert, director of the county’s Roads and Transportation Department. “I think with the county manager we’ve got a great team and I’m really excited about where we’re going. It’s not going to happen in a day or a year. It’ll take several years, but I think we’ve got a good plan and a good target to move to.”
Markert presented the fiscal year 2018 highway management plan for Jefferson County to commissioners during their meeting Thursday morning. Read more.
PARCA Will Explore Top Issues Leading up to the Election
The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama has launched Alabama Priorities, an initiative to identify and address the most important issues to Alabama voters.
PARCA surveyed voters, asking them to rank issues affecting the state this year. The council intends to publish a series of policy briefs on each of the top 10 issues, according to a PARCA statement. See the top 10 issues selected here.
Hub and Spoke Model Could Expand Cooper Green Health Care Coverage, Commissioners Say
Feb. 6, 2018 – Jefferson County commissioners heard a presentation about a proposed primary care expansion agreement for Cooper Green Mercy Health Services during their committee meeting Tuesday.
After lengthy discussion, commissioners moved three related items to the agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting. The discussion included concern among commissioners that more of the most needy in the county could be pushed out.
“If I can cut at the top, it’ll allow me to expand at the bottom,” Commissioner David Carrington said. “I’m concerned that we are servicing families with higher income and that prevents us from serving families with lower incomes.”
The primary care expansion agreement is based on a hub and spoke model with Cooper Green serving as the hub and its partners serving as the spokes. Read more.
Birmingham City Council Approves New Stadium, in Theory
Feb. 6, 2018 — The Birmingham City Council voted today to support the construction of a new multi-purpose facility at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
The vote followed a lengthy back-and-forth among the council, Mayor Randall Woodfin and members of the public, with proponents arguing that the development will bring much-needed revenue into the city and opponents expressing skepticism about the necessity of the proposed 30-year, $90 million investment.
The BJCC expansion and renovation, which would include the construction of a new open-air stadium, would be funded by a mix of public and private sources. The city is slated to contribute $3 million a year for 30 years to the stadium; the BJCC Authority will pay $10.7 in annual debt service; UAB and private entities will contribute $4 million a year for 10 years; the Jefferson County government will pay $1 million a year for 30 years; and a proposed increase to the city’s rental car tax, still pending in the state Legislature, would account for $3.5 million in annual funding for 30 years.
Woodfin and Council President Valerie Abbott both emphasized that Tuesday’s vote was not for a specific contract or to allocate any funds, but rather a general statement of willingness to negotiate a specific plan. A Q-and-A between District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt and Woodfin, published online Monday, highlighted that many of the details have yet to be set in concrete.
Woodfin compared the resolution to a marriage proposal. “A person asking you to marry (them) is very different from the process of a prenuptial agreement,” he said. Read more.
Attorney General Looking Into Legislators’ Campaign Spending Reports
Grand jury subpoenas arriving last week for Alabama legislators put the spotlight on how the officeholders spend contributions and whether their reports and expenditures comply with the state’s campaign finance law.
State Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, one of the few legislators to acknowledge getting a subpoena, said it was from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. Todd said she’s not the only legislator to receive a subpoena. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon also verified that subpoenas had been delivered.
“They seem to believe we are putting things on the Visa that are for personal use, but I don’t have anything to hide,” Todd said.
Other legislators were being close-lipped about the investigation, most of them either not returning calls or saying they had no comment.
Alabama election laws specify that candidates and officials must disclose the identification of each person or entity that has been paid more than $100 in a calendar year from their campaign accounts, along with the amount, date and purpose of each expenditure.
BirminghamWatch looked up financial records on Jefferson County’s 26 legislators and found several who had listed expenditures on their campaign finance reports without providing details about where the money went. Read more.
Some School Officials Protest as Birmingham Metro Schools Get As to Ds on First Letter Grade Report Cards
The first letter grade report card day for Alabama’s schools and school systems – much like report card days for school students – brought celebration, disappointment and some strong reactions.
Alabama schools’ report cards were released Thursday morning by the Alabama State Department of Education and, for the first time, gave letter grades to Alabama’s 1,247 public schools and 137 school systems.
You can look up the detailed report cards for the schools, school systems and the state.
Jefferson County Schools, the second-largest school system in the state with 56 schools, scored a C, the same letter grade as the state school system. But, that C and the whole idea of a letter grade didn’t sit well with Dr. Craig Pouncey, county school superintendent, and other school leaders.
Superintendents across the state have criticized the letter grade report cards as too narrow and too reliant on one standardized test, the ACT Aspire, which is not even being used by the state going forward. They also have complained that the one letter grade is not a full or accurate measure of school performance. Marion, Chambers County and some other systems have voted no confidence in the report cards, and more system officials have criticized them. Read more.
Birmingham Metro Schools Get As to Ds on First Letter Grade Report Cards
Metro Birmingham school systems scored As to Ds on Alabama’s first-ever letter grade report cards for schools.
The letter grade and performance information for each of Alabama’s 1,325 public schools and 173 school systems were released by the Alabama State Education in a searchable online dashboard Thursday morning.
The dashboard includes a letter grade, each system or school’s performance on standardized tests and other indicators.
Grades for the 11 school systems in Jefferson County and the three in neighboring Shelby County cover the full spectrum. Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Trussville and Vestavia Hills scored As. Birmingham, Bessemer, Fairfield, Midfield and Tarrant scored Ds. Read more.
Birmingham Mayor Woodfin Throws Support Behind New Stadium and BJCC Renovations
Jan. 31, 2018 — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced his support for an expansion and upgrade to the BJCC arena Wednesday, saying revenue generated by the renovated stadium would go toward his administration’s priority of neighborhood revitalization.
The upgrades would include renovations to the Legacy Arena and outside piazza, as well as the construction of a $174 million new open-air stadium, though design specifics remain undetermined. Read more.
Alabama School Report Cards Coming Thursday
Alabama’s public schools and school systems will be getting their first-ever letter grade report cards Thursday.
The letter grades and performance information for each of Alabama’s 1,325 public schools and 173 school systems will be posted at the Alabama Department of Education’s website by 10 a.m., said Michael Sibley, director of communications for the department. Read more.
