Author: Virginia Martin
Doug Jones Sworn-In to U.S. Senate, Becomes First Alabama Democrat in the Senate Since ’97
WASHINGTON – Doug Jones took the oath of office as Alabama’s first Democratic U.S. senator in a quarter-century Wednesday, narrowing the Republican majority in the Senate to 51-49.
“I am humbled and honored to stand here today, chosen by the people of Alabama to represent our state in this historic institution,” Jones said. “I will work every day to make sure I hear their voices and that their voices are heard in Washington. It is time to come together and rebuild the trust we need to find common ground and expand opportunity for all.”
Jones is widely seen as a Democrat who will challenge President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans in their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, fight increases in the minimum wage and oppose abortion rights.
With Jones in the Senate, GOP success in repealing Obamacare becomes much less likely, and if just two Republicans vote with Democrats, Trump nominees or budget measures would be defeated. Read more.
Guarded: Alabama Correctional Officers Work Long Hours in Dangerous Conditions for Low Pay – and There Aren’t Nearly Enough of Them
On a warm fall afternoon, 30 men and six women, all wearing charcoal gray T-shirts and navy blue trousers, stood at attention outside a dormitory building on the Wallace Community College campus in Selma. Chanting in a military-style cadence, they trotted to another nearby building where, outside the entrance, one of their members slam-jammed into the ground a pole from which hung a flag bearing the emblem of the Alabama Department of Corrections.
This group of 36 made up the most recent class of students at the Alabama Corrections Academy, preparing for a job that most Alabamians would not want, in a workplace most would shun. That job is working as a correctional officer in an often overcrowded Alabama prison. The Department of Corrections has too many inmates and not enough officers, and in recent years more officers have left the prison system than new ones have joined.
In early December, the population in the state prison system, ranging from those locked down in death row cells to those soon to be set free from work release centers, was 21,213, about 8,000 more than the system originally was built to hold. The number of correctional officers staffing system facilities was 1,569, which is only 44 percent of the number the corrections department says it is supposed to have.
Depending on where they were assigned, the new class of recruits could be working 12-hour days or even longer because of staff shortages. Every day, inmates would be watching them, looking to befriend them or ask them for a favor. Some days, inmates might curse at them, throw feces and urine, use dinner trays as weapons or fight to keep illegal contraband such as cell phones.
For working in this closed society, in which they can feel just as confined as the inmates, the officers’ entry-level pay is less than $29,000, slightly higher if they have a college degree. Read more.
Listen to WBHM report, Working in Alabama’s Prisons, featuring Tom Gordon
From Gardendale to Syria: BirminghamWatch Reprises Its Most Interesting Stories of 2017
BirminghamWatch stepped out of the mainstream in 2017 to give you stories that didn’t just recap the news, but also explained how the news was affecting our culture and the people in it.
BW has followed, and continues to follow, arguments for and against Gardendale’s attempts to break away from the county and form its own school system. It has brought you stories of immigrants who have made Alabama their home, of the state’s attempts to improve student performance regardless of high poverty rates in schools, and of the effect the state’s budget decisions are having on the environment.
2017 also was a year of elections, from the culmination of the presidential election with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, to the Birmingham city elections, to the U.S. Senate special election that attracted national attention. BirminghamWatch worked to give voters the information they needed before going to the polls, in addition to delivering that something extra that helped explain the issues, the politics and the ramifications of the elections.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading BirminghamWatch in 2017, and please continue reading to see what we have in store for 2018! Read more.
2017 Election Coverage
Jones Certified Winner of Alabama Senate Seat Despite Moore’s Objections
State officials certified the election of Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate Thursday despite a last-minute legal attempt by Jones’ opponent, Roy Moore, to stop the process.
According to the certified vote tally Jones won with 673,896 votes, 49.97 percent of the vote, over Moore’s 651,972 votes, 48.34 percent — a margin of victory of 21,924 votes, or 1.63 percent. Of the 22,852 write-in votes counted, Jones received 18 and Moore received 14.
Compared to the unofficial vote count, Jones gained 2,745 votes, while Moore gained 1,536 votes.
“I’m looking forward to going to work for the people of Alabama in the new year,” Jones said in a statement after the certification. Read more.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Is Saved for Now. What Happens Next in Alabama Remains in Hands of Congress.
Advocates for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, popularly known as CHIP, took heart when Congress and the president authorized temporary funding measures that would keep the government from shutting down and keep CHIP going through the first of 2018.
This was no Christmas miracle – just a temporary reprieve. Nevertheless, for the beneficiaries of ALL Kids, the Alabama Department of Public Health unit that administers CHIP funds to provide insurance for 83,000 Alabama kids, it was a welcome reprieve.
“I don’t know specifically, I don’t know dollar amounts,” said Cathy Caldwell, executive director of ALL Kids, “but I have had some preliminary conversations with CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and it appears that it will give us an additional three-four weeks’ worth of funding.”
Besides the ALL Kids funding, about 77,000 children are insured by CHIP funding through Alabama’s Medicaid system. Those children would still have insurance even if Congress fails to act – although the state would have to pick up the cost for insuring them.
Because ALL Kids was expected to run out of funding in February, that would appear to give the children it covers a reprieve until March – unless Congress turns the situation around first.
But Caldwell was cautious. Read more.
Doubling Down: Donate to BirminghamWatch Before Dec. 31 and Double the Power of Your Gift
Dec. 31 is the last day to donate to BirminghamWatch and double the impact of your gift.
Until then, News Match 2017 will match any donation up to $1,000. News Match, a $3 million program to support nonprofit and investigative news organizations, is a collaboration of the Democracy Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is the largest grassroots fundraising campaign to support nonprofit news organizations that play a vital role informing the public and holding those in power accountable.
BirminghamWatch, the news reporting arm of the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism, was chosen as one of 110 news organizations participating in News Match. Each of the organizations is eligible to receive up to $28,000 in matching money.
“At a time when trust in media is at an all-time low, nonprofit journalism organizations are directly connecting with people to understand their needs and concerns, while providing vital news and information to communities across the nation,” said Jennifer Preston, Knight Foundation vice president for journalism. “This initiative will help news organizations that are imperative to our democracy build resources and widen their supporter base, just when they need it most.” Read more.
Super PACs Wield Millions to Elect and to Defeat Senate Candidates
Independent committees aligned with Republicans and Democrats spent almost $7 million this year on television advertisements and other efforts to defeat Roy Moore in his bid to become Alabama’s junior U.S. senator.
Democrat Doug Jones, who defeated Moore, was the target of almost $2.8 million in spending from such groups, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
In all, records show the Super PACs spent almost $20 million working for and against particular candidates. That’s in addition to the millions candidates raised and spent on their own campaigns. Read more.
Hoover BOE Settles Discrimination Lawsuit That Described Turmoil at Trace Crossings
The Hoover Board of Education this week settled a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Trace Crossings Elementary School principal, the Hoover Sun reported.
The lawsuit filed by Robin Litaker not only alleged gender discrimination, court documents and testimony given in the case also gave the public a glimpse into the school’s dysfunctional culture at a time when parents were withdrawing their children, leaving the school with a poorer and blacker student body than it otherwise would have had.
Teachers bickered among themselves, refused to follow administrative direction and were not following the state-mandated curriculum, according to statements made in the case. Children were assigned to classes based on whether they lived in houses or apartments and whether they lived in single- or two-parent families.
At times, the students were assigned to classes by race, BirminghamWatch reported in a story last year.
Litaker, a former Alabama Teacher of the Year, was removed from her post as principal after she had been in the job for two years because the school did not meet annual yearly progress standards. Litaker contended in her suit that male school administrators in similar situations were given time to remedy the problems at their schools.
The board this week agreed to pay Litaker $97,000, equal to a year’s salary, plus legal fees in the settlement of the federal lawsuit, the Hoover Sun reported. She is no longer working for the system.
Read the full BirminghamWatch story about the situation at the school.
Jones Doubles Moore’s Campaign Warchest With Help of Democratic Fundraising Group
Democrat Doug Jones raised about twice as much money for his winning U.S. Senate campaign as his Republican opponent collected, with the vast majority of the money flowing through an organization that helps Democratic candidates raise funds.
Jones’ final report to the Federal Election Commission showed contributions totaling $11.71 million during 2017. Roy Moore, the Republican candidate and former Alabama chief justice, raised $5,152,464.
The vast majority of the money collected by Jones – $9.57 million – was funneled into his campaign through ActBlue. The organization, which allows contributors to make donations to specific candidates via its website, helped all of the Democrats who ran for the Senate in 2016 raise money and has funneled $1.95 billion to Democratic and progressive candidates since 2004. Read more.
