Author: Virginia Martin
Birmingham Council Approves Legislative Agenda Without Measure Allowing It to Opt Out of County Personnel Board
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved its 2024 legislative agenda minus one item: a proposal asking for state legislation that would allow the city to drop out of the Jefferson County Personnel Board, if it so chose. The rest of the agenda centers on laws to make it easier for the city to address blight in neighborhoods. Read more.
JeffCo Commission Considers Backing Amendment to Make Passing Local Laws Easier
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday will be considering its support for an amendment on the March 5 ballot that would make it easier for legislators to pass local legislation earlier in the session.
The resolution supporting the adoption of Amendment 1 was discussed in the commission’s committee meeting Tuesday. District 4 Commissioner Joe Knight, president of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, explained following the meeting that the amendment simplifies matters that are specific to individual counties.
“The commission is saying we’re in support of voting for Amendment 1, which is an amendment that will take off the BIR (budget isolation resolution) requirement hurdle before you can get to your local legislation if the budgets haven’t passed,” Knight said. “And they’re never passed until late.” Read more.
New Opera Delves Into Less Familiar Part of Helen Keller’s Story
The opera “Touch,” commissioned by Opera Birmingham, depicts Keller’s later life as an activist and feminist and her conflict with her interpreter, Anne Sullivan. Read more.
The Long Decline: Population Declines Hit Rural Counties
Population is declining in Alabama’s rural counties, particularly in the Black Belt, even as urban and suburban counties are growing.
As the population has dropped off, good-paying jobs have left. The population has gotten older and sicker, but hospitals have closed and doctors have left the area. With fewer students, schools have become fewer and farther between.
The Alabama Reflector investigated these issues and produced a three-part series:
The Long Decline: How Depopulation Hurts Alabama’s Rural Communities
The Long Decline: In Depopulating Counties, What Happens to Schools?
The Long Decline: Health Care Access Grows Difficult in Shrinking Rural Communities
The Long Decline: Health Care Access Grows Difficult in Shrinking Rural Communities
Depopulation often means fewer health care providers, and more difficulties getting to them. Read more.
The Long Decline: In Depopulating Counties, What Happens to Schools?
As people leave rural Alabama, so do students. That has an effect on finances for those left behind. Read more.
The Long Decline: How Depopulation Hurts Alabama’s Rural Communities
The Black Belt has lost residents for decades. Those who stay are often poorer — and older. Read more.
League of Women Voters, ASU Team Up to Offer Public More Legislative Info
The League of Women Voters of Alabama is expanding its work to give the public access to what goes on in the Legislature. The league’s Education Fund and Alabama State University are collaborating to recruit interns to record House and Senate public meetings that are not live-streamed and make them available on its Alabama Channel. Read more.
Health Officials Watching Hospitals During the Season of Flu, COVID and RSV
The normal winter flu season is in full swing in Alabama, but this year COVID and RSV are joining the mix. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks the state among seven others with the highest rates for respiratory disease.
Alabama health officials say there has been a 3.2% increase in hospital admissions statewide for the three viral diseases, but there is no shortage of treatment facilities or hospital beds across the state.
But they warn that, with the workplace and schools opened after the holidays, the numbers could climb. Read more.
Givan to MLK Unity Breakfast: Focus Needs to Be on Voters, Poverty-Stricken Communities to Reach King’s Dream
Alabama House Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, told a packed Great Hall at Birmingham-Southern College that there is work to do to fulfill the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Not only is our Black history under attack, but our most fundamental right that is allowed to us under the Constitution – our right to vote – is under attack,” Givan said at the 38th annual Unity Breakfast in celebration of the slain civil rights leader. “But I say to you, they don’t have to take it because we don’t utilize it.” Read more.
