Author: Virginia Martin
In Alabama, What Does It Take to Shut Down a Surface Mine Operating Without Permits?
Nearby residents and environmental activists complained to state regulators without redress about an unlicensed sandstone quarry along Rock Creek. Alabama officials initially fined the company, but now it has signaled a green light ahead. Read more.
JeffCo Plans for New Coroner’s Office as It Forgives Development Authority’s Debt
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday forgave about $1 million of debt owed by a development authority, setting the stage for the county coroner’s office to move to that authority’s industrial park.
County Manager Cal Markert said Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority developed the Jefferson Metropolitan Park Lakeshore industrial park on Lakeshore Parkway. One of its three remaining lots was targeted as the new home of the coroner’s office.
“Instead of paying for it, we’re forgiving the debt,” Markert said. “It’s all ours anyway. We loaned them the money. They bought all the property, set it up, developed the whole industrial park and created a tremendous number of jobs.” Read more.
JeffCo Considers Forgiving Development Group’s Debt, Moving Coroner’s Office to Park
A resolution moved to the agenda of Thursday’s Jefferson County Commission meeting would forgive more than $1 million owed to the county from Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority.
The county would also execute a purchase agreement with JCEIDA for land in the Lakeshore Jeffmet Park for the new office space of the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner. The purchase agreement for the land, valued at $700,000, would not be a cash transaction but would help offset the remaining JCEIDA debt being forgiven.
County Manager Cal Markert called the authority “one of the most successful economic development groups in the state, if not the most.” Read more.
A Books-to-Prisons Program Creates Connection Behind Bars
Birmingham Council Extends Timeline to Build on Old Ramsay-McCormack Property
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday extended an agreement with developers tasked with constructing a five-story commercial building at the former site of Ensley’s Ramsay-McCormack tower, a long-derelict structure that the community lobbied for decades to have destroyed.
The council voted unanimously to extend the agreement with Ensley District Developers from Dec. 31 to June 30, 2025. Read more.
Alabama Power Partners With a Company Accused of Misleading Customers
A flier promoting the program began hitting mailboxes in November. In this new arrangement, HomeServe wants to sell what it calls an emergency home repair program to Alabama Power customers. Read more.
Alabama Public Schools Overall Graded B on State Report Cards; JeffCo Schools Score B and Birmingham Schools C
Alabama’s K-12 public schools received an overall grade of B on new school and district report cards released Thursday by the Alabama State Department of Education.
More than half of Alabama’s K-12 schools received As or Bs in this year’s evaluations, the first ones to come out under the changes to the Alabama Accountability Act, which reclassified schools with D or F grades as priority schools and eliminated language labeling schools as “failing.”
In the Birmingham area, Jefferson County schools earned a B overall and Birmingham City Schools earned a C. Scores for other school systems, individual schools and charter schools in the area ranged from As to Fs. Read more.
Report Card Scores for Individual Birmingham and Jefferson County Schools, Other Area School Systems and Charter Schools
Woodfin’s Strategic Update Touts Progress in Neighborhood Improvement, Food Deserts, Gun Violence, Parks, Education, Homelessness and the Arts
When Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin gave an update on the city’s initiatives Thursday, he asked the crowd at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s auditorium to view that progress through the eyes of one mother or grandmother and the many tangible ways life has improved for her and her family since he took office.
“Everything we’ve done has been to increase opportunities for our children and grandchildren,” he said. “That really drives what we do at City Hall. That drives this administration. That is the heartbeat of what we do for our children, for our grandchildren.”
Back in 2017, the mayor said, that grandmother would look out her front door and see dilapidated or vacant homes next door, a cracked sidewalk and roads dotted with potholes. Six years ago, that woman’s grandchildren didn’t have a playground nearby, and the family lived miles away from a store selling fresh vegetables. And worst of all, he said, she and her grandchildren would often hear gunshots throughout the night.
“By the end of our first term, here is what we did for that mother; here is what we did for that grandmother,” the mayor said. Read more.
Meet the Tiny Fish That Call Only Jefferson County Home
Though the creek water at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in northeast Jefferson County is crystal clear, and thousands visit the preserve each year, it’s highly unlikely most will see three unique fish species that swim alongside them. They are the endangered watercress, rush and vermilion darters
“This is kind of like a ‘Where’s Waldo,’” said preserve manager Charles Yeager, wading through the center of Turkey Creek, looking for the darter. Read more.
