Author: Virginia Martin
Brad Cox, Bryan Brinyark Competing in GOP Runoff for House District 16 Seat
The two Republicans facing off in the Oct. 24 GOP runoff for House District 16 are both conservative.
But Brad Cox and Bryan Brinyark would bring vastly different experiences to Goat Hill. Read more.
10 Medicaid Holdout States Scramble to Improve Health Coverage
The Republican-led states that have refused to expand Medicaid are trying a variety of strategies to save struggling hospitals and cover more people without full expansion, which was one of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In Alabama, a single parent with two children can’t qualify for Medicaid if he or she makes more than $4,476 per year. Read more.
EV Charging Station — BPA’s First — Opens at Avondale Village
Birmingham Parking Authority celebrated the opening of its first electric vehicle charging station Wednesday at its Avondale Village parking lot.
“This charging station is an important milestone not only for the Birmingham Parking Authority but for the city of Birmingham as well,” said Andre Davis, executive director and CEO of the BPA. “This is the first EV charging station in any BPA parking facility, and it’s the first EV charging station in the city funded in partnership with the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition.”
The Level 2 EV charging station at 109 41st Street South can charge as many as four vehicles at one time. Read more.
Get Your Children to School, Woodfin Tells Parents
Mayor Randall Woodfin said Tuesday that Birmingham schools have unusually large numbers of truant students and, if he has to, he’ll push for parents to be held legally accountable for allowing their children to stay home from school.
Ten weeks into the school year, well more than half of third graders are considered truants, which means they have seven or more unexcused absences, Woodfin said.
“It’s unacceptable,” the mayor said.
“Teachers cannot teach your child if they are not in class.” Read more.
Atrocities in Israel Cause News Media to Show More of Horrifying Truth
With social media showing so much ghastly video from the Hamas terrorism in Israel in the past week, the news media certainly don’t serve as the gatekeeper for what the public can see. But news organizations still reach a lot of people who won’t go hunting for content on social media, so their decisions of how graphically to depict awful events still matter.
What I’ve seen lately are news media that believe the realities in Israel and in the Gaza Strip demand pushing, but still not ripping, the envelope of traditional bounds. Read more.
Ukrainian Baker Reconnects to Birmingham by Sharing Her Sweet Treat
Vasilisa Strelnikova fled to Birmingham following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. When she arrived, baking became a refuge. But she also wanted to use baking to show her love of Birmingham and her love for her friends. Read more.
Jefferson County Substantially Increases Penalty for Violating Zoning Laws
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday amended its zoning ordinance to increase the penalty for violations.
As a result of recent state legislation, the commission was able to make violating the county’s zoning ordinance a Class B misdemeanor. Such violations are now punishable by as much as 180 days in jail and a fine of as much as $3,000.
Previously, the penalty was a $100 fine and no more than 10 days in jail. Read more.
Rep. John Rogers Pleads Not Guilty to Federal Obstruction of Justice Charges
Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of obstruction of justice on Thursday at the Hugo L. Black Federal Courthouse in Birmingham. Rogers was released after being processed by the U.S. Marshals on a $5,000 bond. Prosecutors allege that Rogers diverted public money from a youth baseball league to an assistant. Read more.
When Is a Cut Not a Cut? JeffCo and Sheriff Disagree
Jefferson County doesn’t see eye-to-eye with its sheriff concerning a recent budget change.
In a release Thursday, Sheriff Mark Pettway said the Jefferson County Commission had frozen 30% of the Sheriff’s Office Budget for fiscal year 2024. Pettway equated the action to “defund(ing) law enforcement.”
The public information officer of Jefferson County responded with its own release that said Pettway misstated the county’s action.
According to the county release, the commission requested a freeze of 30% of all funded existing job vacancies throughout the county system for fiscal 2024.
“As has been well documented throughout multiple industries, including local government, filling positions is challenging,” the county release read. “Tying up public funds by budgeting for positions that you are unlikely to fill within a fiscal year prevents us from using those funds to instead address operational or capital needs. Read more.
Hey Bidder Bidder: JeffCo Commission Decides $550K in Allotments From Surplus
Joe Knight appeared to add auctioneer to his resume as he led his fellow Jefferson County commissioners in assigning money for disbursement that was left over from the fiscal 2023 budget.
When the hour-long discussion was done at the end of Tuesday’s commission committee meeting, $550,000 of the $1.4 million had been allotted to entities that had sought county support. Final approval will come during Thursday’s commission meeting.
The leftover money, which was placed in the county’s contingency fund, had been $1.9 million before the commission syphoned $500,000 from it to the Birmingham Business Resource Center during its last meeting. Requests for help totaled $2.576 million. Read more.
