Author: Virginia Martin
JeffCo Commission Debates Support for Senate Water Works Bill
Lashunda Scales expressed confusion today when a resolution supporting Senate Bill 179 was tabled.
The bill was said to affirm the actions taken Tuesday when the Jefferson County Commission approved its billing agreement with the Birmingham Water Works Board.
During today’s commission meeting, Steve Ammons moved that the resolution be tabled to get more information. Read more.
Alabama State Superintendent: Failing Label Meant to ‘Humiliate’ Schools
Eric Mackey says label causes “frustration and problems in high poverty communities.”
Population Grows Across Alabama
More than half of Alabama counties grew in population between July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022, reflecting more people moving into the state than in recent years and the population growth being more widespread than in recent years, according to a recent analysis by the Public Research Council of Alabama.
The biggest growth was concentrated around the Huntsville area and in the south in Baldwin County, next to Mobile’s urban center, according to the report, with other growth areas in the Wiregrass and northeast Alabama.
PARCA’s report was based on the Census Bureau’s latest population estimates.
“Generally, counties along the Interstate corridors are growing, as well as counties bordering Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida,” the report states. “On the western border with Mississippi, most counties are losing population.”
Alabama’s traditional urban centers — Jefferson, Montgomery and Mobile — lost population as people moved to other counties in the state. Read more.
Birmingham Council Creates Committee on Fair Housing
A newly created City Council committee will spotlight housing issues in Birmingham. The Housing Policy Committee was established in a Tuesday vote, which District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn called “a monumental occasion for fair housing.” The committee will evaluate local housing laws and housing programs and advocate for fairer housing practices in the city. Read more.
Advocates Warn of a ‘Dollar Store Invasion.’ Researchers Are Still Figuring Out the Consequences
A recent report from the Institute for Local Self Reliance laid out 17 problems with dollar stores, but some researchers said there isn’t a consensus yet. Read more.
COVID Continues Decline in Alabama, but It Is Still Out There
COVID-19 cases have declined across Alabama and hospitalizations are down from months past, Dr. Wes Stubblefield, district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health’s northern third of the state.
But don’t be tempted to think it’s gone. Stubblefield said it is important to remember that COVID is still circulating in Alabama, it still is infecting people and it still is killing people.
Since early March, Alabama’s COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have hovered around 200. As of Friday, statewide there were 136 adults and seven children hospitalized with it, far below the highs of 3,000 patients seen periodically in previous years.
Stubblefield said most of the current COVID infections are due to the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant. Read more.
Suit Accuses Jefferson County of Racial Gerrymandering in Commission Districts
Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens said the commission is not guilty of illegally packing Black voters into two districts to limit the influence of Blacks, as it is accused in a federal lawsuit filed Friday.
The lawsuit accuses the commission of intentionally packing Black voters into two supermajority Black commission districts based in and around Birmingham. The commission over the past decade, the lawsuit maintains, has siphoned Black voters living in the suburbs into those two districts to prevent them from exercising greater political power in surrounding districts. Read more.
Health Advocates Hope Narcan’s Over-the-Counter Status Will Bypass Alabama’s Strict Laws
Public health officials say the federal rule change should expand access to the overdose-reversing medication, after years of navigating tough state restrictions on who can dispense Narcan. Read more.
Not So Fast: JeffCo Tables Support for Innovation Depot
Commissioner Steve Ammons expressed disappointment after the Jefferson County Commission tabled a proposal of more than $1.6 million to support Innovation Depot.
The commission voted 3-2 Thursday to table the matter until May 25, with Ammons and Commissioner Sheila Tyson voting no.
“I am disappointed because it puts it off that much longer,” said Ammons, the chair of the commission’s economic development committee. “Innovation Depot is working on a new strategy and their ability to get at it sooner than later is important.” Read more.
BSC Board Votes to Keep the College Open
The board of trustees of Birmingham-Southern College voted unanimously Wednesday evening to keep the college open. Late last year, college officials reported that the private liberal arts college could close as early as this spring due to old accounting errors, a drained endowment and years of financial stress. The college has asked government officials for bridge funding, with limited success. Its $200 million fundraising campaign so far has raised nearly $46 million from private donors. Read more.
