Category: Education

Jefferson County Schools to Go Virtual-Only for First Nine Weeks; Some Student Athletes and Staff Have Tested Positive for COVID

Robert Carter,

UPDATED — The Jefferson County Board of Education voted Tuesday to begin the 2020-2021 school year Sept. 1 with nine weeks of online education only and no option for traditional classroom learning, as educators and parents continue to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.

The recommendation came from Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin after weeks of town hall meetings with parents, faculty, staff and other stakeholders, as well as an online survey in which Gonsoulin said 80% of JefCoEd families responded. In that survey, 56% were in favor of online learning, and 44% wanted traditional face-to-face classroom learning.

The board approved the recommendation by a 4-1 vote in Tuesday’s online meeting.

Gonsoulin in a later press conference said that some student athletes have tested positive for COVID-19, as have some faculty and staff members, as the schools gear up to reopen. He said no employees will be furloughed because of the return to virtual learning. Read more.

Health Officer Recommends Virtual Classes for Middle and High Schools, No Contact Sports for Now

Virginia MacDonald,

The Jefferson County health officer is recommending that boards of education in the county “strongly consider” setting up virtual learning for middle and high school students this coming school year and cancelling or postponing contact sports.

“With the current level of viral spread and disease in the community, there is a considerable chance” that the virus will occur among students and school staff, Dr. Mark Wilson said in a letter to school officials. “If classes are not stringently isolated from one another, whole schools may end up having to close.” Read more.

Birmingham-Area Schools’ Plans for Reopening

Jackson Sharman,

Schools across the state are deciding when and how to reopen schools in the fall. The state Department of Education set out several options for systems to consider, including in-person learning, virtual learning and blended plans, and said all parents have the option to enroll their children in a virtual learning program. Here is where Birmingham-area schools stand on planning for the start of school. Read more.

Birmingham Schools Announce Online-Only Learning for First 9 Weeks

Jackson Sharman,

UPDATED — Dr. Mark Sullivan announced in a Wednesday press conference that all Birmingham City Schools would be starting the school year virtually on Aug. 24. Sullivan, the interim superintendent for BCS, made the announcement with Birmingham Board of Education members.

All learning will be online for the first nine-week grading period. BCS will evaluate the safety of returning to in-person learning after that.

“This decision was not made lightly, but at this juncture I believe it is our best option to assure the quality of education that we have for our students and to maintain a safe, nurturing environment for all of our students,” Sullivan said. Read more.

Birmingham Schools Discuss Plans to Reopen Aug. 24

Jackson Sharman,

The Birmingham Board of Education has formed a plan for students to start the new school year, but many questions remain about how learning will look.

The interim superintendent of Birmingham City Schools, Dr. Mark Sullivan, said in a press conference Friday that BCS is in the process of figuring out how to start school while keeping students, parents and teachers healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, school officials are looking at four options. Read more.

Alabama Schools to Open in August, But Parents Have Home Education Option

Virginia MacDonald,

Updated: Alabama public schools will reopen in August despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but parents will have the option of continuing distance learning for their children, Alabama Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey said Thursday.

“Campuses will reopen for personal instruction. They will be physically open, with remote learning” available, Mackey said.

There also will  be a “blended” learning situation that allows students to transition between traditional and remote instruction as needs arise, he said.
Read more.

55 New Classrooms Added to State’s Award-Winning Pre-K Program

Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News,

MONTGOMERY — Fifty-five new pre-K classrooms will be added in 25 counties this fall, Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education said Tuesday.

These additional classrooms expand access to the state’s award-winning First Class Pre-K program and are a result of the Legislature recently appropriating an additional $6 million to the department for the 2021 fiscal year. Read more.

BirminghamWatch looked more deeply at Alabama’s pre-K program in a project last year:

First Class in More Than Name Only: Why Alabama’s Preschool Program Is Best in the Country on National Standards

 

BW buildings (2)

Key Support Boosts Coverage

Thanks to the ongoing support of readers and donors, as well as foundations and other partnerships, the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism continues to report on issues of concern to our community, including the current COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are grateful to receive support from so many different sources in grants and gifts of all sizes,” said Carol Nunnelley, executive director of AIIJ and its publishing effort, BirminghamWatch. “Our reporters, editors and photographers have been on the front lines from the beginning, producing hundreds of stories. None of this would be possible without you.”

GivingTuesdayNow: On May 5, 2020, our donors joined millions of people from 145 countries around the world to support nonprofits facing the special challenges of meeting community needs in a time of pandemic and quarantine. As GivingTuesday CEO Asha Curran said, this special fundraising campaign was a “reminder that we are all connected and we are all generous, even when we are uncertain and afraid.’ A special emphasis on the importance of nonprofit news, called GivingNewsDay, was spearheaded by the Institute for Nonprofit News, of which AIIJ/BirminghamWatch is a member.

Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham: AIIJ received a COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant of $15,000 through a special grantmaking process established by the local Community Foundation to support efforts by nonprofits to address the challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis. This grant will support BirminghamWatch reporting, editing and community engagement focused on telling the stories of underserved individuals and communities as they face health and economic challenges relating to the coronavirus.

Alabama Humanities Foundation: AIIJ received a CARES relief grant of $2,500 from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, which will be used to focus on reporting, including Voter Guides to upcoming elections. As an AHF spokesperson stated, “The Alabama Humanities Foundation is proud to offer relief grants during these difficult times, and we thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for providing funding.

Google News Initiative: AIIJ was one of more than 12,000 organizations from more than 100 countries submitting requests to the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. As Google News Initiative stated, the JERF was established “to support the production of original journalism during the existential threat facing many publishers around the world posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic.” AIIJ received $5,000 from the JERF in the first wave of announcements. “The response to this program has been truly overwhelming,” a spokesperson said. “It has been humbling and gratifying to help support local news organizations like you.

–Thank you from BirminghamWatch–

 

  Coronavirus

  • Daily COVID-19 Count Drops to Lowest Number Since Early July

    The number of new COVID-19 cases in Alabama dropped Tuesday to its lowest level since July 7.

    There were 963 confirmed new cases of the disease in the daily report issued by the Alabama Department of Public Health, bringing the total number of cases since the pandemic began in March to 90,890. The count had not been below 1,000 since the total of 888 in early July.

    The daily COVID Dashboard listed 31 deaths for the latest 24-hour period, pushing the statewide total to 1,611. Read more.

  • UAB Launches COVID Testing for More Than 200,000 College Students

    Alabama university and health officials are hopeful that a statewide monitoring platform will lower the spread of COVID-19 on campuses this fall. The program, called GuideSafe, officially launched Monday and includes free testing, symptom monitoring and contact tracing via mobile applications. Read more.

  • Gov. Ivey Requires Face Masks in Schools, Extends Statewide Ordinance

    WBHM — For teachers and students preparing to enter the classroom next month, masks will now be required for anyone in second grade and above. Governor Kay Ivey issued the new mandate Wednesday as an amendment to the statewide mask ordinance and Safer at Home order. The orders, originally set to expire Friday, have been extended through Aug. 31. Read more.

  • DC Joins States Ordering Travelers From Alabama to Quarantine.
  • More Than 15% of COVID-19 Tests in Jefferson County are Positive

    This past week, 1,700 new individuals per day have been tested for the coronavirus in Jefferson County, with an average of 278 people a day testing positive and two a day dying. Those numbers give the county a positivity rate that tops 15%, the highest of any one week so far during the pandemic, county Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson said in a briefing Tuesday.

    Hospitals in Jefferson County are caring for 275 patients with the virus; 110 of those are in intensive care units and 52 on ventilators, Wilson said. Read more.

  • White House Document Shows 18 States in Coronavirus “Red Zone”

    “This article about the coronavirus red zone was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom based in Washington, D.C.”>

    A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force but not publicized suggests more than a dozen states should revert to more stringent protective measures, limiting social gatherings to 10 people or fewer, closing bars and gyms and asking residents to wear masks at all times.

    The document, dated July 14 and obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, says 18 states are in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases, meaning they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week. Eleven states are in the “red zone” for test positivity, meaning more than 10 percent of diagnostic test results came back positive. Alabama is on the list for both red zones. Read more.

  CongressionalWatch

  • House Takes Up Child Care Funding Bills

    Voterama in Congress

    WASHINGTON — The House last week took up three bills that would provide help for child care providers or parents returning to work.

    The first, HR 7027, was passed on a vote of 249 for and 163 against. It would appropriate $50 billion to help child care providers stay in business during the pandemic so that parents can return to work. The funding would be used to subsidize in-home services as well as licensed child care operations of all sizes, and it could be used to prop up functioning centers or reopen those forced to close because of the pandemic.

    Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., opposed the bill. “Child care is essential as parents begin returning to the workplace; however, this bill spends too much taxpayer money and places an undue and unworkable regulatory burden on facilities, federal agencies and, yes, on families,” he said. Read more.

  BirminghamWatch Recommends

  U.S. Senate Race

  Birmingham City Council

  • Birmingham Council Finds a Power, Starts Making Board Appointments Before the Chairs are Empty

    The Birmingham City Council may soon start making new appointments to city boards and agencies before incumbents’ terms are up, thanks to a newfound power several councilors appear eager to use.

    The council previously had waited until after board members’ terms had expired to appoint their successor. In fact, several councilors, including Council President William Parker and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt, appeared to believe that was the law, only discovering that it wasn’t when Parker attempted to delay two mayoral appointments to the Birmingham Airport Authority. Read more.

  • BCRI Gets Emergency Funding From City of Birmingham

    The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will receive $250,000 in emergency funding from the city of Birmingham to continue operating for the next four months. But councilors warned that BCRI needs to find more sources of money, particularly since the city has lost significant revenue during the pandemic. Read more.

  Economy

  Transit

  • Birmingham Council OKs Partial Transit Funding Under Protest From Hoyt

    Despite delays in the city’s overall operating budget, the Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to fund the Birmingham-Jefferson Country Transit Authority through the end of 2020.

    The city will pay the BJCTA $5 million dollars, divided into two quarterly installments of $2.5 million, “to make sure there’s no disruption in service at all” as the city enters for its months-long budget negotiations, Mayor Randall Woodfin said.

    Councilor Steven Hoyt protested, saying the move was tantamount to cutting BJCTA funding in half, even as other councilors said the allocation was for only part of the year, and the BJCTA also would be included in the final budget when it is passed. Read more.

  Economy

  • Preparations Begin for FedEx Ground Distribution Facility on Lakeshore Parkway

    A plan to build a FedEx Ground distribution facility on Lakeshore Parkway was unveiled at the Jefferson County Commission committee meeting Tuesday. The plan, previously known as Project Fish, is for an approximately 290,000-square-foot distribution facility that will be constructed on a 46.01-acre site off Lakeshore Parkway. Bradley attorney Trey Hill said that about 70% of the site is in the corporate limits of the city of Birmingham and 30% in the city of Bessemer. Read more.

  Race and Health Care

  2020 Election

  John Lewis

  • Praise Pours in for John Lewis and His ‘Good Trouble’

    Segregated lunch counters. Segregated buses and bus terminals. Obstacles to voting. Many people risked and gave their lives to topple these barriers, and one name that will always be prominent in those ranks will be an Alabama sharecropper’s son named John Lewis.

    Lewis, a longtime member of Congress representing a district in metro Atlanta since 1987, died Friday of pancreatic cancer, and words of praise from at home and abroad have been flowing ever since.

    “John often encouraged getting into a little ‘good trouble for a righteous cause’ and he pursued the cause of racial justice with love, and as a uniter, not a divider,” U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said in a statement released by his office. “He taught me that heroes walk among us, and that true heroes are those that bring us together. We lost a true American hero today.”

    Lewis’ 80 years of life began up in rural Pike County, in a house with no plumbing or electricity, where he was the third of 10 children in the family of Eddie and Willie Mae Lewis. As a boy, he preached to chickens. As a teenager, he heard remarks from Martin Luther King Jr., followed the Montgomery bus boycott and later met both King and Rosa Parks. Read more.

  U.S. Senate Race

  • Jones Starts Last Leg of Campaign With Almost 16 Times as Much Money as Tuberville

    Freshman Democrat Doug Jones, widely regarded as the most vulnerable member of the U.S. Senate in the November general election, heads into the race against Republican Tommy Tuberville with a huge cash advantage, according to reports the candidates filed Wednesday with the Federal Elections Commission.

    In reports for the second quarter of this year, Jones showed a campaign balance of $8.78 million while Tuberville, who defeated former Sen. Jeff Sessions on Tuesday for the GOP nomination, listed his cash on hand at $551,285. Read more.

  Birmingham Police

  • First Police Review Finds BPD is “Doing Pretty Good,” Woodfin Says, Ends With Explicit Ban on Chokeholds

    Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Tuesday morning that his office’s 30-day internal review of the Birmingham Police Department had been completed. The result? “While we found that we are doing pretty good, there is still room for improvement,” he said.

    The internal review focused primarily on criteria promoted by #8CANTWAIT, a national campaign calling for immediate policy changes — such as banning chokeholds and strangleholds and requiring officers to de-escalate situations wherever possible — to police departments throughout the country. The results, Woodfin said, showed that “in spirit, Birmingham is in alignment with the standards of #8CANTWAIT.” Read more.

  COVID-19

  • Williamson: People’s Actions in the Next Two Weeks Critical to Controlling the Future of COVID Infections

    People of Alabama can slow the spread of COVID-19 if they will wear masks, socially distance and follow other medical advice over the coming days, the head of the Alabama Hospital Association said Tuesday.

    Dr. Don Williamson, who previously served as the state health officer, said he is concerned about the way the coronavirus is being transmitted, and he is worried that it has the potential to put a strain on Alabama hospitals. Williamson was the guest of U.S. Sen. Doug Jones on a Facebook Live event Tuesday.

    “This is one of those rare diseases where we control our future,” he said. “If we over the next 10 days to two weeks will put on masks, will avoid large group gatherings, will maintain six feet of social distance, will wash our hands and do all the things that we’ve talked about … we will make a meaningful difference in the transmission of this virus,” Williamson said. Read more.

  • Residents, Employees at Veterans Nursing Homes Test Positive for COVID-19

    At the end of June, after completing a round of testing for the coronavirus at the state’s four veterans homes, the state Department of Veterans Affairs reported that all of the residents at the homes were “virus free.”

    That is no longer the case.

    The department reported Monday that after additional testing last week, nine residents and seven employees at the William F. Green State Veterans Home in Bay Minette tested positive for the coronavirus. So have seven employees at the Colonel Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in Pell City, three at the Floyd “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home in Huntsville and four at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home in Alexander City.
    Read more.

  • Wilson Wrestles With Ways to Tamp Down COVID-19 in Jefferson County

    Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson wrestles with how the state’s most populous county can decrease the daily number of COVID-19 cases, which has been steadily rising for the past two weeks.

    The county inked a record 343 cases from Wednesday, marking a high point in what has been an upward trend for the county. This past week, July 3-10, 10,659 people were tested in the county, with 1,417 of them testing positive for COVID-19. That’s an average of 202 new cases per day and a positive test rate of 13.3%, Wilson said. There also were 19 deaths during the week.

    “The situation is horrible,” Wilson said. Read more.

  • Fauci Says Alabama Still Could Rein in COVID-19, Even as Cases Spread Among Young People

    Dr. Anthony Fauci said even though Alabama has seen a rapid rise in the number of COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day, the state now has “a window of opportunity” to slow the virus outbreak.

    Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday in a press conference with Alabama Sen. Doug Jones that the methods to slow the spread of virus are known: washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing and closing bars.

    “Indoor bars are the perfect setup for the virus to spread,” he said.

    The reopening of bars and resumption of large events with little social distance has put younger people in the virus’ cross hairs.

    Last month, Jones said, the median age of virus victims in the state dropped 15 years. In Alabama, the largest portion of people testing positive for the disease is now those in the 25- to 49-year age range. Read more.

  Jefferson County

  • Underground Fire Continues to Burn in Forestdale, Forces Residents Out of Their Homes

    A fire burning underground in the Forestdale area for six weeks is sending noxious smoke into the neighborhood and forcing people to leave their homes.

    Jefferson County is sending in employees to assess the fire, which is on property that once was a private, legal dump, and help determine a solution to put it out.

    The fire at 532 Timber Ridge Drive started on May 30 and has covered the surrounding area with smoke, forcing people near the fire to seek living arrangements away from their homes. Read more.

  About News

  • Some Fans May Have to Throw Out Their Favorite Sports Team T-Shirt

    Two popular fan choices to replace “Redskins” as the nickname of Washington’s NFL franchise are “Pigskins” and “Red Tails” (in honor of the World War II fighter pilots from Tuskegee, Alabama). I suggest owner Daniel Snyder make everyone happy with a compromise choice of “Pig Tails.” (Please push your automated laugh track button now.)

    Sports team nicknames can be funny, but the Washington franchise’s adherence to its 87-year-old name in the face of multiple protests in recent decades is not funny. Native American activists brand the name as racist. The franchise cites tradition and says the name pays tribute to the heritage of American Indians. But on Monday, Snyder, who once vowed he would never change the name, agreed to do so. It’s part of a national awakening about memorials and symbols that demean traditionally oppressed groups, but mostly it’s because some big-time corporations threatened to withdraw sponsorship of the Redskins. Read more.

  U.S. Attorney

  Environmental Justice

  Birmingham City Schools

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Jefferson County Will Take on Improvements for Medical West Development

    The Jefferson County Commission took a step toward supporting Medical West hospital’s making its new home in McCalla with the rezoning of four parcels bordering Interstate 459.

    Today’s action rezones the property from A-1 agricultural to institutional-2. Medical West is an affiliate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System.

    The rezoning came with repeated reference to the hospital having to remain in unincorporated Jefferson County. Read more.

  COVID-19

  • College Students to Be Tested for Coronavirus Using Federal Allotment

    Colleges and universities in Alabama and some underserved regions of the state will benefit from $30 million of the state’s federal allocation from the Cares Act, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Monday. Read more.

  • Jefferson County Plans to Set Up COVID-19 Nursing Home Unit

    Jefferson County Commissioners today OK’d establishing a dedicated unit to care for nursing home patients who have COVID-19 in one location. The commission authorized an agreement with the UAB board of trustees to establish the unit. The plan calls for Jefferson County to use a portion of its Cares Act funds for this project, which will put patients in a wing of Aspire Physical Recovery Center at Hoover. Read more.

  • People Succumbing to COVID Fatigue are Spreading the Virus, UAB Doc Says; NY Tells Alabama Travelers to Quarantine or Go Elsewhere

    The biggest challenge to stopping the spread of COVID-19 now is the public’s desire to return to the “old normal,” Dr. Molly Fleece, UAB assistant professor of infectious diseases, said Wednesday.

    “Masks work,” Fleece said as UAB and other health officials brace for increased summer activities and the Fourth of July.

    The number of COVID-19 cases in the state rose Wednesday by 954, one of the largest daily increases since the pandemic began, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

    Fleece said that, over the past 24 hours, Mobile and Lee counties had their highest number of new cases recorded.

    She said the spike in the number of cases can be attributed to summer travel and COVID fatigue as people just want to go back to their old lifestyles.

    Also Wednesday, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut barred travelers from Alabama from entering without quarantining for 14 days upon arrival. Read more.

  • Gov. Ivey Has Been Quiet On COVID-19. Does It Matter?

    Some governors have spent lots of time in front of the cameras talking about the coronavirus pandemic. New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has held daily press briefings. Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has been out front almost daily as well.

    Meanwhile, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has been relatively quiet about COVID-19. That’s despite new cases increasing sharply around the state in June.

    “I think we’ve all got to do a much better job of educating people top to bottom,” U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said in a press conference last week.

    He said state leaders, not just the governor, should be talking about the pandemic. He added the message those leaders give should be based on science.
    Read more.

  • Low ICU Capacity Could Affect Non-Coronavirus Patients the Most

    WBHM

    Alabama’s ICU capacity has fallen to 19% as coronavirus cases continued to climb steadily across the state. That amounts to about 300 ICU beds of 1,600 available statewide. Alabama confirmed 787 new cases Friday, bringing the total to 28,583. While the number of hospitalizations has fluctuated slightly, overall it has trended upward since the pandemic began. That’s concerning to Dr. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association.

    For more on the impact on hospitals, WBHM spoke with Williamson. Read more.

  • Dr. Saag: Alabamians Get an F for Following Public Health Advice

    Dr. Michael Saag has become frustrated with the public. The infectious disease doctor and COVID-19 survivor said recently that he knows people have become impatient with the continuing pandemic and are tired of changing their lifestyles to accommodate it. But the reaction from the public has been “not very mature,” he said during the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham’s Community Call last week.

    In fact, he said he’d give Alabamians an F in their ability to carry out public health advice that would have tamped down the virus – maintaining social distance, wearing face masks and staying home as much as is practical, among them. As a result, the state’s coronavirus cases have once again been rising, to the point that Alabama has shown more new cases than the entire country of Germany.

    That danger isn’t going away anytime soon. Saag said the novel coronavirus will be with us for a least another year – until doctors develop an effective vaccine or early treatment. Watch Saag’s presentation.

  • More Coronavirus News

    Read all of BirminghamWatch’s coronavirus coverage.

  About News

  • Execute Journalists? Don’t Think It Hasn’t Happened

    President Trump’s reported statement that journalists who publish leaked information should be “executed” is a more explicit and heinous extension of his repeated “enemy of the people” trope. It’s so far beyond the pale that the only necessary reaction is ridicule, then dismissal as nothing more than Trump venting berserkly in private*.

    Except for the fact that it has happened.

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that in the past 18 months, 14 journalists around the world have been murdered because they were journalists. UNESCO reports some that CPJ does not, including one as recently as this month. Some of the assassinations have suspected ties to government officials, others to political or criminal groups.
    Read more.

  Don Siegelman

  • Former Governor Turns Attention to Criminal Justice System Following Release From Prison

    It has been three years since former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was released from prison after being convicted of federal corruption charges in 2006. One thing remains unchanged about the case: Siegelman maintains he is innocent.

    A jury convicted Siegelman of bribery for soliciting a $500,000 donation from then-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy for a fund to support his education lottery campaign. Prosecutors say in exchange, Siegelman appointed Scrushy to a state hospital regulatory board. Siegelman said the prosecution was politically motivated.

    In a new memoir, “Stealing Our Democracy: How the Political Assassination of a Governor Threatens our Nation,” Seigelman lays out how he saw the case and trial. But paints himself as a fighter for criminal justice reform after experiencing what he believes was an improper prosecution.
    Read more.

  Letter From the Birmingham Jail

  Protests

  • Birmingham Council Agrees to Fine for Covering Confederate Monument Base

    Earlier this month, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin yielded to protestors’ demands to remove the controversial Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument from Linn Park.

    The statue was driven to an undisclosed location — for its protection, Woodfin said — and the city was promptly sued by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall for violating the state’s Memorial Preservation Act. Marshall has said he will be seeking a $25,000 penalty.

    On Tuesday, the City Council voted to pay a different $25,000 fine associated with the Confederate statue — this one resulting from the actions of former Mayor William Bell, who ordered the statue covered by a black plywood barrier in August 2017. Read more.

  • Woodfin Says He Received Death Threats After Removal of Monument

    Responding to questions this morning on the NBC Today show, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said he received death threats in response to his order to take down a Confederate monument in the wake of destructive protests Sunday night.

    “Unfortunately, in the state of Alabama, there’s a lot of people who like to participate in revisionist history,” Woodfin said, speaking with host Al Roker. “They believe it’s American to support the Civil War as relates to these competitive monuments. They’re mad because we took the statue down and, yes, there have been several threats.
    Read more.

  • Finding A Way Forward in Birmingham After Violence and Destruction

    A Confederate monument that stood in a downtown Birmingham’s Linn Park for 115 years is now gone. Crews removed the structure following protests over police treatment of black Americans that turned destructive on Sunday, damaging many buildings. This happened in a city that prides itself on its history of nonviolent protest during the civil rights era. Rev. Thomas Wilder leads Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville. It’s the same church Birmingham civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth once led. Wilder spoke with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager. Read more.

  • Relief Fund Set Up for Small Businesses Damaged in Protest

    A coalition of community groups, in partnership with the city of Birmingham, has set up the Birmingham Business Relief Fund to give grants to small businesses affected by protestors’ vandalism Sunday night. “Many businesses were already suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these funds will assist businesses as they rebuild, repair and renew their operations,” Ivan Holloway, executive director at Urban Impact, said in a statement announcing the program. Read more.

  About News

  • Coverage of Protests Brings Out Internal Newsroom Anger

    The homicide of George Floyd and the subsequent street protests have illuminated failings not only among law enforcement agencies but also among many mainstream news organizations. Along with other issues, the well-documented lack of racial diversity on newsroom staffs has shown itself in harmful and embarrassing ways.

    Perhaps a black journalist in The New York Times’ chain of editing, or simply a heightened awareness created by a more diverse department, would have anticipated the valid internal and external criticism that U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s published idea to send the military to “restore order” in American cities posed a safety threat to protesters and journalists, especially black ones. “This puts our Black staff members in danger,” the newsroom union wrote.
    Read more.

  Alabama Prisons

  Energy Production

  • PSC Gives Thumbs-Up for Alabama Power to Increase Fossil Fuel Use, Delays Solar Request

    UPDATED — Alabama regulators voted today to give the go-ahead to Alabama Power Company’s request to add almost 2 million megawatts of energy from natural gas sources to its capacity to generate electricity. The plan, proposed last year, would include a new 726-megawatt gas unit at its Plant Barry near Mobile.

    The commission also voted to delay consideration of Alabama Power’s additional request to add 400 megawatts in solar-plus-storage generation to its inventory.

    Combined, the requests are estimated to cost Alabama Power $1.1 billion, which ultimately would be paid by its customers. Read more.

  Law enforcement

  • ALDOT Considering Allowing Police Cameras, Plate Readers

    The Alabama Department of Transportation is considering allowing law enforcement agencies access to ALDOT rights-of-way and structures to install license plate readers and other surveillance equipment.

    At least one Alabama lawmaker said legislation may be needed to regulate the use of the devices and information they collect.

    Tony Harris, government relations manager for ALDOT, told Alabama Daily News the proposed rules are a result of recent requests from multiple police agencies.
    Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Jefferson County Commission Names New CFO

    Viewers of Tuesday’s Jefferson County Commission committee meeting were given a hint of what was to come in today’s commission meeting.

    Even if they didn’t realize it.

    Revenue Director Travis Hulsey, the county’s interim chief financial officer, was about to present financial resolutions when commissioners asked that deputy CFO Angela Dixon make the presentation instead.

    They did that because Dixon was hired today to be the county CFO, replacing John Henry, who left for a job in Washington, D.C., in January.
    Read more.

  Open Records

  • Nonprofits Target Open Records Law With Suit Against Three State Officials

    Two environmental groups filed suit this week under the Alabama Open Records Act seeking to force state officials to turn over documents related to the 35th Avenue Superfund federal bribery trial.

    Over the past few years many nonprofits, news organizations and others have attempted to use the law to gain access to information but often have been stonewalled by agencies and their officers.

    The Environmental Defense Alliance and Gasp, a clean air and human rights advocate, filed a lawsuit claiming that Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and a member of the Alabama Environmental Management Commission violated the Open Records Act by denying access to public records.
    Read more.

  Alabama Public Service Commission

  Education

  Birmingham City Council

  • Ensley’s Ramsay-McCormack Building to be Razed, Replaced

    Ensley’s long-abandoned Ramsay-McCormack building will be demolished and replaced by a four-story, multi-use building, Mayor Randall Woodfin told the Birmingham City Council on Wednesday.

    An assessment by commercial construction firm Stewart/Perry revealed numerous structural problems in the 10-story, city-owned office building, which has been vacant since 1986.
    Read more.