Category: City of Birmingham

Federal COVID-19 Rent and Utilities Assistance Set for Birmingham Residents

Sam Prickett,

The City of Birmingham has received nearly $6.3 million in federal funding to assist residents who are unable to pay rent and utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding comes as part of a $25 billion program from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which began allocating money to states, territories, local governments and Indian tribes last month.

Funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance program was approved by the City Council during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. It was initially announced last month by Mayor Randall Woodfin, who said his administration had made the funding a “priority.”
Read more.

Woodfin Describes Battle With COVID, Sees Relief Coming for the City From the Biden Administration

Sam Prickett,

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin urges Birmingham residents to continue taking the new coronavirus seriously, and he speaks from firsthand experience.

Woodfin told BirminghamWatch on Saturday that he is mostly recovered after being hospitalized briefly with COVID-related pneumonia, but it’s an uphill battle, including neurological effects that left him barely able to walk for several days. Read more.

Woodfin Looks Toward a Better 2021 in State of the Community Speech.

Sam Prickett,

This year will be better than last year, Mayor Randall Woodfin assured residents during his annual State of the Community speech Monday afternoon.

After a tumultuous 2020, which saw the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest over systemic racism, Woodfin promised greater opportunity in 2021 and reiterated his commitment to neighborhood revitalization.

“We have indeed been tested, and I believe as a city we are stronger and closer because of it,” he said. Read more.

Birmingham Pastor Calls for a State of Emergency Over Murder Rate

Andrew Yeager, WBHM,

Birmingham ended in 2020 with 122 killings – up by 13%. Of that total, 105 killings were ruled justifiable, mirroring a trend of increase in many American cities.

The city began 2021 with three killings in three days – one per day.

Rev. Paul Hollman of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham launched a billboard campaign last year to raise awareness after a member of his church was shot to death. This week he called for Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to declare a state of emergency. Hollman spoke with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager.
Read more.

Woodfin Released From Hospital, Recovering From COVID

Sam Prickett,

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has been released from the hospital two days after being admitted with COVID-related pneumonia. While his condition has improved, Woodfin will work from home and stay self-quarantined.

According to a Wednesday afternoon press release, doctors at Princeton Baptist Medical Center found “COVID pneumonia” in the mayor’s left lung.

“I’m blessed they caught it early,” Woodfin said in a statement. He received the drug Remdesivir and convalescent plasma therapy to combat the illness. Read more.

Woodfin Tests Positive for COVID, Reports Mild Symptoms

Sam Prickett,

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has tested positive for COVID-19. He announced the news in a press release Wednesday evening that quotes him as saying his symptoms are “currently mild.” While the mayor is self-quarantining, he is “still handling matters of the city,” according to the press release. Read more.

Birmingham Police Need the Public’s Help in Solving Homicides, Woodfin Says

Sam Prickett,

Mayor Randall Woodfin pleaded with Birmingham residents on Wednesday to help police in homicide investigations, saying police have “hit a wall that’s hard to crack” in many cases: uncooperative witnesses.

There have been 120 homicides in Birmingham this year, 15 of which have been ruled justifiable. Sixty-two of the remaining 105 homicides remain unsolved. That low clearance rate, Woodfin said, “is not because our detectives are not doing their job.”

“Trust me, they are,” he said during a news conference with Police Chief Patrick Smith. “But we don’t have more solved cases in part because there are some people who know who are behind these killings, but they won’t say anything.”
Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Jeffco Commission Gets Clean Bill of Health After State Review of Its Accounts

    Jimmie Stephens ended Thursday’s meeting of the Jefferson County Commission by saying that the county had received a clean bill of health from the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts.

    “They come in and check our books, our records, to make sure that everything is done in accordance with state law,” the commission president said. “No news is good news, and this is a no-news report that we have.”

    Had there been significant findings, Stephens said, the commission would have been duty bound to report that also. The report assessed the current commission and the one immediately before it. Each included Stephens and Commissioner Joe Knight.
    Read more.

  COVID-19

  • Coronavirus Cases Dip, Vaccine Shots Rise in ADPH Report

    The daily average number of new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama dipped below the 1,000-mark and the number of people receiving vaccines continued to climb in Thursday’s update by the state Department of Public Health.

    There were 890 new cases of the coronavirus, dropping the daily average to 964 over the past week. The 7-day moving average had been below 1,000 for six days before rising to 1,008 on Wednesday. The average stood at 971 one week ago and 2,251 at this time in January. The highest daily average for the pandemic was 4,280 for the week ended Jan. 10.

    ADPH reported 87 new deaths in Thursday’s report, bringing the overall total to 9,831.
    Read more.

  • Federal COVID-19 Rent and Utilities Assistance Set for Birmingham Residents

    The City of Birmingham has received nearly $6.3 million in federal funding to assist residents who are unable to pay rent and utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The funding comes as part of a $25 billion program from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which began allocating money to states, territories, local governments and Indian tribes last month.

    Funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance program was approved by the City Council during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. It was initially announced last month by Mayor Randall Woodfin, who said his administration had made the funding a “priority.”
    Read more.

  • Surge in Deaths Strains Local Funeral Homes, Morgue

    In recent months, deaths due to COVID-19 increased dramatically, further stressing an industry already overwhelmed. Read more.

  Legislature

  • Bill Would Allow No-Excuse Absentee Voting

    A bill that would allow no-excuse absentee voting in Alabama has support from the secretary of state, but it faced some pushback during a public hearing on Wednesday.   

    House Bill 396 from Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, removes the excuse provision for absentee voting and allows absentee election managers to appoint additional assistants.

    Current law allows absentee voting only for a few reasons, including expecting to be out of the country, having a job that requires working a 10-hour shift that coincides with polling hours or having a homebound family member. Voters must check a box next to the reason that applies to them. Falsifying the application is a Class C felony, according to state law.
    Read more.

  Education

  BirminghamWatch Recommends

  COVID Vaccine

  • Alabama’s COVID-19 Numbers Continue Significant Improvement

    The weather in Alabama may be bone-chilling cold, but the data on the COVID-19 outbreak are moving in the direction that should warm the hearts of health officials. In BirminghamWatch’s periodic analysis of data provided by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the number of new daily cases of the virus has dropped by more than three-fourths since a peak less than six weeks ago. The 7-day moving average is trending downward and about to pass the 1,000-per-day mark — a figure that hasn’t been seen since the middle of October. Read more.

  • Bruno Event Team Takes Over JCDH Vaccine Call Center

    A company that made its name by running golf tournaments, football games and car races is now taking over a call center that handles inquiries about COVID-19 vaccines. The Bruno Event Team has been operating the Jefferson County Department of Health’s call center since Friday. Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  In Remembrance

  Birmingham City Council

  COVID-19

  Amazon

  Birmingham City Elections

  Alabama Education Association

  • AEA Selects New Executive Director

    Amy Hubbard Marlowe is the new executive director of the Alabama Education Association, the organization’s board of directors announced this week.
    Marlowe has served as interim executive director for two years and previously worked in the association’s governmental relations, public relations and research and technology branches.

    The AEA’s primary legislative goal this session is a significant pay raise for educators, the press release said. Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to request in the proposed budget she sends lawmakers this week a 2% increase, ADN reported last week.
    Read more.

  Hate in Alabama

  • Alabama is Home to 20 Hate Groups, 838 Operate Nationwide, SPLC Says

    The Southern Poverty Law Center released its annual list of hate groups nationwide Feb. 1, and while the number of groups has gone down from last year, there are still 20 Alabama groups that made the cut. Altogether, the SPLC tracked 830 organizations defined as hate groups in 2020. “The number is a barometer, albeit only one, of the level of hate activity in the country,” the website says. Read more.

  Coronavirus Vaccine

  Alabama Legislature

  • Broadband Expansion to Underserved Areas Could Cost $4B-$6B

    It will cost around $4 billion to $6 billion to bring broadband access to underserved areas of the state, Alabama lawmakers were recently told.

    The information, along with an updated map of those underserved portions of the state, was presented by CTC Technology and Energy, which has a contract to develop a statewide plan for broadband access.

    Joanne Hovis, CTC president, said the cost estimate was based on providing the best level of technology.
    Read more.

  About News

  • Warning: If You Get Chills Reading This, Keep It to Yourself

    Got a great job for you. It’s in journalism. Never mind that if you take it you can’t publicly support a political candidate, donate to a political campaign, make money on the side without your boss’ approval, date someone you met on the job or accept a small token of thanks from a subject grateful for your hard work.

    Here’s something else that many news organizations say you can’t do in your personal life: express a political opinion on social media. Read more.

  Coronavirus

  Fultondale tornado

  • Fultondale High School Too Badly Damaged by Tornado to Use Again

    The end came earlier than expected for the Fultondale High School facility.

    After the school suffered heavy damage from this week’s EF-3 tornado, Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin announced Friday that the building would no longer be used for in-school education.

    “We have been assessing the damage since Monday night. At this point, it does not appear the building will be able to be occupied again. The damage is that extensive,” Gonsoulin said in a statement sent by email and Facebook to parents and staff.
    Read more.

  Doug Jones

  Coronavirus

  Census

  GovernmentWatch

  About News

  • No Easy Way to Make Fox News Change Its Bad Behavior

    No one is more responsible for the devastation to life and property at the U.S. Capitol than the criminals themselves, but retributions are under way against parts of the media environment that allowed it and even encouraged it.

    Under public pressure, and perhaps stunned by events, major social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have temporarily or permanently suspended selected accounts, including the president’s, deemed to potentially incite violence. Amazon, Apple and Google essentially shut down Parler, a social media platform popular with conspiracy theorists.

    It’s not as clear what to do about traditional news media, such as Fox News, that also stirred unfounded anger with repeated lies by opinion hosts, commentators and guests about the validity of the presidential election. Read more.

  Birmingham

  COVID-19

  Biden Administration

  U.S. Sen. Doug Jones

  The Legacy of Race

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