Category: City of Birmingham
Birmingham Mayor Sets out Curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Birmingham has once again been placed under curfew — though this time, the curfew is intended to quell civil unrest, not COVID-19.
The curfew is a response to Sunday night’s violent protests, Mayor Randall Woodfin said. Those demonstrations, which were ostensibly to protest the May 25 death of Minneapolis man George Floyd at the hands of police officers, turned angry as protestors in Linn Park defaced a controversial Confederate monument and, tried to set fire to a statue of Thomas Jefferson, and deface two monuments to post-confederacy military workers outside the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Pockets of the protest looked more like riots as they spilled over into the north side of the downtown area, Birmingham Police Chief Patrick D. Smith told reporters Monday that 14 businesses had been burglarized, while another 13 businesses “had significant damage — property damage, looting, broken windows, and things of that nature.” Fire Chief Cory Moon added that his department had responded to 22 fire calls Sunday night as a result of the protests. Police also reported 24 arrests among the protestors. Read more.
Birmingham Protestors Vandalize Downtown Buildings, Try to Take Down Confederate Monument
Protestors who gathered for a demonstration in Linn Park on Sunday night defaced monuments in the park and, as they left, smashed windows and vandalized buildings along downtown streets and set several fires.
Police, who had taken a hands-off stance even as the protestors defaced monuments in Linn Park, moved in after the crowd began its destructive trek through downtown. It was unclear after midnight how many people were still downtown or the extent of the damage.
Several hundred demonstrators had gone to Linn Park after an earlier, peaceful protest in Kelly Ingram Park.¬ Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson, a local comedian, during the first rally, dubbed “Birmingham the World is Watching Rally for Justice and Peace,” had told the crowd he was going to
Linn Park to topple the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument there.
That’s what the crowd attempted to do, using a truck and cords. That was after they had defaced it by spray painting messages and taking out chunks with implements such as shovels. But the monument still stood.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin later gave the crowd his word that the statue would be gone in 24 hours. Read more.
Birmingham Protestors Turn on Confederate Monument
UPDATING — Protestors as they were leaving a protest in Linn Park have begun vandalizing downtown buildings and have set fire to buildings at and near the People’s Bank.
Fox6 News was showing video of protestors setting fires, smashing windows of the Wells Fargo building, and looting the Alabama Power Co. museum. Police are moving into the area in force.
A crowd of several hundred protestors attacked the Confederate monument in Linn Park on Sunday night. The protestors tried to topple the monument using a truck and chains, and earlier they defaced it by spray painting messages and taking out chunks with implements such as shovels.
As the crowd became more rowdy, defacing or toppling three other monuments in the park, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin arrived and asked people to peacefully disperse, but the crowd shouted him down.
After Woodfin talked with protest organizer Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson, a comedian, and Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, who also was leading the protest, Johnson asked people to disperse and the mayor said the crowd to give the city 24 hours to remove the monument itself. Johnson said that if the monument isn’t removed by Tuesday morning, protestors will return at noon.
Taking down that monument could be tricky since the state has a law banning the removal of historic monuments. Read more.
Protesters Gather in Birmingham to Honor George Floyd
Protesters gathered at Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham on Saturday to honor George Floyd, the African American man killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this week. Read more.
Crowd Protests in Kelly Ingram Park in Wake of Floyd Killing
UPDATED — Spurred by the police killing of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, nearly 100 persons gathered at Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park Friday evening to rally for an end to hatred and racism.
Alabama Rally Against Injustice has coordinated another protest that began about 5 p.m. Saturday. Speeches from politicians and civil rights activists are set for the evening at Kelly Ingram Park.
Cedric Hatcher of Song Ministry was at Friday’s protest and said, “I want to bring awareness that this is not just a Minneapolis problem. It’s a Birmingham problem. It’s an Atlanta problem. It’s a New York problem. It’s a Detroit problem. It’s a California problem. It’s a Texas problem.
“It’s a problem all over the country,” Hatcher continued. “Am I my brother’s keeper or am I gonna keep killing my brother?” The group’s acronym stands for Saving Our Next Generation.
Speeches and the release of black balloons were sandwiched between a pair of marches around the perimeter of the park. The racially mixed assembly chanted the name of George Floyd, the man who died during an arrest while a police officer kneeled on his neck. The officer has been fired and today was charged with third-degree murder. Read more.
Birmingham Delays Budget Talks to Determine COVID-19’s Damage to City Coffers; Mayor Warns Next Year Could Be Austere
Birmingham’s FY 2021 budget will be delayed for three months as the city works to ascertain the financial impact of COVID-19.
Mayor Randall Woodfin told the City Council on Tuesday morning that the city could take a $75 million to $110 million hit to next year’s budget because of losses in revenues from sources such as sales, use and occupational taxes. He hopes delaying the budgeting process will give city leaders more time to understand the extent of the damage.
“Adjustments to an operational budget of our size to offset this amount of deficit would require major reductions and austerity measures to our current cost structures,” Woodfin said. Read more.
Dogs Gone: Live Greyhound Racing Ends at Birmingham Race Course
The COVID-19 pandemic is known for being fatal mostly to those who were in poor health before they were infected.
One of the latest victims of the virus would certainly fit that description, even though the victim is not a person, but a well-known institution.
The Birmingham Race Course, which began in 1987 as a Thoroughbred racing facility and which added greyhound racing in 1992, has run its last live race. The announcement came on April 22 from Kip Keefer, the head of the Birmingham Racing Commission, after he found out from track owners.
Read more.
Alabama Starts Reopening; Birmingham Requires Face Coverings and Institutes Nighttime Curfew
Alabama is officially restarting its economy – a bit.
The state’s Stay-at-Home order expired at 5 p.m. as a new Safer-at-Home order took its place, and the Shelter-in-Place order for the city of Birmingham expires at midnight.
But Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Thursday afternoon that the city had instituted a curfew that begins each evening at 10:00 and ends the following morning at 5:00. Woodfin also reminded people that the city has a new law that beginning Friday requires people out in public to wear face coverings. Medical-grade masks are not required by the ordinance; scarves, bandanas or other fabrics will suffice.
As the state eases up on its emergency order, retail stores were cleared to open at 5 p.m. Thursday, if they choose. However, they must limit the shoppers allowed in to half or less of their maximum capacity, disinfect and allow room for customers to stay 6 feet or more away from each other.
Businesses, too, may reopen if they can ensure social distancing among workers. Elective medical procedures also may resume.
The state’s beaches are open, but gatherings of 10 people or more are still prohibited, and people still must stay 6 feet away from each other.
Read more.
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.
Birmingham Mayor Undecided on When to Reopen City Economy
The city of Birmingham is working closely with Alabama health officials to determine when the city’s economy will reopen. At a press conference Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin offered updates on the city’s fight against the coronavirus. Woodfin said it’s important for residents to continue following the stay-at-home order as local and state officials take the next steps to address the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woodfin was joined by Wesley Willeford, medical director of disease control with the Jefferson County Department of Health. Willeford said the number of new coronavirus cases is decreasing each day. He said that’s due to social distancing efforts and the work of the community, as residents limit interaction with each other.
Read more.
