Category: City of Birmingham
Erasing the Stain: 15,000 Pardoned of Marijuana Possession Convictions
Mayor Randall Woodfin on Tuesday announced the pardons of more than 15,000 Birmingham residents convicted of marijuana possession, declaring that “one small mistake should not define an entire lifetime.”
The pardons — which were announced April 20, an unofficial holiday celebrating cannabis — covers residents with closed marijuana possession cases in the Birmingham Municipal Court between 1990 and 2020.
The pardons are part of Woodfin’s Pardons for Progress program, launched in November 2019, which was meant to remove employment barriers for people who had been convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. Read more.
Birmingham Sets Up Civilian Board to Review Police Misconduct
Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Monday morning the creation of a Civilian Review Board to investigate claims of misconduct by the Birmingham Police Department. The five-member board will have the authority to investigate citizen complaints and will have some subpoena powers to aid those investigations, Woodfin said. Read more.
Redevelopment of Southtown as Mixed-Use Property to Begin in June
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to rezone the Southtown Court housing project, making way for a mixed-use redevelopment of the property.
Now designated a “mixed-use downtown” district, the property, near St. Vincent’s Birmingham, will be transformed into a development that includes multi-family residential, hotel, office, retail/dining, medical office, parking garage and open space uses. Developers intend to turn the property into a “pedestrian-friendly corridor,” including pocket parks, green spaces and bike lanes.
Plans to redevelop the property, near where a 455-unit housing project now stands have existed in some form since at least 2008. Read more.
Birmingham Getting $5 Million to Battle Homelessness
Birmingham will receive just more than $5 million to combat homelessness from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s American Rescue Plan Act, it was announced Thursday. The funding is intended to help cities create affordable and supportive housing and services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Read more.
Bill Would Cut Pensions for Future Birmingham Employees, Raise Employee Contributions
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is supporting a bill in the Legislature that would both compel the city to fully fund its pension obligation and increase employee contributions to the pension fund by half a percent. The bill would be Woodfin’s latest step toward correcting the city’s longtime underfunding of the city’s pension plan, which he warned could cause a future financial crisis for the city.
HB510 is sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, who was the Woodfin-appointed assistant chief of the Birmingham Police Department from 2018 until his retirement in October. 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.
Field of Candidates for Birmingham Mayor Continues to Grow
UPDATED May 18, 2021 — Six people so far have lined up to challenge Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin for a chance to lead the city. Read more.
Woodfin Describes Battle With COVID, Sees Relief Coming for the City From the Biden Administration
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.
Birmingham Police Stations Offer Safe Place For Online Buyers and Sellers to Meet
WBHM The comments from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin come after a UAB student was shot and killed during a transaction arranged online. Read more.
Woodfin Looks Toward a Better 2021 in State of the Community Speech.
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.
