Birmingham has increased its recycling pick-up schedule to twice a month, though Mayor Randall Woodfin says his “full intent” is to eventually return to the program's pre-COVID weekly schedule. Read more.
Seventy-two people have filed their paperwork and are officially running for office in the upcoming Birmingham city elections. After the qualifying deadline elapsed Friday, eight people were on the ballot to compete in the mayor’s race, trying to capture the seat now held by Mayor Randall Woodfin. The other most populated race is for Birmingham City Council District 8, where eight people also have qualified to run for the seat being vacated by Councilor Steven Hoyt. The election will be held Aug. 24, and voters have until Aug. 9 to register to vote. On the ballot will be the mayor’s race, nine City Council races and nine Birmingham Board of Education races. Read on for the official lineup.
Birmingham business executive Jessica Taylor launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, proclaiming a love for “God, guns, family, fishing and four-wheeling,” and promising to take on socialists, big tech and radical liberals. Read more.
Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales filed papers Wednesday to officially qualify to run for mayor of Birmingham. Read more. See who has qualified for city races: Birmingham Elections Begin Officially as Candidates File Qualifying Papers
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would change the definition of riot in state law and increase penalties for those who participate in one has been pre-filed for the 2022 regular legislative session. Read more.
The 2022 state primary elections are nearly 11 months away, but several candidates in contested races got off to strong fundraising starts in June. One candidate lent himself $250,000 for his statewide office bid. House District 54 Incumbent Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, raised nearly $19,000 in cash contributions in June. Brit Blalock in her bid to
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt raised $2.24 million in the first three weeks since she announced she’s seeking the office, her campaign said today. Ninety percent of that total came from within the state. Read more. In related news: Primary Challengers, Incumbents Raising Funds for ’22
Scroll in and click on each location to read more about the person who was killed. A red ‘X’ indicates a homicide. A blue ‘X’ indicates an officer-involved shooting where a civilian was shot. The city of Birmingham has recorded 63 homicides so far in 2021, according to data from the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. Last year, Birmingham hit a record for the highest number of homicides in 25 years. The city’s police chief, Patrick Smith, told WBHM that even with that record high, the city fared well in comparison to other areas across the country. “It could have been a whole lot worse,” Smith said. “Certainly, we don’t want to see the loss of life anywhere at all. And I wish that we could do more. But we’re trying to work within the confines of what we have as a department.” Read more.
Seats on several Birmingham boards and authorities will be up for grabs next month, including city council-appointed positions on the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority and the Birmingham Land Bank Authority. Read more.
State leaders are now discussing building two new prisons and renovating others in an effort to improve the state’s dangerous and crowded correctional system. Legislative and Alabama Department of Corrections leaders met Thursday in Montgomery for the third time in less than a month to discuss options. Another meeting is scheduled for next week, Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, told Alabama Daily News. Read more.
