Government

Alabama Army National Guard Troops Help Provide Security for Biden Inauguration

Several hundred Alabama Army National Guard troops are helping provide security for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, and one of them is a second lieutenant from Oneonta whose parents also had military careers. Lt. John Rogers, 24, a transportation officer with a unit in the Birmingham-based 20th Special Forces Group, headed to Washington by bus on Sunday with some of his fellow Guard soldiers. Following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump, tension is running high in D.C. Thousands of soldiers, including Alabama Guard troops from military police units, will be on hand to stop any re-occurrence of last week’s violence, in which five people died. Read more.

by Tom Gordon

Birmingham Council Hires Its Own Lobbyist and Lawyer, Saying the Mayor Doesn’t Share Information

The Birmingham City Council hired its own lobbyist and legal consultant Tuesday, a move granting the council greater independence from the mayor’s office. The council approved two $45,000 contracts during its virtual meeting — one with lobbying firm Miller Development Group and one with law firm Campbell Partners, LLC. The council cited the opacity of Mayor Randall Woodfin’s legislative agenda and the need for a “council-focused” legal consultant outside of the city’s law department, which reports to the mayor. The Mayor’s Office retains its own lobbyist. “This council needs help, and we need our own help, because the city’s help is not ours,” said District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott. “They don’t report to us, they don’t answer to us, they don’t do what we want.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

JeffCo Commission Picks Up Where Feds Left Off, Will Pay for COVID Time Off

Today, Jefferson County picked up where the federal government left off, covering the cost of employees taking off because they’ve been exposed to or contracted the novel coronavirus. Following its committee meeting today, commissioners reconvened their Jan. 7 commission meeting to retroactively extend what had been provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

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.

by Sam Prickett

Scales Announces Bid for Mayor

Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales today tossed her hat in the ring for mayor of Birmingham. “I'm not into being in a fight with anyone because that doesn't serve the City of Birmingham well,” Scales said near Kiwanis Trail at the base of Vulcan Park. “But I will tell you this: If you give me the opportunity to serve as your mayor, not just the first woman mayor, but to serve as your mayor, you will have a seat at the table. That is what I can guarantee.” Scales is bidding to return to Birmingham City Hall, where she was a member of the City Council for nine years until she unseated George Bowman on the commission in 2018. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Alabama Representatives Voted Along Party Lines in Trump Impeachment

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — Alabama’s representatives voted along party lines last week to impeach President Trump and to call on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke 25th Amendment proceedings to remove Trump from office. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Alabama Officials Not That Worried About Protest at State House

UPDATED  — The FBI says that “armed protests” could erupt at state capitols in all 50 states, and some officials are making significant preparations to face a possible onslaught of Trump supporters grieved by the impending Biden inauguration. In Alabama, well, officials seem less worried. “I don’t foresee anybody trying to really storm the Alabama state capitol, and why they would do it, I don’t know,” said Patrick Harris, secretary of the Alabama Senate. “I mean, we’re the home of everybody that’s supporting all these people,” he said, referring to Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, whose role in stirring up the insurrection remains under scrutiny. “And we voted for Trump, we certified our votes for Trump.” The prevailing idea seems to be that rightwing protestors, neo-Confederates, Proud Boys or others are not expected to kick up trouble in Montgomery over the presidential election. Even a spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center and its Hatewatch unit, which closely monitors the activities of such groups, said, “We don’t have any specific notes to share about Alabama at this time.” At least for Sunday, they appeared to be right. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that there were more police than onlookers at the Capitol building. About two dozen Montgomery police officers and state troopers were on the Capitol grounds Sunday. Several others sat in parked cars at the road barricades, and the police chief paced the block with two officers in an ATV. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Alabama Black Mayors Say It’s Time for a New Reconstruction, Lament Capitol Insurrection

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin described the Jan. 6 Capitol insurgency as a time when people "identified themselves as white supremacists," which he said the country must acknowledge. "To move the country forward, we have to acknowledge the pain it caused, have accountability and move forward," he said during a livestreamed interview with Karen Attiah, global opinions editor for the Washington Post. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed described the insurrectionists as people who felt they could get close enough to use deadly force. The terrorists exhibited "a level of privilege, entitlement and outright brazenness," he added. The two black mayors, whose cities represent the cradle and battlegrounds of the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s to the present day, were interviewed during a Facebook Live event by Karen Attiah, the global opinions editor of the Washington Post, on Friday, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Alabama Representatives Split Along Party Lines in Vote on Trump Impeachment

Six of Alabama’s seven members in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against impeaching President Trump on Wednesday. Rep. Terri Sewell, the state’s lone Democrat, voted for impeachment. Voting against it were Republicans Jerry Carl, Barry Moore, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer. Overall, the House voted 232-197 to support one impeachment

by BirminghamWatch

Huntsville Picked for Headquarters of New U.S. Space Command

The Pentagon has selected Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal as the headquarters for the nation’s new U.S. Space Command. “We will make you proud of your decision,’’ Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle said Wednesday in a statement. “We look forward to the partnership with the U.S. Space Command and pledge to make it a success from day one.’' The Air Force said Huntsville is the “preferred and reasonable’’ site pending a required environmental impact study — considered a routine process — that should be finished by 2023. Six cities were in contention for the selection. Read more.

by John Anderson