WBHM Jefferson County may allow absentee voting on a Saturday later this month, but county Probate Judge James Naftel said any such move would first need to be authorized by county or state officials. Read more.
Birmingham Public Library Executive Director Floyd Council has been suspended without pay for one month by the library system’s board of trustees, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. The decision was made in a library board meeting Tuesday. As with all personnel decisions, the board held the discussion and took the vote to suspend Council during a private executive session. Details of the suspension, including the reasoning behind it, were not immediately made public. Deputy Director Janine Langston will take over as interim director. Read more.
People who want to vote absentee now must provide a photo ID to apply for an absentee ballot and have the signatures of two witnesses or a notary to cast the ballot itself. A federal court ruled Tuesday that the state should enforce those requirements. However, the court did say curbside voting should be allowed in Alabama if counties want to offer it. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council has set a Nov. 10 public hearing to discuss the proposed rezoning of several properties around the former Carraway Methodist Medical Center campus. The hospital, located at 1600 Carraway Boulevard, closed due to bankruptcy in 2008 and has been abandoned ever since. In 2019, Corporate Realty announced plans to redevelop the property into a multi-use site including retail, dining, residential and entertainment spaces. The existing hospital structures will have to be demolished, developers told residents last year, though the existing parking decks will remain. Read more.
The circuit clerk’s office at the Jefferson County Courthouse was closed Monday for Columbus Day, but staffers in the office weren’t taking a holiday. “The absentee staff is working on the mail today, getting out ballots, the ballots that have been returned,” said James P. Naftel II, the presiding probate judge of Jefferson County. “(Columbus Day is) a state holiday and the circuit clerk's office is closed for in-person voting today but it will reopen tomorrow.” It’s been a working weekend of those in the clerk’s office as they have set the stage for what they hope is a more efficient processing of in-person absentee voters. Read more.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett would fill the seat left vacant with the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Watch the hearings live Monday-Wednesday at 8 a.m. Central on WBHM’s website. This special coverage will preempt WBHM’s regular schedule.
Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales gave absentee voters some cautionary advice during Thursday’s commission meeting, but county attorney Theo Lawson said her concern is unwarranted. Scales suggested that absentee voters continue to send in copies of their identification and have the signatures of two witnesses to avoid the possibility their vote would not be counted if a recent federal judge’s ruling is overturned. Lawson said that caution is unnecessary. Read more.
Corrected — Help is on the way to deal with a flood of Jefferson County absentee ballots in the general election. Deputy county manager Cal Markert during a Jefferson County Commission meeting Thursday said 24 temporary workers are expected to start work in the clerk’s office by Monday. These temp workers will deal with in-person absentee voters as well as a backlog of mailed-in absentee ballots. Circuit Clerk Jacqueline Anderson-Smith told BirminghamWatch recently that 400 to 500 persons have been coming to the Birmingham Courthouse every day to cast their ballots. A similar wave of voters is descending on the Bessemer Courthouse, and lines of people wanting to vote have formed at both locations. Alabama appears on its way to having a record number of absentee ballots cast this year. More than 130,000 voters already had requested absentee ballots earlier this week. Oct. 29 is the deadline to apply for absentee ballots. Read more.
Deputy county manager Cal Markert said the strategic plan he presented to county commissioners at their committee meeting Tuesday morning is a roadmap for the county. “It also sets clear direction for the county as a whole,” Markert said after presenting the 25-page document. “It sets clear direction for each department. Each department has created their own plan that supports this master plan.” Accountability is key, he said. The strategic plan includes a system for residents and employees to grade their experiences, and it includes a system to map damage to roads, so the county can address the worst roads first. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council has approved the rezoning of a downtown property that will allow for the construction of a five-story, multi-family apartment complex. The 4.75-acre property, located at 2420 First Ave. S., is currently a construction yard, but developers plan to “raze and redevelop” the property into an apartment complex that will include 273 units and 253 parking spaces. Read more.
