Government

Mural Disagreement Delays Grant to Five Points West

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt clashed Tuesday over a proposed grant that would fund five new murals in Five Points West, in addition to several other programs, The argument resulted in a two-week delay and threats from Woodfin to scuttle the grant entirely. The grant, part of Woodfin’s Bold — Building Opportunities for Lasting Development — program, would give the Five Points West/Crossplex Business Alliance $26,500 to provide a variety of services, including training, talent and recruitment programs for local businesses, a new business office for meetings and training to be developed in tandem with Main Street Alabama, façade and signage improvements for small businesses and the collection of data “regarding all businesses and commercial properties in the Five Points West Commercial Corridor.” But Hoyt, who had called for the item to be delayed when it appeared before the council last month, took issue with one clause in the proposed grant requiring the business alliance to develop five murals in the Five Points West business district. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Alabama Representatives Flip Votes on Two Measures Involving Cleanup of PFAS Pollution

KEY VOTES AHEAD The House will take up measures concerning age discrimination in the workplace and student loan forgiveness the week of Jan. 13, while the Senate will vote on judicial and executive branch nominations and possibly a measure restraining the administration's actions against Iran. WASHINGTON — Alabama’s representatives in the U.S. House last week flipped votes on two issues concerning regulation of PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and found in levels above those allowed by the EPA in the Tennessee River, drinking water and land in northern Alabama. Alabama’s lone Democrat in the House voted for a bill addressing cleanup of PFAS contamination, and the Republicans who voted gave it a thumbs-down. Then the Republicans voted for a motion to specifically name unborn children among the populations that should be protected from PFAS exposure, and the Democrat voted against it. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Jefferson County Commission Delays Vote on Fee for Card Payments

John Henry twice said his goodbyes on Thursday – first at his final meeting of the Jefferson County Commission and then at a farewell event in his honor later in the afternoon. But the final wave goodbye for the county’s chief financial officer will likely be his input in a tabled matter concerning the proposal to add a 1% convenience fee of no less than $1.95 to over-the-counter business conducted by credit or debit card with Jefferson County. Henry suggested that commissioners table the matter for two weeks so he and Revenue Director Travis Hulsey can find an answer to a revenue department budget shortfall because of the increasing use of credit and debit cards. “We definitely understand the concerns in reference to the hit to constituents,” the outgoing CFO said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commission Moves to Preserve Downtown Jail Where Martin Luther King Jr. Was Held

The Jefferson County Commission today took the first steps toward acknowledging and preserving remnants of the jail where Martin Luther King Jr. was held. History often refers to King’s Birmingham incarceration in 1963, during which he penned his Letter From a Birmingham Jail. But months before his 1968 assassination, King was again jailed in Jefferson County, first in Bessemer and a day later on the seventh floor of the Jefferson County Courthouse in downtown Birmingham. Mark Pettway, the first black elected sheriff of the county, said he is proud to be part of this memorial to King. “We have an opportunity to tell the full story about someone who came to Jefferson County to change the lives of all those who lived here,” Pettway said. “We want to make sure that that hidden treasure that is here in this building … is memorialized to make sure that the full story does not end in Bessemer but continues here in this part of Jefferson County.”

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jones Pushes for Witnesses to Testify During Trump Trial, Talks About Tensions With Iran

The U.S. Senate should conduct a “full, fair and complete” trial of President Donald Trump that includes the testimony of witnesses and the presence of the president’s lawyers to question them, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said Thursday. “I have said consistently that I believe the American people deserve a full, fair and complete trial,” Jones said. “Justice that is fair and impartial requires witnesses, documents and the pursuit of truth over everything else. It appears that we may not be headed for a trial with witnesses.” During his weekly telephone news conference with Alabama reporters, the freshman Democrat said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has announced rules that would allow presentation of evidence and questions from senators before taking up the question of whether witnesses will be allowed. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Birmingham and UAB Partner to Offer Free Tuition to City Graduates

The University of Alabama at Birmingham will offer full tuition scholarships to some graduates of Birmingham City Schools as part of a new partnership with the City of Birmingham. The city and UAB announced the scholarship program Thursday morning at a press conference. “It makes a down payment on our city’s economic competitiveness,” Mayor Randall Woodfin says. The Birmingham Promise Scholarship is part of a city initiative that plans to offer graduates of Birmingham schools full tuition to all in-state public universities and colleges. UAB is the first academic partner to support the Birmingham Promise with a scholarship. UAB estimates it’ll contribute $250,000 the first year, according to a spokesperson for the city. The Birmingham Promise Incorporated does not yet have an estimate on how much it’ll contribute. Read more.

by Miranda Fulmore

Jefferson County Gets New Human Resources Director, Raising Hopes for Lifting Consent Decree on Personnel Practices

Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight offered a predictable straight line after Caroline Brown was introduced as Jefferson County’s new human resource director at Tuesday’s commission committee meeting. “Can you get us a good deal on a Toyota?” Knight asked, referring to her long tenure with the automaker. “Not anymore,” the Montgomery native said as the boardroom burst into laughter. “Not anymore.” While Brown can’t provide the hook-up for a fleet of motor vehicles, county manager Tony Petelos calls her “the missing link” in the county’s efforts to escape from the consent decree on personnel practices with which it has dealt for nearly 40 years. Read More

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Should Jefferson County Charge More for Credit and Debit Payments? The Commission Mulls the Question.

The Jefferson County Commission will decide Thursday whether persons and businesses doing business with the county will have to pay more for the convenience of using credit cards when paying bills at the county’s Revenue Department. The department sought a resolution during today’s committee meeting to add 1% to a transaction amount with a minimum of $1.95 for over-the-counter electronic payments. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Woodfin Takes Focus on Neighborhoods, Race and Crime in his State of the City Address

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin delivered his State of the City address to the Kiwanis Club Tuesday afternoon. His speech focused largely on his administration’s neighborhood revitalization efforts and its nascent Birmingham Promise education initiative, though he also touched on race relations in the 74% black city. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Public Hearings Set on Use of By-Products Such as Sludge, Discharges from Gaston Steam Plant and a Toll Bridge Over Lay Lake

ADEM is conducting several public hearings in the next week. Tuesday, a hearing will be conducted on proposed new standards for the beneficial use of by-products such as sludge, biosolids and waste from municipal, industrial and private sources. That hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management office in Montgomery.

by Virginia Martin