Government

City Allocates $4M in Emergency Funding to Rehab Ramsay-McCormack

Plans to renovate the long-derelict Ramsay-McCormack Building in Ensley are underway. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve a $4 million plan that could have the building revitalized and open by August 2021, developers say. The council’s decision comes just one day before a lawsuit against the city over the building’s renovation is slated to once again go before a judge. The 10-story office building, which was built in 1929, has been empty since 1986.

by Sam Prickett

Scales Proposing All Economic Development Spending Go Through Full Jefferson County Commission

Commissioner Lashunda Scales presented a resolution at the Jefferson County Commission’s committee meeting to bring all spending from the commission’s economic development fund before the full commission. Scales’ resolution to consider the issue, which passed 2-1 with commissioner Joe Knight voting no, will be considered during Thursday’s commission meeting at the Bessemer Courthouse. Commissioner Steve Ammons, who chairs economic development, and President Jimmie Stephens were absent Tuesday. “We’d just like to have transparency with the public,” Scales said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Council Elects Parker as New President

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to appoint District 4 Councilor William Parker as its new president and District 7 Councilor Wardine Alexander as president pro tempore. Parker takes over from District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott, who had held the seat since October 2017. The council’s vote was narrowly split between Parker and District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, who had just been sworn into office after winning his first public election; he originally was appointed to the council in December. Abbott and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt both jockeyed for the decisive vote, repeatedly asking the city clerk to pass over them until everyone else had voted. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Senate Rejects Plan to Restore Obama Rules Aimed at Climate Change

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate last week defeated a Democratic bid to restore the Obama administration's "Clean Power Plan," which was aimed at reducing carbon emissions by coal- and natural gas-fired electricity plants. Senators voted 41 for and 53 against in the Oct. 17 vote, with both Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Sen. Doug Jones voting against the change. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Jones Joins Critics Questioning Trump’s US Troop Pullout in Syria

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of senators who questioned President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, leaving Kurdish forces vulnerable to attack by Turkey. Jones, a Democrat who represents a state where 62% of the vote went for Trump in 2016, has taken a cautious approach to partisan issues as Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate election approaches. He defeated Republican Roy Moore in a bitter special election in 2017 and is seeking to win his first full term in the Senate next year. He joined two bipartisan groups of senators Thursday in voicing concern about the administration’s action regarding Turkey. One group wrote a letter to Trump, and the other prepared legislation that would require the president to devise a strategy for dealing with the situation. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Jones Stockpiles $5 Million for Senate Race, Byrne Leads GOP Candidates With $2.5 Million Nest Egg

Sen. Doug Jones enters the final quarter of 2019 with more than $5 million in the bank as he campaigns for a full term in the U.S. Senate. Jones, who became the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate since 1997 when he defeated Roy Moore in a special election in December 2017, has amassed almost twice as much cash as any of his potential Republican challengers. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Birmingham Promise Approved by City Council

The Birmingham City Council today took a big step toward fulfilling the promise of Birmingham Promise by funding apprenticeships and scholarships for students of Birmingham city high schools. By unanimous consent, council members authorized the mayor to execute a project agreement between the city and Birmingham Promise in which Birmingham Promise will administer a program to, among other things, increase postsecondary opportunities and economic prosperity of graduates of Birmingham schools. The city will provide $10 million during the next five years – $2 million per year – subject to extension in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Students must be enrolled in city schools now in order to qualify for the apprenticeships. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commission OKs Magic City Classic Funding; Scales’, Stephens’ Reasoning Took Them on the Same Path to Different Destinations

Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens and President Pro Tem Lashunda Scales are often on opposite sides of discussions. In Thursday’s commission meeting, they once again wound up on different sides of the fence, but their sentiments were not as far apart as they might have appeared. Stephens pulled for separate consideration resolutions allotting $100,000 apiece to Alabama A&M and Alabama State universities. That money is to assist in the promotion of the annual Magic City Classic football game. Scales, Sheila Tyson and Joe Knight voted for the actions. Stephens abstained and Steve Ammons was absent. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

One Birmingham City Council Seat Goes to a Runoff; Two Incumbents Returned to the Council

One Birmingham City Council seat will be up for a runoff after none of the candidates won more than 50 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s balloting. See full results here. Wardine Towers Alexander will face Ray Brooks on Nov. 19 in a runoff for the council District 7 seat. Alexander won 42.41% of the vote to challenger Ray Brooks’ 30.88%. Two other races were decided Tuesday. Crystal Smitherman will return as council District 6 councilor, having garnered 51.50% of the vote in a seven-candidate field. In the District 1 race, Clifton Woods will return to the council, with 71.27% of the vote in his district. The three propositions to renew separate ad valorem taxes all passed by wide margins, with those voting yes in each race amounting to about 90%. Reporting of full results was delayed until Wednesday because of an error in the handling of electronic machine memory cards at three different precincts. The cards from the Martha Gaskins School, Robinson Elementary School and Five Points West precincts were sealed inside boxes that contained the paper ballots filled out by voters. Officials with the Birmingham City Clerk’s office had to get a court order Wednesday morning to allow them to open the box and add those votes to the total. Read more.

by Robert Carter and Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

UAB Asks JeffCo Commission to Support New Medical Research Building

Two high-ranking leaders from UAB today asked Jefferson County to invest with the Southside institution in making the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building a reality. UAB President Ray Watts and Dr. Selwyn Vickers, the senior vice president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine, asked commissioners during their committee meeting to consider putting $1 million per year for five years into the $70 million project. The 140,000-square-foot building will house more than 50 research operations, which the pair said will produce annual revenue of $35 million to $55 million, or a total of $175 million to $300 million over five years. But, they said, it’s not just about the money. Watts said the work there will lay the foundation for health care for the future of Birmingham, Jefferson County and beyond. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.