Government

City Gives Negro Southern League Museum More Money to Finish Off Construction, Surprising Councilors Who Thought It Was Done

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to allocate an additional $290,274.39 toward construction on the city’s Negro Southern League Museum. But many councilors, including those who voted in favor of the funding, weren’t happy about it. “There are so many things that I vote on that I have to hold my nose while voting,” said council President Valerie Abbott. “Sometimes you have to vote for things that you don’t really want to vote for, but we need to complete this project.” The Negro Southern League Museum, which first opened in 2015, is part of a downtown development that includes the adjacent Regions Field. But much of that building has remained unfinished since then, representatives from the city’s planning, engineering and permits (PEP) department told the council. With a new restaurant slated to move into the building, extra funding to complete construction was needed. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Voters Head to Polls Oct. 8 to Pick 3 Council Members, Decide on School Taxes

Birmingham is one month away from a citywide election that will not only determine the future of funding for city schools but also whether up to one-third of City Council seats change hands. The election, which will be held Oct. 8, will determine whether to renew three ad valorem property taxes that benefit Birmingham City Schools. Voters also will determine council members for districts 1, 6 and 7, replacing councilors who were appointed to the posts. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Medicare Change a ‘Huge, Significant Thing’ for Alabama

It’s increasingly difficult for rural hospitals to make ends meet. Many have had to freeze or cut salaries, said Danne Howard, chief policy officer with the Alabama Hospital Association. Some have eliminated services, like obstetrics and gynecology. Howard said others partner with outside groups or bigger health systems to take some of the financial pressure off. “It’s clear to see that we’ve got a number of hospitals that may not survive in the current financial environment,” she said. In the past decade, seven rural hospitals have closed in Alabama, and of those that remain, 88% operate in the red. But Howard said Medicare is throwing the state a lifeline. The federal health insurance program, primarily for senior citizens, recently approved a plan to start paying rural hospitals a little more money. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin

Time for new Alabama Democratic Party leadership, says Sen. Doug Jones

With pressure mounting from national party leaders and the Democratic National Committee, the state’s highest-ranking Democratic officeholder says the state party needs new leaders. Sen. Doug Jones told Birmingham Watch on Thursday that he is frustrated with the Alabama Democratic Party’s direction, or lack thereof, and he would like to see Chairwoman Nancy Worley replaced. Jones’ comments came after a student forum held at Miles College in Fairfield. “Leadership needs to be changed, and I think it’s going to be changed. I think there’s still some things that will have to be done,” Jones said. “We don’t even have a delegate selection plan right now. It's been rejected. I think once we can get bylaws done, soon we’ll get a new election. We're going to expand. I believe the membership of the party will include more youth, more diversity and opportunities we haven’t had in a long, long time. I’m very, very optimistic about where we're going to ultimately go with the party.” Read more.

by Robert Carter

#DougMeetsMiles: Jones Takes Questions Via Twitter at Forum With College Students

Doug Jones mentioned early in his remarks before an audience of students from Miles College that when he went to Washington, D.C., after winning a special election to the U.S. Senate, he didn’t realize that he was going to be a part of a government that functioned according to what someone says on Twitter — an oblique reference to President Donald Trump’s penchant for tweets that make the nation’s capital go topsy-turvy. Then he opened the floor for questions, which were submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #DougMeetsMiles. Students could therefore be forgiven for working on their smart phones during Jones’ appearance Thursday at Pearson Hall on the campus of the historically black college in Fairfield. It was one of several town hall meetings he held at universities and colleges across the state during the Senate’s recess. Jones faced a friendly crowd, who asked him mostly about issues that are part of the Democratic Party agenda. Restoration of voting rights for felons, abortion rights, ways of combating the recent wave of mass shootings and help for those with heavy debt loads from student loans were among the topics the students posed to Alabama’s junior senator. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Governor’s Study Group Meets on Prison Operations

Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy convened Wednesday in Montgomery to discuss operations of the Alabama Department of Corrections. Earlier in the day, the group toured Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore County, one of the state’s 15 major correctional facilities. “It’s crowded. It’s hot,” group chairman Justice Champ Lyons said of the prisons tour. “They have fans, bunkbeds, lights that stay on 24/7. You learn to sleep in the daylight.” ADOC is largely understaffed and overcrowded, with record high levels of violence and suicide. In addition to an ongoing lawsuit about the mental health care and medical care of inmates, the department also faces the threat of federal intervention, following the April publication of a scathing Department of Justice report that detailed gruesome conditions in state prisons. Ivey appointed the criminal justice reform group in July to study issues that plague the system. The group will develop reform proposals ahead of the 2020 legislative session. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

Transit Board Rejects Budget With Proposed Route and Fare Changes

The Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority rejected a proposed budget Wednesday that would have increased fares and cut some bus service.

by Sherrel Wheeler Steward, WBHM

Hallmark Cooperative Takes Control of Iconic Property in Warrior, Plans Development

Warrior Mayor Johnny Ragland is like a child looking forward to Christmas as he envisions Warrior’s Hallmark Farms development coming to fruition. Considering the floating Christmas tree and decorated barn with which passersby had become familiar, that is understandable. “Myself, I would love to have it next month,” Ragland said. “Two businesses over here. Five over here. But it takes time.” Members of the Hallmark Cooperative announced today that it has officially taken control of the property just off Interstate 65 and nearly surrounded by Locust Fork, one of three major tributaries of the Black Warrior River. Along with revealing the logo for the cooperative, which features the iconic barn on the property, cooperative members talked about what is to come to the area in north Jefferson County. “We can bring as much as 720 jobs to just this property,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Ammons, who is president of the cooperative. “That is a huge influx of daytime folks.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Council Fills More Vacancies on BCRI, BMA Boards

After last week’s slew of appointments, the Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to add even more members to the boards of directors for the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Detention Facilities Have Been Drawing Attention Nationwide

A Spanish-Language Journalist Covered ICE Detention. Then He Lived Through It. (Washington Post) Immigration Detention Prolonged in Alabama’s ‘Black Hole’ (Associated Press) ICE Keeps Arresting Prominent Immigration Activists. They Think They’re Being Targeted. (Vice) Detained Immigrants, Groups Sue ICE, DHS for Inadequate Medical Care, Disability Accommodations (Arizona Mirror) Where Cities Help Detain Immigrants (CityLab)

by BirminghamWatch