Government

Judge Delays Decision on Whether Ed May Remains Fairfield’s Mayor, Orders May to Include Council in His Lawsuit

The question of who is Fairfield’s rightful mayor won’t be answered definitively any time soon, as Circuit Court Judge Pat Ballard ordered Ed May II, who was elected mayor, to add members of the City Council to his suit against the Jefferson County Personnel Board. “The members of the City Council are necessary to this proceeding,” the judge said Friday morning. “Either you add them in within the next 30 days or I will dismiss this case without prejudice because of that lack of necessary parties.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commissioners Talk About Distributing Economic Development Efforts to Underserved Areas of the County

Lashunda Scales used a discussion of a possible development in Warrior to remind her fellow Jefferson County commissioners that there are other underdeveloped areas in the county. Commissioner Steve Ammons agreed. “We have a lot out in McCalla. We don’t have as much opportunity in north Jefferson County. We’re trying to take those opportunities and distribute them,” he said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Woodfin to Seek Limits on Dollar Stores as Way to Encourage Grocery Store Developments

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has announced legislation he believes would address the lack of healthy food options faced by a majority of the city’s residents. A proposed healthy food ordinance will be officially released in coming weeks, Woodfin told the City Council on Tuesday, and will include measures to “limit the development of new dollar stores in our city… as well as open more opportunities for fresh food producers (and) lowering the overall costs for grocers.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Ivey Emphasizes Education, Workforce Development and Infrastructure Needs at PARCA Conference

Gov. Kay Ivey told an audience in Birmingham that her administration will focus its efforts on bolstering the educational system so that children will be ready to fill the jobs of tomorrow’s high-tech economy as well as rebuilding Alabama’s infrastructure. Ivey was the keynote speaker Friday at the annual meeting of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, which met to discuss how the state is doing in its job to help both students going into the workforce and adults moving into different fields adjust to the changing needs of the state’s employers. “Alabama is in a position to achieve greater success,” Ivey said. “And as we look to our future, more than ever before, now is the time that we must be sure that our workforce is well-equipped to face the opportunities and the jobs of tomorrow.” Read more.

by Robert Carter

Fairfield Council Gives Mayor the Boot, but Ed May II Isn’t Backing Down

The long-running feud between Fairfield Mayor Ed May II and the City Council has reached a boiling point, as the council voted to remove May from office because he was continually absent from council meetings. Claiming that state law required May’s ouster because he had missed meetings for more than 90 days, the council voted to remove May in January. During a special meeting Tuesday, Council President Eddie Penny was sworn in as May’s replacement. It’s the latest battle in a war between May and the council that has lasted since shortly after May was elected to replace Kenneth Coachman in 2016. The battle began last year when the council voted to hire then-City Clerk Mary Roberson as a city manager — a position Fairfield has never filled before. The council then stripped May of many of his duties as mayor, including hiring and firing personnel, and gave those duties to Roberson. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Merrill to Testify Before Congressional Committee

WBHM Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill heads to Washington to testify before Congress Wednesday about election security. Merrill is one of a handful of state and local election officials giving feedback on a bill meant to improve the nation’s voting laws. He says he has issues with some of the provisions in the proposed legislation. Read more.

by Gigi Douban, WBHM

Birmingham Council Supports Renaming CrossPlex for Langford, Question Parker’s Bid to Bring Oakland Raiders to Legion Field

Mayor Randall Woodfin and members of the Birmingham City Council announced Tuesday that they would support changing the name of the Birmingham CrossPlex to honor former Mayor Larry Langford, who died last month. Langford spearheaded construction of the indoor track and aquatic complex in Five Points West, on which construction began in 2008. The $46 million facility opened in August 2011. Woodfin and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt proposed the name change — to the Larry P. Langford Birmingham CrossPlex — during the council’s meeting Tuesday. District 9 Councilor John Hilliard, who did not arrive until later in the meeting, also has advocated for renaming the facility. “We believe it’s fitting for all the work he did and for bringing this to life in our community,” Woodfin said. During his statement, Hoyt alluded to Langford’s controversial reputation, which included a 2009 conviction on charges of corruption and bribery for actions he took during his time as president of the Jefferson County Commission. “We know that, no different than Angela Davis, you have to deal with the body of people’s work,” Hoyt said, referring to the recent Birmingham Civil Rights Institute controversy. “All of us have some issues one way or the other … but when you look at this city and see the things that were done under his leadership ... We are better because Larry Langford came through here.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Auburn Yearbook Photo Shows Ivey’s Sorority Sisters in Minstrel Show; Governor Is Not in the Picture

The Auburn Plainsman reported Monday that a photo in the 1967 yearbook shows members of Gov. Kay Ivey’s sorority putting on a minstrel show that appears to have been taken during Rush that year. The photo shows five young Alpha Gamma Delta members wearing black masks and shirts with caricatures of black people on the pockets. The caption on the photo reads "Alpha Gam Minstrels welcome rushees aboard their showboat." Ivey, who was a senior at Auburn University at the time, is not among the women in the photo. Her press secretary, Daniel Sparkman, told the Plainsman: “We talked to the governor this morning. … She knows nothing about the page in the first place, and she does not appear on that page." Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Officials Won’t Name Hoover Officer Involved in Shooting. Why Not?

WBHM Officials still have not released the name of the police officer who shot and killed a 21-year-old black man Thanksgiving night at the Riverchase Galleria mall in Hoover. A report from the Alabama attorney general’s office Tuesday cleared the officer of any criminal wrongdoing when he shot Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. He thought Bradford was the gunman in an active shooter situation. Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said at a press conference Tuesday withholding the officer’s identity is about fairness. “Just as any other private citizen that is investigated and found not to have committed a crime their name is not released,” Brocato says. “That’s the same procedure that we will follow with this officer.” Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

African-American Men and Law Enforcement Discuss Lowering Crime and Saving Young Men

Danny Carr didn’t stammer as he provided closing thoughts to a gathering Thursday night in downtown Birmingham. The Jefferson County district attorney was making a point to reduce the deaths of young African-American men and boys. “We need to continue to engage, engage, engage,” he began. “Be involved, involved, involved.” More than 200 persons – the vast majority black men – assembled at The Parthenon, the meeting place of the Omicron Lambda graduate chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The gathering was a frank conversation with members of law enforcement and persons involved in criminal justice. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.