Government

Protestors Talk With Hoover Officials About Ensuring Equality in the City

Protests in Hoover over the police shooting of E.J. Bradford have been suspended after protestors and city officials reached agreement on several steps aimed at improving race relations in the city, protest leaders announced during a press conference Wednesday. Birmingham Justice League member Iva Williams said the protests will be suspended as long as Hoover officials move forward in good faith with measures on which both sides agreed during a meeting Monday. Hoover city administrator Allan Rice, however, told the Hoover Sun that, while both sides met and discussed next steps, the city did not commit to specific actions. Read more.

Related:

Hoover Balances Response to the Shooting, Need for Long-Term Strategy

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city. The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.” Read more.

‘Justice for EJ’ Protesters Are Organized and in It for the Long Haul

Within a day after Emantic Fitzgerald “E.J.” Bradford Jr. was shot three times and killed by a Hoover police officer, Carlos Chaverst started making plans to speak out against the circumstances of his death. He announced plans through Facebook to protest at the Riverchase Galleria, where Bradford was killed. The event posting included details that explained to anyone who planned to join the protest what they might expect. Warning that there would be likely arrests, the event page advised anyone who had outstanding warrants or who wasn’t in a position to take the risk of begin arrested to “step back when the cops say step back.” His posting also warned that people could be physically hurt during the protest. Almost every day since, protests have taken place – from calling for a boycott of Hoover businesses, gathering to block roads and highways, speaking at City Council meetings, protesting at Hoover-area shops and the home of Hoover’s mayor, and holding a candlelight vigil and a “die-in” at the location in the Galleria where Bradford was killed. The protesters have applied continual pressure through protests, press conferences, social media and interviews. Chaverst and Justice for EJ co-leader Le’Darius Hilliard began the protests spontaneously after the incident occurred, but they did not come as much out of the blue as they appeared. Read more.

Bradford Family Wants Jefferson County DA to Handle Shooting Case

The lawyer for the family of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. says State Attorney General Steve Marshall did not follow the normal process when he took over the fatal shooting case from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Read more.

by Cheryl Slocum

Bradford Shooting Shines Spotlight on Bigger Issues of Race Relations, Groups Say

The controversy over the police shooting of a black man at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night is not going away anytime soon, city officials and leaders of the protest agree. Both sides say they are in the conversation to make long-range changes in race relations in the city. Tuesday night offered a reprieve in protests in the city after protestors met during the day with Mayor Frank Brocato and city administrator Allan Rice. The two sides found common ground on some issues and intend to continue discussions, WBRC reported.

Hoover Balances Response to the Shooting, Need for Long-Term Strategy

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city. The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.” Read more.

‘Justice for EJ’ Protesters Are Organized and in It for the Long Haul

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city. The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.” Read more.

Related:

Bradford Family Wants Jefferson County DA to Handle Shooting Case

The lawyer for the family of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. says State Attorney General Steve Marshall did not follow the normal process when he took over the fatal shooting case from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Bradford Family Wants Jefferson County DA to Handle Shooting Case

The lawyer for the family of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. says State Attorney General Steve Marshall did not follow the normal process when he took over the fatal shooting case from Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr. Read more.

by Sherrel Stewart, WBHM

Hoover Balances Response to the Shooting, Need for Long-Term Strategy

Hoover city officials have not been reacting just to the violence at the Riverchase Galleria on Thanksgiving night and the protests that followed, they said, the incident also has brought to the forefront a longstanding need to look at issues of inclusion in the growing city. The efforts to include minority voices in each phase of government and assure equity for all citizens began months back and “will continue regardless of the outcome of the state investigation of the shooting,” said Hoover city administrator Allan Rice. “This incident has compelled us to.” Read more.

by Ginny MacDonald

“Justice for EJ” Protesters Are Organized and in It for the Long Haul

Within a day after Emantic Fitzgerald “E.J.” Bradford Jr. was shot three times and killed by a Hoover police officer, Carlos Chaverst started making plans to speak out against the circumstances of his death. He announced plans through Facebook to protest at the Riverchase Galleria, where Bradford was killed. The event posting included details that explained to anyone who planned to join the protest what they might expect. Warning that there would be likely arrests, the event page advised anyone who had outstanding warrants or who wasn't in a position to take the risk of begin arrested to “step back when the cops say step back.” His posting also warned that people could be physically hurt during the protest. Almost every day since, protests have taken place. Chaverst and Justice for EJ co-leader Le’Darius Hilliard began the protests spontaneously after the incident occurred, but they did not come as much out of the blue as they appeared. Read more.

by Cheryl Slocum

Jefferson County Rebranding Contract Must Be Altered to Give Work to Minority Companies

Lashunda Scales wanted to make one thing perfectly clear. The president pro tem of the Jefferson County Commission was not “playing the race card” as she debated a proposed contract on rebranding the county. Scales’ concern centered on a contract county manager Tony Petelos presented for a professional services agreement with Big Marketing and Communications. The $203,500 contract did not spell out how historically under-utilized business enterprises would be represented in this agreement. “Let me say this so this doesn’t turn into a race card conversation,” Scales said Tuesday. “If it were someone white, if it were someone of any other race, if there is not inclusion, I’m going to ask the question as to why. The county makeup is of all races of people, all classes of people. If it does not reflect that, I’d like for us to work within the same vein and cooperative spirit to make it right.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Council Appoints Two New Members With Familiar Names

The Birmingham City Council once again has nine members. During an exceptionally lengthy meeting Tuesday, councilors appointed Clinton Woods and Crystal Smitherman to fill its vacant District 1 and District 6 seats, respectively. The appointees, both children of prominent Birmingham politicians, will be officially sworn into office in January. Woods and Smitherman will replace Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson on the council; both Scales and Tyson resigned in November to join the Jefferson County Commission. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Congressional Votes for the Week Ending Dec. 14

WASHINGTON – Alabama’s senators last week split on a vote over the country’s involvement in the war in Yemen. Democratic Sen. Doug Jones voted for the resolution requiring the administration to end U.S. military support of a Saudi-led coalition waging war against Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, unless Congress authorizes the action under the 1973 War Powers Act Republican Sen. Richard Shelby voted against the resolution. On a 56-41 vote, the Senate sent the resolution to the House for consideration. Read about how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Dec. 14.

by Voterama in Congress

Birmingham Council Sets Tuesday Interviews of Six Candidates to Fill Two Open Council Seats

The Birmingham City Council has narrowed the field of candidates seeking to fill its vacant District 1 and District 6 seats to just six people — three for each seat During a Thursday meeting at City Hall, the council heard what Council President Valerie Abbott called one-minute “elevator speeches” from the 32 applicants. The candidates are applying to fill seats left empty by Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson, both of whom resigned in November to take seats on the Jefferson County Commission. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Donations From Franklin Haney, Owner of the SS Building and Bidder on Bellefonte Project, Part of Latest DC Investigation

A name familiar in Alabama has come up in an investigation into spending from President Trump’s inaugural committee funds. The investigation also is focusing on whether some of the donors to Trump’s record-breaking $107 million inaugural fund gave the money in exchange for access to or influence over the Trump administration, the Wall Street Journal reported. Tennessee-based developer Franklin L. Haney gave $1 million to the inaugural committee after Trump’s election, and federal prosecutors in Manhattan have asked to see documents related to that donation. Haney, who owns the Social Security building in downtown Birmingham, also has come up in the investigation into whether the president’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has conducted lobbying activities without registering as a lobbyist since Trump took office. Haney has been accused of offering Cohen $10 million in exchange for Cohen’s help obtaining a $5 billion federal loan to redevelop the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in north Alabama. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch