Government

Legal Services Alabama Serves Thousands in State. Program, a Partisan Battleground, on President Trump’s Budget-Cut List.

Army veteran Ronald Whitson gives credit to Legal Services Alabama for keeping his family home in Birmingham. “I’ve been to the top, and I’ve been to the basement, and I know how important Legal Services is,” Whitson said. For Mike Letson, Whitson’s LSA attorney, what he did for Whitson is more than a job, it’s a passion. “You feel you are on the right side of justice,” he said. However, the program that Whitson and Letson praise has been controversial, the frequent target of partisan political battles since its start in the mid-1970s, with roots in the nation’s War on Poverty. Now the Alabama program’s federal parent, Legal Services Corporation, once again faces defunding, this time in President Donald Trump’s 2019 budget proposal. Justifications for defunding the LSC include concern about the program’s lack of accountability measures and the value of transferring responsibility to the states to “encourage nonprofit organizations, businesses, law firms and religious institutions to develop new models for providing legal aid.” LSC helps provide legal assistance to low-income people in civil matters, including housing, family law and veterans’ rights. The agency distributes its $385 million budget through grants to 133 offices nationwide, including Legal Services Alabama’s seven offices and one call center. This is the third of BirminghamWatch’s Trump’s Budget Wish List series, detailing programs that President Donald Trump proposes cutting and the effect these choices could have in Alabama. Read More Read the earlier stories:

Trump’s Budget Wish List: What It Could Mean for Alabama

Peace Program is on President’s Budget-Cut List. Here’s Why Alabama Teacher Values Its Help.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Birmingham Council Limits Spending by Outgoing Councilor

Jay Roberson wasn’t present at Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting, but his recently announced resignation loomed over proceedings. A discussion over whether to reallocate funding for parks in his district led to a prolonged debate over how much spending power lame-duck councilors should have — with the only present outgoing councilor, District 1’s Lashunda Scales, expressing outrage that the discussion was even happening. Read more.

Tariffs Imposed by U.S., Trading Partners Hit Home in Alabama

President Donald Trump is battling with countries he says are unfairly hurting America’s foreign trade, but some of his moves may adversely affect industries in Alabama in the process. Trump’s new tariffs against China, Canada and the European Union — some proposed, some already in effect — are concerning the state’s auto manufacturers, farmers and newspaper publishers, and they have prompted responses from both industry representatives and politicians. In particular, Doug Jones, Alabama’s newly elected U.S. senator, has criticized an investigation by the Department of Commerce that may cause price hikes in vehicles made in Alabama using parts imported from abroad. The range of tariffs is wide but fluctuating, as Trump continues to negotiate with trading partners. Even as he announces additional tariffs and other countries retaliate by increasing their own against American exports, the president has said that he would remove all tariffs if other countries would do the same. Read more about the three areas where Alabama businesses and workers could get caught up in a potential trade war.

Filling in the Blanks: Birmingham Council Fine-Tuning Process to Find Replacements for Three Councilors

With this week’s resignation of President Pro Tem Jay Roberson, the Birmingham City Council faces the unusual task of appointing three new members by the end of the year. Roberson’s resignation takes effect Sept. 10, while Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson will resign from the council Nov. 14 to take office as the Jefferson County Commission’s newest members, having been elected earlier this year. The council’s seven remaining members will have to agree on three replacements for their outgoing colleagues. Historically, the appointment process has been a difficult one, and this year is unlikely to be an exception. Among issues to be decided by the council are the precise process for selection and how much outgoing council members should have to say about who is selected as their replacements. Even how long the new councilors will serve is up in the air. Generally, appointees serve until the next city election, which in this case is 2021. But if a special city referendum being considered is called early next year, the appointees who want to continue on the council will be running in just a few months. Read more. See also: Birmingham Councilor Jay Roberson Resigns, Cites Wife’s New Job. A Major Shake-Up for the Jefferson County Commission: Tyson and Scales Snare Nominations, Assuring a Majority of New Members in the Fall

Congressional Votes for the Week Ending Aug. 17

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate last week took up two of President Trump’s appointments to the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Both of Alabama’s senators – Republican Richard Shelby and Democrat Doug Jones – joined the majority to confirm the appointments. The Senate also unanimously agreed to condemn President Trump's attacks on the U.S. news media. Here's the detail on how Alabama’s senators voted on major issues in the week ending Aug.17. The House was in recess. Read more.

Birmingham Councilor Jay Roberson Resigns, Cites Wife’s New Job

Birmingham City Councilor Jay Roberson announced his resignation from the council on Thursday, a decision that left many of his colleagues “shocked” and that will further shake up a council already facing significant membership changes. During a press conference held at Lawson State Community College, Roberson confirmed that he would be stepping down as District 7’s councilor effective Sept.10. Roberson said his wife has taken a new “dream job” with Alabaster City Schools, which will require his family to move. “My wife’s wholehearted support allowed me to have this opportunity (as councilor),” he said in a press release. “Now is a time for me to support her professional aspirations and do what’s right for my family.” Read more.

West End Rezoning ‘Back to Drawing Board’ After Residents’ Wishes Unheeded

Birmingham City Council delayed plans for rezoning the city’s West End community at Tuesday’s meeting, citing concerns that the city had not effectively communicated with residents. Two West End residents — Oakwood Place Neighborhood Association Secretary Nell Allen and resident Samuel Mills — said the rezoning plan the council was being asked to vote on significantly differed from what city planners promised residents at recent neighborhood association meetings. Both Allen and Mills said that properties zoned as single-use residential were being rezoned despite protests from residents. “We had a meeting, and it was told to us that the changes would be made before we came to the city council this morning,” Mills said. “We really don’t want this.” Read more.

Jefferson County Commissioners Say They Won’t Help Fairfield Financially Without a Plan for the City’s Future

Jefferson County “kicked the can down the road” by helping Fairfield out of a difficult situation last year, but Commission President Jimmie Stephens said that won’t happen again without a comprehensive, sustainable plan for the distressed city. In 2017, Jefferson County forgave some of Fairfield’s debt and gave that western-area city some working capital. Stephens said that wasn’t a real solution. “What we did is we kicked the can down the road and here we are again,” he said. “I’m not willing as a commissioner to do that again without a comprehensive plan in place for their continued operation.” Fairfield’s mayor and City Council members drafted a packet outlining the ways they hope the county can provide help, delivered to the commission Tuesday during its committee meeting. Mayor Ed May said the packet was a way to begin the dialogue for the future well-being of the city. Read more.

Collusion and Russian Interference With U.S. Elections Aren’t the Same, Jones Says

In front of an audience about which he said, “Probably most of you didn’t vote for me,” Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, warned that one of the biggest threats to America comes not from alleged collusion by Russian interests with the Trump campaign, but from interference in American elections by Russia. Speaking Wednesday before the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, Jones told members and guests that they should not be sidetracked by what he claims are Trump’s attempts to conflate the two issues, as the president rails against the continuing investigation into possible ties between his campaign and Russia. “(It) seems that we can never shake Russia,” Jones said. “From the time of the Cold War until today, there always seems to be a problem with Russia. And Russian interference with our elections is a serious, serious, serious issue.” Read more.

Birmingham Council Debates Whether a Rezoning Would Ruin Druid Hills or Help Make It a Village

Two small residential properties in Birmingham’s Druid Hills neighborhood took on much larger significance during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, as a chaotic debate over whether they should be rezoned to accommodate their owners’ legal practice ballooned into a discussion of the economic future of Birmingham’s black neighborhoods. Read more.