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.
Jefferson County Commission members received packets from the mayor and council of Fairfield on Tuesday spelling out help that city is seeking from the county. This isn’t the first time officials from the financially strapped city have talked with commissioners about helping them provide services to the public, particularly concerning public safety. Commissioners last month said they would consider helping the city, but only if the mayor and council members could resolve their differences and present the commission with a joint resolution outlining their request, which they have done. “I think this is a good opportunity and example of regional cooperation that I think is a real solution not only for Fairfield but the other municipalities in Jefferson County, especially on the western corridor who are experiencing some of the same financial difficulties,” Mayor Ed May said. Read more.
Alabama’s senators split their votes on a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program through Nov. 30, giving lawmakers more time to consider proposed reforms. The program runs a significant deficit, but it offers citizens access to flood insurance that otherwise is expensive and often not available at all. Here's how the senators voted on that and other major issues in the week ending Aug. 3. The House was in recess. Read more.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars from Alabama’s richest person and a group of Tuscaloosa-based political action committees are fueling the race for governor as the campaign enters its final three months. Incumbent Republican Gov. Kay Ivey and Democratic challenger Walt Maddox, mayor of Tuscaloosa, have gotten most of their campaign money from PACs, businesses and other groups since the campaign began last year. Ivey reported $4.97 million in cash contributions and Maddox listed $1.38 million in reports filed late last week with the Secretary of State’s Office. Ivey’s contributions consist of 39 percent from individuals, 31 percent from PACs and 30 percent from groups and businesses. Maddox reported 44 percent from individuals, 38 percent from PACs and 18 percent from groups and businesses. The heaviest hitters so far are a group of six PACs chaired by Michael Echols of Tuscaloosa. Together, those six PACs have given $403,400, almost one-third of his collections, to Maddox. Read more about the people behind the biggest contributions to the candidates.
For the second week in a row, the Birmingham City Council found itself mired in a debate over the proposed closure of an Ensley gas station where three homicides have occurred. In contrast to July 24’s meeting, though, the discussion Tuesday was more procedural than emotional, with District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt launching what he characterized as a “protest” against the public safety committee’s decision to keep the matter from coming before the full council. The Shell station in question is located on the 800 block of Third Avenue West in Ensley — which is in Hoyt’s district — and has been the site of three homicides since 2015. Most recently, Antonio Jerrell Taylor was shot and killed there on June 10. Read more.
A Birmingham-area teacher is among four selected from across the country to participate in a national program aimed at “empowering their students to see peace as something practical and possible.” Social studies teacher Ryan Adams of Chelsea High School, who focuses on Advanced Placement American History, is one of the next cohort of instructors to become Peace Teachers, a program of the United States Institute of Peace. USIP is one of several federally funded organizations proposed for substantial cuts in President Donald Trump’s wish list for 2019, “An American Budget.” In the case of the USIP, the president wants to cut its budget almost in half. BirminghamWatch is examining possible impacts on Alabama if the president’s proposals – which Congress has the power to accept or reject – are enacted. Under the Peace Teacher program, Adams joins teachers from Franklin, Tennessee; Hartford, South Dakota, and Silverdale, Washington, who “will spend the next school year bringing pressing international issues of conflict … to life,” according to a USIP press release, citing the Trump-Putin summit, annual summer protests in Iraq, and potential talks between the U.S. and the Afghan Taliban as examples that could be addressed. Adams is excited about the prospect. “Every teacher at some point in time … got into this profession to make a difference,” he said. “If I can be allotted an opportunity to be able to … make an impact beyond just the walls of my classroom, honestly, for those who got into this profession for the right reasons, who wouldn’t want to take a shot at that?” This is the second in the Trump's Budget Wish List series, detailing programs on President Trump’s chopping block and the effect cutting them could have on Alabama.
VANCE — Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, has co-sponsored a bill along with a Republican colleague from Tennessee that would delay President Donald Trump’s proposed imposition of tariffs on vehicles and parts imported into the United States. But in a press conference held Friday morning at Mercedes-Benz’s factory complex near Tuscaloosa, Jones deflected comment on a report that the company may move some production from the Alabama plants to Asia because of tariffs already levied by China. The report by Reuters quoted the head of Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company in Germany, saying the tariffs have forced the company to consider a shift overseas. Read more.
Cities and towns in Jefferson County owe the county more than $800,000, according to a report given at the County Commission meeting Thursday in Bessemer. Commissioner David Carrington said he’s been working on the report for a while. It shows six cities owe the county $400,231.54 it paid on their behalf to the Personnel Board and $410,668.58 in outstanding balances for the Emergency Management Agency. “What discourages me most about this is some of these monies have been due since 2005, even before our watch,” Carrington said during the meeting. “I wonder what attempts have been made to collect these monies.” Read more.
Alabama Rep. Randy Davis has been indicted on allegations he was involved in a plan to pressure Blue Cross Blue Shield to cover diabetes treatments at a string of health clinics with which he was involved. Davis, a Republican from Daphne, was charged by federal prosecutors in Montgomery with several counts of bribery, according to the indictment. The allegations are part of the corruption case brought against state Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills; lobbyist Martin J. “Marty” Connors of Alabaster; and G. Ford Gilbert of Carmichael, California, who owned the Trina Health company. Read more. More stories about the new indictment: • Rep. Randy Davis Indicted on Bribery Charges (Montgomery Advertiser) • Outgoing State Rep. Randy Davis Indicted in Bribery Case (AL.com) • Lawmaker Indicted On Bribery Charges (AP) BirminghamWatch in April ran stories published by fellow nonprofit news site inewsource, which had spent months investigating Gilbert and Trina Health operations to produce its Hustling Hope series.
Birmingham residents can now see detailed financial reports for the city at its new Open Checkbook portal. The website is part of the effort to increase transparency and accountability in city government, according to a press release from the city. Read more.
