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Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Find Foster Homes in Alabama

Federal officials have placed 2,729 unaccompanied immigrant children in Alabama since 2015, with most finding foster homes in Jefferson, Marshall, Morgan and Tuscaloosa counties. Of those, 453 found foster homes in Alabama this year through April, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Information on how many children have been settled in the state since April – including during the recent separation of families as part of a zero-tolerance policy – is not yet available. In fact, little information is publicly known about the children after they are placed. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

King, Marshall Raising Funds Headed Into Runoff

Troy King and Steve Marshall, who are locked in a heated campaign for the Republican nomination for state attorney general, raised a total of more than half a million dollars during the first three weeks of June, according to reports filed Monday with the Secretary of State’s Office. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Some Immigrant Children Being Reunited With Families

Sixteen unaccompanied Latino children separated from their families as part of the border patrol's zero tolerance policy were scheduled to be reunited with their parents Sunday. The children will join 522 other children who have been reunited with their families, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. The 16 were scheduled to be reunited Friday, but weather affected travel, and officials said Saturday night that the children were to be reunited with their families “within the next 24 hours.” There remain “a small number of children who were separated for reasons other than zero tolerance that will remain separated,” according to the press release from Homeland Security. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Separating Immigrant Families Violates Country’s ‘Belief of Faith and Family,” Jones Says

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said in a press conference Thursday that he strongly opposed the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy on people illegally crossing into the U.S. from Mexico that resulted in more than 2,000 children being separated from their parents and held in detention centers. “I believe that separating families is completely contrary to our country’s deeply held belief of faith and family,” Jones said. Jones’ comments come during a week of controversy over the immigration policy. About 2,300 children have been separated from their parents at the Mexican border since May. About 500 of those children have been reunited with their parents, the Associated Press reported Friday. Read more.

by Cheryl Slocum

Teachers, School Funding Among New Schools Chief’s Priorities

Eric Mackey is Alabama’s new superintendent of education. Before this, he was a lobbyist for state school superintendents. Mackey replaces former superintendent Michael Sentance, who was forced out after only a year on the job. Recently, Mackey supported Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to arm school administrators at schools that don’t have a school resource officer. His conversation with WBHM’s Sherrel Wheeler Stewart begins with some of the larger issues around school safety. Read more.

by Sherrel Stewart, WBHM

Embattled JefCoEd Board Member Donna Pike Says She Won’t Resign

Donna Pike isn’t going anywhere, no matter what three of her fellow members on the Jefferson County Board of Education would like. Pike made a brief statement to BirminghamWatch on Wednesday in which she said she has no intention of resigning, despite accusations of racism stemming from items she shared on her Facebook page. “This has certainly been a learning experience for me and my family,” Pike said. “I vow to continue with vigor serving the children of Jefferson County and the people who elected me.” Her statement comes after three JefCoEd members — President Oscar Mann, Vice President Martha Bouyer and Ronnie Dixon — held a called meeting Tuesday morning in which their only item of business was to pass a resolution calling for Pike to step down. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Birmingham Council Passes Budget Before the New Year Starts, for a Change

For the first time in several years, Birmingham’s city government will enter the new fiscal year with a budget already in place. During Tuesday morning’s regular meeting, the Birmingham City Council voted unanimously to approve the city’s FY 2019 budget, nearly two weeks before the fiscal year’s July 1 start. That timely passage of the $436 million budget — the city’s largest to date — represents a victory for first-term Mayor Randall Woodfin and the current council. Budget delays in recent years often had been viewed as symptoms of a communications breakdown between Woodfin’s predecessor, former Mayor William Bell, and the council. But speaking after Tuesday’s meeting, Woodfin said the new budget represents a renewed focus on governmental cooperation. “Collectively, the message we’ve sent today is, ‘We know how to pass a budget on time, thereby knowing how to work together, negotiate, compromise and communicate with each other,” he said Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Brighton Pleads for Mercy in Its Fight Against Weeds

Brighton Mayor Eddie Cooper threw himself “on the mercy of the commission” Tuesday, requesting surplus grass-cutting and debris removing equipment. Ultimately, two commissioners – Sandra Little Brown and George Bowman – pledged $5,000 apiece so that Brighton can get the equipment it needs. “We’re in dire need of any equipment to help clean and move debris,” Cooper told commissioners during their committee meeting. “We throw ourselves on the mercy of the commission this morning to give us any relief. If there’s any road equipment or grass-cutting equipment or debris removing equipment that you have that is available, we thank you for honoring us with it.” Brown read the resolution from the Brighton council that authorized the mayor to make the request. She said there is tall grass everywhere in Brighton, calling it “horrible.” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said meetings had taken place to discuss creating a fund in the upcoming budget to address the needs of distressed cities. But that relief would be a year away. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
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