Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh outpaced her two rivals for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in campaign contributions during early May, according to financial reports candidates filed this week. Cavanaugh, president of the Public Service Commission, raised $76,325 from May 1 to May 11. William Ainsworth reported contributions of $66,272, and Benjamin “Rusty” Glover III listed receipts of $18,393. Read more.
Gov. Kay Ivey has collected almost $100,000 this month for her campaign for governor, bringing her total to $3.78 million since the race for the June 5 Republican primary began last year. In a report filed Monday with the Secretary of State’s office, Ivey said she raised $99,303 during the period of May 1-11. She has spent $2.52 million, leaving a balance of $1.27 million in her account. Read more.
May 14, 2018 – Mayor Randall Woodfin was not present Monday night at the public hearing on his proposed FY 2019 budget. If he had been, he would have faced complaints from a handful of organizations unhappy that their city funding had been cut or eliminated entirely. The members of the City Council who were there — all but District 1 Councilor Lashunda Scales — appeared sympathetic to almost all of the parties who spoke at the hearing, and they even pledged to some organizations that they would advocate for them during the upcoming budget negotiations with Woodfin’s office. Eliciting the most sympathy from the council were several neighborhood association officers, led by Central Park Neighborhood Association President Susan Palmer, who expressed anger that the new budget would cut funding to neighborhoods. Read more.
WASHINGTON – Here's how Alabama’s members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending April 27. Read more.
Just when CHIP recipients thought the health insurance program for children was safe, President Donald Trump cast its future in doubt. The White House, which has previously signaled support for the program that provides funding to insure about 150,000 Alabama kids and millions nationwide, proposed cutting $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program. News reports indicate that $2 billion of the cuts would come from a contingency fund originally designed to backstop shortfalls in state funding. That contingency fund was left standing after Congress authorized funding for CHIP. The other $5 billion would come from funding that Congress authorized for CHIP but that states haven’t spent yet. CNN quoted one administration official as saying, “This is money that was never going to be spent.” While the White House is not proposing cuts that would eliminate CHIP, parents and others who support the program have long held that CHIP is too important to endanger or use as a political football. Read BirminghamWatch’s previous coverage: The Children’s Health Insurance Program Is Saved for Now. What Happens Next in Alabama Remains in Hands of Congress. What Happens If CHIP Goes Away? Congress’ Failure to Fund Popular Health Program for Kids Could Leave Thousands in Alabama Uninsured
The U.S. Justice Department announced its presence on the Alabama violent-crime-fighting scene this week with a report on a two-month operation in North Alabama that resulted in charges against 71 defendants and 140 guns seized.
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town has said the U.S. Justice Department and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former U.S. senator from Alabama, had made priorities clear: “It’s guns, it’s dope, it’s illegal immigration, it’s opioids,” he said in an earlier interview.
“The Department of Justice has reserved space in federal prison for gang members, trigger-pullers, violent offenders and felons with guns … and we plan on filling it,” Town said in a press release this week. “We must shift our prosecutorial philosophy more towards Capone rather than Soprano, not conflating the level of crime with the level of criminal.”
Town, U.S. Attorney Richard Moore of Alabama’s Southern District based in Mobile, and U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin of Alabama’s Middle District in Montgomery, all newly appointed by President Donald Trump, earlier discussed their goals for federal law enforcement in the state. Here’s what they had to say. Read more.
In Birmingham, U.S. Attorney Town Says, “It’s Guns, It’s Dope, It’s Illegal Immigration, It Is Opioids”
In Mobile, New U.S. Attorney Emphasizes Listening Locally, Keeping What Works, Respect
U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin: Beyond Public Corruption Cases, He and Sessions Focus on Violent Crime, Opioid Abuse and Terrorism
Members of the Birmingham Public Library board of trustees told embattled Executive Director Floyd Council that he has their support during Tuesday evening’s board meeting. Board members have met several times in the past few weeks to discuss Council’s performance after employee complaints about his leadership went public. Board members met in closed session for an hour Tuesday evening, the third time they’ve done so in the past month. “Mr. Council has gone above and beyond during the last weeks and months,” trustee Kimberly Richardson said after the executive session. “He lost his mother recently and yet he’s been here through it all. He has our support.” Read more.
Jefferson County and the cities therein will benefit from some nifty shopping when it comes to maintenance of weather sirens. Weeks ago, Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Coker estimated it would cost $400 annually to maintain each of the 254 sirens in the county. Some sound shopping and deft negotiating yielded a cost that was much lower than that estimate, one that also will provide residents with better targeted warnings. “We are now able to afford the polygon warning system and still save $53 per siren,” Coker told commissioners at their Tuesday committee meeting. Read more.
Birmingham Public Library’s board of trustees is expected to go into executive session during its meeting Tuesday afternoon as members are set to discuss a six-month performance review of new library leader Floyd Council. If the executive session is called as expected by board attorney Veronica Merritt, it will be the third executive session conducted to discuss issues surrounding Council since complaints about his leadership went public last month. A survey of employees conducted the week of April 6 showed continuing low morale, concern about internal communications, concern about security and a lack of knowledge about the library’s complaint and grievance process. Highlights were discussed during a meeting last week. The library board’s Personnel Committee also devised a list of recommendations and action items to be taken to the full board Tuesday. Read more. Read more of BirminghamWatch’s continuing coverage of the issues. Survey Finds Low Morale at the Library; Board Expects Another Executive Session May 8 to Discuss Executive Director All’s Not Quiet at Birmingham Public Library: Board Surveys Employees after Criticism of Director Birmingham Library Board Discusses Personnel Issues in Closed Session Library Personnel Committee Meets in Closed Session, Will Report to Library Board Next Month Birmingham Council Fills Two Library Board Seats Amid Controversy
Fueled by hefty contributions from political action committees, incumbent Steve Marshall and former Attorney General Troy King drew in hundreds of thousands of dollars during April for their campaigns for the Republican nomination for attorney general. The two hold substantial fundraising advantages over two other candidates in the GOP primary, former U.S. attorney Alice Martin and Birmingham lawyer Chris Bedsole. Two Democrats running for their party’s nomination, James S. “Chris” Christie and Joseph Jay Siegelman, each brought in smaller amounts of campaign cash. Read more.
