Government

Blanket Fort Hope Seeks JeffCo’s Help to Take in Child Trafficking Victims

Alexa Likis-James conjured images of a child’s innocent sense of security as she spoke last week to members of the Jefferson County Commission. Explaining Blanket Fort Hope, the organization she co-founded that aims to provide a fortress of safety for child victims of human trafficking, Likis-James told the commission there is no housing in Alabama for child trafficking victims, specifically for the ages of 11 to 14 years. She asked the commission for help finding and paying for a crisis home. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham City Council Won’t Revoke License of the Former Onyx Lounge

Feb. 27, 2018 — Following a public hearing during Tuesday’s meeting, the Birmingham City Council decided against revoking the business license of Blu Nightlife Lounge, formerly known as Onyx Lounge. The nightclub became the center of controversy following the Oct. 15 death of Maurice Morris, who was shot on the club’s back patio. On Nov. 7, the council voted to give the nightclub 16 weeks to implement changes to address safety concerns. Tuesday’s meeting came at the end of that period, and the council appeared satisfied with the changes. Law enforcement officers told the council that they had not received any calls or complaints during that time, a stark contrast to the 81 calls they had received about Onyx between May and November 2017. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Alabama has a swath of elections coming up this year, and there will be a much stronger Democratic presence on the ballot than there has been in recent statewide elections. Do you think Alabama’s moving toward being a two-party state? Are Democrats a viable party statewide?

Jones: I think you’re looking at the viability of Democrats. The viability of Democrats is not dependent on a candidate. It’s dependent on the issues and how they present those issues to the people. I’ve always believed Democrats can be viable. I’ve always believed Republicans, even when Democrats dominated the state, could have been viable with the right message. We flipped (dominant parties) too quick, and we never became a two-party state. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

You just touched on some issues — immigration and guns — that are very hot-button issues for Alabama voters. For those issues, it seems that you have to balance between the more liberal parts of your voter base and the conservative majority of the state.

They’re voters, for sure. But I’ve told people in my campaign, “Don’t expect me to pass a litmus test for one side or the other.” I continue to get asked, “Are you liberal, conservative, moderate, progressive, what?” And I say, “Don’t label me! I’m Doug, and I’m going to vote the way I feel. I’m certainly not going to pass the far left’s litmus test any more than I’m going to pass the far right’s litmus tests. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

The Common Sense Coalition is sort of an anomaly. It’s a bipartisan, centrist group of senators operating in the middle of a highly polarized political climate. How viable of a political philosophy is centrism in a divided 2018?

Jones: I think if you see what’s happened in the last six weeks, since I took office ... . You’re always going to have divisions, but let’s just look at the budget, for instance. Yeah, the government shut down for three days. But at the end of the day, you saw a bipartisan budget resolution that’s now going to be put in an omnibus bill that’s going to fund the government for the next two years — this year and next year. That is unheard of in the modern era, in the last few years. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

How is your relationship with the president? You met with him and Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, at the White House last month.

Jones: He was very nice. He called me after the election. His daughter called me after the election. After we voted to reopen the government, he called me and Senator Manchin to come over and we had a wonderful chat. I was probably in the Oval Office for about 45 minutes, just talking. It wasn’t a negotiation or anything like that. It was just a talk. “This is where I think we need to go, this is what I think I need to do.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

So what is the next priority for you, now that one of your key campaign issues, reinstating funding for CHIP, has been achieved?

Jones: That was a main focus. We still have to work on community health. We still have to work on making sure Medicaid and Medicare are funded appropriately … . Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Staking Out Common Ground: A Q&A With Sen. Doug Jones

It’s been almost two months since Doug Jones took office as Alabama’s first Democratic U.S. senator in more than 20 years, and the international spotlight that accompanied his surprising win has faded somewhat. Jones’ December upset against far-right candidate Roy Moore, who had been the favorite to win before allegations of sexual misconduct derailed his campaign, was seen by many as a bellwether of America’s political future, both in 2018 and in 2020. “If a Democrat can win in Alabama,” CNN’s Chris Cillizza said after Jones’ victory, “a Democrat can win just about anywhere in the country.” Now, the novelty of his victory has worn off, and with it Jones has shifted from a political symbol to a centrist lawmaker. As he promised during his campaign, he doesn’t follow the party line. Instead, he’s aligned himself with a bipartisan group of moderate senators, the Common Sense Coalition, which some commentators have credited with ending last month’s government shutdown. A less successful effort by the coalition, on which Jones worked, was a bipartisan immigration bill that failed earlier this month. But Jones remains optimistic that “common ground” — a favorite phrase of his — can be found on that issue and others. He believes agreements can be made even on hot-button issues such as gun laws, in the wake of Feb. 14’s Parkland, Florida, shooting. “If we continue to have dialogues, not monologues, and continue to find common ground,” he said at a rally on Sunday, “we can help empower the kids of Parkland, Florida, to lead the next tipping point.” Jones, who has been visiting Alabama during the congressional break, spoke with BirminghamWatch about his first weeks as a senator, the viability of centrism in a polarized political landscape, and Alabama’s possible future as a two-party state. BirminghamWatch: Because your election received so much nationwide attention, when you entered the Senate last month, you were already one of its most famous members. How has that dynamic played out? How have you been received by your fellow senators? Doug Jones: I’ve been received very well. It’s been very nice. Everybody has been very cordial, very helpful, on both sides of the aisle. … Obviously people in the media, they see me as kind of like the unicorn up there, the Democrat from Alabama. (We) do exist! But it’s been great. We tried to (be) low-key and not do too much. I think we played it really good, to try to get my feet wet, let me find my voice, get to know some people. But my Democratic and Republican colleagues have just been great. That’s why I enjoyed working on this bipartisan bill (with the) Common Sense Coalition. I got to know some folks, and it’s been very, very good. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Agreement Reached for Water Works to Collect Sewer Payments, Votes Expected Thursday

Birmingham Water Works has agreed to collect Jefferson County sewer fees, which could conclude discussions that have lasted nearly a year. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Democratic Candidates for Governor Debate Lottery, Infrastructure, Minimum Wage

Four Democratic candidates for Alabama governor gathered at the Birmingham Crossplex Monday night for a forum mostly focused on economic issues facing the state. Sue Bell Cobb, James Fields, Walt Maddox and Anthony White each discussed their stances on a potential lottery, infrastructure funding and minimum wage, among other issues. Christopher A. Countryman and Doug “New Blue” Smith, who also qualified to run for governor as Democrats, did not attend the forum. The forum, sponsored by the podcast “Not Necessarily Political with James Williams and Lonnie Malone” and moderated by former Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Smoot, didn’t showcase much disagreement among its four participants. Instead, the candidates spent most of their time highlighting their backgrounds and qualifications. If there were any disagreements, they stemmed largely from the finer points of the candidates’ platforms. Read more.

by Sam Prickett