Sept. 13, 2017 — After postponing its regularly scheduled meeting due to the threat of inclement weather, the Birmingham City Council convened for a special-called meeting on Wednesday. Though the rules of special-called meetings prevented the council from voting on most of the planned items on the agenda, the council found room for a spirited
Don’t be surprised if school board presidents and superintendents attending a luncheon with the Jefferson County Commission skip the cake or pie that follows their main course. They’ll have a much bigger treat awaiting them. While meeting in committee this morning, commissioners authorized the county manager to distribute the remaining unspent proceeds from the education sales and use tax, an amount totaling $69 million. Read more.
Birmingham Mayoral candidate Randall Woodfin called Mayor William Bell’s criticisms of his out-of-state fundraising “false and misleading.” Bell has called out Woodfin for getting money from out-of-state donors and being supported by a national liberal agenda. Woodfin says some of that is true, but he had to go farther afield for some of his contributors because Bell during his long government career has had the backing of virtually every corporate interest. He also said there’s a fear of retribution that has to be overcome when the opponent is a long-serving, influential official. Read more.
Birmingham’s two remaining mayoral candidates have reported the contributions their campaigns have received since the Aug. 22 election, revealing stark contrasts between the candidates’ fundraising tactics. Filings submitted last week show that incumbent candidate William Bell has raised $137,000 since the election, more than triple the $42,356 that challenger Randall Woodfin has raised. But Woodfin surpasses Bell in the sheer number of individual contributors. He’s collected contributions from 327 donors since Aug. 22, with an average donation of $130, while Bell has received contributions from 59 sources, averaging $2,331 per donation. Read more.
Former state Rep. Oliver L. Robinson pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting bribes from a Birmingham lawyer and an Alabama coal company executive in exchange for advocating against an environmental cleanup in north Birmingham. The 57-year-old Democrat from Birmingham entered his guilty pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Abdul K. Kallon to conspiracy, bribery, honest services wire fraud and tax evasion. Robinson’s plea agreement required that he cooperate in further investigations in exchange for prosecutors’ recommending a lighter sentence, pay restitution and forfeiture in an amounts to be determined, and to never again seek elected office. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7. Robinson is free on bond. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Robinson in June for accepting a contract between Birmingham law firm Balch & Bingham and the Oliver Robinson Foundation to use his influence to oppose the EPA’s prioritization and expansion of a north Birmingham Superfund site. Read more.
The polls are busy this fall year as Birmingham and Alabama voters go to the polls to elect a U.S. senator, mayor, city councilors and board of education members. Here are the dates for the upcoming elections: Sept. 26: Republican runoff, Special Senate Election Oct. 3: Birmingham Mayor, Council, School Board runoffs Dec.12: General election, Special Senate Election
Mayor William Bell during an Aug. 28 meeting in City Council chambers urged employees of his office to bolster his re-election campaign and told them their jobs could be at stake as well as his. In an audio recording of the meeting, Bell told staffers that it would be improper for them to campaign for him on city time. But he told them there were activities every weekend and urged them to spread the word on social media about projects conducted during his administration. “The political survival of my administration is at stake,” he says on the tape. Read more.
Protracted discussion over proposed zoning changes to northeast Birmingham led to a two-week delay in the Birmingham City Council considering them during its meeting Tuesday. These proposed changes would affect the East Pinson Valley, Huffman, Cahaba and Roebuck/South East Lake communities as part of the Northeast Framework Plan. Many of the proposed changes were “name-only,”
Walking into the Jefferson County courthouse from Linn Park, you’re flanked by murals depicting the county’s history. On the right is the “Old South” mural, dominated by a woman in antebellum dress with slaves harvesting cotton and sugar cane at her feet. On the left is the “New South” mural, anchored by a man dressed in a suit and hat with industrial workers at his feet. The 17½-foot-tall murals may have shown an overview of the county’s progression when they were painted in 1931. But that was 86 years ago. Now the murals periodically draw protests by people who say the artwork enshrines a racist era and does not bear a resemblance to the Jefferson County of today. County commissioners have been debating that issue, but they don’t plan to remove the murals. Instead, they are commissioning an artist to design three-dimensional electronic LED panels to be installed in the same lobby and bring the county’s history up to date. Read more.
Aug. 29, 2017 – The Jefferson County Commission on Tuesday approved hiring artist Ronald McDowell to produce a mural depicting modern-day Jefferson County. The mural would complement, but not replace, two old murals in the lobby of the courthouse that have been controversial over the years. One of those murals includes images of slaves harvesting cotton and sugar cane. Commissioner Sandra Little Brown presented the resolution at the commission’s committee meeting on Tuesday. She said the project predates the national furor over Confederate monuments. Read more.
