Category: Government
Republican Brinyark, Democrat Underwood Vie for State House Seat
Voters in House District 16 go to the polls Tuesday to elect a new representative to the state House.
Republican nominee Bryan Brinyark will face Democratic nominee John Underwood in the election for the district, which extends from Fayette County to north Tuscaloosa and western Jefferson counties. Read more.
When Alabama Police Kill, Surviving Family Can Fight Years to See Body Cam Footage. There’s No Guarantee They Will
It was early morning on July 8, 2018, when Joseph Pettaway’s family was told by a neighbor that he had been badly injured by a police dog overnight and taken to the hospital.
He’d been rehabbing a home a block away from where he lived with his mother. His sister, Nancy, set off to see what had happened at the blighted house on the outskirts of Montgomery.
She came upon a grisly scene. Blood was pooled on the pavement, and police officers were hosing it down. The front door was open, and Nancy Pettaway peeked at the hallway inside. “I seen blood, like they had dragged him,” she said. “One of the police told me to get back, and I said I ain’t going nowhere, cause that’s my brother, that’s my brother’s blood, and you gotta tell me what’s going on.”
But the Montgomery police refused to give her any information and later that day confirmed to the news media only that a suspected burglar had died on the scene.
The police who were there when Pettaway was killed wore body cameras that recorded what happened, but Montgomery’s department repeatedly refused to show the footage to the Pettaways, saying the video was “confidential,” and under Alabama law, the family had no right to access the video.
It’s a recurring theme in Alabama, which is among the most restrictive states for disclosing body cam footage when police kill. Read more.
Council Votes Down Zoning Change for Planned East Lake Business Over Parking
Courtney Jones said he was surprised when the Birmingham City Council voted on Tuesday to deny a zoning change as part of his plans to create an events center in the East Lake community.
“I was floored, to put it in layman’s terms,” he said in an interview after the meeting.
Jones owns the building at 6900 Second Ave. S., where he hopes to establish Atlas 360, a business hosting weddings, corporate events and private parties. Read more.
Birmingham Nears Year’s End With Mixed Crime Numbers
The city of Birmingham released its most recent crime stats Friday, showing that, while nonviolent crimes such as burglary, auto theft and theft numbers have increased this year, violent crimes still are down somewhat. Read more.
JeffCo Plans for New Coroner’s Office as It Forgives Development Authority’s Debt
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday forgave about $1 million of debt owed by a development authority, setting the stage for the county coroner’s office to move to that authority’s industrial park.
County Manager Cal Markert said Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority developed the Jefferson Metropolitan Park Lakeshore industrial park on Lakeshore Parkway. One of its three remaining lots was targeted as the new home of the coroner’s office.
“Instead of paying for it, we’re forgiving the debt,” Markert said. “It’s all ours anyway. We loaned them the money. They bought all the property, set it up, developed the whole industrial park and created a tremendous number of jobs.” Read more.
JeffCo Considers Forgiving Development Group’s Debt, Moving Coroner’s Office to Park
A resolution moved to the agenda of Thursday’s Jefferson County Commission meeting would forgive more than $1 million owed to the county from Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority.
The county would also execute a purchase agreement with JCEIDA for land in the Lakeshore Jeffmet Park for the new office space of the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner. The purchase agreement for the land, valued at $700,000, would not be a cash transaction but would help offset the remaining JCEIDA debt being forgiven.
County Manager Cal Markert called the authority “one of the most successful economic development groups in the state, if not the most.” Read more.
A Books-to-Prisons Program Creates Connection Behind Bars
Birmingham Council Extends Timeline to Build on Old Ramsay-McCormack Property
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday extended an agreement with developers tasked with constructing a five-story commercial building at the former site of Ensley’s Ramsay-McCormack tower, a long-derelict structure that the community lobbied for decades to have destroyed.
The council voted unanimously to extend the agreement with Ensley District Developers from Dec. 31 to June 30, 2025. Read more.
Woodfin’s Strategic Update Touts Progress in Neighborhood Improvement, Food Deserts, Gun Violence, Parks, Education, Homelessness and the Arts
When Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin gave an update on the city’s initiatives Thursday, he asked the crowd at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s auditorium to view that progress through the eyes of one mother or grandmother and the many tangible ways life has improved for her and her family since he took office.
“Everything we’ve done has been to increase opportunities for our children and grandchildren,” he said. “That really drives what we do at City Hall. That drives this administration. That is the heartbeat of what we do for our children, for our grandchildren.”
Back in 2017, the mayor said, that grandmother would look out her front door and see dilapidated or vacant homes next door, a cracked sidewalk and roads dotted with potholes. Six years ago, that woman’s grandchildren didn’t have a playground nearby, and the family lived miles away from a store selling fresh vegetables. And worst of all, he said, she and her grandchildren would often hear gunshots throughout the night.
“By the end of our first term, here is what we did for that mother; here is what we did for that grandmother,” the mayor said. Read more.
Deputy Sheriff Charged in On-Duty Shooting
