Bessemer Absentee Voting Clerk Karen Dunn Burks accused Jefferson County government of voter suppression in moving her office from the ceremonial courtroom in the basement of the Bessemer Justice Center to office space there. Read more.
The agency will still be allowed to regulate many forms of air pollution but would need explicit direction from Congress on how to tackle some of the worst aspects of climate change and other pressing issues. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to allocate roughly one-third of its remaining federal COVID relief funds among the city’s police department, fire and rescue, public works and “district-specific and citywide council projects.” Read more.
World Games officials clarified that anyone will be able to walk through and access public areas around venues like Railroad Park, Linn Park, Protective Stadium and the new City Walk, despite those sites being behind security parameters. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council has approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s operating budget for the 2023 fiscal year. The vote, which happened during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled council meeting, was surprisingly low-key; the budget was approved with a slate of other routine items as part of the council’s consent agenda, with no changes from the budget Woodfin proposed last month. That lack of controversy has become routine for the once-fraught budgeting process because of 2016 changes in the state’s Mayor-Council Act that prevent the council from altering the proposed budget without the mayor’s approval. While Woodfin had made mild compromises with the council over budgets at the beginning of his first term, his last two budgets were passed without any changes from his proposals. At $517 million, the budget is the city’s largest ever, marking a $61.5 million increase from last year, thanks to a significant increase in business tax and licensing revenues. Read more.
The ACLU of Alabama say it will continue its lawsuit to reinstate access to abortion. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday again delayed voting on the sheriff’s request for $1.2 million to pay for expanded security duties during The World Games. Commission President Jimmie Stephens said he believed the request was premature because it wasn’t evident to him that the extra costs would run the sheriff’s budget into the red. Read more.
Katie Britt easily secured the Republican nomination to Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, defeating U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks with 63% of the vote to his 36.99%. She will face Democratic nominee Will Boyd in the November general election. Voting in Tuesday’s primary runoffs was light, with turnout of less than 12% statewide and just less than 11% in Jefferson County. There were few problems at the Jefferson County polls, with the exception of the polling place in the Don Hawkins Park & Recreation Center. No ballots were available when the polls opened at 7 a.m., so election officials kept the polling place open until 8:30 p.m., giving voters who were unable to vote before work the chance to return to post their ballots. On the Democratic ballot, Yolanda Rochelle Flowers took the nomination for governor over Malika Sanders Fortier, 55.15% to 44.85%. Read more. Republican primary runoff results Democratic primary runoff results Secretary of State’s statewide results
Winners are indicated in bold type Governor Yolanda Rochelle Flowers — 55.15% Malika Sanders Fortier — 44.85% Jefferson County, Board of Education, District No. 3 Stephanie Floyd — 56.94% Rochelle Malone — 43.06% State Representative, District No. 55 Fred “Coach” Plump — 50.89% Roderick “Rod” Scott — 49.11% State Representative, District No. 56 Tereshia Huffman
Winners are indicated in bold type U.S. Senator Katie Britt — 63.01% Mo Brooks — 36.99% State Representative, District No. 14 Tom Fredricks — 44.31% Timothy “Tim” Wadsworth — 55.69% Secretary of State Wes Allen — 65.38% Jim Zeigler — 34.62% State Auditor Stan Cooke — 42.54% Andrew Sorrell — 57.46% Public Service Commission, Place
