Vestavia Hills legislator David Wheeler died Wednesday morning. The Alabama House of Representatives released the following obituary: State Rep. David Wheeler, R-Vestavia Hills, died this morning. He was 72. A retired employee of Alabama Power Company, he was elected in 2018 to his first term serving House District 47 in Jefferson County. He had qualified
The Birmingham City Council has approved the sale of 222 acres near Lakeshore Parkway to Green Meadow Apartments LLC, which will redevelop the property into single-family, multi-family and senior housing. The city will receive $1.5 million for the property, which is located at 1911 Tiger Walk. General contractor Michael German, the former Alabama field office director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has represented Green Meadow Apartments at council meetings. He told councilors that the proposed development will include a park, walking trail and a town center — including a grocery store and a community center — and compared the development to the nearby Ross Bridge community. Green Meadow is a minority developer, and Cornell Wesley, the city’s director of innovation and economic opportunity, described its project as potentially transformational for the city. “We are looking at what I believe to be the largest economic impact led by African Americans in our storied history as a city, that being over $100 million worth of economic impact and investment in our area,” Wesley said. Read more.
Legislators also took up measures to improve math education and attack what's known as "period poverty." Read more.
The World Games’ ban was in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission today opted not to ride in and rescue Birmingham residents, tabling a resolution to make some federal relief funds available after the city exhausted its allotment of federal funds to aid people with rental and utility assistance. The county has been spending that money to help persons in unincorporated Jefferson County and cities outside of Birmingham. Commissioner Sheila Tyson on Tuesday appealed to other commissioners to help Birmingham residents, but some of them were concerned about limiting their ability to help others, and they said they needed more information about other funds that might be available. Read more.
The Mahogany Social Bar and Lounge will remain permanently closed after a vote by the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday. Owner Montego Temple had moved the club to its 1709 Third St. W location after its previous location across the street burned down. Though Temple told councilors he believed he had secured a transfer of his liquor license and dance permit to the new location, he was arrested in December for operating without a proper license. But complaints from the Birmingham Police Department that the club was a threat to public safety ultimately stymied his efforts to legally reopen Mahogany. Police pointed to 10 calls for service to the club in the past six months — ranging from gunshots to car break-ins — as well as an inspection by Detective Victor Langford that showed multiple safety issues and culminated with a fistfight in the club. Read more.
Lawmakers also took action this week on a delay to a school reading requirement and a ban on transgender treatments for youths. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council has set a March 29 public hearing to discuss proposed changes to the city’s council districts based on 2020 census data. Last month, the council hired Crimcard Consulting Services to lead the redistricting process, which is required each decade by city law. After several individual meetings with councilors, Crimcard presented proposed districts to the council Feb. 14. A digital map of the proposed changes has not yet been made available; that information will be shared on the city’s website this week, officials said, but video of the presentation is available on the council’s Facebook page. The redistricting process has already proven controversial, with District 3 Councilor Valerie Abbott expressing dismay that part of the Five Points South neighborhood would be reassigned to District 6, currently represented by Council President Pro Tem Crystal Smitherman. Read more.
Lawmakers also advanced a so-called bathroom bill but delayed a bill increasing penalties for rioters. Read more.
The Jefferson County commissioners Thursday enlisted the aid of county personnel to fight illegal dumping, littering and violations involving “poop trains” in the county. And those they enlisted are already on the frontlines. “We designated the sanitation and ordinance inspectors, the zoning inspectors, the zoning supervisor and the zoning administrator as solid waste officers,” County Attorney Theo Lawson said. “By being designated as solid waste officers, that then gives them the authority under the code to write citations for criminal littering. Those folks are now able to enforce criminal littering through issuing citations. That should be a huge increase in our folks' ability to enforce criminal littering.” Read more.
