Government

Shades of Gray? Not When It Comes to Bingo in Jefferson County

The Jefferson County Commission today denied a rezoning request for a private club in Corner, suspecting that the establishment would be used for bingo. “The applicant wasn't here but we kind of got a little birdie telling us that may be a bingo hall,” Commissioner Joe Knight said after the meeting. “We don't want bingo halls. We've got plenty. We don't need all the bingo halls where these cities are passing ordinances prohibiting them coming to the county.” Knight said some may have viewed unincorporated Jefferson County as a gray area beyond the jurisdiction of cities that have expressly forbidden bingo businesses. “We don't want to be the gray area and we need to tighten that up a little bit with our ordinances as far as what we allow and what we do,” Knight said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

BJCC Will Open as Warming Station Thursday and Friday

The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex will open to the public as a warming station Thursday and Friday, when the temperatures are forecast to fall into the 20s, the city of Birmingham announced Wednesday. The announcement came after the city faced criticism for not opening Boutwell Auditorium earlier this week as snow fell and temperatures dipped below freezing. Mayor Randall Woodfin in a statement said Boutwell Auditorium was “unavailable,” although the city has not revealed why. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Jefferson County Commission Kicks Staff Out of Meeting as COVID Rages Across the Community

UPDATED with request to avoid emergency departments for tests or minor symptoms. Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens opened the commission committee meeting Tuesday by sending department heads and staff out of the room to guard against the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19. “It's a reminder for those people that we need to continue to practice social distancing,” Stephens said after the meeting. The commission president cited reports that cloth face masks are not the most effective in protecting against the spread of the omicron variant. “You need to do a KN95 or an N95 mask, if indeed you feel at risk,” Stephens said. “The main thing to do is to practice your social distancing because if the masks are proved ineffective, the only other tool we have if we're going to come to work is … either management needs to supply everyone with KN95 or N95 masks or we need to practice social distancing. “I pretty much told staff through the county manager that they should be on Zoom or be virtual,” he said, “and let the commission tend to the business of the commission.” Stephens’ comments came as omicron rages across the state. Alabama reached a record 38.5% positivity rate Tuesday as another 7,562 new cases were reported and 41 new deaths. Jefferson County contributed 1,501 of those cases and four of the deaths, and the positivity rate broke 40% for the first time. In total, 921,175  Alabamians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. Every county in the state is classified as being at high risk of community transmission of the virus. Read more. Also read: COVID Surge Continues, Could Peak in Mid- to Late-January

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Three Birmingham Families on What the Magic City Means to Them as the City Turns 150

Birmingham marked its 150th anniversary Sunday. The city officially began on Dec. 19, 1871, when the state legislature incorporated the city. Birmingham saw rapid growth, fueled by mining and steel production, earning it the nickname the Magic City. The city later became a focal point of the civil rights movement. But tens of thousands of people also called Birmingham home. Three families shared their stories of what the Magic City means to them. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM

Sewell Kicks Off Tour Promoting Benefits of the Infrastructure Act

U.S. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, visited Birmingham on Friday to tout improvements coming to the state and region under the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The act will fund not only road and bridge work in the state, but it also will pay to provide broadband service statewide and improve water infrastructure in areas where residents do not have access to clean drinking water, according to a press release issued by her office. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

JeffCo Commission Compromises, Buys 100 CPR Devices to Distribute

Jefferson County commissioners approved the purchase of 100 Lucas CPR devices Thursday, bringing to 238 the county has or will buy with federal funds related to COVID-19. The sheriff’s department initially sought 250 devices to go into patrol cars on remote beats. That number was whittled to 138 and then 100. Commissioners debated how many devices to buy, considering the purchase would have to meet the criteria for spending of federal COVID funds. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commission Considers Buying CPR Devices

The Jefferson County Commission will likely approve the purchase of at least 123 Lucas chest compression devices. The sheriff’s office requested the funding from American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase 250 of the automatic CPR devices at a cost of $17,980. The plan was for 138 of the devices to be deployed to 49 entities throughout the county. The timing of the matter is sensitive as a price hike of 7% per unit is expected after the first of 2022. Another 138 Lucas devices were previously purchased with monies from the Care Act. Commissioners were concerned that the devices need to be in more isolated locations where ambulance response times have been especially long. Commissioners noted the need to have devices in county senior centers and in schools. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham to Spend $2 Million to Recruit Grocery Stores to Underserved Areas

The office of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has announced a $2 million grocery store recruitment plan focusing on West Birmingham and other underserved communities. The plan will be funded out of $12.9 million recently recovered from the refinancing of the city’s Commercial Development Authority bond debt. According to a press release, the money will be used “to lure at least two” grocery store chains to the city. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Carpenter Added to Transit Authority Board, Four Members Reappointed

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to reappoint four members of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority board whose terms had expired. The council also appointed one new member, Becky Carpenter, to replace outgoing board member Kevin Powe. The city of Birmingham appoints five of the BJCTA board’s nine members; Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Homewood and the Jefferson County Commission round out the other four appointments. Four of the city’s 2017 appointees — board Chairman Theodore Smith, Vice Chair LeDon Jones, Darryl Cunningham and Willie S. Davis — have all been reappointed to a second four-year term on the board; their terms will expire in September 2025. But board member Kevin Powe, who was also appointed to the BJCTA board in 2017, will not be back for a second term. He’ll be replaced by Becky Carpenter, a project manager at Corporate Realty Associates. Through her job, Carpenter has worked on several major redevelopment projects in the city, including that of the former Carraway Hospital and Southtown Court housing project. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Blanchard Begins Run for Governor

WETUMPKA — Former U.S. Ambassador Lindy Blanchard officially launched her campaign for governor Tuesday, switching from running for the U.S. Senate to challenging incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey in the Republican primary. Speaking to a crowd in her childhood home just north of Montgomery, Blanchard called herself the “conservative outsider” candidate. “I will stand up for our rights against not just the liberal left, but the go-along-to-get-along, so-called conservatives who have run things in Montgomery for way too long,” Blanchard said. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News