The labor shortage that is stressing the private sector nationwide has made its way to the Alabama state employee workforce. Agencies and departments are experiencing a higher than normal employee turnover rate and more job vacancies. Read more.
Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Ammons was very careful when asked if a “sweet” deal was on its way to Jefferson County. “I’m not going there,” he said following Tuesday’s commission committee meeting. “I can neither confirm nor deny.” Commissioners moved to Thursday’s agenda three resolutions related to a business development that plans to come to Jefferson Metropolitan Industrial Park in McCalla. “I'd say it's a very good deal for everybody,” he said following today’s commission committee meeting, adding that while there has been some press about the development, identified on the agenda as Project 6449, county officials are under a non-disclosure agreement until the deal is done on Thursday. Ammons was referring to a Birmingham Business Journal article that said public records show 6449 LLC shares an address — One Strawberry Lane in Orrville, Ohio — with the corporate headquarters of J.M. Smucker Co., a major producer of jam, jelly, peanut butter and other food and drink products. “It's gonna be a good day,” Ammons, the chair of the commission’s economic development committee, said of Thursday’s announcement. “I am so stinking excited. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for Thursday for the last three or four months, excited about what this means for Jefferson County.” Read more.
The Birmingham City Council has revoked the business license of a crime-ridden Crestwood Boulevard motel. The USA Economy Lodge had been given eight weeks to fix its numerous issues — including drug trafficking, prostitution and damage to neighboring properties — which had led to 151 calls to police between Feb. 2 and Aug. 8. Read more.
Demolition has begun on the old Ensley High School and should be complete in about four months.
Redevelopment of the derelict property is aimed at making way for a 244-home mixed-used neighborhood at 2301 Avenue J for people earning between $16,000 and $45,000 annually.
“Neighborhood revitalization is our top priority,” Mayor Randall L. Woodfin said in a statement. “For many years, Ensley High School provided the educational foundation for this community. As the next steps are taken, this site will provide a new foundation for vibrant and livable space for our residents.” Read more.
Previously:
Project to Turn Old Ensley High Project Into Apartment Complex Moves Forward
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday recommended a one-year delay to the Alabama Literacy Act's holdback provision for third graders struggling with reading. “Because we are implementing a new assessment, we need the spring 2022 data to further validate the cut score before we implement the promotion policy and, in the meantime, we will be doubling down for the supports needed to implement the Alabama Literacy Act to fidelity,” Ivey said at the state school board meeting. The board voted on setting the reading score on standardized testing that will determine which students would continue on to the fourth grade. To implement Ivey's recommended delay, the Alabama Legislature will have to approve the change during its regular session starting in January. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Commission on Reentry heard presentations Tuesday about the need for expanding housing assistance for those leaving prison as a way to reduce recidivism. The state currently provides no housing assistance for the majority of people who are leaving prison at the end of their sentences. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Alabama state agencies say they need more flexibility in purchasing during emergencies and the ability to hire essential staff in times of crisis. Those were among the findings of the Alabama Pandemic Response and Preparedness Commission based on input from various state agencies on how they responded in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission’s final report included recommendations that could become legislation. Read more.
Mayor Randall Woodfin’s Birmingham Promise educational initiative has received a $1.8 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, it was announced Tuesday. That grant will go toward the program’s apprenticeship initiative, which Woodfin said “will be used to help Birmingham City Schools high school students to start gaining work experience to gain career skills that will last them a lifetime.” Woodfin also told the City Council during Tuesday’s meeting that Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “very vigorous vetting process … shows that this program is sustainable, and it’s a model for any city across America for how we should engage in partnerships to invest and give opportunity and exposure to our youngest generation and our high school students.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature late Thursday passed bills to make it easier for workers in the state to opt out of federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and prohibit minors from getting vaccinated against the virus without parental consent. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bills Friday.
Lawmakers worked into the night on compromises between Senate and House-passed versions of the bills. The road to final passage on both bills was bumpy in the week-long special session that was supposed to focus on voting district maps.
At times the legislation pitted the GOP-dominant Legislature against business groups in the state. Senate Bill 9 would allow employees to claim religious or medical exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine through a standardized form given to employers. The law will sunset, or expire, in May 2023. Read more.
Earlier in the Legislature:
Legislature Wraps Redistricting Work, Sends Maps to Ivey
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday unceremoniously approved providing $500,000 to help bring the United States Football League to Birmingham. With much more consternation, commissioners settled on a plan for redrawing commission district lines. The USFL money, which will pay for personnel to operate Protective Stadium on game days, was passed without discussion, along with 48 other resolutions on the agenda. The City of Birmingham also will provide $500,000 to aid the USFL operation. Most of the meeting was comprised of a public hearing discussing three options for redrawing commission district lines to reflect changes in the population of the districts. Lines are adjusted every 10 years to keep populations of the districts as even as possible. Commissioners voted 4-1 for a plan that Commissioner Steve Ammons said was needed without making additional changes. He noted that Districts 3, 4 and 5 were the same in each plan. Read more.
