Category: Science
One Amendment on Ballots Would OK Bonds for State Parks
An amendment on the ballot Tuesday would authorize the state to issue $85 million in bonds to pay for improvements at state parks and historical sites. Read more.
Judge’s Ruling a “Sigh of Relief” for Families of Transgender Youth
A federal judge in Alabama ruled to block part of a law that makes it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to minors on Friday. Families with transgender kids tell WBHM they are cautiously relieved. Read more.
Judge Hears Testimony in Challenge to Alabama’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
A group of parents and doctors want the judge to stop the law from going into effect while a lawsuit continues. Read more.
Water Board Asks to Oversee Housing Construction Near the Cahaba, Despite Its Fight for the Ability to Lighten Water Protection Rules
The Birmingham Water Works Board has asked the city to require developers of a property near the Cahaba River watershed to submit to board approval before beginning construction.
Arlington Properties plans to build a multi-family housing development at 4641 U.S. 280, a property that is directly adjacent to BWWB-owned Cahaba watershed lands. The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved rezoning the property from an agricultural district to a general commercial district. The BWWB is asking to have a say in the development’s permitting process.
“If this development is being considered for approval, we would request that the city require the developers to comply with Birmingham Water Works’ watershed protection policy and to submit the proposed plans and associated documentation to the BWWB prior to such approval,” April Nabors, the BWWB’s environmental engineer, told the council. “We just want to be part of the approval process.”
District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams expressed some skepticism about this request, in light of the board’s recent attempt to have conservation restrictions on its own watershed properties loosened. Read more.
COVID Cases Tick Up in Alabama, but Don’t Panic
Alabama has been seeing an “uptick” in COVID-19 cases and positivity rates in the past few weeks, but a state health official said those aren’t necessarily signs that another spike is in the near future and he is “cautiously optimistic.”
There were 784 new COVID cases reported over the past seven days, for an average of 109 new cases per day as of Wednesday. Reports on the ADPH website are delayed by a day. The state’s COVID positivity rate has increased from 2.2% at the first of the month to 3.4%.. Read more.
Water Board Asks to Change Settlement to Lighten Requirements for Protecting Land Around Lake Purdy, Cahaba River
The Birmingham Water Works Board and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall are asking a Jefferson County court for permission to change parts of a 2001 settlement agreement requiring conservation easements to be placed on board-owned Cahaba watershed lands.
This request comes just more than a month after the Alabama Supreme Court sided with environmentalist groups in a lawsuit alleging that the board had violated the settlement agreement.
The argument centers on the Cahaba River and Lake Purdy, which is a major source of Birmingham’s drinking water. Not only does development on land close to the bodies of water risk contamination, it also drives up the cost of filtering and cleaning the water, which raises rates.
Last year, the Cahaba Riverkeeper and the Cahaba River Society sued the BWWB, claiming that in the 20 years since the settlement had been reached, the board had never placed any legal conservation easement on its properties surrounding the lake and the river, despite it being a condition of the board’s purchase of the land. The board unsuccessfully tried to get that suit thrown out of court.
Environmentalists say the board’s request to change the agreement directly conflicts with its past claims of compliance. Read more.
Grant Awarded for Program to Serve Victims of Violence in Hospital
The Jefferson County Department of Health has given a grant of more than $1.1 million to the Offender Alumni Association to start a Hospital-linked Violence Intervention Program. Read more.
As Gulf South Lawmakers Fight Over Medicaid, New Moms Weigh-In: ‘Safety Nets Do Save Lives’
The COVID-19 health emergency could end soon; tens of thousands of new mothers could lose their healthcare coverage unless legislators take action. Read more.
COVID Hospitalizations Fall Below 200
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alabama hospitals dropped below 200 this past weekend for the first time since late March. Read more.
The Pandemic, Two Years In
COVID Pandemic Closed Down Businesses, Schools and Sports and Brought a Sea Change for Health Care
Timeline: It’s Been a Long Time Since the World Learned of COVID on New Year’s Eve 2019
Educators, Psychologists Say Attending School at Home Hampers Students’ Development
Birmingham Grappled With Budget as COVID-19 Slowed Economy
Jefferson County Commissioners Pivot to Handle Unfamiliar Challenges
Fewer Cars on the Road but Traffic Deaths Rise
JeffCo, Birmingham Spend Federal Money on Housing Assistance, Other Needs
More than $359 million in federal dollars flowed through the hands of Jefferson County and Birmingham city officials in the past two years to help the area get through and get past the pandemic, and more money is yet to come this spring.
Related:
JeffCo Commissioners Pivot to Handle Unfamiliar Challenges; Birmingham Grappled With Budget as COVID-19 Slowed Economy
