Category: Uncategorized

Broken Air Conditioners at Brighton Senior Center Focus JeffCo Commission on City Services

Solomon Crenshaw Jr.,

The Jefferson County Commission waded back into the issue of small cities’ providing for their residents after learning that the air conditioners at Brighton’s senior center were not working and seniors were being subjected to 90-degree temperatures. Read more.

Jury Says ‘Guilty’ in Trial of Two Men Accused in Bribery of a Legislator

Robert Carter,

Balch & Bingham attorney Joel Gilbert and Drummond Vice President David Lynn Roberson were found guilty this afternoon on all counts in a trial over allegations former Rep. Oliver Robinson was bribed to oppose the expansion of an EPA clean-up site in north Birmingham.

Both men had been charged with conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and three counts of wire fraud. A third defendant was dismissed from the case earlier this week. Robinson has pleaded guilty and agreed to work with prosecutors. His sentencing date had been set or next month but earlier today was extended until September.

This story will be updated as events develop.

Marshall Leads in Fundraising Two Weeks Before the Runoff

Glenn Stephens,

Incumbent Steve Marshall has raised almost $600,000 more than challenger Troy King in contributions as the two campaign for the July 17 Republican runoff for attorney general, according to financial reports filed this week with the Secretary of State’s Office.

Marshall, whose wife, Bridgette Marshall, died June 24, reported that he did not raise any money during the reporting period of June 23-29. But he reported a $25,000 contribution on Tuesday, after the latest weekly reporting period was over, from the Automobile Dealers Association of Alabama Inc. in Montgomery.

Marshall has raised $2.41 million so far during the campaign and has spent $2.14 million, leaving a balance of $287,783 in his campaign account.

King, who is seeking nomination for the job he held from 2004 to 2011, reported contributions of $39,605 during the last week of June, bringing his total for the campaign to $1.81 million. He has spent $1.72 million and has a balance of $86,870. Read more.

Birmingham City Council Appoints New PACE Board, Despite Reservations by Some

Sam Prickett,

Birmingham’s controversial PACE Board is back in action after being defunct for nearly a year.

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to appoint new members to the board in order to secure approval for a new restaurant at the Negro Southern League Museum, despite deep reservations by some council members over the board’s accountability.

The Public Athletic, Cultural, and Entertainment Facilities Board — PACE, for short — is a five-member board created by the city in 2011 to oversee development of Regions Field and the Negro Southern League Museum.

But the board drew ire from the council after construction costs for Regions Field went over budget by roughly $8 million, $4.1 million of which the council is paying off in installments through 2021. The rest of those costs were taken on by development companies Robins & Morton and A.G. Gaston Construction.

 

  • NAACP Suspends Birmingham President Hezekiah Jackson

    WBHM
    The national office of the NAACP has suspended the organization’s local Birmingham president, Hezekiah Jackson IV.

    The NAACP issued a statement Wednesday evening saying it is investigating whether Jackson advised residents not to have their soil tested for potentially damaging toxins and whether he received payment for those activities.

    Jackson, who has been president of the NAACP, Metro Birmingham Branch for about 20 years, says he has done nothing wrong and will be exonerated by the investigation. Read more.

  BW Recommends

  BirminghamWatch

  • AIIJ/BirminghamWatch Selected For NewsMatch 2018, National Campaign to Encourage Donations for Journalism

    More than 150 nonprofit newsrooms across the country, including Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism in Birmingham, will participate in this year’s NewsMatch, the largest grassroots fundraising campaign to support nonprofit news organizations. The national effort will launch Nov. 1.

    In 2017 NewsMatch helped to raise more than $4.8 million from individual donors and a coalition of private funders.

    Sue Cross, executive director and CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News, which serves as one of NewsMatch’s nonprofit partners, said, “We are encouraged to see such strong growth in community support of news … NewsMatch makes it easy for communities and individuals to find and fund their local sources of trusted news.” Read more.

  Economy

  GovernmentWatch

  Environment

  Pollution Testing

  • Officials Want More Contamination Testing in North Birmingham

    More than 500 properties in North Birmingham have not been tested for contamination, Congresswoman Terri Sewell said Wednesday while touring Collegeville with city, state and EPA officials. She’s encouraging people who have rejected soil testing to allow EPA to check for contaminants.

    “We understand some of the citizens may be distrustful, but it’s important for us in order to truly have cleanup that is comprehensive for us to get those sites that have not been tested, tested,” Sewell says. Read more.

  Sumter School

  CongressionalWatch

  • Congressional Votes for the Week Ending Sept. 7

    WASHINGTON – Alabama’s House delegation voted together, and with the vast majority of other representatives, to pass a bill that would require couseling of parents and students participating in federal student-loan programs. Students receiving loans and Pell grants also would have to go through online counseling on their loan obligations.

    The House split, however, on a proposal to expand the bill to offer specialized counseling for veterans. Rep. Terri Sewell, Alabama’s only Democratic representative, also was the only member of the state’s delegation who voted in favor of the proposed provision, which failed.

    Here’s how area members of Congress voted on that and other major issues during the week ending Sept. 7. Read more.

  Threats to Insects

  Reading Birmingham

  • Reading Birmingham: Put Aside the Politics. This is First and Foremost a Story of People who Love Music.

    About 10 years ago, while visiting rural England, I met a genuine Southernphile (and yes, that is a word I just made up). When a young hotel clerk learned I was from Alabama, he engaged me in a long and animated conversation about his love for Southern pop culture.

    While his sources were dubious (his favorite movie was Smokey and the Bandit and his favorite television show was The Dukes of Hazzard), his fascination was sincere. What he loved most of all was the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. “I don’t care about the politics,” he said. “They just sound so bloody good.”

    Historian Andre Millard found a similar lack of interest in politics, especially the politics of race, among many of the musicians interviewed for his book Magic City Nights. Read more.

  2018 Election