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

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.

by Sam Prickett

Shelby County Board of Education, Place 1

Candidates for Shelby County Board of Education, Place 1, in the June 5 primary

by BirminghamWatch

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3

Candidates for Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3, in the June 5 primary

by BirminghamWatch

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge, Place 15

Candidates for Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge, Place 15, in the June 5 primary

by BirminghamWatch

Jefferson County District Court, Place 3

Candidates for Jefferson County District Court Judge, Place 3, in the June 5 primary

by BirminghamWatch

Gary Richardson

Office: Jefferson County Commission, District 1 Party: Democratic Age: 60 Residence: Midfield Political experience: Mayor of Midfield, 2004-present (fourth consecutive term); ran for Jefferson County Commission, District 2, in 2008. Professional experience: President, CEO and morning talk show host, WJLD AM1400/FM104.1/WIXI AM 1360 (Richardson Broadcasting Corp.), 1987-present;system technology coordinator, Bessemer City Schools, February 2005-present; teacher, Bessemer City

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Alabama Secretary of State

Candidates for Secretary of State in the June 5 primary.

by BirminghamWatch

Birmingham Council Fills Two Library Board Seats Amid Controversy

The Birmingham City Council appointed two new members to the city’s Library Board by unanimous vote this week, including a replacement for the board’s longest-serving member. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Ethics Law, School Safety, Monuments: Issues Remain As Legislators Try To Hurry Home in Election Year

Alabama legislators have been hoping to end the legislative session by the end of March this year so they can hit the campaign trail, but if they’re going to meet that deadline, they have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. It’s not just the state budgets, which traditionally are not passed until the waning days of the session. Legislators have yet to reach agreement on several of the issues they said were important going into the session. Among them were issues related to the state’s ethics laws, guns in schools and management of special elections. Legislators return to work Tuesday. Technically, they could meet until April 24, but if they want to meet their own deadline and turn their attention to re-election, they’d have about two weeks to wrap up their legislative work. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Birmingham’s Future “an Open Question,” Woodfin Says in First State of the Community Address

Jan. 15, 2018 — Mayor Randall Woodfin shared a cautiously optimistic vision for Birmingham’s future during Monday night’s State of the Community address, highlighting several of his administration’s planned initiatives while also calling on citizens to take action themselves. “The state of our community is an open question that only you and I can answer together,” he said. “I believe that we, as a city, can do great things — if we do the right things.” Woodfin’s remarks the full text of which can be read here, reflected the collaborative tone of his Nov. 28 inauguration speech, emphasizing the importance of his relationship with the City Council and his focus on addressing education, poverty and crime, which he described as intrinsically interrelated. Read more.

by Sam Prickett