Tag: Birmingham Water Works Board

Riverkeeper and BWWB Warn Another Coal Mine Threatens the Mulberry Fork

Hank Black,

Four years ago the Black Warrior Riverkeeper roused public opinion to keep the Shepherd Bend coal mine from opening. Now the river protection advocacy organization is warning of another proposed mining operation – this one three miles upstream on the Mulberry Fork from Shepherd Bend.

What’s called the No.5 Mine is in the Walker County community of Dovertown, near the city of Cordova. Mays Mining Inc. would operate the mine at a former industrial site that was left with contaminated groundwater, according to Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke. Read more.

Three Indictments Handed Down in Investigation of Birmingham Water Works

Solomon Crenshaw Jr.,

The state grand jury investigating Birmingham Water Works Board and other aspects of Birmingham and Jefferson County government yielded three indictments Wednesday.

The attorney general and FBI officials announced the arrests of Sherry Lewis, the chairwoman of the Birmingham Water Works’ board of directors, Jerry Jones, a former vice president at Arcadis, and Terry Williams, the owner of Global Solutions International, Inc., on felony state ethics charges.
All three surrendered Wednesday at the Jefferson County Jail.

The charges stem from allegations Lewis used her office for personal gain of herself, a relative or companies with which she is associated, took part in decisions that could benefit her or a relative, and solicited or received something of value to influence her official action. Jones and Williams are accused of aiding and abetting Lewis and offering something of value to influence official action. Read more.

  Air Pollution

  • Advisory Panel Majority, Including JeffCo’s Masuca, Recommends Against Strengthening Air Pollution Standard

    A federal advisory group recently voted in a split decision against strengthening the current standard for fine particulate matter, known as PM 2.5. Corey Masuca, an environmental health scientist with the Jefferson County Department of Health and one of the six members of the panel, sided with the majority.

    The 4-2 decision during a contentious meeting of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee last month pitted Masuca and three other members against Environmental Protection Agency scientific staff and an independent panel of scientists. Read more.

  Climate Change

  • Most Superfund Sites in Alabama Are at Greater Threat Due to Climate Change

    Eleven federal Superfund sites in Alabama — including two near Birmingham — are at greater risk from disasters such as flooding, hurricanes and wildfires due to the possible consequences of climate change, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Government Accounting Office.

    Nationwide, at least 60 percent — 945 of 1,571 — of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund locations nationwide are threatened by warmer temperatures, rising seas and more intense storms expected from the changing climate, according to the “EPA Should Take Additional Actions to Manage Risks from Climate Change” report. Read more.

  Solar Power

  EJ Bradford

  • Questions Loom One Year After Hoover Mall Shooting

    It’s been one year since a Hoover police officer shot and killed a young black man in a crowded mall on Thanksgiving night. The shooting of 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. happened at the Riverchase Galleria Mall after officers wrongly thought he was the person who fired a gun in the mall. The incident led to several protests and calls for justice. Read more.

  2020 U.S. Senate Race

  CongressionalWatch

  • U.S. Reps Split on Bill for Ex-Im Bank to Treat Renewable-Energy and Fossil-Fuel Products Equally

    KEY VOTES AHEAD
    Both chambers in the week of Nov. 18 will take up a stopgap fiscal 2020 funding bill to keep the government in operation after temporary spending authority expires Nov. 21.

    WASHINGTON — Alabama’s representatives split along party lines last week on an amendment to another bill that would have removed provisions that favor renewable-energy sales abroad over sales of fossil-fuel products.

    The House on Nov. 15 defeated, on a 188-232 vote, the GOP-sponsored amendment to HR 4863, a bill to extend the U.S. Export-Import Bank for 10 years.

    The bill would require sales of renewable-energy goods and services to overseas customers to receive at least 5 percent of the Export-Import Bank’s annual lending authority. In addition, energy-related transactions would have to estimate the volume of carbon dioxide emitted by projects receiving Ex-Im subsidies. In part, the amendment would block creation of a new Ex-Im unit aimed at promoting energy-efficiency and renewable-energy exports and require the bank to weigh the overseas affordability of energy products before approving transactions. Read more.

  BW Recommends

  Birmingham City Council

  jefferson County

  About News

  • Local Charities: Soup Kitchens, Fine Arts and … Your Newspaper?

    Everyone recognizes the financial distress of most news organizations today. But a speaker at an academic seminar I attended this summer – the founder of a nonprofit news website that covers Vermont – took it a dramatic step further: She believes it is no longer possible to make a profit from reporting news at the local and regional levels. Well, yikes.

    That assessment drew disagreement from some other seminar speakers, but it’s nonetheless clear that journalism needs some new business models. One emerging model is the nonprofit news outlet, such as the one in Vermont and BirminghamWatch (which you are reading right now and to which I have donated). Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Jeffco Commissioners Set Rules for Use of Economic Development Fund

    Updated with video — Despite the “very, very strong” objection of Economic Development Chairman Steve Ammons, the Jefferson County Commission today established new guidelines for using money from the commission’s economic development fund.

    In a roll call vote, Ammons voted a “very, very strong no” on a presented resolution. Commission President Jimmie Stephens joined Ammons in voting no, but the matter passed on the yes votes of Commissioners Lashunda Scales, Joe Knight and Sheila Tyson.

    Scales offered a resolution at the last meeting that required spending from that fund to be approved by the full commission. Ammons asked that the matter be held over so that he and his staff could make a presentation about economic development. Commissioners agreed Tuesday for a special economic development committee meeting to take place Nov. 18, at which the presentation would take place.

    In the meantime, Knight sent a draft of a resolution to his fellow commissioners to address how and when money can be used from the economic development fund. Scales offered that resolution as a substitution for the one she presented at the Oct. 24 meeting in Bessemer.

    “This is not to be a fund for everyone to travel on,” Knight said. Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Jeffco Commission Ready to Hash Out Details of Health Care Authority, Debates Economic Development Funds

    Today’s committee meeting of the Jefferson County Commission yielded two more meetings.

    One addresses the county’s pending agreement with UAB concerning the master plan for the university healthcare authority; the other is to settle a potential change in an administrative order regarding spending from the economic development fund.

    Commissioners agreed to reconvene this Thursday’s commission meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to hash out details of the healthcare authority. The panel will go into executive session so commissioners can address questions to the county attorney and the independent attorney who are working on this matter.

    The Economic Development Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 18 to discuss spending from the fund.

    Commission President Jimmie Stephens said the master agreement with UAB was sent to the commission and county manager Tony Petelos. Subsequently, the county sent the agreement back to UAB with some changes. Read more.

  2020 U.S. Senate Race

  Abortion

  • Federal Judge Blocks Alabama Abortion Law

    A federal judge blocked Alabama’s strict abortion ban Tuesday, which was set to go into effect next month. U.S District Judge Myron Thompson issued a primary injunction Tuesday against the law, which would have made performing an abortion a felony in almost all cases. Abortion providers would face a sentence of up to 99 years in prison with no exception for rape or incest. The only exception is when there’s a serious health risk to the woman. Read more.

  Education

  • Report Ranks Alabama Worst in the U.S. for Higher Education Cuts

    WBHM
    Alabama has cut per-student funding at state colleges and universities more than any state in the U.S. That’s according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Chris Sanders of Alabama Arise, a non-profit organization that advocates for low-income Alabamians, tells WBHM’s Janae Pierre that Alabama cut higher education funding by nearly 36% between 2008 and 2018. Read more.

  Congress

  • Byrne Touts Protest at Impeachment Hearings While Qualifying for Senate Race

    U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne officially entered Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate race Friday, and moments after signing qualifying documents, he fired back at criticism by some — including incumbent opponent Doug Jones — over his participation in a recent Republican protest of House impeachment hearings.

    “I’ve got years of experience and a track record of fighting and fighting successfully for the things that matter,” Byrne said. “We just had a fight in Washington this week, and I’ve proven as recently as just a few days ago, that I’m willing to do what it takes, to do whatever we have to do to fight for the values that matter to the American people and to fight for President Trump.”

    On Wednesday, a group of Republican congressmen, including Byrne and fellow Alabama representatives Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer, pushed into a closed-door hearing being held by the House Intelligence Committee. Republicans told members of the media that they objected to impeachment proceedings being held behind closed doors, which Byrne reiterated Friday. Read more.

  Congress

  • Jones Calls Impeachment Protest a ‘Political Stunt’

    U.S. Sen. Doug Jones called a protest by Republican congressmen, including three House members from Alabama, a “political stunt” reminiscent of George Wallace’s 1963 stand in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama.

    “I thought it was (a) petty little temper tantrum. That’s all you can say,” Jones said Thursday during a phone news conference with reporters from Alabama. “I thought Alabama had moved beyond that after the stand in the schoolhouse door.”

    Alabama Republican Reps. Mo Brooks of Huntsville, Bradley Byrne of Fairhope and Gary Palmer of Hoover were among about 30 GOP members of the House of Representatives who on Wednesday pushed into a room where the House Intelligence Committee held impeachment hearings. That delayed testimony by a Pentagon official for about five hours, the Washington Post reported. Read more.

  CongressionalWatch

  • House Takes Up Bill to Combat Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections

    WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 23 passed a measure aimed at combatting foreign interference in U.S. elections.

    HR 4617, which was approved on a 227-181 vote, would require U.S. political campaigns to inform law enforcement when they receive offers of foreign assistance. It also would close loopholes that allow foreign funds to illegally enter the U.S. electoral system; prohibit foreign spending on state ballot initiatives; prohibit U.S. campaigns from disclosing non-public information, including poll numbers, to foreign governments and their agents, and require sponsors of online political advertising to identify themselves in the ad, just as they must do in commercials run on broadcast channels.

    Alabama’s representatives split on the issue, with Democrat Terri Sewell voting for it and Republicans Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Bradley Byrne, Martha Roby, Mo Brooks and Gary Palmer voting against it. Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Scales Proposing All Economic Development Spending Go Through Full Jefferson County Commission

    Commissioner Lashunda Scales presented a resolution at the Jefferson County Commission’s committee meeting to bring all spending from the commission’s economic development fund before the full commission.

    Scales’ resolution to consider the issue, which passed 2-1 with commissioner Joe Knight voting no, will be considered during Thursday’s commission meeting at the Bessemer Courthouse. Commissioner Steve Ammons, who chairs economic development, and President Jimmie Stephens were absent Tuesday.

    “We’d just like to have transparency with the public,” Scales said. Read more.

  Legion Field

  • Legion Field’s Future Big Topic During Magic City Classic Week

    WBHM
    This week, the McDonald’s Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola will again turn Legion Field into an around-the-clock tailgate party. Before it ends, tens of thousands of people will pack the historic stadium Saturday for the annual clash between the two largest historically black colleges in the state — the Hornets of Alabama State University and the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M University. Read more.

  Jefferson County Schools

  U.S. Senate

  • Jones Joins Critics Questioning Trump’s US Troop Pullout in Syria

    U.S. Sen. Doug Jones on Thursday joined a bipartisan group of senators who questioned President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria, leaving Kurdish forces vulnerable to attack by Turkey.

    Jones, a Democrat who represents a state where 62% of the vote went for Trump in 2016, has taken a cautious approach to partisan issues as Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate election approaches. He defeated Republican Roy Moore in a bitter special election in 2017 and is seeking to win his first full term in the Senate next year.

    He joined two bipartisan groups of senators Thursday in voicing concern about the administration’s action regarding Turkey. One group wrote a letter to Trump, and the other prepared legislation that would require the president to devise a strategy for dealing with the situation. Read more.

  Environment

  • Do Current Pollution Standards Protect Human Health? Clean Air Panel Will Hear Comments, Review Draft Proposal

    A government panel of air pollution experts, including one from the Jefferson County Department of Health, will gather for public meetings in North Carolina later this month to hear comments and review a draft report on whether the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for carbon particles in the air are stringent enough to protect human health.

    Politico Pro recently reported that the draft document, the Policy Assessment for Particulate Matter, questions whether the current standard for particulate matter in the air is adequate to protect public health. Read more.

  Economy

  Campaigns

  • Fired Senior Staffer for Warren Presidential Campaign Also Worked for Jones, Woodfin

    UPDATED — A recently fired top staffer in the presidential campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, previously worked in the campaigns of both Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

    Rich McDaniel was dismissed by the Warren campaign after an investigation into “inappropriate behavior,” according to a press release from the campaign.

    The political news website Politico reported the dismissal on Saturday and quoted the press statement as saying, “Over the past two weeks, senior campaign leadership received multiple complaints regarding inappropriate behavior by Rich McDaniel. Over the same time period, the campaign retained outside counsel to conduct an investigation. Based on the results of the investigation, the campaign determined that his reported conduct was inconsistent with its values and that he could not be a part of the campaign moving forward.” Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • UAB Asks JeffCo Commission to Support New Medical Research Building

    Two high-ranking leaders from UAB today asked Jefferson County to invest with the Southside institution in making the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building a reality.

    UAB President Ray Watts and Dr. Selwyn Vickers, the senior vice president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine, asked commissioners during their committee meeting to consider putting $1 million per year for five years into the $70 million project.

    The 140,000-square-foot building will house more than 50 research operations, which the pair said will produce annual revenue of $35 million to $55 million, or a total of $175 million to $300 million over five years.

    But, they said, it’s not just about the money. Watts said the work there will lay the foundation for health care for the future of Birmingham, Jefferson County and beyond. Read more.

  About News

  • The New York Times Keeps Making People Mad

    It must be frustrating for The New York Times to do such exceptional journalism (for instance, here and here) and then to get beaten up mercilessly on social media because of its handling of a routine story. It’s a reminder that, of course, there’s really no such thing as a routine story, especially if you live in the middle of a political maelstrom, as the Times does every day.

    The Times is catching some heat for its headlining and framing of a Wednesday story about contact between the Ukraine whistleblower and Congressman Adam Schiff. Some supporters of President Trump, who likely would have done this no matter how the story was presented, are distorting the article as evidence of collusion between the whistleblower and Schiff.

    This unfairness aside, there’s no question the Times is having a real bad run lately. It has gotten justified public criticism for several things.
    Read more.

  Impeachment

  • Jones: Take a Deep Breath and Let the Constitution, Not Politics, Guide Impeachment Decisions

    U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said in a press conference and in remarks on the Senate floor Thursday that it’s crucial that the constitutional process in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump be allowed to play out.

    Asking the media to “take a deep breath,” Jones said it was important to understand that the impeachment process is just beginning. Jones said that to rush to any judgment on either side of the political fence without knowing all of the facts is irresponsible.

    “Allegations in a complaint are simply that,” he said. “They are allegations made, but they have to be proven.” Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Ammons Fails in Move for More Discussion of Jeffco Budget

    Commissioner Steve Ammons took one last shot Thusday at conducting more discussion concerning adjustments to the recently passed the budget for fiscal year 2020.

    Ammons moved that the resolution approving amendments to the budget be set aside from the other 51 resolutions for separate consideration.

    Commissioner Lashunda Scales offered a counter motion that all of the resolutions be considered as presented. The counter motion was passed on a 3-2 vote with Scales, Sheila Tyson and Joe Knight voting in favor; Ammons and Commission President Jimmie Stephens voted no.

    Speaking later, Ammons repeated his concern that budget adjustments are coming a very short time after the budget was adopted in early August.
    Read more.

  Early Childhood Education

  • Birmingham Partnering With Bloomberg Philanthropies on Early Childhood Learning Program

    Birmingham in October will be launching an early childhood program designed to increase interactive talk with children as a way to foster early brain development.

    The Birmingham Talks program will serve 2,500 children, birth to 3 years old, across Jefferson County over the next three years.

    The city of Birmingham is among five cities selected to replicate the Providence Talks program, which is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies through its What Works Cities initiative. Read more.

  Education

  • The Gap Between Graduating and Being Ready

    Alabama’s graduation rate and the rate of students deemed college and career ready both are on the rise, but concerns remain about the gap between those two numbers, according to a recent report by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.

    PARCA reported that the graduation rate statewide has been raised from 72 percent in 2011 to 90 percent in 2018, based on preliminary information from the state Department of Education. College and career readiness rose to 75 percent in 2018, compared to 66 percent in 2016.

    State education leaders have raised concerns about the students who are graduating but are not ready to get a job or go to college, PARCA reported.

    PARCA has posted detailed interactive graphics that allow you to look up specific measures of readiness by school system and even compare two schools. You can find those graphics here.

  Birmingham Schools

  • Megachurch Presence in Birmingham Schools Sparks Tension

    WBHM

    Church of the Highlands, Alabama’s biggest megachurch, has expanded into the inner city, leasing space at two Birmingham schools. But there’s been pushback in the community, some of it highlighting a racial divide.

    The Birmingham Board of Education recently renewed the church’s lease for three more years at Parker High School and another campus at Woodlawn High for about $1 million combined. Read more.

  Gov. Kay Ivey

  Gov. Kay Ivey

  • Gov. Kay Ivey to Undergo Treatment for Lung Cancer

    Gov. Kay Ivey, 74, announced Thursday she has lung cancer. This comes after her doctor recently found a spot on her lung during a routine visit.

    Ivey says additional tests confirmed it was “a tiny, isolated malignancy.” On Friday, Ivey heads to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for an outpatient procedure. She’ll begin a series of specialized radiation treatments soon. Ivey says she’s been reassured by her doctors that the treatment plan she’s on has a very high success rate.

    Ivey says it’ll have “a minimal impact” on her schedule and says “none of this will prevent me from continuing to serve as your governor and doing the work you elected me to do.” Read more.

  GovernmentWatch

  Birmingham Schools

  • Birmingham Board of Education Approves $313 Million School Budget

    The Birmingham Board of Education has approved a $313 million budget that will fund salary increases, security enhancements and maintenance projects.

    The board voted 8-1 Tuesday in favor of the budget for the fiscal year that beings Oct. 1. Daagye Hendricks, who represents District 4, cast the lone vote against the spending plan. She said she felt there were too many unanswered questions and not enough information.

    The budget includes several salary increases: a state-mandated 4 percent raise to all BCS staff, including teachers, that the Alabama Legislature approvedin May; step salary increases; a 5% raise for custodians, bus drivers, child-nutrition workers and managers; and a raise from $8.25 an hour to $9 an hour for substitute teachers.
    Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • JeffCo Commissioner Wants Stadium Update, Questions Lack of Civil Rights Info in Bicentennial Video

    Commissioner Lashunda Scales today asked for an update on Protective Stadium, which is being built near the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

    Jefferson County invested $30 million in the project.

    Scales said she had been told by someone on the stadium design committee that VIP seats are being added that would lower the total number of seats in the venue.

    Also, commissioners saw a presentation from Helen Hays, the county’s director of public information, concerning efforts to promote the 200th anniversary of Jefferson County, including a pair of videos.

    While the presentation appeared to be well received from most in the board room, Scales was less than satisfied, saying that the county’s story was not being fully told. She cited a Sloss Furnaces event on Monday that memorialized two men who were lynched in the 1890s. Read more.

  Downtown Birmingham

  Schools

  Health Care

  • Medicare Change a ‘Huge, Significant Thing’ for Alabama

    It’s increasingly difficult for rural hospitals to make ends meet. Many have had to freeze or cut salaries, said Danne Howard, chief policy officer with the Alabama Hospital Association. Some have eliminated services, like obstetrics and gynecology. Howard said others partner with outside groups or bigger health systems to take some of the financial pressure off.

    “It’s clear to see that we’ve got a number of hospitals that may not survive in the current financial environment,” she said.
    In the past decade, seven rural hospitals have closed in Alabama, and of those that remain, 88% operate in the red.

    But Howard said Medicare is throwing the state a lifeline. The federal health insurance program, primarily for senior citizens, recently approved a plan to start paying rural hospitals a little more money. Read more.

  Education

  Jefferson County

  Alabama Prisons

  • Report: Alabama Community Corrections Harms Low-Income Participants

    WBHM
    A recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says Alabama’s community corrections program unfairly burdens low-income people and threatens public safety. Community corrections, operating in 51 of Alabama’s 67 counties, is overseen by the state Department of Corrections but run locally. It’s designed to be an alternative to prison. The report’s main criticism is that community corrections relies on fees as a primary revenue source. These include fees for drug testing, supervision or electronic monitoring. Read more.

  Education

  • Alabama Charter Schools Group Awarded $25 Million Federal Grant

    By WBHM
    The U.S. Department of Education announced a $25 million grant today to support charter schools in Alabama. The money will go to New Schools for Alabama, an organization that encourages the growth of charter schools. Tyler Barnett, executive director of New Schools for Alabama, told WBHM in an earlier interview the money will help fund 15 schools. He said the group will focus on serving educationally disadvantaged students. Read more.

  Sidewalk Film Festival

  • The Mighty Wurlitzer Returns to Its Roots at Sidewalk

    WBHM

    Visit the Alabama Theatre in downtown Birmingham, face the stage and you might notice the red and gold console to the left. It’s a theater organ known as the Mighty Wurlitzer. It’s an instrument whose heyday has long passed. But this weekend, as part of the Sidewalk Film Festival, it’ll return to its original purpose: accompanying silent films. Read more.

  Environment

  • With Low-Impact Development, Cities Hope to Better Control Runoff

    WBHM
    Stormwater runoff is what washes off of parking lots, roadways and rooftops when it rains. Eve Brantley, associate professor of crop, soil and environmental sciences at Auburn University, said it may sound harmless, but it has a big impact.

    “I just feel like it’s the forgotten pollution,” Brantley said.

    She said part of the problem is that stormwater picks up other pollutants like trash and fertilizer. The other issue is the sheer volume of runoff that is discharged into area waterways.

    Cahaba Riverkeeper David Butler sees the impact on a daily basis.

    “So we’re pushing so much water into the river so fast now that, you know when it rains, instead of soaking into the ground, it’s all channeled to the river,” Butler said. “So it rises really quick, falls really quick, and you get a lot more erosion like this.”

    He said all along the river, large sections of the bank have collapsed, often during rainstorms. This strips away vegetation that normally acts as a buffer, leaving dirt to erode into the river and fill it with sediment. Read more.

  • $7.1 Billion Education Budget Clears House, Varies From Senate Version

    The Alabama House of Representatives approved a $7.1 billion education budget Tuesday, but its final passage still depends on agreement with the Senate on several points, including health insurance for low-income children.

    House education budget chairman Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, told his colleagues the proposed budget, a nearly $500,000,000 increase over the current budget, would not fix all of the state’s education problems but is part of the equation.

    “This is a positive budget for the state,” Poole said.

    It was approved 99 to 0 with four abstentions. Read more.

  Environment

  • Ethics Charges in North Birmingham Case Survive Challenge

    The Alabama Ethics Commission did not overstep its authority in bringing state ethics charges against Onis “Trey” Glenn and Willie S. Phillips, a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge has found.

    The cases are related to work by Glenn and Phillips in opposition to the addition of a proposed Superfund site in North Birmingham to the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List.

    Judge Stephen C. Wallace ruled this week that the state acted properly and in compliance with the Ethics Act, and that the cases should not be summarily dismissed.

    Read more.

  BirminghamWatch

  • Nunnelley Selected for Distinguished Mass Media Achievement Award at Auburn

    BirminghamWatch founder Carol Nunnelley has been selected for the 2019 Distinguished Mass Media Achievement Award by the Auburn University Journalism Advisory Council.
    Nunnelley, a graduate of Samford University, is among five journalists who were selected for this year’s journalism awards by the Auburn Council.
    Others who will be honored at a luncheon and program on Sept. 13 are Kim Chandler, Associated Press Alabama capital reporter; Connor Sheets, Alabama Media Group investigative reporter; John Underwood, Baldwin County editor/reporter; and John Zenor, Associated Press sports reporter.
    Read more.

  Education

  • Alabama Schools Ranked 46th in New Study

    A new study by WalletHub ranked Alabama’s schools 46th in the country.

    The study also gave Alabama a quality ranking of 44 and a safety ranking of 47. Alabama ranked among the bottom five states in math test scores and in the bottom 10 states for spending,

    WalletHub’s analysis considered 29 metrics that accounted for performance, funding, safety, class size and instructor credentials. Read more.

    Source: WalletHub

    Source: WalletHub

  Birmingham Schools

  Downtown Revitalization

  • Revitalization Planned for Historic Black Business District

    During the days of segregation, African Americans in Birmingham were restricted on where they could shop, eat, and do business. The historic Fourth Avenue District downtown became the place for the growing African American business community to set up shop.

    The community thrived with professional offices, barber shops, a bowling alley, motels, theaters and restaurants. Now there’s renewed focus on revitalizing the district. Read more.

  Mueller Testimony

  Transportation

  • Biometric Technology Comes to Birmingham Airport

    Travelers flying out of Birmingham can now identify themselves with the touch of a finger or an eye scan. At a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, officials at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport unveiled new fingerprint and identity verification technology from the biometrics company Clear. Read more.

  Black Warrior River

  • Putting a Price Tag on a Fish Kill

    WBHM

    At about 10:30 a.m. on a recent Monday in Walker County, Martha Salomaa parks her white pick-up truck, walks to the edge of a parking lot and points to the river below, the Mulberry Fork.

    “And so the plant, it’s in Hanceville, which is 28 to 30 miles upstream from here,” she says.

    Salomaa is referring to the Tyson Foods Inc. chicken rendering plant. That’s where an estimated 220,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater emptied into this section of the Black Warrior River on June 6th.

    “So by June 10th, you could see hundreds of fish, like floating by, either dead or dying,” Salomaa says.

    According to state officials, it was Alabama’s largest fish kill in recent years. And Salomaa, who is president of the Walker County conservation group Sipsey Heritage Commission (SHC), said the spill didn’t just kill fish, it contaminated the river with high levels of bacteria. In the days following the incident, SHC and the Black Warrior Riverkeeper found unsafe levels of E. coli almost 30 miles downstream from the site of the spill.

    As a result, the Sipsey Heritage Commission cancelled its annual kayak race, scheduled for mid-June, and Salomaa said residents avoided the water for several weeks.

    “You know, like, this river is a way of life,” Salomaa said. “You can’t, you just cannot put a price on that.”

    But state agencies are tasked with putting a price on it. Read more.

  Agriculture

  Economic Development

  • DC BLOX Sponsors a $10,000 Computer Lab at Memorial Park Rec Center in Titusville Community

    When Sheila Tyson asked DC BLOX CEO Jeff Uphues what his company could do for the Titusville Neighborhood it was joining, he offered a fun day in the neighboring park.

    Tyson, the Jefferson County commissioner in whose district the company sits, had other ideas. “We want you to invest in our children’s education,” she said.

    As DC BLOX held the grand opening of its data center on Thursday, Uphues talked about a $10,000 investment in a computer lab just across Sixth Street at Memorial Park Recreation Center. He said the lab is set for use by the entire community.
    Read more.

  Economy

  • Partnership Aims to Make Birmingham’s Economic Growth More Equitable

    WBHM

    Birmingham has gained attention for its downtown rebirth. But the Birmingham area economy still falls behind similar cities, particularly when it comes to job growth. A partnership announced in December between the city and the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C. think tank, aims to boost the Birmingham economy with an eye toward making those gains more equitable. Read more.

  Jefferson County Commission

  • Jefferson County Commission Approves Funding for New Bus Routes

    Lashunda Scales said she finally got what she wanted today when the Jefferson County Commission agreed to supply additional funding for new bus routes without trimming support of those routes in fiscal 2020.

    The commission today added $9,207 to the previously approved $100,000 to expand bus service into Fairfield, Brighton, Lipscomb, Adamsville and Forestdale for three months, through September. Commissioners had talked earlier about cutting transit funding for those areas in half during the next fiscal year. But they opted today to delay action on funding in the new year.

    Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said he believes the $109,207 the commission has approved will fund the new routes into the coming calendar year, perhaps through February.

    Read more.

  About News

  • Investigative Reporting Must Overcome Obstacles From Without and Within

    This week’s child sex trafficking charges against wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein are a testament to the impact of investigative reporting, in this case by determined journalists from The Miami Herald, who dug through documents, tracked down victims and told a story not only of horrendous crimes but also of enablers and leniency from the court system. It wasn’t easy. Investigative journalism never is. And alarmingly, it’s getting harder to do.
    Uncovering malfeasance is becoming more difficult for multiple reasons. Start with rising government restrictions on access to information (laws and court rulings), non-compliance with open-records statutes, and threats of costly lawsuits by news subjects. Further, the boffo investigations by major national outlets are not being replicated to the same extent at the local and regional levels. The well-documented shrinkage of newsrooms across the U.S. has taken a big bite out of community watchdog journalism, reflected not only in fewer staff to do the job but also in newsroom priorities.
    Read more.

  Birmingham

  • The Story Behind Parcak’s “Archaeology From Space”

    In a coworking space just off of Lakeshore Parkway sits a potential game changer for the future of archaeology – the headquarters of the non-profit GlobalXplorer. The web-based platform invites just about anyone to become a space archaeologist by scanning satellite images in search of undiscovered archaeological sites and signs of looting. It is the brainchild of Sarah Parcak, who is well known for her work using infra-red technology to locate lost tombs, pyramids and settlements in ancient Egypt. Read more.

  Border Crisis

  Birmingham City Council

  Civil Rights History

  • Birmingham Celebrates Historic A.G. Gaston Motel Anniversary

    The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. often planned strategy for the civil rights movement in room 30 at the A.G. Gaston Motel. For others, it was a place for wedding receptions and fancy dances. As restoration of the famed but deteriorating structure begins, Birmingham celebrated the motel’s anniversary and its founder on Monday. Read more.

    WBHM

  Education

  • The 15-Year Fight to Integrate Public Schools

    WBHM

    In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education struck down racial segregation in schools. While the court ordered public schools to desegregate “with all deliberate speed,” the vague language allowed Southern officials to delay and resist school integration for years. It wasn’t until 1969 that the court forced school integration in a case called Alexander v. Holmes. Read more.

  Economy

  The Legislature

  UA-Culverhouse Feud

  Community Foundation

  Abortion Fallout

  • Woodfin Says Abortion Law Is Costing Birmingham Tech Business

    Updated — Two IT companies have canceled or put on hold discussions about moving to Birmingham because of the abortion ban signed into law last week, according to Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

    Woodfin told author Diane McWhorter about the changes for an opinion piece published Saturday on CNN.

    McWhorter wrote that Woodfin “confirmed to me today that the abortion ban affected two IT companies considering moves to the city – one canceled outright, while the other ‘put the brakes on negotiations.’” Read more.

  Census Bureau

  • Huntsville Area Leads the State in Population Growth

    The Birmingham-Hoover MSA grew by just 2,116 people in 2017-2018. The area ranked 251th out of 383 MSAs in terms of population growth rate, according to an analysis of census data conducted by the Public Research Council of Alabama.

    The Huntsville MSA led the state in percentage of population growth, ranking it 64th in the country. It added 6,952 people to its ranks in the period.

    Other large metros in the state fell below Birmingham-Hoover in terms of growth, with Mobile ranked 324th and Montgomery 327th. However, those two areas lost population in 2017-2018, as did some other metro areas in the U.S. Read more.

  BirminghamWatch

  • Hank Black Inducted Into UA Student Media’s Wall of Fame for His Service in Journalism

    BirminghamWatch’s Hank Black was inducted into the Wall of Fame for the University of Alabama’s Office of Student Media during an event April 26.

    Black, who covers the environment for BW, was honored for his role as editor in chief of the Crimson White during one of the most turbulent years in the university’s history. Black was editor in 1963, when Vivian Malone and James Hood became the first two black students to successfully enroll at UA, following Gov. George Wallace’s infamous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” Read more.

  BirminghamWatch

  Doug Jones

  • Doug Jones Recounts Church Bombing Prosecution in New Book

    WBHM

    The Klansmen who bombed Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963, killing four black girls, did not face justice for years. In 1977, then-Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley won a conviction against Robert Chambliss for his role in the attack. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that two others were tried and convicted. Senator Doug Jones led those later prosecutions and writes about it in his memoir “Bending Toward Justice: The Birmingham Church Bombing that Changed the Course of Cvil Rights.” Read more.