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The Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism
Birmingham to Pay Newark Consultant $67K to Develop Violence Reduction Strategy for the City
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday voted to pay $67,000 for a consultant from Newark, New Jersey to develop a strategy to reduce violent crime in the Magic City. The council unanimously approved the agreement with Synergy Community Development Center, headed by Lakeesha Eure, the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety in Newark.
Marshall Defeats Marable in Democratic Assistant Tax Collector Primary Runoff
Bessemer City Councilman Ron Marshall defeated Ves Marable in the runoff for the Democratic nomination for assistant tax collector of the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County. Marshall will compete against the incumbent, former state legislator Johnny Curry, in the upcoming November general election. Curry was appointed to the position by...
Democratic Primary Runoff Voter Guide
Jefferson County Democrats will go to the polls Tuesday in the primary runoff to determine nominees in three races that were not decided in the March primary. Two races on the ballot will be voted on countywide. Jefferson County District Court Judge Place 3: Pamela Wilson Cousins faces Jacquelyn Grant...
Commission OKs Incentive for World Police and Fire Games, Prez Says Don’t Let World Games Problems Deter Investment
Jefferson County can’t let the issues that followed The World Games keep the county from being involved with other economy-impacting events, Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens said Thursday. During the County Commission’s meeting, commissioners supported a piece of legislation that exempted the World Police and Fire Games, which...
County May Flatten a Bit of Its Management Chain
County Manager Cal Markert could have a new link in his chain of command if the Jefferson County Commission passes a resolution on Thursday’s meeting agenda creating a separate Department of Fleet Management. Well, it’s not exactly new. “It’s kind of misleading to say we’re creating a Fleet...
Birmingham to Apply for $200K Law Enforcement Mental Health Grant
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday voted to apply for a $200,000 federal grant to offer mental health services to law enforcement workers in the city. Before Tuesday’s vote, several councilors expressed their gratitude to city staff for compiling the application to the Department of Justice program. “I just...
PNC Bank Provides $10 Million Grant for City Students Through Birmingham Promise Program
Paris Etheridge, a senior at Ramsay High School in Birmingham, wants a career in nursing and always figured she would have an internship at a medical facility in the area. So, she had no idea how her life would change when she was brought on as an intern with Birmingham Promise, which provides up to four years of tuition assistance for graduates of city schools who attend public colleges and universities in Alabama.
Forward Ever Day Is Different This Year at BSC as Closure Looms
“Forward Ever” is the motto of Birmingham-Southern College, which for 168 years educated students and prepared them for a future beyond the Hilltop. But the liberal arts college’s days are numbered with the recent announcement that BSC will close on May 31. That announcement has left students, faculty and staff feeling like they’ve experienced a death in their family.
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Announces $14.5M Award to Turn 4th Avenue North Into a Two-Way Street
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stopped traffic on Fourth Avenue North on Wednesday to announce a $14.5 million grant to help reconnect parts of the community that have been divided by transportation decisions of the past. The announcement, staged in the middle of the downtown thoroughfare, outlined a grant to...
Did a reporter really ask that question?
It’s about five hours after a cargo ship hit the Key Bridge in Baltimore, collapsing it and sending six construction workers on the bridge into the water. The city’s mayor is holding a press conference when a reporter asks him: “How long is it going to take to rebuild the bridge?”
Birmingham Council Nixes Car Wash in Red Mountain, Hears Calls for Israel-Gaza Ceasefire Proclamation
The Birmingham City Council tackled issues local and global Tuesday, hearing an appeal for a car wash planned for the Red Mountain neighborhood along with a plea from residents urging a proclamation to condemn hostilities in Gaza. A group had planned an automated car wash on a plot of land...
Neighbors Worry About Future of BSC Land as Officials Discuss Redevelopment Options
The mood was somber in the auditorium at A.H. Parker High School Monday night as neighbors of Birmingham-Southern College expressed their concern about the announced closing of the liberal arts college as of May 31. State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, hosted a town hall to field questions about the school....
Miles Might Consider BSC Property as Other Universities Express No Interest
Miles College may have interest in the campus of Birmingham-Southern College, which announced this week that it will close at the end of May. “At this time, we do not have a formal plan to pursue the BSC campus,”. Miles College President Bobbie Knight told BirminghamWatch. “As a Miles College...
What Closing of Birmingham-Southern College Means to Residents in Surrounding Communities
If anyone knows the importance of Birmingham-Southern College, it would be Joanice Thompson, president of Bush Hills Connections, a nonprofit organization to pool resources and forge partnerships to benefit their neighborhood. One of the neighborhood’s biggest achievements, the Bush Hills Community Garden and Urban Farm, came about with the help...
Birmingham Council Allocates $2M DOJ Grant to Expand Youth Violence Prevention Program
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday voted to give nearly $2 million from a federal grant to expand a local violence prevention program. The majority of the Department of Justice grant will go to the Jefferson County Family Resource Center to expand the age range for its Restore program, which offers mental health and case management services to Birmingham youths. The initiative currently serves children aged 15 to 19, but the grant will allow officials to expand the program to include children as young as 11.
Birmingham-Southern College Closing After 168 Years Educating Students
Birmingham-Southern College is closing its doors May 31 after a nearly 18-month fight to overcome its financial shortfalls. The BSC board of trustees met Tuesday and decided to close the school after learning that a bill to lend the college $30 million from a state higher education loan fund was unlikely to pass the Legislature this year, according to a statement from the college.
For the First Time in 37 Years, Jefferson County Makes Major Change to Tax Maps
For the first time in 37 years, the Jefferson County Tax Assessor’s Office has completed a comprehensive countywide resurvey that has modernized parcel data that will impact more than 600,000 residents and departments such as the Board of Equalization. The tax map is the foundation for some of the...
Alabama Pharmacists Urge Lawmakers to Pass HB238
At his pharmacies around Birmingham, pharmacist Patrick Devereux stocks a drug called Invega Trinza, a three-month injectable that can ease symptoms of psychosis. Devereux said the medication can help customers with significant mental illness remain independent and out of the hospital. But it’s expensive. “Invega Trinza is $10,000 right...
Birmingham Council Gives $5M Toward Public Health Data System
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved $5 million for a nonprofit research organization to develop a public health data system program that will leverage personalized medical data as well as data from clinical trials to help patients get the best care available. The money for the agreement comes from...
Where Do Your Dollars Go?
Mayor Randall Woodfin stood in front of a crowd Monday night holding up a dollar bill. The city spends 75 cents of every dollar on personnel, with just a quarter going to Birmingham’s operating budget, he told the residents and officials gathered. Birmingham officials held the town hall —...
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