Randall Woodfin wins Birmingham mayoral runoff, defeats William Bell
Step aside William Bell, there’s a new mayor in town. On Tuesday, progressive challenger Randall Woodfin handily bested Bimingham’s seven-year incumbent mayor, Bell, in the city’s contentious runoff mayoral race. Woodfin — a city attorney and member of the Birmingham Board of Education — took home 24,910 votes, 58 percent, over Bell’s 17,353, 41 percent. Bell, who has held a public office in Birmingham longer than Woodfin has even been alive — 40 years — conceded the race around 10 p.m. “Birmingham, this is our moment,” Woodfin told a roaring crowd during his acceptance speech at Haven in Lakeview. “For the last year and six weeks we have been on a journey, not for what’s in my interest, but for what’s in our interest. This is a ‘we, us and our’ moment. Our city, our 23 communities, our 99 neighborhoods, you all have spoken very clearly. We deserved better.” Woodfin, who campaigned on a platform revitalizing the city’s neighborhoods, fighting crime and restoring trust in the city’s government, will take office on Nov. 28. At 36 he will officially become Birmingham’s youngest mayor in over 120 years.
Delta Regional Authority to invest $1 million in Alabama’s infrastructure, economy
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) on Tuesday announced more than $1 million in new DRA investments to strengthen Alabama’s workforce, infrastructure, and economy. DRA’s investments will support public and private partnerships and bring $7.1 million in new investment to Alabama. “The Delta Regional Authority is an essential partner to Alabama in helping us meet the needs of the most rural parts of our state,” Ivey said in a statement. “By investing more than $1 million in our state, DRA is helping rural communities strengthen their infrastructure, improve economic opportunities, and increase access to important cultural enhancements.” The investments were made through the DRA States’ Economic Development Assistance Program (SEDAP), the agency’s main federal funding program that invests in basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, workforce development, and small business and entrepreneurship projects. “These investments in Alabama align with DRA’s efforts to help create new jobs, support infrastructure improvements and create job opportunities,” added DRA alternate federal co-chairman Peter Kinder. “Our resources will provide sanitary sewer services to rural residents, build community capacity and help attract new businesses to the Black Belt of Alabama. This effort highlights DRA’s ability to build public-private partnerships to invest in the future of the Delta region.” Below is the complete list of DRA’s Alabama investments: CITY OF MONROEVILLE: Industrial Park Building Enhancement. DRA Investment: $256,500. Total Investment: $2,256,500. DRA’s investment will support a new production facility fully equipped with the most modern digitally controlled, special effect and package printing press. 60 new jobs will be added. TOWN OF CARROLTON: Sewer System Improvements. DRA Investment: $180,000 (100%). Carrollton will use this investment to address major deficiencies in the town’s wastewater treatment system and improvements will be made to prevent the failure of its wastewater system, address regulatory and compliance issues, and allow the town to provide sanitary sewer service to residents and businesses. CITY OF TUSKEGEE: Infrastructure project to attract commercial investment. DRA Investment: $280,000. Total Investment: $1,800,000. This project will advance the area’s economic competitiveness and productivity of the workforce. DRA’s investment will result in the immediate creation of 35 jobs for predominantly low and moderate income persons, promote economic development to increase the city and county tax base and enhance Exit 38 as a gateway to the City of Tuskegee. CITY OF CAMDEN: Improvements to Bridgeport Park. DRA Investment: $200,000. Total Investment: $400,000. DRA’s investment will help improve and expand the City of Camden’s infrastructure to support existing economic development initiatives and benefit the local business community. CITY OF SELMA: Arts and Culture Development. DRA Investment: $58,424. Total Investment: $133,424. DRA’s investment into the ArtsRevive Community Development Corporation will support advancement of the Carneal Cultural Arts Center. This effort will increase tourism, foster entrepreneurism in the local cultural arts and anchor creative placemaking activities to energize and improve the downtown economic corridor. CITY OF CAMDEN: Rural transportation program investment.DRA Investment: $29,328. Total Investment: $146,640. DRA funding will support the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission’s efforts to expand its Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program that provides various transportation needs to low- and moderate-income residents seeking to obtain and maintain employment. PERRY COUNTY: Infrastructure Improvements. DRA Investment: $42,000. Total Investment: $2,202,000. DRA’s investment in Perry County will provide safe roads for employees to commute to and from their jobs and maintain the suitability of roads for local businesses, having a positive impact on the local economy. The project will provide full depth reclamation, paving, striping, and traffic markers for 9 miles on County Road 12. Alabama is one of only eight states to receive DRA investments. The agency’s total investments in the Mississippi River Delta Region and Black Belt of Alabama will reach $20 million in 2017. With contributions from public and private partners, total investments will be $231.6 million. The state’s congressional delegation welcomed the news. “This new funding will continue to spur economic growth and opportunities in rural Alabama,” explained U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. “Monroeville, Carrolton, Tuskegee, Camden, Selma, and Perry County, as well as the entire state, will benefit from these investments, and I am grateful for the partnership Alabama continues to have with the DRA.” “I applaud the Delta Regional Authority for their continued investment in Alabama’s rural communities, including their help funding the enhancement of the industrial park in Monroeville,” Alabama 1st District U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne said. “These investments will help spur economic development, boost infrastructure, and increase the quality of life for Alabama’s citizens. I pledge to continue working with the Delta Regional Authority and community partners to benefit our state’s communities.” Alabama 7th District U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell agreed — the funds are going to make a big impact on rural communities. “The Delta Regional Authority’s generous investment in the state of Alabama is going to have an immediate impact for our rural communities,” Sewell echoed. “Today’s announcement takes a step towards addressing some of the most pressing issues in rural Alabama, such as infrastructure development and job growth, while also facilitating creative arts programs and boosting tourism.” “I am pleased to see these economic investments being made – especially in Tuskegee – where good paying jobs can be hard to find,” Alabama 3rd District U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers commented. “Enhancing Exit 38 off of I-85 is a welcomed improvement, and I appreciate DRA investing in East Alabama.”
Kay Ivey calls special election to fill Quinton Ross’ vacated Senate seat
Governor Kay Ivey on Monday set the special election dates for Alabama Senate District 26, which was previously held by Quinton Ross. Ivey set the primary for Tuesday, December 12, 2017, runoff Tuesday, February 27, 2018 and the general election Tuesday, May 15, 2018. If there is no need based on number of qualifying candidates for a primary, the general election will be held Tuesday, February 27, 2018. If a runoff is not necessary, the general election will be held Tuesday, February 27, 2018. Last month the Alabama State University Board of Trustees named Ross to be the next president of the University. “As we look forward to Dr. Quinton Ross taking his experience to Alabama State University, I also want to ensure that the people of Montgomery have the opportunity to select their representative,” Ivey said. “Elected representation is a central component of our government, and I encourage all those that live in Senate District 26 to participate in this special election.” The deadline for qualifying with major political parties is Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. The deadline for all independent candidates and/or minor parties is December 12, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. Senate District 26 represents a portion of Montgomery County.
Las Vegas hospitals swamped with victims after country music festival shooting
The victims just kept coming. In cars, in ambulances waiting four or five deep, from the walking wounded to the barely alive, they arrived in droves. “I have no idea who I operated on,” said Dr. Jay Coates, a trauma surgeon whose hospital took in many of the wounded after a gunman opened fire from his 32nd-floor hotel suite Sunday night on a country music concert below. “They were coming in so fast, we were taking care of bodies. We were just trying to keep people from dying.” It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, with at least 59 killed and 527 injured, some by gunfire, some during the chaotic escape. University Medical Center of Southern Nevada was one of many hospitals that were overflowing. “Every bed was full,” Coates said. “We had people in the hallways, people outside and more people coming in.” He said the huge, horrifying wounds on his operating table told him this shooting was something different. “It was very clear that the first patient I took back and operated on that this was a high-powered weapon,” Coates said. “This wasn’t a normal street weapon. This was something that did a lot of damage when it entered the body cavity.” The gunman, 64-year-old high-stakes gambler and retired accountant Stephen Paddock, killed himself as authorities stormed his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay hotel casino. He had 23 guns – some with scopes – in the room where he had been staying since Thursday. He knocked out two windows to create sniper’s perches he used to rain bullets on the crowd of 22,000 some 500 yards away. He also had two “bump stocks” that can be used to modify weapons to make them fully automatic, according to two U.S. officials briefed by law enforcement who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still unfolding. At Paddock’s home, authorities found 19 more guns, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Also, several pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be turned into explosives, were in his car, authorities said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Supreme Court takes up key case about partisan redistricting
The Supreme Court is taking up a case about political maps in Wisconsin that could affect elections across the country. The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in a dispute between Democratic voters and Wisconsin Republicans who drew maps that have entrenched their control of the legislature in a state that is otherwise closely divided between the parties. The Democratic challengers are asking the court to declare for the first time that the inherently political process of redistricting can be too partisan. Republicans contend that courts have no business in decisions that should be left to the political branches of government. Courts have struck down districts as racially biased for decades, and other partisan districting lawsuits are moving through the courts in Maryland and North Carolina. The outcome in the Wisconsin case probably rests with Justice Anthony Kennedy. He wrote in 2004 that he had yet to be shown a good way to measure and manage excessively partisan districts. “If workable standards do emerge to measure these burdens, however, courts should be prepared to order relief,” Kennedy wrote in a redistricting case from Pennsylvania, Vieth v. Jubilirer. Paul Smith, the same lawyer who failed to get Kennedy’s vote and thus a majority 13 years ago, is again urging the court to rein in partisan gerrymandering, or drawing districts for partisan gain. This time, Smith said in representing the Wisconsin voters, there are good ways to measure when one party gives itself an unfair edge in creating districts. In Wisconsin, a lower court sifted through evidence showing that Republicans packed Democrats into some districts and spread them out across others to maximize gains for the GOP. In one analysis, Democrats captured far fewer state Assembly seats even when they won roughly the same percentage of the statewide vote as Republicans. The lower court concluded that the districting plans were drawn to discriminate against Democrats, the Republicans’ advantage would endure even in the face of a strong Democratic showing at the polls and the plans could not be explained by other, non-partisan reasons. The state is arguing the justices should put an end to courts’ consideration of partisanship in districting plans and cautioning that far from being manageable, a ruling for the Democratic voters would open the door to a flood of lawsuits that would be based on cherry-picked evidence and hard for judges to manage. The court said it will not provide live audio of the highly anticipated argument, despite a request from several members of Congress to Chief Justice John Roberts. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
