Meghann Bridgeman announced as next Alabama Film Office director
The Alabama Department of Commerce announced last week the selection of Meghann Bridgeman, president and CEO of Create Birmingham, as the next Director of the Alabama Film Office. With extensive experience in arts and economic development, Bridgeman will lead the state’s efforts to attract, support and promote general entertainment productions across Alabama. Bridgeman brings a wealth of knowledge from her work with Create Birmingham’s Film Birmingham Initiative, where she spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at fostering creative industries and driving economic growth in the film industry. She has a proven track record of building public-private partnerships and collaborating with entertainment professionals and local communities to create opportunities for growth and innovation. In her new role, Bridgeman will oversee the Alabama Film Office, working to position the state as a premier destination for filmmakers and producers. She will begin her new duties in January 2025. Alabama Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair expressed her confidence in Bridgeman’s leadership and vision for the state’s entertainment industry. “Meghann’s background in creative industries and her passion for economic development make her the perfect fit to lead the Alabama Film Office,” Secretary McNair said. “We are excited about her innovative approach and her commitment to leveraging Alabama’s unique assets to attract more entertainment projects, which will ultimately benefit our local businesses and communities,” she added. The Alabama Film Office, which was established in 1978, has been instrumental in the development of the state’s film and entertainment industry. Over the past several decades, it has attracted a variety of high-profile productions, including films such as Big Fish, 42, and Selma. More recently, Alabama has been the site for a growing number of television productions, documentaries and independent films, which have contributed significantly to local economies through job creation, tourism, and infrastructure development. “In partnership with entertainment industry stakeholders across our state, I look forward to joining the Alabama Department of Commerce as the director of the Alabama Film Office,” Bridgeman said. “The entertainment industry has the power to spark transformational economic growth, and Alabamians should be the beneficiaries of that growth. “I am grateful to Secretary McNair for the opportunity to lead this important effort and excited for the work ahead,” she added. The state’s film incentive program, which includes a competitive rebate structure, has helped to establish Alabama as a compelling destination for production companies. These incentives, along with the state’s diverse locations ranging from picturesque coastlines to historic cities, have made Alabama a go-to option for filmmakers seeking authentic, versatile backdrops. Last year, the industry spent nearly $60 million in Alabama on entertainment productions that included The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew McConaughey and Kurt Russell, and The Shift, featuring Sean Astin. Rebates valued at $16.5 million were extended to productions in 2023, according to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce. Under Bridgeman’s leadership, the Alabama Film Office will continue to build on its success by strengthening partnerships with industry stakeholders, expanding production opportunities, and ensuring that Alabamians benefit from the state’s growing entertainment sector. Future plans could include expanding the office’s traditional focus to encompass additional forms of entertainment, including music productions and video games. The office will also maintain a concentration on workforce development and training, ensuring that Alabama remains competitive in the fast-evolving film and media industries. The Film Office’s longtime director, Kathy Faulk, will remain in charge of the office in the interim. “Kathy’s contributions to the Film Office have been significant over many years, and she has been an untiring champion for expanding Alabama’s presence within the entertainment industry,” Secretary McNair said. “Thanks to her, the Film Office is positioned for exciting new developments in the future.” This story originally appeared on Made in Alabama written by Jerry Underwood. Made in Alabama is a project of the Alabama Department of Commerce.
John Lyda has ignored the growing crisis at Hoover City Hall for years. Will he challenge Frank Brocato’s failures this week?
When the results of Hoover’s secret and costly forensic audit were released late last month, a statement from the mayor’s office sold the results as a win for the city and much-needed vindication supporting Mayor Frank Brocato’s repeated claims of his unfailing leadership. The report reveals a concerning pattern: city senior staff, hand-picked by the mayor and answering to him, were aware of the city’s financial and payroll offices’ understaffing for years and raised the issues to him only to have him ignore them. The mayor’s failure to address them led to years of IRS debt, problematic reporting to the public and city council, questionable record keeping, and severe training problems, and yet the mayor’s primary concern seemed to be the potential to tout an award-winning audit rather than have an award-worthy administration. While it’s easy to understand from a PR perspective the mayor and his staff’s mission to gaslight the city instead of acknowledging the recurring and consistent findings. No one wants to run for reelection on a platform that says, “Things have gone to hell in a handbasket but elect me again anyway.” The question we all need to ask is City Council President John Lyda helping hide the truth? This week, the mayor is expected to request that the city council approve his budget. A review of previous requests shows that knowing the problems and the need for additional staff and training, the mayor did not ask for the necessary budget increases to fund the department adequately. Will he this year, and if he doesn’t, will Lyda do his job and speak up and reject the proposal until the needs and financial health of the city are prioritized? Will other councilors step up (again) if Lyda doesn’t? Will Lyda ask the mayor this week about his previous failures to request funding that would have stopped the bleeding in these critical offices years ago? Will he ask what else the mayor has hid from the council and the public? Hoover has a Mayor-Council form of Government. The purpose of this is to make sure residents have the representation that they deserve. Having both bodies is supposed to create checks and balances and improve accountability. Week after week in the last several years, while other city council members have challenged the mayor, city attorney, and city staff, Lyda has smiled and nodded while ignoring the problems outright. While other councilors have pressed for additional information publicly, Lyda treats the public meetings as perfunctory. If he’s asking tough questions or challenging the mayor’s clear leadership deficits, he’s not doing so on the record. The report issued by Kroll and Lyda, asserting “financial disarray,” begs the question of whether the checks and balances that residents expect when electing the council and mayor have fallen apart, and more importantly, how they can be restored. Residents have many reasons to question city leadership and their financial dealings and deficits of the last five or six years. Lately, budget amendments have become commonplace, with them being passed nearly every meeting —notable ones include CON expenses and legal fees (which, according to the city ordinance that the council passed and the mayor signed, should not have been paid for by the city, to begin with), utilities from fast-tracked favored development being higher than anticipated, and additional audit costs. Still, there is no indication of how much the forensic audit will cost or how it will be paid for. In sworn testimony, Lyda noted that the economic development (no, wait, strike that lawyers got him to walk that back), the healthcare project causing most of these increases was a “personal priority” for him. With Hoover’s debt ballooning by more than $90M, the forensic audit found that the City overstated its fund balance by over $36M, raising serious concerns that the city may be violating its rolling reserve policy. Not that there’s any way the public would know that and based on what we’ve seen and heard in the last six months. One thing is certain: if the status quo continues the way it has under Brocato and Lyda, it’ll be years before a quiet mea culpa is made to say things were array today and then that will be buried in meeting minutes that are so vaguely written history will never know. The Kroll forensic audit raised multiple concerns about the city’s financial practices and the integrity of the financial data. Unfortunately, as the report states, Kroll had a limited scope of review and could not review many key files. However, it did develop a road map for intrepid reporters, elected officials who have been kept in the dark and yes, even law enforcement to follow to attempt to shine light on the holes. Earlier this year, Lyda provided AL.Com a comment that read in part, “We have a mayor and majority council with executive business level experience who are laser focused on meeting the needs and expectations of our residents in maintaining a top tier education system, delivering world class public safety, and creating a quality of life experience that is second to none in the United States.” Where is Lyda’s laser focus on these important issues that have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars? Mayor Brocato and City Council President Lyda have been in charge of the City and its financial operations for years. So before they present another budget or amend the present budget to spend more money, the citizens deserve a true investigation and for Brocato and Lyda to answer the tough questions at this Thursday’s upcoming budget presentation and next week’s council meeting.
Alabama joins 13 other states in pledge to address chronic absenteeism crisis in public schools
Alabama is one of fourteen states that have joined an effort to cut chronic student absenteeism by 50% over the next five years. According to Attendance Works, a national and state initiative that pushes for better policy and practice to improve school attendance, chronic school absence rates almost doubled from one out six to almost one out of three students during the COVID-19 pandemic. And post-pandemic absenteeism rates remain higher than before the pandemic. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of school for any reason, whether the absence is excused or unexcused, and is affecting students from every economic level and ethnicity. Education advocates from Attendance Works, The Education Trust and the American Enterprise Institute came together earlier this summer to challenge state and policy leaders to sign onto the pledge to cut the chronic absentee rates in half by 2029. According to AEI, districts with lower achievement and higher poverty have the highest rates of chronic absenteeism. AEI reports that in 2022 16% of Asian students and 24% percent of white students were chronically absent, compared to 36% of Hispanic students and 39% of Black students. The 14 states that have signed the pledge as of last week represent all regions of the country where more than 9 million students are enrolled in public schools. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Some 29.7% of the nation’s students – nearly 14.7 million – were chronically absent in the 2021-2022 school year, according to federal data. About 6.5 million more students fall into this category than before the pandemic, according to Attendance Works. Denise Forte, president and CEO of EdTrust, said in a news release, “The reasons for chronic absenteeism are varied, from health and transportation challenges to harmful discipline practices to a lack of authentic and culturally responsive family engagement. Students and families need education leaders to make chronic absenteeism a top priority this year.” Katy Payne, spokesperson for the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, sent The Center Square an email in response to a request for comment about joining the effort. “Mirroring the rest of the nation, student attendance rates decreased during the pandemic as students navigated illness and family needs, and attendance has been on the rise since that initial drop,” she said. “Now, while we have seen an increase in the percentage of students who are absent from school for 18 days per year or more (defined as ‘chronically absent’), what we are seeing is more students staying home when sick. In Washington state, we are always seeking ways to improve, and we are excited to join this effort.” A worksheet prepared by Attendance Works is offered for teachers to gauge why individual students are chronically absent. It includes the following questions: Is the student struggling academically? Does the student have language or communication challenges? Have there been any reports of bullying? Do the parents/guardians recognize the importance of and support regular school attendance? Regardless of the reasons for being absent, missing school impacts academic progress, and impacts classmates and educators who struggle to play catch up for students missing class. According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 22% of fourth-graders reported they were absent five or more days in the previous month. That is double the percentage who reported that in 2019. The results were similar for eighth-graders. In Washington state, 9% of eighth-graders reported being absent five or more days in a month in 2019. In 2022, that figure was 19%. Attendance Works initially plans to develop resources to assist states that are participating, encouraging state leaders and policy makers to raise awareness of the dire nature of student attendance in schools across their state, mobilize resources to improve engagement and attendance and address barriers to getting to school. Republished with permission from The Center Square. The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago.
