Mayors of Birmingham, Mobile win re-election
The mayors of two of Alabama’s largest cities have won re-election by wide margins. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin outdistanced seven other candidates in balloting Tuesday to win a second four-year term with about 64% of the vote. The challengers included his predecessor as mayor, William Bell, and a Jefferson County commissioner, Lashunda Scales, who finished second. “You told us to invest in your neighborhoods and we did,” Woodfin told supporters after the votes were counted. “You told us to pave your streets and we did. …You told us to invest in the youngest generation and we did.” Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson won a third term by carrying 62% of the vote against two challengers who included a City Council member, Fred Richardson. Stimpson said he would concentrate on projects including the relocation of the city’s passenger airport to a site near downtown over the next four years. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Protesters tear down Confederate monument, Bham Mayor Randall Woodfin vows to ‘finish the job’
Birmingham, Ala. Mayor Randall Woodfin has promised to “finish the job” of tearing down a 115-year-old Confederate monument after protestors did their best to remove it themselves. Protestors who were demanding justice for the unnecessary death of George Floyd attempted to remove the monument Sunday night from Linn Park in Birmingham. Woodfin appeared at the park as protestors attempted to tear down the 52-foot-tall granite obelisk honoring Confederate veterans. He pleaded with them to go home before arrests began, telling the crowd, “Allow me to finish the job for you.” Woodfin’s promise is in direct violation to state law. The 2017 Alabama Memorial Preservation Act currently prohibits relocating, removing, altering or renaming public buildings, streets and memorials that have been standing for more than 40 years.
Birmingham’s Legion Field preparing to host World Games 2021 opening ceremonies
The World Games are expected to bring $256 million to Birmingham.
Supreme Court won’t reconsider Confederate monument ruling
The monument was first covered in 2017.
Deadline approaching for Birmingham bridge project
The deadline is approaching for a company to earn a $15 million bonus for finishing work early on a major bridge project in Alabama’s largest city. Texas-based Johnson Brothers Corp. will get the money if it completes work by Jan. 21 on the new Interstate 59/20 overpasses through Birmingham, state officials told news outlets. But the company will have to pay $250,000 a day if the opening is delayed past March 21. State transportation officials said the work is nearly done, and they’ll work out a schedule for opening the roads after the holidays. “I have been on the bridge and I’ve driven it and it’s magnificent. We are excited. This will change the landscape of Birmingham forever,” DeJarvis Leonard with the Alabama Department of Transportation told a recent news briefing. The more than $700 million project is replacing elevated highways built more than 45 years ago to accommodate 80,000 vehicles daily through the heart of downtown. Transportation officials said I-59/20 carried more than twice that number of vehicles before it was closed in January and demolished. The shutdown, which forced drivers to travel around the city on surface streets or Interstate 459, affected a more than mile-long section of I-59/20 from Red Mountain Expressway to Interstate 65. The state said it is keeping an eye on safety as contractors complete work that includes smoothing out the driving surface, installing lighting and adding stripes. “We inspect the bridge as it is being constructed. Then we do what we call an in-service inspection, which is ongoing as we speak,” said Leonard. Plans call for the area beneath the elevated highway to be used for community spaces including a park and an area for food trucks. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Monument Protections Upheld by Alabama Supreme Court
The Alabama Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling concerning a Birmingham confederate monument by a Jefferson County judge.
The fastest growing and shrinking cities in Alabama
Alabama’s list of largest cities is due for another shakeup. In 2016, Huntsville passed Mobile to become the state’s third-largest city. Next year the Rocket City will likely pass Montgomery to become the second-largest.If population trends hold true over the next few years, it won’t be long until Huntsville stands at the top of the list. The U.S. Census Bureau released new city population estimates Thursday. According to the estimates, Birmingham, the largest city in the state, is losing population. The Magic City’s population has been mostly stagnant – no growth or major loss – since 2010. But for the first time in nearly 100 years, its population is now below 210,000. And Montgomery continues to steadily lose people. The state’s capital started the decade with a healthy 15,000 population lead over Huntsville. Now that lead has dwindled to fewer than 1,000 people. Huntsville, meanwhile, has been adding population at a substantial rate since the start of the decade. In those eight years the city has added more than 17,000 people. If those trends continue at their current pace, Huntsville could pass Birmingham in population in just six years.Huntsville was one of only three Alabama cities to grow its population by 10,000 people or more since 2010. The other two are notably college towns. Auburn added around 12,300 people and Tuscaloosa added around 10,600 people since 2010. Auburn’s growth is impressive. The city is also in the top 10 in terms of percentage growth in the state. Among Alabama cities with at least 10,000 people, only five grew at a faster rate than Auburn. Three of those are in Baldwin County, which continues to grow like a weed. Tuscaloosa’s growth has been a bit slower than Auburn’s, but it remains a significantly larger city. According to the estimates, Tuscaloosa passed the 100,000 population mark in 2017, and had 101,113 people in 2018. Auburn sat at 65,738 people in 2018. Montgomery isn’t the only large city that’s shrinking. Mobile has lost more than 5,000 people since 2010. Birmingham, Anniston and Gadsden have all lost significant population, as have Decatur, Eufaula and Prichard. But perhaps the most alarming population loss has come from Selma, a historic civil rights town that AL.com reported last year was the fastest shrinking city in the state. That’s still true, according to the new estimates. Selma has lost nearly 14 percent of its population since 2010, the worst rate in the state over that span, according to the Census. It’s the only city in the state to lose more than 10 percent of its population over that time. By Ramsey Archibald, Al.com. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Birmingham’s Kristina Scott pushes for simpler Student Aid submission process in US Senate
College students across the country universally dread one form: the FASFA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is both confusing and time consuming to fill out — for many families the FAFSA is longer than their tax form — and yet it’s a necessary task for students who need aid in paying their tuition. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing to hear from experts across the country on the benefits, and how to best, streamline the FASFA application. Among those experts was Birmingham’s own Kristina Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible — a nonprofit organization that removes barriers to prosperity in Alabama through education, collaboration, and advocacy. “FAFSA continues to be a barrier to post-secondary attainment. Most people get help filing their taxes from something like HR Block or using Turbo Tax,” Scott testified. “One of my questions is do we need to build a similar system for FAFSA completion or would our limited private resources be better spent supporting student success.” Scott explained Alabama is the nation’s sixth poorest state, and 900,000 Alabamians, 300,000 of whom are children, live below the poverty line. “A low-income student is only half as likely as a high-income student to complete a postsecondary certificate or degree by age 26. However, those low-income Americans who do obtain a college degree are five times more likely than their peers to rise out of poverty,” Scott explained to the committee. Scott made three recommendations to the committee on how to improve the FAFSA process: Streamline the FAFSA. A streamlined FAFSA with 15-25 questions about the student, their family, and where they want to go to college would give the US Department of Education the ability to assess a student’s need while cutting out unnecessary and often-intrusive questions. Focus the process on funds available to pay for college. Focus the process on what a family is expected to pay, instead of on grants and other assistance for which they qualify, is confusing and off-putting for the low-income families we serve. Decrease the verification burden.Verification is an audit-like process to confirm information provided on the FAFSA. Roughly half of all filers eligible for a Pell Grant are flagged for verification.
$44M Birmingham Xpress plans to be operating in time for 2021 World Games
Birmingham Xpress, a $44 million bus rapid transit system, will transform a 10-mile stretch of Magic City streets stretching from Woodlawn to Five Points South and passing by major downtown destinations. Officials shared plans for the Birmingham Xpress at the Birmingham Business Alliance on Feb. 27, saying the goal is to have the system operating in time for the 2021 World Games, which begins July 25, 2021. Birmingham Xpress is a collaboration between the city of Birmingham, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA). Birmingham Xpress could be a 'gamechanger' for mass transit in the Magic City from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo. Among the highlights: Two terminal stations will be built with the Five Points West Transit Center slated near the Birmingham CrossPlex and a Woodlawn Transit Center to anchor the eastern end of the route. Buses will run every 15 minutes during peak times and every 30 minutes during off-peak times. Nearly five miles of designated bus lanes will be added to First Avenue North, 18th Street, Fifth Avenue South, Sixth Avenue South, Lomb Avenue and Third Avenue West. Sixteen new station stops along the route that will be a mix of curb-side stations and median stations. Electric and articulated buses that allow curb level access and includes onboard wifi, onboard bike racks, docking stations for wheelchairs and power outlets with USB charging. The new route will touch 25 of 99 neighborhoods in the city and 21 percent of the city’s population is within one-half a mile of accessing the Birmingham Xpress. “This is going to be the first transit system of its kind in the state,” said Howard Richards, deputy director of the city of Birmingham Office of Capital Projects Management. Some of the existing lanes now used by the public will be devoted to buses but studies show it will not contribute to added congestion, Richards said. The Birmingham Xpress route will also prevent turns and crossings at some intersections. Another innovation will be a transit signal priority that will change shorten red lights and extend green lights as a Birmingham Xpress bus approaches. That same technology will be shared with public safety officials to allow police cars, firetrucks and ambulances to do the same. The Birmingham Xpress is also intended to integrate with other transportation systems ranging from the Max bus system to Uber, Lyft and more. There are even plans to allow a traveler to make a single payment for a planned trip that might include multiple services. Speaking of payment, the Birmingham Xpress system will eliminate onboard bus payments, allowing for payments at station stop kiosks or through an app. The intent is to allow for multi-door boarding and help keep buses running on schedule. Frank T. Martin, interim director of BJCTA and Max Transit, said the Birmingham Xpress will enhance the existing bus systems. “It’s going to be, I think, the spark that’s going to generate a real enthusiasm for a renewed interest in public transportation,” Martin said. “At the end of the day, people who want to use public transportation want it to be convenient.” The Birmingham Xpress route will include popular destinations such as UAB, Brookwood Baptist Princeton Medical Center, Children’s Hospital, Birmingham CrossPlex, Rickwood Field, Regions Field, Railroad Park, McWane Science Center, Pizitz Food Hall, Negro Southern League Museum, Sloss Furnaces and more. Richards said it will also make several properties more attractive for redevelopment along the route. He said what is known as “transit-oriented development” typically sees additional retail, entertainment, apartments, office and other commercial development along designated transit routes. He said in one city where a rapid bus system was implemented, jobs along the corridor doubled in three years. Public transportation is an important factor for younger generations. “I think we are losing some of our younger generation because they want to move to cities that have better public transit systems – where they don’t want to drive their own cars,” Richards said. Martin agreed. “Looking at what’s happening in the downtown area with the expansion of UAB, the number of apartments and condos and the residential housing that has come online in this area and all of the amenities to support that, this is going to fit right in,” he said. “You really will not need to have a car if you are remaining in the urban core.” Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Terry Lathan unanimously re-elected Alabama Republican chair
Terry Lathan was unanimously re-elected Saturday as chair of the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP). The approval came by acclamation from the 400-plus member Alabama Republican Executive Committee during the ALGOP’s Winter Meeting at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center (BJCC) in downtown Birmingham this past weekend. This will be will Lathan’s third-term in the position. She ran unopposed. Below are a few items Lathan is “exceptionally proud” that highlight her and her team’s accomplishments in the 2018 election cycle: Another record-breaking general election: a statewide officer sweep, additional seats in the Alabama legislature with 71 Democrat to Republican seats flipped resulting in devastating defeat of the so called ‘Blue Wave’ in Alabama Raising over $1.188 million that fully funded our campaign plan and annual Party needs Funding and executing a seamless successful 2018 general election plan Added races expanding our base plan which produced big wins Defending and growing GOP seats in 29 counties that had head-to-head races with Democrats Maintained an aggressive year-round social media footprint to push our Party content and messaging Lathan is a native of Mobile, Alabama where she lives with her husband, Jerry. They have two adult children. She is a former public school teacher and has been volunteering with the Republican Party for over 40 years. She has served as Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party since February 2015, making her the longest serving female ALGOP state chairman. If re-elected will be the longest serving chair since 1985.
Will Lochamy: Lol’ing at Randall Woodfin’s idea to rename the Birmingham Crossplex after Larry Langford
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is pushing to have the Birmingham Crossplex named after Larry Langford and people are lol’ing. I’ve sided with this mayor on almost everything during his short tenure, but I’m torn on this one. I know that Langford was crooked, but I also feel like his wild, unrealistic visions for Birmingham played a large role in kicking off the renaissance that our city has experienced. Maybe we didn’t get a beluga whale or a dome stadium, but he gave us this chip on our shoulder. He made us think we could be a city worthy of having the things that other cities had. Plus, naming the CrossPlex “after” him doesn’t necessarily mean it will be called the “Larry Langford CrossPlex.” It could just be something that makes us think of him. Here are a few suggestions: The “Gene Chiznik CrossPlex.” Alabama fans will love it and it’ll remind us of Larry getting names wrong. The “John Papke is the worst CrossPlex.” Their feud is certainly one that deserves to live on forever, whether John is actually the worst or not. If you don’t remember this reference, the YouTube video is well worth Googling. The “2020 Olympic CrossPlex,” since I’m still holding out hope on that Larry-ism. The “Birmingham Dome.” I mean, it DOES have a roof! Maybe it’s just too soon. With Mayor Langford’s recent release from prison and subsequent passing, we’ve been re-living all of the good and bad that came with his larger-than-life persona. It’s just poor timing to go from using the word “corrupt” to “honor” in the span of a month. I’m also concerned that if Larry gets his name on a building, it could take us down a slippery slope we might not foresee. “The Roy Moore Center for Equality and Compassion” or “The Sherrif Entrekin Beach House Association” are right around the corner. While Larry was entertaining and a world-class rabble-rouser, he didn’t play by the rules. Not only that, he broke the law in a state where our corruption cup overfloweth. The last thing we need to do is start naming buildings and putting up statues to honor people with problematic pasts… oh, wait. I’m going to choose to remember all the good stuff about Larry. If you got the chance to hear him speak or even just ran into him at the grocery store, you know how captivating and engaging he could be. He was the kind of guy that would ask you your name and then say it back to you in conversation. That’s a fantastic quality… unless you’re Jon Paepcke. (seriously, Google it.) ••• Will Lochamy is co-host of the radio show, “Oh Brother Radio” on Birmingham Mountain Radio (107.3FM).
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies in fraud trial of Birmingham attorney
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a jury Wednesday that she rejected a suggestion that she serve on the board of a company associated with two men on trial in an investment fraud case. Donald V. Watkins Sr., of Atlanta, and Donald V. Watkins Jr., of Birmingham, each face multiple counts of wire and bank fraud and one count of conspiracy. Rice was the first witness called in the trial — in which each man is representing himself. Prosecutors said Watkins Sr. told investors that Rice, an Alabama native, was considering investing in one of his companies, known as Masada. Al.com reports Rice met Watkins Sr. through friends who said she should look into Masada. Rice said she met twice in person and had two phone calls with him. But when he suggested she serve on Masada’s board of directors, Rice said she wasn’t interested. “I told him at that time I was just out of government, and I was looking at a lot of different possibilities,” she said. “I (was) unlikely to join boards.” Watkins Sr. then suggested a strategic advising position, Rice said. At one point he sent out a press release announcing her involvement. Rice said she emailed Watkins Sr. and told him she was not in a position to accept the role. “I couldn’t accept, and I couldn’t most certainly do a press release at that time,” she said. Rice said she hadn’t showed the proposed agreement to her lawyer or financial adviser, and liked to take ample time to agree to business ventures. “I was just uncomfortable with the fact that this seemed so urgent,” she said. “I didn’t think I could meet Mr. Watkins’ time-frame.” She also said she wanted no role when Watkins began talking about a venture involving purchase of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. “Please do not associate it with me in any way,” Rice told him via email. Emails displayed in court show in March 2009, Watkins Sr. wrote to others about job assignments he had planned for Rice. Rice said she has no recollection of ever being told about the assignments and she never authorized him to share her name and possible involvement in talks with others. Watkins Sr. asked Rice about their meeting at a Palo Alto, California restaurant. Watkins Sr. asked about the length of the meeting and if it lasted several hours. Rice replied, “Mr. Watkins I didn’t have two hours to spend with people at that time. Mr. Watkins, you were clearly recruiting me.” After June of that year, Rice said she never talked to Watkins Sr. about Masada again. Rice said she never met Watkins Jr. or directly communicated with him. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
