Aerospace, automotive summits heading to Birmingham this week
Birmingham is hosting a pair of business summits this week that showcase Alabama’s growing automotive and manufacturing industries, providing participants with high-level networking opportunities and one-on-one meetings. The conferences are the Aerospace Innovative Technology Summit (AITS), held May 7-9, and the Automotive Advanced Technology Summit (AATS), held May 8-9. Both events are taking place at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, with 200 companies expected to participate. The Alabama Department of Commerce is among the sponsors of the summits, which feature workshops, presentations and business-to-business meetings. “The automotive and aerospace industries are major drivers of economic growth in Alabama, and these business conventions in Birmingham offer a pathway for companies from across the country and around the world to seek new opportunities and understand how their peers are utilizing and advancing the latest technologies,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “Besides companies from Alabama and multiple U.S. states, an international presence representing 11 different countries is here to participate,” he said. “These summits bring a focus on innovation, which is critical to growing and sustaining these manufacturing sectors and placing Alabama in a leading role for the latest technologies.” Focusing on innovation The Aerospace Innovative Technology Summit targets the aerospace, space and defense industries, all with a significant presence in Alabama. With a focus on new technologies being deployed in the sector such as 3D metal printing, digitalization of manufacturing and cyber security, the event aims to connect leading companies and participants in the sharing of ideas in the application and development of these innovations in their businesses. To kick off the aerospace conference, Canfield will provide an overview of the industry sector in the state. Other scheduled speakers include R.G. “Corky” Clinton Jr. of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Nick Bowman of GKN Aerospace and Jeff Chang of Lockheed Martin. The Automotive Advanced Technology Summit will focus on advanced manufacturing and new technologies at use within an industry growing rapidly in Alabama. Scheduled speakers include Mark Brazeal of Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA, Tom Shoupe of Honda of America Manufacturing, and Brad Newman of ZF Chassis Systems in Tuscaloosa. Also speaking is Chuck Ernst, a former Honda Alabama executive who now serves as manager of the Alabama Robotics Technology Park, a unique training facility in Decatur. “It is an honor to have Birmingham chosen as the site for both of these conventions,” said Brian Jennings, vice president of economic development for the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA). “It speaks to Alabama’s prominence in both the aerospace and automotive industries, and we look forward to bringing so many people together to foster continued growth of both industries.” Joining the BBA and the Department of Commerce in supporting the business conferences are the City of Birmingham, Jefferson County, the Birmingham Airport Authority, the Alabama Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Alabama Community College System. Mayor Randall Woodfin said Birmingham is the ideal location for the events. “Now, more than ever, Birmingham is focused on bringing high-quality technology jobs to our city. The summit gives a great chance to identify innovative partners that share our commitment to the next generation of manufacturing in the aerospace and automotive industries,” Woodfin said. This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.
Panel maps out how Birmingham will become a Smart City
Birmingham’s Innovation Week is a celebration of the disruptive ideas and ventures evolving in the city’s technology community. In line with the city’s growing tech ecosystem are various initiatives to transform Birmingham into a Smart City using data and technology to make it more livable and sustainable. These plans were outlined Tuesday during an Innovation Week session called Think Next: How Birmingham’s Becoming a Smart City. Touching on various initiatives underway that helped the city win a Readiness Challenge Grant from the Smart Cities Council earlier this year, speakers mapped out projects using digital technology to help improve public safety, energy and transportation. Projects in the pipeline include an open data portal, smart street lighting, community Wi-Fi and a bus rapid transit. The City of Birmingham’s crime reduction initiative, Operation Step Up, also is included. Resources from the readiness grant will accelerate the efforts. The session featured a panel of individuals who were instrumental in the Smart Cities Council grant process and who are closely involved in ongoing innovation efforts: Brandon Johnson, City of Birmingham Director of Community Engagement; John Smola, Alabama Power Director of Business Transformation and Administration, and Paula Alvarez Pino, University of Alabama at Birmingham Program Director of Sustainable Smart Cities Research. The conversation was moderated by Mashonda Taylor, chief Community Relations officer for the Woodlawn Foundation. The panel provided updates on these projects, and touched on potential opportunities for further collaboration and expansion in the future. Check out how the grant is accelerating Birmingham’s Smart City efforts on the session’s live stream below. Think Next: How Birmingham is Becoming a Smart City from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Local roundup: Confederate jacket sparks dispute, Paul Ryan to fundraise in B’ham, Mobile debates Gulf Coast gas tanks
It wasn’t long ago when Confederate iconography was generating statewide headlines amid a dispute between Gov. Robert Bentley, who supported downplaying the state’s secessionist history, and his critics who said he was “deceptively” revising Alabama’s history. This week, a rebel soldier’s jacket has stirred controversy of a different kind. A Huntsville collector, Joe Fitzgerald, who purchased an 1860s-era CSA jacket worn during the Civil War is now fighting for his right to keep the jacket, in the face of charges the relic was stolen from a New Orleans museum. Fitzgerald says the Confederate Memorial Hall Museum – who claims the jacket was lifted from them during the 1980s – has never proven the antique actually belong to its purported owner, Confederate Army Capt. William Lyman, and so cannot claim for certain the missing jacket is the same as the one he owns. Fitzgerald bought the coat in 2009 at a civil war history convention. Representatives of the aggrieved museum appraise its value at $75,000. The two parties are fighting out the dispute in Madison County Circuit Court. MARATHON MOBILE CITY COUNCIL MEETING SETS UP MOMENTOUS VOTE ON GAS TANK FARMS ALONG COAST After an hours-long public comment period at a Mobile City Council hearing on whether or not to enshrine petrochemical farming along the ecologically-sensitive Gulf Coast, the real work of regulating the operations is just getting started. Environmental activists and industry advocates sparred well through what normally would have been a lunchtime recess, trading barbs over economic development and the preservation of the port. Casi Callaway, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper, said she hoped to speak in favor of a compromise, but said a clause to exempt existing operations from the proposed regulations was a non-starter. Speakers like Mobile Chamber VP Troy Wayman said environmental concerns are exaggerated, even ginned up by billionaire environmentalists like George Soros. A vote could come as soon as this week, bout council members and council Attorney Jim Rossler indicated possible tweaks would push a final vote until at least April or longer. MONTGOMERY HAPPENINGS Montgomery cancelled municipal elections planned for May after no one ran to oppose a handful of incumbent officials during a March 8 meeting of the City Council. The Mayor’s office and Council seats 6 and 7 were all up for election, but no challengers emerged The cancellation means incumbent Mayor Kirk Jones and Council Members John Champagne Jr. and Rebecca Huss will remain safely on the council until 2018. • • • An officer with the Montgomery Police Department resigned on Tuesday after being arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a traffic accident while off-duty, a felony. 22-year-old G.T. Farris reportedly left a two-car accident involving him and another driver at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. Farris was detained in a Montgomery County jail and held under a $15,000 bond. The department received and accepted his resignation after beginning the process of terminating him unilaterally. PAUL RYAN IN ALABAMA Speaker Paul Ryan will be in Birmingham on Wednesday to raise money to help grow the Republican majority in the House. U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt and Mike Rogers will be on hand as Ryan stumps for campaign cash to benefit the National Republican Congressional Committee. TRUSSVILLE SUPERINTENDENT SAYS ‘NO THANKS’ TO PAY INCREASE Dr. Pattie Neill signed on for four more years as head of Trussville Schools, but said no to the customary raise that usually entails. Her reason? Under state law, teachers with more than 28 years of experience are capped on their salaries. Neill, a former teacher, says it wouldn’t be right to take a raise until the state of Alabama acts to lift that restriction. “I have more than 28 years of experience and I consider myself just like they are,” Neill said. “I think it’s important to honor those people who are still in the work, and the work is every day and it starts over every year and I think the state needs to be appreciative of that.” Under her just-renewed contract, Neill makes $176,000 annually. STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS: PARTS OF MOBILE BAY OK’D FOR OYSTER HARVESTING Officials with the Department of Public Health have given the green light for reopening two areas of the Mobile Bay for oyster harvesting, following possible bacterial contamination stemming from heavy rainfall in late February. Two parts of the Bay, including Heron Bay, are now deemed safe for oystermen and the public.
William Bell, Marcus Lundy make amends after fight at City Hall
Birmingham Mayor William Bell and City Councilman Marcus Lundy said Thursday their raucous fight during a City Council meeting this week was water under the bridge. A day after Bell dropped pending criminal charges against Lundy for third-degree assault, the two men held a press conference to demonstrate their forgiveness and express their commitment to moving forward with the city’s agenda. “I stand here today to apologize to the public, to recommit myself to lifting up this city and ask for the prayers and the hard work of everyone to make this city great,” Bell told reporters. The city leaders came to blows Tuesday, when witnesses said Lundy tackled Bell and put him in a choke hold, leaving the mayor with a swollen knee and sore neck. Lundy sustained lacerations to the back of his leg. The two sounded conciliatory Thursday, saying they were sorry the fight may have tarnished the city’s reputation and that the pressing business of revitalizing the city after years of decline took precedence over settling personal scores. “We’re family and we’re gonna start acting like family,” Lundy said. The fight – dubbed on social media the “Brawl at City Hall” – garnered national headlines and attention from the public worldwide. Sources say the immediate cause of the fight was the city’s revocation of Lundy’s use of a city-owned vehicle. Other reports say Bell recently phoned the councilman’s employer and requested his dismissal, a charge the mayor denies.
“Brawl at City Hall” garners national attention
The fight between Mayor William Bell and City Councilman Marcus Lundy that broke out Tuesday in City Hall – details of which were reported first by Alabama Today – has attracted the attention of the national press, as well as social media where the hashtag “#BrawlAtCityHall” amassed hundreds of Tweets. According to a police report first obtained by Alabama Today, Lundy attacked Bell in a break room adjoining the Council chambers, where a regular meeting of city of council was taking place. After forcibly stopping Bell from leaving the room by slamming the door shut, Lundy tackled Bell and “put him in a chokehold,” police said Tuesday. While both men were hospitalized with minor injuries, the report charges Lundy with one count of third-degree assault, calling him the aggressor in the confrontation. The story gained momentum nationally Tuesday afternoon and into the night, meriting reports from Reuters, ABC News, and the Associated Press. The fight broke out amid rumors that Lundy, who has often been at odds with the mayor’s office since first being elected in 2013, may try to run against Bell in a Democratic primary during the next mayoral election in 2018. Bell’s office recently revoked Lundy’s use of a city-owned car, citing a state law that may prohibit such use, and Lundy maintains Bell recently called his employer, Regions, and demanded his dismissal. Bell denies doing so.
Police report blames Marcus Lundy for starting fight; charges pending
Alabama Today has obtained the police report from Tuesday’s scuffle at Birmingham City Hall between Mayor William Bell and City Councilman Marcus Lundy at about 11 a.m. Tuesday. The two came to blows in the Mayor’s Office during a City Council meeting. Early reports indicated the fight started over a consultant who contracts with the city, but later reports from the police said the brawl broke out after Lundy’s use of a city-owned car was revoked. The police report charges Lundy with one count of third-degree assault, calling him the aggressor in the confrontation. Police say Lundy grabbed Bell and “put him in a chokehold” after forcibly preventing him from leaving a room behind Council Chambers, where city business was actively being conducted. Earlier reports indicated a man was heard to say “No! No!” from inside the room. The police report indicates those words were uttered by Bell, fending off an attack from Lundy. Jose Perry and Chris Mosley, both aides to Lundy, pulled the councilman off Bell, according to police. Both Perry and Mosley are listed as witnesses, as was Tyrone Silmon, an assistant to the mayor’s office. The police report says Silmon heard the disturbance from an adjoining room and tried to enter but Mosley closed the door on him. When Silmon forced the door open the three men were standing in the room, the altercation evidently already broken up. Mosley reportedly refused to give a statement to police when asked by an officer. Police said Bell was left with a bruise on the right side of his neck and swelling of his left knee. An earlier photo released by Council President Johnathan Austin shows scratches and bleeding on the back of Lundy’s lower left leg. City sources told Alabama Today the car was retrieved by the city because it’s illegal for a city councilor to drive it. The sources also said Lundy came up with a cover story for his attack on Bell, saying the Mayor called Regions Bank – Lundy’s employer – to demand he be fired. Sources also say a warrant for Lundy’s arrest is imminent. News reports indicated Bell may have called Lundy’s employer, Regions Bank, and demanded his dismissal, but Bell denies doing so. For more on this developing story, see State law may have prohibited Marcus Lundy from driving city-owned vehicle. Read the full police report here.
Scuffle breaks out between Birmingham Mayor William Bell and Councilman Marcus Lundy
Birmingham Mayor William Bell and City Councilman Marcus Lundy got into a dustup in the mayor’s office during a City Council meeting Tuesday morning, according to the city police department. AL.com first reported that the incident may have been over a consultant with a pending contract with the city. Police Chief A.C. Roper responded to the scene at City Hall, where paramedics tended Bell, who came away with a swollen neck. Both Bell and Lundy were subsequently taken to the hospital. Originally reports indicated Lundy grabbed Bell to stop the mayor from leaving a back room where the two had been discussing the consultant. Council President Johnathan Austin, however, implied Tuesday afternoon that it was Bell who assaulted Lundy. Bell was said to have contacted Regions, Lundy’s employer, to say the councilman ought to be fired, but Bell disputed that account. Both men were escorted to the hospital by police Tuesday morning, Roper said. “Violence is never the answer regardless of the location,” Roper said. “It’s extremely concerning, not just for me, but for our entire city so we’ll conduct a thorough investigation and try to get to the bottom of exactly what happened and what precipitated this incident.” Birmingham police said they are considering pressing charges against one or both men. Council President Austin said Lundy will press charges against Bell, but wouldn’t say who he thought began the fight. A photo provided by Austin, seen below, shows blood and scratches on the back of Lundy’s leg. It’s unclear at this time just how Lundy received the injuries. “We have worked continuously to move this city forward, and it’s a sad day when council members are attacked while trying to do the job that they were elected to do,” Austin said Tuesday afternoon. Bell received CT and MRI scans at a Birmingham hospital. The city’s official Twitter account Tuesday evening read simply, “Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.” For more on the developing story, see Police report blames Marcus Lundy for starting fight with William Bell; charges pending. Hear audio footage of the dustup here.
Birmingham City Council gives Uber the green light
After a months-long push to allow Magic City residents to hail rides from the popular ridesharing app Uber, Birmingham City Council voted to approve an ordinance that would do just that on Tuesday. Representatives from the firm lauded the move popular service, along with competitors like Lyft, to open up shop in Alabama’s largest city within weeks. “Today’s action by the City Council is a win for riders, drivers and the city of Birmingham. We thank Council President Austin for his leadership, and look forward to bringing safe rides and economic opportunity to the Magic City in the coming weeks,” said Tom Maguire, General Manager for Uber’s operations in Alabama. Under the just-passed ordinance approved by a vote of 7-1, Maguire said he hopes Uber can begin offering rides as soon as the end of 2015. The ordinance – which Uber urged users to support via an in-app appeal – came with a last-minute amendment offered during the meeting. The amendment created a six-month provisional window during which the city will evaluate the status of safety, taxation, and other municipal concerns. City Councilors Valerie Abbott voted no, while Councilor Kim Rafferty abstained. Council President Johnathan Austin came out in support of the bill, after missing a meeting last month that had to shut down for lack of a quorum. Austin blamed the poor turnout by members on the the meeting’s proximity to the Thanksgiving holiday. Councilors Lashunda Scales, Valerie Abbott, William Parker, Sheila Tyson, Jay Roberson, Steven Hoyt, and Marcus Lundy also voted in the affirmative. The move came after about an hour and a half of debate, including some questions about city legal staff about how Uber’s vetting process for drivers. The amendment creating the six-month review period quelled those and other questions nay-sayers presented Tuesday. The ordinance doesn’t go into effect immediately, however. Birmingham Mayor William Bell – who had signaled his support for ridesharing in the past – must sign it in order for it to take force. Ride-hailing firms must then apply for and receive licenses for prospective drivers. The smaller municipalities of Homewood and Mountain Brook also recently passed ordinances to allow Uber et al. to operate within those city limits, making Birmingham the third city in the Yellowhammer State to open its roads to the services, though provisionally, at least for now.
In wake of homicides, Young Democrats take on violent crime
A rash of deadly violence in Jefferson County has brought crime to the forefront of all Jefferson County citizens’ minds. The county’s chapter of the Young Democrats may not be the first organization you might think of to help counter the recent spate of Birmingham homicides, but they are out in force in Jefferson communities trying to work with their neighbors to stem the tide of violence. “It disturbed me, the amount of homicides we’ve had in the city of Birmingham throughout this past year,” Jefferson Young Democrats leader Le’Darius Hilliard said. “It is our responsibility as citizens (to) take back control of our neighborhoods,” Hilliard added, just a day after two homicides were reported in the area, including at the Tom Brown Village public housing community and another along Ninth Court South. Hilliard says a return to more neighborhood-conscious days, where individuals took accountability for a block or section of their community, could help bring more awareness and head off conflicts before they boil over. “In the days of leadership in the past, we had block captains and our neighborhoods associations were blooming,” Hilliard said. Though the Young Dem admits reducing gun violence in Birmingham will be no easy task, he said Sunday a good place to start is just helping people find common cause in their community. “Where is the respect? Where is the love?” Hilliard said. “I believe we’re just lacking that.” Hilliard says he met with leaders of church congregations Friday last week, and will continue to do so as the Birmingham homicide rate spikes. Government statistics show the crime rate in the Magic City is about 50 percent higher than the state average, about 26 percent versus Alabama’s 17 percent overall. Data from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency shows crime was down 5 percent in 2014 compared to the year prior, with an average of 451 reported crimes a day.
Birmingham Council postpones Uber vote as 5 councilors no-show
A scheduled vote on whether to approve new rules allowing ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to operate in the Magic City was postponed Tuesday afternoon for lack of a quorum required to vote. Council President Johnathan Austin, Councilman Steven Hoyt, Councilwoman Sheila Tyson, Councilwoman Lashunda Scales and Councilman Marcus Lundy did not attend the meeting, requiring members to adjourn before hearing the ride-hailing item on the agenda. The Birmingham City Council was slated to take up an ordinance that would allow so-called ridesharing firms to set up shop in the city by next month, along with other issues. Council members Jay Roberson, Valerie Abbott, Kim Rafferty and William Parker were in attendance. They waited about an hour before telling an increasingly restive audience the meeting would have to be scuttled. The delay may push back the beginning of Uber’s operations in Birmingham until 2016. “It’s disappointing that Birmingham residents have to continue waiting for safe rides and economic opportunity,” said Uber spokesperson Kaitlin Durkosh Tuesday. “We look forward to the draft ridesharing regulations from last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting crossing the finish line next Tuesday, so that we can bring ridesharing to Birmingham in advance of the New Year,” said Durkosh. Some Birmingham residents took to the “Magic City Movement” Facebook page established to support Uber’s efforts to voice their displeasure with the councilors’ actions. “Collusion,” is what user Sam Lewis chalked it up to. “Everyone in the BCC ignoring the people’s voice on this extremely important matter deserve to be reprimanded by not receiving your vote during the next election.” Another group member, Kris Reeves, opined: “These people, who were put in charge to lead our great city, are holding us back. I constantly defend Birmingham, but things like this make it extremely difficult. They are keeping us the laughingstock of major US cities.” Planned votes on several road improvement projects and re-upping the contracts of city consultants also were casualties of the no-show. Council President Austin said the members missed the vote because “most people are out of town visiting family for Thanksgiving.”
