The Race for Mayor: The Runoff
Birmingham voters elected a new mayor on Tuesday (1/19). Jefferson County Commissioner William Bell’s 54% of the vote beat Patrick Cooper’s 46%, with roughly 40% of registered voters going to the polls. We’ll have analysis from Birmingham Weekly’s Kyle Whitmire on All Things Considered Wednesday afternoon.
On Friday, January 15th, both Bell and Cooper spent an hour in the studio fielding questions for listeners.
This is Jefferson County Commissioner William Bell’s fourth run for the mayor’s office. Bell tells WBHM’s Tanya Ott that better education and job creation are key to moving the city forward. So is reducing crime.
Bell wants to establish a venture capital fund to help university researchers bring their ideas to the marketplace. Hear more about that in an
extended interview.
Patrick Cooper came in second in the 2007 mayor’s race. He is selling himself as a political newcomer, a clean break from the politicians that have dominated Birmingham’s political scene. Speaking with WBHM’s Bradley George, Cooper says one of his priorities as mayor would be jobs for the chronically unemployed. He plans to put them to work taking care of the city’s parks and working in the library system. Patrick Cooper says despite Birmingham’s recent budget issues, he knows how to pay for his jobs plan.
Charlie Kirk’s killing raises the stakes for campus security
How much security at a campus event is enough? Campus police are mulling the question.
They want a COVID shot to protect their health or at-risk family. They can’t get it
Though the FDA narrowed criteria for the shots, many people still want them, to avoid illness and protect vulnerable family members. Some are turned down at the pharmacy or have to jump through hoops.
Jazz head at Kennedy Center is the latest firing at the beleaguered arts institution
The firing of Kevin Struthers is the latest in a line of dismissals and resignations at the D.C. arts behemoth.
Senate Republicans turn to ‘nuclear option’ to speed confirmation of Trump nominees
The change will allow certain nominees to be confirmed in groups rather than by individual vote. It follows months of GOP complaints that Democrats were dragging out the confirmation process.
A play about the revolt of human workers — not machines — gave us the word ‘robot’
A Czech playwright introduced the word to English in the 1920s. But back then, it wasn't analogous to machinery. New interpretations of the robot reflect a modernity once skewered by the writer.
Are hotel rooms accessible for people who use wheelchairs? NPR wants to hear from you
Hotels have accessible rooms for wheelchair users. If you or someone you know has experienced problems with those rooms, we'd like to hear about it.
