Tentative Deal in Jefferson County’s Bankruptcy
A judge will hold a status conference Wednesday on Jefferson County’s $4.2 billion dollar municipal bankruptcy, one day after county commissioners approved a tentative deal that could end the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Commissioners backed the plan Tuesday afternoon in a 4 to 1 vote, with Commissioner George Bowman voting against it. The deal still must be approved by a judge and creditors. The status conference before U.S Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett is the latest step in that process.
Jefferson County’s lead bankruptcy attorney Ken Klee has said the county would submit a plan to exit bankruptcy by the end of June. That could set up Jefferson County to leave bankruptcy in December.
Of the total bankruptcy amount, more than $3 billion is linked to bad deals and corruption around financing the county’s sewer system. Commissioners say the compromise calls for creditors with sewer warrants getting back about 60% of what they’re owed. Meanwhile, residents will likely pay higher sewer rates.
Jefferson County filed bankruptcy November 9, 2011.
A New Orleans garden paid hundreds of dollars in fees for a sewer that doesn’t exist
Galvez Garden owner Lissie Stewart has been fighting the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board over inaccurate billing for years.
Alabama coal mine keeps digging after hundreds of fines and a fatal explosion
Following the death of a grandfather, Crimson Oak Grove Resources has left a community afraid for their homes and lives. An expert warns one resident may need to evacuate her home while she still can.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have a ‘snowball effect’ on residents across the South
Abortion rights advocates say the ban will likely force many to travel farther for abortion care and endure pregnancy and childbirth against their will.
Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion
Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
