Birmingham City Council Strikes Back Over Minimum Wage Bill

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:470;s:4:"file";s:49:"2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-336x329.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:329;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:47:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-480x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-318x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:318;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-271x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:271;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-480x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Esther Ciammachilli
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:7:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:640;s:4:"file";s:26:"city-hall-photo-esther.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-336x448.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:448;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-254x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:254;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-233x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:233;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-199x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:199;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:201939;s:14:"optimized_size";i:147536;s:7:"percent";d:26.940000000000001;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:77:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:55217;s:14:"optimized_size";i:40065;s:7:"percent";d:27.440000000000001;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-336x329.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:29093;s:14:"optimized_size";i:21202;s:7:"percent";d:27.120000000000001;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:83:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3353;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3320;s:7:"percent";d:0.97999999999999998;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-480x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:41498;s:14:"optimized_size";i:30055;s:7:"percent";d:27.57;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:25039;s:14:"optimized_size";i:18263;s:7:"percent";d:27.059999999999999;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-318x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:26877;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19458;s:7:"percent";d:27.600000000000001;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-271x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:20862;s:14:"optimized_size";i:15173;s:7:"percent";d:27.27;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1660450058 
1456164780

Birmingham City Hall.

Esther Ciammachilli, WBHM

The Birmingham City Council is once again trying move up the effective date of its minimum wage increase. This is in response to the fast tracked steps the State Legislature is taking to block this action.

The council could vote to move up the effective date from March 1 to Wednesday, February 24.

Republican Representative David Faulkner of Mountain Brook introduced legislation that would essentially block cities in Alabama from making changes to their minimum wage. The bill has already passed the House and could come up for a vote in the Senate this week.

“The legislators are taking a stance in front of the door to livable wages in Alabama the same way that George Wallace took a stance in the school house door for education,” says Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin.

Rather than implementing incremental increases to eventually reach a minimum wage of $10.10 and hour by 2017, the city council could also vote to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour effective Wednesday.

Alabama does not have a state minimum wage and uses instead the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.

 

President Trump can continue to withhold billions in foreign aid, court rules

A federal appeals court handed President Trump a victory on Wednesday. The court ruled the administration can continue to freeze or terminate billions of dollars that Congress approved in foreign aid.

Infowars conspiracist Alex Jones is a big step closer to losing his studio and brand

Jones has lost control of his media empire to a newly-appointed receiver who will sell it off to pay the Sandy Hook Elementary School families who sued Jones for defamation after the 2012 shootings.

Trump was ‘very involved’ in Kennedy Center Honorees selection, vetoed ‘wokesters’

Trump announced the Kennedy Center Honorees on Wednesday. They are Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, Kiss, George Strait and Michael Crawford.

A lock of hair may have just changed what we know about life in the Incan Empire

Inca society kept records by encoding information into knotted cords called khipu. A new analysis of hair woven into these cords suggests this record-keeping was practiced by commoners as well as elites.

Zelenskyy: Trump supports ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine at Putin summit

European leaders held a high-stakes meeting Wednesday with President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Ukraine's Zelenskyy, NATO's chief, and European leaders ahead of Friday's US Russia summit.

A dogged reporter takes on a mysterious cabal in ‘The Diary of Lies’

Philip Miller's sinister thriller is set in a Great Britain that's lost its bearings. But even when she's terrified, fictional journalist Shona Sandison will always risk everything to get the story.

More Economy Coverage