Woodfin Presents First City Budget Proposal
The Birmingham City Council heard Mayor Randall Woodfin’s first proposed spending plan today, then set a budget hearing for May 14.
Woodfin proposes spending $436 million dollars in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. That’s an $8 million increase over the current year. He says the city is projected to take in more money from tax revenue.
During his budget presentation, Woodfin said neighborhood revitalization is his number one priority. He proposed increased spending on street lights, tearing down dilapidated structures and trimming weeds.
The mayor also plans to change the way the city handles economic development. The city’s new Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity will help residents open businesses and lend support to existing businesses.
The council approved a $1.5 million loan and incentives toward a new development, Lakeview Green. Developers say the project is expected to create 200 jobs and generate $550,000 in annual city revenue. It will include restaurants, shops and condos.
Trump warns a strike on Iran ‘could very well happen’ if no nuclear deal is signed
President Trump warned that a "massive" war could break out in the Middle East over Iran's nuclear program, after the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran wasn't complying with its nonproliferation duties.
Protests erupt in Kenya’s capital over blogger’s death in police custody
Demonstrators take to the streets in Kenya's capitol over the suspicious death of a popular blogger in police custody — a flashpoint of outrage in a country still reeling from last year's deadly crackdown on anti-tax protests.
Denounced by GOP lawmakers, blue state governors defend immigration policies
GOP lawmakers on Thursday blasted Democratic immigration policies as coddling violent criminals. Democrats portrayed Trump's escalating migrant sweeps as a dangerous assault on civil liberties.
A popular climate website will be hobbled, after Trump administration eliminates entire staff
Climate.gov is the main source of timely climate-related information for the public. It will stop publishing new information because the Trump administration laid off everyone who worked on it.
What led the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to crash in India with 242 people aboard?
"It just appears to me that the airplane is unable to climb," former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti tells NPR. Several explanations could account for that, the aviation expert says.
In first-of-its-kind lawsuit, Hollywood giants sue AI firm for copyright infringement
Disney and Universal's 110-page lawsuit against Midjourney claims the AI player stole "countless" copyrighted works to train its software.