Birmingham Commits Another $1 Million To Temporary Worker Program
By Sam Prickett
In an abnormally short, 13-minute meeting on Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council voted to allocate more funds to the city’s fight against COVID-19.
The city’s coronavirus fund was given an additional $1 million, with money being taken from incentives the city had previously allocated to Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, $215,000; Lakeview Antisocial/Brat Brot, $58,000; and Top Golf, $228,000; as well as $499,000 from the Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity’s economic incentives budget.
That money will go toward what Mayor Randall Woodfin called “phase two” of the city’s coronavirus response, which involves a temporary “Birmingham Strong Service Corps” worker program focusing on coronavirus testing, access to testing and food insecurity resulting from the pandemic.
The program, IEO Director Josh Carpenter told the council during Monday’s budget and finance committee meeting, will be similar to AmeriCorps, “making sure people have access to service opportunities that could supplement their basic income.”
So far, he said, nearly 100 unemployed workers have “been redeployed to paid opportunities that support community needs,” such as phone screening 8,476 public housing residents for virus symptoms, preparing and delivering 12,000 lunches for Birmingham City Schools students, and partnering with Christ Health to set up an emergency COVID clinic.
The $1 million allocated Tuesday by the council will add to the more than $300,000 already raised for the program by private donors including Shipt, the Overton Project, Altec and others. The city’s contribution will be reimbursable by the federal government, Woodfin told councilors Monday.
The council also voted to allocate $4,065,333 from the coronavirus fund to first responders; Lester Smith, the city’s director of finance, told the council last month that overtime for first responders during the coronavirus crisis would likely cost between $4 million and $5 million.
Michigan judge dismisses charges against 15 pro-Trump ‘fake electors’
A Michigan judge has dismissed criminal charges against 15 people who signed false certificates saying Donald Trump won the state's electoral votes in 2020.
BLS revision shows hiring was overstated by 911,000 jobs in past year
The U.S. likely added 900,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months ending in March than had been reported, according to a preliminary Labor Department report.
Israel says it carried out a strike on Hamas’ main political office in Qatar
The Israeli military says it has carried out an airstrike on Hamas political headquarters in Qatar. Television footage from Doha showed a huge cloud of gray smoke rising over the area of Doha where the bombing took place.
New books out today: A Dan Brown thriller, John Prine bio, and World Wide Web memoir
New books this week include Secret of Secrets — the sixth installment of The Da Vinci Code saga, plus a tech memoir from Tim Berners-Lee and a career-spanning anthology from Terry McMillan.
‘We just want to get to the truth’: Jabari Peoples’ family still seeking answers
Eighteen-year-old Jabari Peoples was shot and killed by a Homewood police officer earlier this year. His family is still reeling from the loss and maintain their disagreement with police’s account of the incident.
Here’s what happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood
What makes rents go down and neighborhood diversity go up? Corporate landlords. But they also make it harder to own for yourself.
