Jefferson County's recent spike in COVID-19 cases — along with Mayor Randall Woodfin’s recent COVID diagnosis and hospitalization — finally pushed the city council's weekly meeting fully online.
Alabama's ICU beds are filling up and the state has not yet seen the rush of new cases from holiday gatherings, according to the president of the Alabama Hospital Association.
The overall crime rate in Birmingham went down compared to last year, but the city’s murder rate increased 13 percent in 2020, according to data from the Birmingham Police Department.
The Birmingham City Council approved an economic incentives package this week for the long-awaited redevelopment of the former Carraway Hospital property.
The city of Birmingham has approved contracts with three area nonprofits — Friends of Rickwood Field, McWane Science Center and Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. These nonprofits previously had their funding cut by the city because of the pandemic.
As of Thursday, more than 2,400 COVID patients were hospitalized across the state. About 25% of those hospitalizations were in Jefferson and Shelby counties.
Birmingham-area hospital officials are asking Alabamians to take all possible precautions to stop the spread of the disease, including avoiding holiday gatherings with people who do not live in their households.
With the grant month, the city plans to improve the area around Smithfield Court, including infrastructure improvements such as street paving, sidewalks, lighting and parks as well as beautification and anti-blight efforts.
As Alabama receives its first allotment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, health officials anticipate challenges distributing the vaccine in rural communities.
Predictive policing software programs such as PredPol was adopted by the Homewood Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in 2016 and Birmingham Police Department in 2019.