WBHM Politics: A New Mayor for Birmingham
Out with the old, in with the new. That’s the message Birmingham voters sent in Tuesday’s municipal elections. Next month, 36-year-old Randall Woodfin will replace Mayor William Bell, who has held the office since 2010. Besides the upset, two incumbent city council members lost their seats: Kim Rafferty and council president Johnathan Austin.
Bell’s big selling point was his experience. But is it a bad thing to have someone who hasn’t been around the block at City Hall too often? How big of a learning curve will Woodfin have? And how will Tuesday’s election affect the often fractured relationship between the mayor’s office and council? Host and producer Andrew Yeager takes us through a lively conversation with Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald and WBHM local government reporter Sherrel Wheeler Stewart.
Our theme music is “Find Your Way” by Birmingham guitarist Eric Essix.
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
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
