Complaints Around The Birmingham Water Works Board Intensify

| February 9, 2017 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2017/02/Birmingham_Water_Works.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:306;s:4:"file";s:34:"2017/02/Birmingham_Water_Works.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:5:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Birmingham_Water_Works-336x171.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:171;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Birmingham_Water_Works-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:32:"Birmingham_Water_Works-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Birmingham_Water_Works-470x240.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:240;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Birmingham_Water_Works-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:{}}}
        )

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

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:136468;s:14:"optimized_size";i:97280;s:7:"percent";d:28.719999999999999;}s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:62:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2017/02/Birmingham_Water_Works.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:70842;s:14:"optimized_size";i:47568;s:7:"percent";d:32.850000000000001;}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:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:68:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2017/02/Birmingham_Water_Works-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3670;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3598;s:7:"percent";d:1.96;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:70:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2017/02/Birmingham_Water_Works-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:27242;s:14:"optimized_size";i:20300;s:7:"percent";d:25.48;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:70:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2017/02/Birmingham_Water_Works-470x240.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:34714;s:14:"optimized_size";i:25814;s:7:"percent";d:25.640000000000001;}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
        )

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

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => Birmingham Water Works Board
        )

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

)
1665710833 
1486635797

One frequent target of criticism by the public is the Birmingham Water Works Board. But complaints hit a new level in recent months after some residents received unusually high water bills. Others had difficultly paying or didn’t receive a bill for several months after a new billing system came online. We hear about the situation from Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald, who says he’s never seen this amount of anger aimed at the board.

 

Madagascar’s president flees country in fear for his life after military rebellion

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina called for dialogue "to find a way out of this situation" and said the constitution should be respected.

In Marc Maron’s last ‘WTF’ podcast episode, Obama offers advice on closing chapters

In the final episode, Marc Maron and former President Barack Obama spoke about the legacy of the podcast, politics and moving on.

Ecuador: The Andean reinvention of cumbia

Photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia music in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.

Tackles, projectiles and gunfire: Many fear ICE tactics are growing more violent

Videos taken by eye witnesses of federal agent encounters with immigrants in Chicago and elsewhere have shown increasingly tense incidents. Immigrant advocates and observers say they're indicative of a larger trend of aggression among federal immigration officers.

As the ceasefire begins, a look at the Gaza war by the numbers

With start of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and release of hostages and prisoners, here are some key figures related to the Gaza war and the Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked it.

Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows

Data from a large, ongoing study of adolescents shows a link between increasing social media use and lower cognition and memory in teens.

More Front Page Coverage