Residents and Activists Oppose ABC Coke Air Permit
Jimmy Smith, an 86-year-old Collegeville retiree, held an 8×10 framed photograph of his four daughters in his hand when he stood Thursday to ask the Jefferson County Department of Health not to renew an air emissions permit for ABC Coke.
He says his oldest daughter died of cancer and another daughter gets cancer treatments twice a month. He’s also a cancer survivor and a survivor of a community he says has been plagued with pollution for years.
“Ya’ll can deny this permit, and I promise you they will get the message. They will clean up their act,” he says.
Smith showed environmental test results that indicate 15 hazardous substances on his property.
He was among about eight speakers at the first hearing Thursday on whether to renew the emissions permit for ABC Coke. Companies with air emissions are required to have permits renewed every four or five years, the health department says.
About 40 people attended, including several who rode a bus from north Birmingham, an effort organized by Birmingham City Councilman William Parker.
Interest is heightened on the renewal of the ABC Coke permit. The company is owned by Drummond, which was at the center of a corruption trial involving a former state lawmaker, a company executive, and a lawyer. They conspired to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup efforts in the area.
Charlie Mack Powell, president of the environmental group PANIC or People Against Neighborhood Industrial Contamination, also spoke at the hearing.
Powell says people who live in the area with high soil contamination should be offered fair market value for their homes so that they can relocate.
“The plant ain’t moving,” he says.
Nelson Brooke, a board member with the environmental watchdog group GASP, wants the health department to require more stringent regulations on ABC Coke emissions and to protect the residents.
The health department will review the comments from the hearings and send the information to the EPA.
National Portrait Gallery removes impeachment references next to Trump photo
A new portrait of President Trump is on display at the National Portrait Gallery's "America's Presidents" exhibition. Text accompanying the portrait removes references to Trump's impeachments.
America’s top figure skaters dazzled St. Louis. I left with a new love for the sport.
The U.S. Figure Skating National Championships brought the who's who of the sport to St. Louis. St. Louis Public Radio Visuals Editor Brian Munoz left a new fan of the Olympic sport.
DHS restricts congressional visits to ICE facilities in Minneapolis with new policy
A memo from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, obtained by NPR, instructs her staff that visits should be requested at least seven days in advance.
Historic upset in English soccer’s FA Cup as Macclesfield beat holders Crystal Palace
The result marks the first time in 117 years that a side from outside the major national leagues has eliminated the reigning FA Cup holders.
Venezuela’s exiles in Chile caught between hope and uncertainty
Initial joy among Venezuela's diaspora in Chile has given way to caution, as questions grow over what Maduro's capture means for the country — and for those who fled it.
Sunday Puzzle: Pet theory
NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer plays the puzzle with KAMW listener Daniel Abramson of Albuquerque, N.M, and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
