Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin Holds State of the City Address
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced new fundraising partners for the Birmingham Promise Initiative at Tuesday’s State of the City address.
The co-chairs include Lee Styslinger with Altec, John Turner with Regions Bank and Mark Crosswhite with Alabama Power. This comes after the city announced last year its commitment of $10 million over five years to fund the intitiative.
The Birmingham Promise provides 2020 gradutates of Birmingham City Schools free tuition to all public universities in the state.
“This is not rocket science, but it’s not charity either,” Woodfin says. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Miranda Fulmore, WBHM
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin address the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham
Woodfin says they also plan to expand the initiative’s apprenticeship program. In 2019, 23 students were allowed to leave school and go to work. Woodfin says moving forward they plan to partner Shipt, Alabama Power, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and dozens of other employers to offer the same opportunity to 100 students.
Woodfin says he hopes providing resources for the city’s youth is his legacy, but that neighborhood revitalization remains his top priority. He says in 2019 the city spent billions of dollars demolishing blighted buildings, controlling overgrown weeds and repairing the city’s streets and sidewalks. The city also worked with Alabama Power to invest in LED street lighting.
The city also saw improvements in crime compared to 2018. According to the mayor’s office, the city’s homicide rate is down 9%, rape is down 16%, robbery is down 25% and total violent crime is down about 15%.
But Woodfin says the city still has work to do.
“One homicide is too many. One robbery is too many. One rape is too many,” he says.
Trump signs executive actions on education, including efforts to rein in DEI
The directives include new efforts to curtail DEI programs at colleges, and discipline guidance for public schools.
A dozen states sue the Trump administration to stop tariff policy
A dozen states have sued the Trump administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade to stop its tariff policy, challenging Trump's claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans. That does a number on our health
Despite improvements in air quality in past decades, 156 million Americans still breathe in too much soot or ozone, says the annual State of the Air report from the American Lung Association.
Eli Lilly sues companies selling alternative versions of its weight loss drug
The drug company Eli Lilly is suing four telehealth companies for allegedly selling copies made by compounding pharmacies of its drug Zepbound.
After a scathing rebuke, judge grants DOJ an extension in deportation case
A federal judge gave the Trump administration another week to answer detailed questions about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose illegal deportation has raised concerns about due process.
Funding cut for landmark study of women’s health
The Women's Health Initiative, begun in the 1990s, has made many important discoveries. Now funding to collect more research data will end in September.
