Tag Archives: information

No sales tax holiday from JeffCo this year

This morning the Jefferson County Commission voted 3-1 to opt out of this year’s back to school sales tax holiday, scheduled for August 7-9 (Commissioner Carns was not present for the vote). The commission says that the move would save the county approximately $200,000 and at least seven jobs. The Birmingham News posted a list of cities that will participate in this year’s holiday on Monday; Birmingham has announced that it will be participating this year. The repeal will only affect the collection of the state’s 2% worth of taxes, including the 1% educational tax.

It is interesting to note that yesterday was the deadline to notify whether or not cities or counties in the state would participate. You may also want to check out the list on the state department of revenue website to find out just what items are tax exempt during the holiday.

Mayor in car accident Tuesday AM, is OK

larry175This morning Birmingham’s mayor, Larry Langford, was involved in a car accident on Ensley Avenue. According to several reports (and his appearance during this morning’s City Council meeting), he was uninjured while the vehicle he was traveling in was damaged.

While The Birmingham News simply stated that he was on his way to work, some people thought to read into the location of the accident, including Birmingham Weekly. The mayor reported to the council that he was on the city’s west side in order to check on the progress of the Fair Park redevelopment project currently underway, a statement relayed to followers of the city’s Twitter profile (including us).

Photo: acnatta/Flickr

Report overgrown lots via your iPhone – soon

Mayor Langford announced this morning during his mayor’s report information about a digital expansion of the 23 in 23 Campaign, taking a cue from a similar online component that will soon be introduced in Boston, MA.

Both cities plans to launch smartphone  applications, with Boston’s planning to be launched shortly, to assist in the reporting of overgrown lots, graffiti, and other “neighborhood nuisances.” The Boston Globe reported yesterday on Boston’s plans and what residents in that city think about the potential to simply report issues with a snapshot and an upload. The tool sounds like it will help Mayor Menino in his long-term efforts (BTW – the mayor’s race is in full swing in Boston).

Former Lipstick editor wins awards

We figured with all of the talk about skirt! that we needed to let you know what was up with one the folks who used to be at Lipstick.

Laurel Mills was no doubt ecstatic last month when the winners of the 59th annual Green Eyeshade Awards, were announced. The awards are given out by the Society of Professional Journalists and acknowledge excellence in journalism in 11 Southeastern states. This year there were 17 finalists from Alabama; Mills won two of the awards in the Print – Nondaily Division for pieces written while she was serving as the managing editor of Lipstick Magazine, which folded in February 2009.

Serious commentary award for “Lauren,” published in the magazine’s May 2008 issue.

Humorous commentary award for “This One Time at Camp …,” published in the magazine’s July 2008 issue.

UPDATE: City budget to be reworked to reflect deficit (yes, deficit)

New Birmingham, Alabama logoBirmingham Weekly is reporting via its Twitter feed that the City of Birmingham‘s figures actually reflect a $17 million deficit for 2009 and not a $13 million surplus that the new budget is based upon.

Reporters from the Weekly have been at the city’s budget workshop this afternoon where the City Council has asked that the budget be reworked to reflect the deficit while fulfilling their requests to not cut salaries – among other things.

Check out their Twitter feed for additional information.

UPDATE: Birmingham Weekly has now posted their own story on these recent developments as well as a response from City Council president Carole Smitherman after hearing about the deficit.

Keeping an eye on foreclosures in Birmingham

Gusty Gulas is doing just that – keeping track of what’s going on in the local foreclosure scene for those interested in the possibilities. There has been a great deal of talk about this in recent months as several folks continue to say that it’s the best time ever to buy a home, even though some are now starting to feel guilty about taking advantage of others misfortune.

His blog is just two months old (and he’s also got a Twitter profile), but he seems to be staying on top of things pretty well.

Davis hosts health care summit tonight

U.S. Representative Artur Davis

U.S. Representative (and Democratic gubernatorial candidate) Artur Davis is staying busy here in Birmingham today. At 2 p.m. he’ll be taking part in a press conference at HUD’s Birmingham Field Office in part to watch HUD Secretary Shaun present a grant award to the City of Birmingham and “…highlight the city’s innovative plans to create jobs and help low-income families with its Recovery Act funds.”

Congressman Davis will then host a health care summit at the Alys Stephens Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. tonight. The folks over at Left in Alabama do a great job of describing the format and give you a glimpse of the opinions out there here in Alabama and nationwide while The Birmingham News gives us a look at Davis’ opinions about the issue.

Photo: Congressman Davis’ congressional website.