The 11th Circuit United States Court of Appeals has just posted this decision, ordering that the case brought by former physical education teacher Bruce Baker against the City of Birmingham’s Board of Education proceed. Since we can’t find any details about the original case, we’ll just link to their opinion as posted on their website.
Tag Archives: opinion
11th Circuit reverses Baker case decision
Posted in Education
Tagged AL, Alabama, Birmingham, board of education, Bruce Baker, opinion, PDF, release, ruling
UPDATE: The hunt for District 1’s seat may be over soon(er)
UPDATE: See end of post.
That would be based on a ruling made by the Supreme Court in Washington this morning (yes, that crew in Washington). They’ve ruled that Governor Riley did not have to get Federal approval to appoint a fellow Republican to a vacant spot on the Mobile County Commission.
Justice Ginsburg’s opinion is 38 pages long, but it is important, since it is one of the primary arguments being made concerning the Jefferson County Commission District 1 seat currently occupied by Gen. Bowman. Birmingham City Councilor William Bell won a special election called in February, leading to the current court battle over who should rightfully be occupying the seat.
We’ll see how it’s received and what’s next.
UPDATE: Seems like the Governor was already thinking about that (see the official release from his office).
Posted in Election '08, politics
Tagged AL, Alabama, Birmingham, Bob Riley, District 1, election, lawsuit, Mobile, opinion, ruling, Supreme Court
Comparisons of biblical proportion today in City Hall
There are days when you just want to curl up and hide; unfortunately that was one of those days for me, so I was not in attendance at the weekly city council meeting when Mayor Larry Langford drew comparisons between The Magic City and the City of Nineveh in the language used for his proclamation announcing “a day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes”. Like we said earlier, today was a busy day for the city’s chief executive.
Check out the Birmingham Weekly for a PDF of the proclamation and some video to go along with it.
You may want to let us know what you think about it… preferably over on Magic City Question.
Tagged AL, Alabama, April 25, Birmingham, City of Birmingham, day of prayer, information, Larry Langford, link, mayor, opinion, proclamation
Catalyst gets a new look
So, Birmingham’s hip to be civic group has decided to roll out a new logo…
It’s currently available for viewing as the photo for their profile on Facebook (registration required), but not yet for their website…
What do you think?
Tagged AL, Alabama, Birmingham, Catalyst, Catalyst4birmingham.org, new logo, opinion
Hope springs eternal on the west side
Tuesday’s vote dedicating approximately $48 million for the redevelopment of the Fair Park property on the city’s west side raised some interesting questions, and hope. It might also be raising concerns as just under $1 billion has been now earmarked for projects across the city since Mayor Langford’s inauguration late last year.
I chimed in with my thoughts over on my Birmingham early this morning. Check ’em out and then add yours to the mix.
BTW, did anyone notice that one of the stations that still has a contract to advertise the Spring Fling at the arena after WJLD’s contract was pulled just happened to be WATV? We’re just saying…
Photo credit: Bob Farley/f8Photo
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Posted in Commentary, My Birmingham
Tagged AL, Alabama, Birmingham, editorial, Fair Park, link, opinion, plans, redevelopment
The First 100: Around the Magic City after 80 days
Birmingham mayor Larry Langford. Bob Farley/f8photo
If you’re counting actual calendar days, it’s day 80 of the Langford era in Birmingham, Alabama. Some would call it a little whirlwind-like, especially after Tuesday’s $90 million proposal announced for the Alabama State Fairgrounds on the city’s west side. We’re curious about what you think about how it’s going so far…
We’re hoping that you’re actually willing to share your thoughts. We’d really love it if you clicked on the following link and posted your comments to the Great Room thread (with a tip of the hat to former New York mayor Ed Koch):
Posted in Commentary, The First 100
Tagged Alabama, Birmingham, Commentary, Larry Langford, mayor, opinion, The First 100
Boutwell’s the tipping point tonight
This morning’s Birmingham News points out the frequency that days of prayer are held in the city (as Mayor Langford prepares for one this evening officially announced earlier this week) well as the rumblings about legal action that may be taken if it’s found to be an official government event. The event has definitely drawn some criticism, even locally. We even have our own veiled opinion, though from a slightly different angle.
We’ve gotten a few responses to our current Magic City Question; as we get ready to change it later on today, we’d welcome anyone else that wants to lend their voices to the conversation.
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Posted in Citywide, politics, Religion
Tagged AL, Alabama, April 25, Birmingham, City of Birmingham, Commentary, criticism, day of prayer, information, Larry Langford, link, mayor, opinion, proclamation