Birmingham selected for 2023 NABJ Convention
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has selected Birmingham as the site of its National Convention & Career Fair for 2023. That year will mark the 60th anniversary of the groundbreaking civil rights marches in the Magic City and the bombing of the 16th St. Baptist Church. Chicago, Cleveland and Atlanta were selected for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 conventions respectively. – AL.com
New Rampart device, invented in Alabama, offers radiation protection
The cath lab at St. Vincent’s East in Birmingham this month began using a potentially revolutionary device – developed and manufactured in Alabama – to shield doctors and technicians from the harmful effects of repeated radiation exposure. And it could have a host of applications beyond helping vascular surgeons and their teams, which is what it was originally designed to do. – AL.com
Montgomery Council revisiting jail-the-panhandlers law
The Montgomery City Council is revisiting an ordinance that requires panhandlers be jailed for at least two days. The Montgomery Advertiser reports the ordinance unanimously passed in July but has yet to be enforced or signed by Mayor Todd Strange. It also has been amended to criminalize passing money or objects through car windows to someone on a public road, making such acts punishable with fines or jail. The council is set to vote again on the ordinance on Tuesday. Homeless advocate Patrick Aitken says the ordinance would make his job impossible, barring him from distributing water and even his business card from his car. – AP
Dothan’s tax revenue beats expectations by $11.9M
The final numbers are in and officials say the city of Dothan has experienced a 10.7% increase in sales tax revenue growth in the 2019 fiscal year. Overall, the city collected $74.1 million from October 2018 through September 2019- an increase of almost $7.2 million more than the previous fiscal year. The figures beat officials’ budget projections by $11.9 million. – AlabamaNewsNet
Alabama court clears path for lawsuit against AIG, Coventry
An Alabama appellate court has cleared the way for a lawsuit that alleges outrageous and fraudulent conduct by American International Group and Coventry against a worker who was injured in an explosion and sought psychological care. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed a decision by the Jefferson Circuit Court dismissing the suit filed by Orethaniel Swain. It found that the exclusive remedy of the Alabama workers’ compensation law does not necessarily bar his claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud. – Insurance Journal
Trial begins in challenge to Alabama congressional district map
African Americans make up more than a quarter of Alabama’s voting age population. But only one of the state’s seven congressional districts is majority black. A federal judge on Monday will begin a trial in a lawsuit that contends Alabama should have a second majority-black district and that the current map violates a section of the Voting Rights Act by depriving black voters of an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice to the U.S. House of Representatives. – AP
