Posts by Will Blakely

The Birmingham City Council is divided in its support for a Birmingham Southern College bailout, even as Gov. Kay Ivey, state legislators and a Jefferson County commissioner have already expressed disinterest in forking up money for the private school. 

The Birmingham Police Department ramped up security measures last week for a major sporting event and reported zero tournament-related crimes despite the city's ongoing crime epidemic.

President Joe Biden issued his first-ever veto on Monday to reject a bill that would have reversed a rule instituted by his own administration that allowed money managers to use environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making retirement investments on a client’s behalf. 

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) co-sponsored a bill that might encourage Americans to enter a trade career instead of pursuing careers requiring degrees from four-year universities.

A Women’s Studies class at the University of Alabama (UA) that charged students $95 in the fall for a textbook with links to otherwise freely available material dedicated a large portion of its reading assignments to teach students that gender is subjective and not a matter of biological fact.

The GOP Oversight Committee released subpoenaed financial records that show multiple members of the Biden family received a total of over $1 million potentially tied to a business associate who was doing business with a Chinese energy company.

The Alabama House of Representatives approved a resolution this week to officially recognize St. Patrick’s Day and individuals of Irish heritage in Alabama. 

Auburn University released its second annual United Nations (UN) “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) report for 2019 to 2020, praising its faculty for researching and teaching topics involving critical race theory (CRT), feminist theory and environmental activism. 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 17 other states to oppose President Joe Biden’s efforts to keep environmental, social and governance investing in employee pension plans.

Twenty-three leaders in the conservative movement signed onto a letter in support of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Auburn) push to reverse a Department of Defense (DOD) policy that uses taxpayer dollars to help service members get abortions.

Alabama is one of the only states to charge a sales tax on “essential” foods like milk and eggs, but as food prices soar due to inflation, one state senator has drafted a bill to lift the tax burden.

While speaking to the Business Council of Alabama on Tuesday morning, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) gave his support to expanding economic incentive programs for select businesses in the state.

An Alabama economist weighed in on last week’s Silicon Valley and Signature Bank Collapse, explaining that the central banking system is the “leading problem” of the country’s financial situation and warning that President Joe Biden’s assurance of the banking system’s safety “could backfire.”

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) is officially running for a sixth term and stressing that the term limits pledge he signed in 2014 is to support legislation to limit terms to six years but not necessarily to limit himself.

Only 13 states have promised more taxpayer money for public higher education than Alabama so far for this fiscal year. 

A Birmingham-based company that was once praised by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey received a “high risk” score from an organization that rates companies based on their hostility to particular viewpoints.

Alabama Commission on Higher Education executive director Jim Purcell defended diversity, equity and inclusion programs on Friday, criticizing a GOP-backed resolution to eliminate these programs in public institutions and a bill that would prohibit "divisive concepts" from being endorsed by higher education professionals. 

The U.S. House voted on Friday to require the Biden administration to declassify information pertaining to the connection between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Birmingham Water Works is hiring another public relations firm, but a spokesperson said it wouldn't add to the approximately $200 million budget already approved for fiscal year 2023.

The University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) is in the top 1% of “public, private and international organizations” funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to a press release from the university.

Around 30 train cars derailed early Thursday morning from a Norfolk Southern Railway in Calhoun County, just as the railroad company’s CEO apologized to Congress for the devastating derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which resulted in over a million pounds of toxic chemicals potentially being spilled.

March is Women’s History Month, and the University of Alabama has booked a keynote speaker whose tenure as CEO of an anti-sexual harassment nonprofit ended when she privately consulted with former Democratic N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo amid the sexual harassment accusations levied against him. 

On Tuesday, 1819 News approached Pelham Mayor Gary Waters at a Pelham City Council meeting to ask about the city's plans if Live Nation chooses to move forward with a deal that would result in them managing a new amphitheater in North Birmingham instead of Pelham's Oak Mountain Amphitheatre. 

University of Alabama YAF to welcome Mike Pence in April.

Over 1,000 large corporations received bias ratings from a nonprofit organization seeking to determine how hostile the companies were to particular viewpoints. One Alabama-based corporation was labeled “medium risk.”

If passed this legislative session, a new bill in the Alabama House of Representatives would allow beneficiaries of the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) to earn a salary of as much as $52,000 a year while still receiving retirement benefits.

As the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) hears a challenge to President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers across the United States, some economists say easy-to-obtain student loans from the federal government may be the cause of the problem in the first place.