
Retired Jefferson County Judge Carole Smitherman has been named the new dean of Miles Law School. At the same time, her daughter, Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman, leads as one of the state's top fundraisers for a city council seat.

The 2025 municipal races with the most spending are in some of Alabama's Big 10 cities, specifically Hoover, Mobile, and Birmingham.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Birmingham City Council, councilwoman Crystal Smitherman told Mayor Randall Woodfin she was “at a loss of words” in response to recent shootings in the Five Points South neighborhood, one of which she said happened last weekend.

Birmingham City Council approved an agreement with the Jefferson County Board of Health to fund the implementation of a hospital-linked violence intervention program, which is supposed to help reduce acts of retaliation from victims of violent crimes and their loved ones.