Jonathan Hardison

) - The Birmingham Water Works board voted Wednesday morning to approve a 4.9% rate increase for 2025 as part of its new $142 million operating budget. The utility will spend $10 million to begin buying the new meters needed to shift to automated meter reading as part of its $115 million capital budget.

) - The Alabama Cannabis Commission has spent $7.396 million of your tax dollars since Fiscal Year 2022, with $1.05 million of that going towards legal expenses, according to a WBRC 6 News On Your Side Investigates analysis of the state's expenditures.

) - A new state audit finds Greene County could be risking its credit rating and future federal funding because of several different ways the county didn't follow state laws in keeping its financial records.

A federal judge ruled that the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr. against former Pickens County Sheriff Todd Hall and some former deputies can move forward, though the judge did dismiss one former deputy and several charges from the case completely.

) - Another employee at the Walker County Jail at the time of Tony Mitchell's death while in custody has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge. According to a plea agreement filed in federal court Thursday Courtlan Brent Jones is agreeing to plead guilty to a charge of deprivation of rights under color of law, making him the 9th current or former Walker Co. Jail employee to agree to plead guilty in

A newly amended civil federal lawsuit claims Walker County Jail Administrator Justin White and several other officers watched and failed to intervene as another correctional officer assaulted a handcuffed and injured inmate.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission voted Thursday to give license holders in four categories a 25% break on their license fees for renewing their licenses in 2025.

) - A newly amended civil federal lawsuit claims Walker County Jail staff watched and failed to intervene as another correctional officer assaulted a handcuffed and injured inmate.

) - A scathing state audit of some of the City of Homewood's financial policies and credit card activity in the last few years faults the city council and city managers for ineffective internal control policies and oversight, saying those helped create the opportunity for the city's then finance director to embezzle almost $950,000.

Published Jan. 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM GMT+1 | Updated moments ago