Yeah, well, you know how those racist rednecks are down there, right?
"Hispanic children bullied in law’s wake" October 23, 2011|By Jay Reeves, Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Spanish-speaking parents say their children are facing more bullying and taunts at school since Alabama’s tough crackdown on illegal immigration took effect last month. Many blame the name-calling on fallout from the law, which has been widely covered in the news, discussed in some classrooms, and debated around dinner tables.
Related: Alabama and Immigration
Justice Department officials are monitoring for bullying incidents....
Supporters of the law also contend that the measure will create jobs for legal residents by opening up positions that had been held by people living in the country illegally. However, Americans so far have shown little interest in the backbreaking, low-paying jobs at farms and poultry factories that were usually held by illegal immigrants.
Opponents say the law is creating a climate of fear and mistrust in the state that’s unsettling for immigrants, both legal and illegal. Immigrants tell of dirty looks in grocery stores, and online forums are full of angry, anonymous comments....
As opposed to anonymous comments in the war-promoting paper.
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"Alabama, US at odds on school data" November 03, 2011|Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama’s attorney general questioned the US Justice Department’s legal authority to get enrollment data about all students in many Alabama school districts as part of its federal lawsuit challenging the state’s tough new immigration law.
Attorney General Luther Strange sent a letter to the Justice Department yesterday asking to be told by tomorrow what legal authority the department had for the information.
“Otherwise, I will assume you have none, and will proceed accordingly,’’ the Republican attorney general wrote.
Alabama’s interim school superintendent, Larry Craven, advised school superintendents to hold off on providing any information to the Justice Department until the department and the attorney general resolve their differences.
The Justice Department sent letters to 39 school superintendents, seeking lists that include the race and national origin of students, as well as whether English is their primary language. The department also wants the names of students who have withdrawn from school and the dates they left.
The Obama administration is concerned that a law enacted by Alabama’s legislature this year may discourage students from going to school. The agency wants the information to determine whether further action is warranted....
They investigate this but not the looting and fraud committed by Wall Street.
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Speaking of the devils:
"Much is uncertain as biggest civic bankruptcy in US history unfolds" November 11, 2011|By Jim Van Anglen and Phillip Rawls, Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The biggest civic bankruptcy in US history could leave residents of Alabama’s most populous county paying astronomical rates for public services performed by a skeleton crew of county workers. Or it could simply mean tightening the belt another few notches, depending on how much of Jefferson County’s $4.15 billion debt will have to be paid.
It is even possible that, just as companies have benefited from bankruptcy, that the county surrounding Birmingham will emerge stronger for it.
For now, much is uncertain following Jefferson County’s Chapter 9 filing on Wednesday. The full impact on its 658,000 residents will not be clear until after a judge approves the move at a hearing next month and officials negotiate a plan with creditors for adjusting its debts. The outlook among some officials was grim a day after the filing, while others defended the move.
The receiver appointed to run the sewer system’s finances said he expects residents to see significantly higher sewer rates, while the lone county commissioner to vote against the bankruptcy filing predicted that damage to the county’s image could drive businesses and residents away, lowering its tax base. In the short term, the filing will mean legal fees further sapping the coffers of a government in the process of cutting hundreds of jobs and curtailing services.
Municipal bankruptcy filings elsewhere have also led to higher taxes, pension reductions for public workers, and spending cuts on schools, roads, and other infrastructure.
“We are in uncharted territory. Nobody has ever done anything like this on this level,’’ said George Bowman, a county commissioner who opposed his four fellow commissioners in the vote.
Commission President David Carrington said yesterday that unrelated fiscal problems necessitated cuts in services and jobs, and the bankruptcy filing will prevent those from being as deep. He did not provide specifics.
Because of previous layoffs and office closings, residents wait in lines for hours for services such as renewing their car tags. Bowman said the county has cut 500 jobs through layoffs and attrition in the last six months and was likely to lose 1,000 regardless of the bankruptcy.
Some were already beginning to worry about how the bankruptcy could affect their wallets. Lifelong Birmingham resident Charlie Bell said his monthly sewer bill recently went up to $27 and fears what will be next.
“I’ve never quite seen it this bad, as long as I’ve been alive,’’ the 56-year-old said of the county’s fiscal woes.
The predicament is the culmination of years of problems. The county’s debt ballooned after a federally mandated sewer project was beset with corruption, adverse court rulings, and rising interest rates as global markets struggled.
Related:
Wall Street Craps on Alabama County
Literally.
The county had been working since 2008 to avoid the cost and embarrassment of the bankruptcy filing. There appeared to be a breakthrough two months ago when the county and its creditors gave preliminary approval to a settlement....
Also see: Slow Saturday Special: The Massachusetts-Alabama Connection
Turns out all states basically serve the same master.
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