Birmingham police are investigating a fight that broke out during a City Council meeting. A-P-R’s Stan Ingold reports the incident left the mayor and a councilman pointing fingers at each other
“So the investigation is ongoing, we still have a lot of work to do because the report has not been completed at this time,”
This is how the day began for Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper…
“the mayor was injured, he is going to a local hospital”
Witnesses say a fight broke out between Mayor William Bell and Councilman Marcus Lundy. Both men were taken to a hospital following the fight, which occurred outside the council chamber during a meeting.
It's not clear who started the incident. Council President Johnathan Austin told a news conference that the mayor assaulted the councilman and Lundy will be filing charges against Mayor Bell. But a spokeswoman for the mayor says an arrest warrant will also be taken out on Lundy.
A police report has since been filed with Bell’s side of the story. Lundy declined at comment when officers responded to city hall.
The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education has found its new superintendent.
Deputy Superintendent Walter Davie takes over the position after Doctor Elizabeth Swinford stepped down last August. Davie has been serving as the interim superintendent since Swinford resigned.
Davie has been with the Tuscaloosa County school system since the 1990s, serving as a teacher at several different schools in the area.
Davie will make $130,000 a year.
Health care consumers in Alabama have another deadline associated with the Affordable Care Act.
Uninsured residents and their families have until the end of the day today to sign up for coverage through the federal insurance marketplace. Today’s deadline is for people who want their coverage to go into effect on January first.
Rosemary Blackmon is with the Alabama Hospital Association. She says there are a number of ways people can get help signing up…
“If you call 2-1-1 from anywhere in the state, they can actually schedule an appointment with someone to assist people in filling out the application. So, we’ve really tried to make it as easy as possible.”
Blackmun says Alabama has benefited through the Affordable Care Act. Almost one hundred and seventy thousand Alabama health care consumers signed up during the first two enrollment periods.