Mayors from Alabama and across the country are wrapping up a big conference today in San Francisco. APR’s Alex AuBuchon has more about the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The 83rd annual Conference of Mayors is wrapping up today. It’s an opportunity for mayors to collaborate and share ideas for dealing with issues in their cities. They also develop policies that are voted on and eventually submitted to the U.S. Congress.
Birmingham mayor William A. Bell was among the delegates. He says he’s been working on some policies that will encourage growth in city centers – and improve the conditions there.
“For example, in Birmingham we have a program called RISE in which we look at how we can restore the wealth within our property structure within the city, and improve the quality of live within those communities to start attracting people back to the city center.”
Bell says another big push at this year’s conference is to try and secure U.S. Congressional spending for infrastructure such as road and bridge upgrades – something Birmingham and Alabama in general sorely need.
Organized criminals are exploiting Alabama’s low cigarette tax and engaging in black market tobacco trafficking nationwide.
That’s the view of Richard Marianos. He’s a former assistant director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and firearms.
Marianos is proposing tougher law and sentencing guidelines to keep criminals from buying cheap cigarettes in Alabama as part of a multi-million dollar tax fraud scheme.
“Criminals are coming to Alabama and using it to buy rather than sell. Alabama, Georgia, places like that, find more criminals coming there because of the low tax rate. And then they can sell it in the higher states and make a fortune.”
Marianos says cigarettes bought in Alabama end up in New York, Pennsylvania, and other areas with a high cigarette tax. He advocates for stricter laws and sentencing guidelines to put a stop to the black market trade.
The Title of “World’s Oldest Woman” belongs to someone born and raised in Alabama.
The Gerontology Research Group, which researches and confirms living "Supercentarians", says Lowndes County native Susannah Mushatt Jones has earned the recognition.
Jones, who is 115-years-old, was born in 1899. In a recent interview with TIME Magazine, Jones left Alabama in the 1920s for New York City, a place she still resides in.
Jones replaces Georgia native Jeralean Talley as the world’s oldest woman, who died last week at 116-years-old.