Kyle Whitmire: Jefferson County Spending

| January 8, 2014 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2014/01/kylewhitmire-752.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:300;s:4:"file";s:28:"2014/01/kylewhitmire-752.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:5:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"kylewhitmire-752-336x168.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:168;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"kylewhitmire-752-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:26:"kylewhitmire-752-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"kylewhitmire-752-470x235.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:235;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"kylewhitmire-752-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:131697;s:14:"optimized_size";i:83119;s:7:"percent";d:36.890000000000001;}s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:56:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:32584;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19087;s:7:"percent";d:41.420000000000002;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752-140x140.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:6224;s:14:"optimized_size";i:4658;s:7:"percent";d:25.16;}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752-336x168.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:14630;s:14:"optimized_size";i:9824;s:7:"percent";d:32.850000000000001;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752-600x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:31463;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19174;s:7:"percent";d:39.060000000000002;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:17436;s:14:"optimized_size";i:11114;s:7:"percent";d:36.259999999999998;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752-470x235.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:23851;s:14:"optimized_size";i:15121;s:7:"percent";d:36.600000000000001;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:64:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/01/kylewhitmire-752-125x125.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:5509;s:14:"optimized_size";i:4141;s:7:"percent";d:24.829999999999998;}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1619459397 
1389139200

Jefferson County spent millions of dollars in legal costs during Chapter 9 bankruptcy including more than $300,000 in fees for public relations. Some commissioners said they didn’t learn about the spending until this week. Plus, the future of Birmingham based law firm Haskell, Slaughter & Young remains uncertain. Kyle Whitmire from AL.com and the Birmingham News discusses these issues and more.

54% of support comes from members

 

Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion

Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.

Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says

The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.

Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?

Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care

Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing

Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.

Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis

Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.

The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer

The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.

More Government Coverage