“Bigger and different!” That’s the motto Adamsville fireworks mogul Debbie Foster lives by. Foster’s company, Pyro Productions, Inc. has been lighting up Southern skies for six years, drawing “oohs,” and “aahs” with displays of explosive colors and ear-splitting detonations. Foster is the daughter of “Crazy Bill” Cairns, whose roadside trailers have been peddling an assortment of skyrockets, bottle rockets, and firecrackers for years. Pyro launches fireworks productions [not to be confused with a "fireworks show," according to Foster] for Barons games, the Steeldogs, the now-departed XFL, and the Alabama State Fair, the venue where she met fiancee Jeff Neu.

It was those majestic evenings together at the Fairgrounds under the exploding sky that led to an engagement ring and what is being billed as “the wedding event of the year.” True to Foster’s concept of extravaganza, Debbie and Jeff will seal their vows August 18, at the Barons annual Skyfest fireworks celebration held at the Hoover Met. The event is also part of Pyro Productions annual exhibition showcase, which gives clients the opportunity to view Foster’s immense firepower. “Of course, I had to have fireworks at my wedding,” laughs Foster in her pixie Southern drawl. “Being the fireworks lady, it was expected. We’re making it a business and friends and family gathering. We’re killing three birds with one stone.”

As a prelude to the public wedding, a private ceremony is scheduled for earlier in the evening in the Michael Jordon Banquet Room at the Met. “Then, as soon as the Barons game is over, the lights will go out like we’re going to start Skyfest. We’ll draw the crowd’s attention to the JumboTron, and there will be a short video where I introduce myself and do a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put on Skyfest. That’ll give us two minutes to set up the field pyrotechnics and roll out the red carpet.”

Spotlights will zero in as Debbie and Jeff walk towards each other on the carpet, reciting their vows [which will be pre-recorded]. “The very instant our lips touch, the fireworks will start!” Foster gushes, unable to conceal her delight. Skyfest 2001 will then begin. The wedding spectacle will be captured on film for a documentary the couple plans to pitch to the Discovery, History and Lifetime channels.

There was no City Council meeting.May 29, 2001

The reconfiguration of Birmingham’s nine City Council districts rules the morning agenda. “Don’t move lines unnecessarily,” is Councilor Jimmy Blake’s rallying cry as he draws his own lines in the sand and pushes for two overwhelmingly white majority districts and seven majority black districts. Blake opposes maintaining three white council districts, as his District Three is actually the only overall majority white district (the other two districts are majority white only in the number of voting age residents living there, with overall white populations of approximately 49 percent in each district). Blake and his constituents warn that a lawsuit will be filed.Shifting racial tides

The Citizens Commission on Redistricting, formed to educate the public and to accept input about the current redistricting process, files its report on the redrawing of district lines. The commission has no power to make decisions and has abstained from making formal recommendations about the redistricting plan. But a majority of the commission agrees that maintaining six majority black seats and three majority white seats (the present black-to-white ratio on the council) is a
“logical and amicable redistricting approach that ensures no rich aggression has occurred in terms of the level of minority representation on the city council,” according to Gloria Gilmore, Powderly neighborhood president and secretary of the redistricting commission. She notes that a portion of each commission meeting was set aside for citizen input.The Citizens Commission is made of representatives appointed by each councilor. Jerry Wilson of Reapportionment Group 2000, L.L.C. served as facilitator of the commission’s May 3 meeting at the Aldrich Gunn Cultural Arts Center when the three redistricting proposals were presented. The city council eventually whittled the list down to one, known as the 2B plan. Council members had a couple of months to offer opinions in the redistricting process. Noting that “an extended public hearing” was held during the May 3 meeting, a Citizen Commission member reports this morning that “the three proposed plans were reviewed in painstalking [sic] detail.”

The current population of Birmingham is 242,820, with an ideal council district population of 26,980. The districts of Councilors Blake, Johnson, and MacDermott are too large (10,000 must be moved from these three majority white districts), while districts of Councilors Bell and Gunn are significantly too small. The districts of Councilors Bandy, Little, and Alexander will require little change. In the past decade, slightly more than 37,000 whites have left Birmingham, while the number of black residents has increased by just over 10,000. Under Plan 2B before the Council this morning, whites will be transferred out of Blake’s and MacDermott’s districts, while Johnson and Bell would have white residents added to their districts. Blacks would be removed from Bell’s, MacDermott’s, and Johnson’s districts, with black resident additions to the districts of Gunn and Blake.

Cris Correia, a voting-rights lawyer representing Reapportionment Group 2000 in Birmingham’s redistricting, fields questions and explains district changes. Supreme Court rulings previously determined that differences among districts for a city council level of government must not deviate beyond 10 percent. Reapportionment Group 2000 recommends that the deviation be kept below five percent “because the Census was just released,” according to Correia. She says the Voting Rights Act must be complied with, noting the short time frame involved considering that Council elections are only a little over four months away. The Justice Department has 60 days to approve or reject the plan.

Voting blind

Under Section Five of the Voting Rights Act, redistricting “cannot have changes that will leave the racial minority in the jurisdiction worse off than it was before,” explains Correia. She says that the plan is “very much a compromise plan. Nobody [councilors] got everything they wanted out of it.” Correia confirms that council input was taken into consideration. Redistricting proceedings turn comical when it’s discovered that some information regarding District Nine is missing from the maps Correia has given to Mayor Kincaid and the council. (For the record, Reapportionment Group 2000 was paid approximately $250,000, reduced from the $500,000 fee requested. Councilor Blake had earlier offered to do the job for $1,000.) Correia apologizes for the printing error, noting that Districts Six through Nine do not change significantly. She then reads District Nine’s new configuration numbers to assuage fears over the missing district. Correia also keeps referring to councilors as “commissioners.” [At this point, the map before the Council repeatedly falls off the easel on which it is precariously perched, and Correia begins to show signs of nervousness.] Adding to the disorder of the presentation, Correia discovers that she doesn’t have actual figures when Councilor Lee Wendell Loder asks about changes to District Eight. Correia insists, nonetheless, that the alterations to Loder’s district are insignificant. When the councilor asks if the missing information pertaining to the number of residents to be removed from his district could be obtained before the end of the council meeting, Correia says no. But she does promise to e-mail the numbers when she returns to Atlanta that evening. Loder goes ahead and votes with the council majority to approve the new district alignment even though he doesn’t have the actual population changes in his district before him.

Have constituents, will travel

Addressing a boundary shift involving his District Four, Councilor Gunn notes, “That’s a tremendous move. I have no objection to it, ’cause I’m gonna represent the people wherever I go. But I want you to know that I want to have the right information which I’m votin’ on here, and I do not have it.” Sounding like the track announcer at Churchill Downs, Gunn suddenly reels off a list of street names as he recites the new boundaries of his district. “I’ll work with whatever card hand is dealt me,” promises Gunn. Commenting on how boundaries of one district affect another, the elder councilor says, “If you took a cup of water, and had it standin’ still, and you took a pea and dropped in it, the ripple effect would affect every district.” He reiterates his complaint about having to vote on the incomplete map set before him, but like Loder, Gunn votes with the majority approving the redistricting plan anyway.

Plan nine from outer space

Councilor Blake, who’s not running for reelection, has three additional redistricting plans he wants the council to consider. The councilor notes that all of the neighborhood presidents in his district oppose Plan 2A. The proposal being voted on by the council today is actually Plan 2B, but Blake explains that Plan 2A is almost the same as the 2B plan. Plan 2A differs from Plan 2B only by a few discrepancies between MacDermott’s and Johnson’s districts, notes Blake, which he says has been discussed by the two councilors. Blake complains that current redistricting proposals dilute white voting strength. The councilor notes that though many councilors are to be commended for wanting to avoid racial issues, racial concerns are a reality. “Unfortunately, redistricting under the Voting Rights Act is very much about racial issues. And I’m going to talk about racial issues this morning. I don’t know any way to handle it but straight up and straight forward, because it is essential to what we’re talking about.” Blake begins in cryptic fashion: “The first one [plan] is what I call Wilson Plan 2A Mod 2. I guess the B plan would be Mod 1.” Blake points to the Plan 2B map presented by Cris Correia, but explains again that his comparisons are actually to Plan 2A. Councilor Loder asks for clarification of Blake’s Plan 2A references. Blake explains that he did not get the 2B Plan until late, so his presentation to neighborhood leaders in his district was actually the 2A plan.

Blake further addresses white voting power: “The plan [presumably 2B] does not meet the objectives of not diluting the minority–let me call it what it is–the white voting strength.” Blake asks why overwhelmingly black areas are being put into majority white District Three. “That’s not rational, based on our criteria here,” says Blake. “We decimated Glen Iris Park with this plan. We took in, essentially, black voters, and gave up white voters to dilute out District Three. That’s not rational.” He points out that if a voting age majority is substantial reason for white majority designation, that will soon change as constituents reach voting age. According to Blake, the Reapportionment Group 2000 Plan 2A calls for 33,245 people to be moved to other districts, while his plan would require only 20,000 people put in new districts. Blake further warns that Plan 2B will not meet criteria defined by the Voting Rights Act. Addressing the reality of white flight, Blake deadpans “Let’s talk turkey for a minute,” as he notes that “white folks are moving out of Birmingham.” The councilor is concerned that the topic is “too sensitive” for some to discuss, but says this will not stop him from engaging in debate over white voting rights.

Pointing out there are not enough whites to actually have three majority white districts, Blake notes, “What we do to protect voting rights of white folks–and that’s what we’re talking about, and I’m not going to be squeamish about it–is that we change our approach and try to go to two majority districts that are substantially majority white. And there are enough white folks in Birmingham to do that.” District Two would no longer be a majority white district under Blake’s plan. “In terms of protecting and allowing white people to feel like they do have some word in the future of Birmingham, this is the proper way to do it.” Blake adds that he thinks his plan also improves Bell’s and Gunn’s districts.

Councilor Blake also has another plan that would pit MacDermott and Johnson against one another in the same overwhelmingly majority white district. Blake also speaks of “Plan Four,” though it is not immediately clear to which plan he is referring. He stresses that two predominantly white districts are vital to the future of Birmingham. Gunn replies that Blake’s original redistricting plan “ran me on a dog trail all the way up to Jeff State and across to [Highway] 79.” Gunn says that instead of trusting Blake’s plan, he’d prefer to be “pulled out of the ditch with a rope around my neck.”

Reapportionment Group 2000 representative Cris Correia argues with Blake that reduction to two majority white districts would violate the Voting Rights Act and its protection of minorities. Correia explains that since it’s possible to draw three white districts based on voting age population, the Justice Department will have no problem with that criteria. She also notes that registration rates of white voters are higher than black registration rates, which also plays into Justice Department criteria for determining majority districts. Blake disagrees, explaining that “traditionally, the Voting Rights Act has determined that black districts are considered majority when they are 65 percent or more black.” Blake says Correia is
“playing games” by using voting age and “what you don’t know about registration” as criteria for minority district determination.

Neighborhoods divided

Studying a laptop computer screen, Council President Bell proposes an amendment to Plan 2B that address concerns of Five Points South Neighborhood president Mike Higginbotham. Residents are perturbed about drastic changes in their district. Bell says that Blake told the “demographers” that he [Blake] “would not stand for any white neighborhood to be represented by any black council member.” Blake responds, “That’s insane!” Bell immediately smiles and replies, “That is insane, Dr. Blake, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell people about you for some time now.” As Bell continues to study the computer screen in front of him, he tells Blake, who is peering over Bell’s shoulder at the screen, “You know, Dr. Blake, I could concentrate if you weren’t breathing on me.” Blake replies, “It’s ironic that the only two people who are going to understand the district are you and Mike Higginbotham, because nobody else has seen it.” Bell says that he thought he was doing a favor for the neighborhood based on Blake’s request. Blake responds that he favors delaying the process until all have had the opportunity to view the final redistricting plan. Mike Higginbotham addresses the Council to clarify his role in the neighborhood protests. “Councilman Blake did talk with the neighborhood presidents, and expressed to us that he thought that we should express our concerns about the plan.” Higginbotham says that he has made an effort to stay out of the redistricting process, instead letting his neighborhood association decide what to do. The neighborhood’s protest centers around inclusion of voters from Bell’s district, because traditional voters in the district were being removed in favor of new voters.

Councilor Johnson finally interrupts the morning debates to urge that a vote be taken on the 2B redistricting plan. Johnson notes that there has been “plenty of opportunity for input.” As Blake begins to argue with him on that point, Johnson responds that he has the floor and immediately asks, “Mr. President [Bell], can you get Dr. Blake under control?” &

In honor of Women’s History Month, Councilor Aldrich Gunn salutes outstanding women from District Four. Mayor Kincaid and Council President Bell hand out roses to those honored, each taking a turn praising the importance of women, especially mothers. “We in Birmingham know from whence we’ve come,” acknowledges Kincaid. “And we know that those hands that used to pick cotton now pick presidents and mayors and city council people.” With a straight face, Bell takes his turn: “When it comes down to raising a young male, it takes a man to make a man out of a boy. But it takes a woman to make a gentleman out of a boy. And were it not for women, we would not have any history, because Adam would not have known what to do!” Those being honored laugh as Bell continues to pour on the charm. “When us men found out that we could go into a cave, it was a woman [who] said, ‘Nah, you got to put some paintings on the wall, you got to fix it up!’ And for that, women truly have been the motivator for civilization to move forward.”Domed stadium talk dominates the first half of the Council meeting. Councilor Lee Wendell Loder wants to know the source of funds before he’ll commit to a resolution that endorses State Representative John Rogers’ tax plan to fund part of the construction for the all-purpose facility. Noting that Birmingham made financial contributions to Mercedes and Honda though their plants were located in other cities, Loder urges financial support from surrounding cities and counties, who will also benefit due to the “regional attraction” nature of the domed facility and its ostensible positive economic impact. He also wants to “tie all the exhibition space we have in the city, including the Fairgrounds, to the multi-purpose facility, and have some funding to renovate the Fairgrounds and make it what it really should be.” [The Fairgrounds are located in Loder's council district.] Loder also expresses support for the “light rail system” that is scheduled to be discussed later in this morning’s meeting. He notes that the rail system would “be a supplement to the exhibition facility, to Rickwood [Field], to the Fairgrounds,” which would pour money into the western area of town. Loder fails to explain why the rail transit would make a stop at Rickwood Field, but does toss in Visionland as another reason to justify bringing such a transit system to Birmingham. Councilor Gunn endorses Loder’s light rail notions, adding that the airport, whose expansion plans he has angrily questioned, would also be included on the transit route. Councilor Blake reminds Loder that Birmingham citizens voted down a tax-funded domed stadium two years ago. Calling Birmingham the “highest-priced city government in the state of Alabama,” Blake warns that the proposed funding of the domed stadium will “compound the sins of city government in requiring the taxpayers of Birmingham to pay for amenities for the entire community. And it’ll do nothing to stimulate economic growth in the city of Birmingham.”

Although he supports expansion of the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center complex, Councilor Don MacDermott objects to what he terms a “pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey” approach to expansion, which he defines as “[spending] a little money here, a little money there, building here, building there, and we’ll have a great facility.” He notes that Birmingham is not a “destination city,” such as Chicago, New Orleans, Orlando, and other cities to which Birmingham aspires. Council President Bell responds that the multi-use facility issue before the Council does not include any financial support. Rather, it will simply “clear up that ambiguity as to whether or not we [the Council] have the authority to move forward and even discuss [the dome issue], look at the options, [and] see where the revenues are to fund such an event or activity.” To this Councilor Blake replies, “If I lived in ‘Never Never Land,’ and I could get a domed stadium in Birmingham without the trade-offs and costs, I’d be for it.” Councilor Little notes the “golden opportunities” Birmingham has missed, citing “the airport [and] MAPS” as examples. Little bemoans the “national events” bypassing Birmingham because “we don’t have the facilities nor do we have the rooms and board to put people up.” She explains that the influx of new business and revitalization of existing businesses will result. “Who knows? We surely would probably attract some ‘big team’ to the city of Birmingham.” She urges the Council to send a message of support for a multi-purpose facility to the state legislature. While he supports the “concept” of a multi-purpose facility, Councilor Loder emphasizes, “I don’t buy half-built cars, and I’m not going to take a position on the issue until we get a final product before us. A lot of times we can’t negotiate because we show our hands on issues too early.” The Council votes in favor of the resolution, with Blake and MacDermott casting “no” votes. Loder and Johnson abstain. In closing, Bell adds that he has discussed forming a committee to study the funding of a domed stadium with the Mayor. City Finance Director Mac Underwood and Council Administrator Jarvis Patton are chosen to head up the committee.

Mayor Kincaid requests that Larry Reddick’s mother be allowed to address the Council before he has to leave the council chambers early this morning. Reddick was shot and killed by Birmingham police officer George Montgomery in November 2000 after a scuffle in which Reddick allegedly struck Montgomery with the officer’s baton. Leslie Weaver, Reddick’s mother, remains puzzled as to why her son was shot four times, including a bullet that she believes was fired into his back. An internal investigation concluded that Reddick was not shot in the back. Weaver says she kept her part of the bargain over the past several months by withholding comments while the investigation was going on, but refuses to be quiet any longer, demanding “justice.” She condemns the police department for allowing Montgomery to remain on patrol in the area where the incident occurred. She accuses Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber, who concluded that Officer Montgomery was in the right, of insensitivity. “David Barber tells me I look at TV too much. I don’t look at TV! I look at what he [Barber] gave me on that report. Y’all disrespected me. And you have to live before God, because God said, ‘Vengeance is Mine!’” Weaver says that she expects to be informed of the truth if indeed her son was in the wrong. But if Officer Montgomery is to blame, she wants him punished.

Councilor Little agrees with Weaver that Montgomery should not be patrolling the community where the incident occurred. Little also remains steadfast in her support for a police review board, currently being addressed in the state legislature. She also admits that she believes that “some police officers get on police forces to be bullies, and to bully people!” Councilor Loder also expresses support for the police review board, noting that he personally has not taken a stand on who was to blame in the shooting. Councilor Gunn praises Weaver for addressing the Council, endorsing the police review board, too. “Now that don’t mean the whole police force is wrong,” notes Gunn. “If you got a rat in the barn, you don’t burn the barn down. You get the rat out. And there’s some rats, and you need to get ‘em!”

Councilor Blake also extends sympathy to Weaver, but quickly adds, “We charge about a thousand men and women with the responsibility of upholding the law in the city of Birmingham. We give them a badge, and we give them a gun.” Blake notes that the Mayor, Council, and police chief all “establish policies as to how [police] are to do their duty.” He also adds that police officers put their lives on the line every day. If an officer acts outside the law, he will face the proper consequences, says Blake. But he further notes that there is “no better test of our integrity than whether or not we support their actions” when police act responsibly. Blake explains, “When [police] act according to law and work according to policy, I believe that the Mayor has a moral responsibility. I believe that each member of this Council has a moral responsibility to make a judgement, and everybody has ducked judgement on this one but me, unfortunately, when it comes to public comments.” Councilors Little and Gunn vehemently protest when Blake tells Weaver that her son was to blame in the incident. Blake shakes his head and yells back that the Council is acting “irresponsibly.” He protests Gunn’s labeling of Montgomery as a “rat,” shouting,
“We’ve got a man who followed the law, who did his job and put his life at risk, and you moral cowards won’t back him up because it’s an issue of race! And I am tired of it! Why don’t we just have a policy that white officers can’t go into black districts!”

April 3, 2001

Councilor Little requests that a memorandum from Council President Bell to all councilors regarding “budgetary shortfall” be read into the minutes this morning. In the memo, Bell blames the city’s loss of $20 million in revenues from the Birmingham Water Works Board on Mayor Kincaid for his “failure to execute his duties as administrator, and the ongoing litigation involving the Water Works Board.” Kincaid announces he’ll respond to Bell’s memo next week. The Mayor explains that “the situation in which we find ourselves is a result of a confluence of activities. Neither of us put ourselves in it. [But] we could point fingers.” The Mayor explains in what direction some of the fingers point: “Had the Law Department and the Finance Department been contacted once the judge made his ruling, and we had gone through the proper process, the $20 million would have been transferred before the documents were signed.”Councilor Sandra Little’s main concern is the Roosevelt City fire station budgeted for her district. Kincaid notes his intent to work with the Council, but issues a warning: “Everything has to be on the table. We can not cherry-pick those items that are politically expedient,” pointing out that the Council has almost $600,000 in its consulting budget, a potential area to make up for the financial shortfall. “Probably neither one of us is going to like the final product totally, but at least it will be a joint effort. I think the citizens of Birmingham deserve nothing less,” the Mayor tells Councilor Little. Promptly condemning Kincaid for going on vacation last week while the city was facing news of budget deficits, Little reads from a list, compiled by the Finance Department, of possible budget cuts, including summer youth jobs, the Solid Waste Authority, and the Central Alabama African-American Chamber of Commerce. “And surely the Roosevelt City fire station is on here,” Little notes as she quickly scans the list.

Councilor Jimmy Blake explains that the councilors who “voted to give away the golden goose, the Water Works, got caught with their pants down” for budgeting the unreceived millions once expected from Water Works Board revenue. Blake concedes that
“at one level, the Mayor could have probably been more effective in terms of grabbing that money before it was stolen, given away, however you want to describe it.” The resulting deficit “implies that we are in proration in the city of Birmingham,” notes Blake. “Giving away the Water Works of the city of Birmingham costs the taxpayers of this city $27 million minimum each year, starting at a deficit of $16 million this fiscal year,” argues Blake, who urges the public to elect councilors who will “appoint people to the Water Works Board who will commit to giving us back that most valuable asset.” Blake stresses that such a council pledge must be an “absolute in-blood commitment” that includes the “firing of Charlie Waldrep [attorney representing Water Works Board interests] and all the other people who are pulling strings of the puppets down here on this Council!”

Following unanimous approval by the Council of his resolution for a substantial pay raise for Birmingham policemen and fire fighters, Councilor Blake introduces a resolution proposing phasing out the city’s occupational tax over a 10-year period. Blake calls the tax the “greatest economic stimulus for growth in the rest of Jefferson County that doesn’t have the occupational tax.” Mayor Kincaid addresses Blake’s proposal first, spurring a round of knee-slapping comments. “This borders on being schizophrenic,” says Kincaid as Councilor Gunn giggles uncontrollably. “Just a second ago we had an issue before us where we were talking about increasing the pay of fire and police,” says the Mayor, noting that the pay increase would be “quite a hit on the city’s budget.” Kincaid explains that the occupational tax represents 20 percent of the city’s general fund budget. He notes that “tens of thousands of people converge on the city of Birmingham,” expecting and receiving police and fire protection and “relatively smooth streets” to drive on. “You can’t assault the general fund budget with pay raises on one hand, and on the other hand, start sending out 20 percent of it,” concludes Kincaid.

Requesting that television cameras in the council chambers focus on him, Council President Bell offers the Mayor a wink and big “thumbs up” in agreement. Councilor Little also endorses the Mayor’s comments, laughing, “I think the councilor [Blake] is not schizophrenic. He’s gone crazy now. Just plain ole crazy. And I think he probably pulled his own pants down on this one!” Councilors collapse in fits of laughter. “I don’t know if he’s trying to kill the city of Birmingham or build the city of Birmingham,” says Little as she tries to suppress her own giggles.

Councilor Blake, who also has a resolution on today’s agenda calling for phasing out sales tax on food and groceries over a six-year period, says that he put the proposals regarding the occupational tax, food tax, and pay raises on the agenda to prove a point: “If you give away the Water Works Board, if you give $10 million a year to an ‘upside down fruit bowl [domed stadium],’ and if you give millions to Mercedes, to Honda, you can’t run city government.” Blake pulls his resolution regarding phasing out food and grocery taxes from the agenda.

Councilor Gunn gets the last word on political game playing, noting that Blake is “not the only one who wants to kill this city.” Frowning on the sale of Quinlan Castle this morning for $450,000, Gunn admits that he agreed with the sale only because he had promised to go along with the sale earlier. “That’s a very historical place over there [Quinlan Castle]. And if somebody could get $4.3 million for a hut [presumably a swipe at Blake for the high price he got for selling his mansion in the past year], and we can’t get a million dollars for a castle in Birmingham? And that’s no lie. That’s a castle up there,” scolds Gunn. “It’s not whose head you scratch, but where you itch.” &