🌱 Call For Mayor To Expand Medicaid + Man Charged With Shooting Child

Hello all. I'm back with your new copy of the Birmingham Daily, fresh off the presses. Let's get this Saturday started off right, with a quick dive into everything you need to know about what's happening in town...

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First, today's weather:

Cloudy, a thunderstorm; humid. High: 81 Low: 70.

Here are the top three stories today in Birmingham:

1. Ronald Porter Jr. of Fultondale has been charged with attempted murder of a 4-year-old girl shot in Birmingham. Porter was brought into the Birmingham City Jail around 1:00 p.m. on Thursday on a felony hold and bonds totaling $1 million. The victim, Serenity Spearman, underwent surgery Thursday at Children’s of Alabama Hospital, and her family announced she was alert and speaking as of Wednesday night. (AL.com)
2. A man injured in an Aug. 6 accident has died one month later. 78-year-old Henry Sykes drove a Ford Ranger into a sidewalk awning support beam on the Palisades Shopping Center due to a medical event. The Birmingham Police Department is investigating the cause and circumstances surrounding the wreck. (WBRC)
3. Alabama organizations gather in Birmingham to plead with Governor Ivey and lawmakers to expand Medicaid. Alabama is one of 12 states that has not expanded Medicaid and these organizations don't understand why the governor won’t work to expand the coverage: “We have over 200,000 people who are working, but not making enough money to pay for insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, but they’re not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid," said John Zippert, chair of the board of the Greene County Health System. (WBRC)

Today in Birmingham:

• Fall Plant Sale At Birmingham Botanical Gardens (8:00 AM)
• Print Making Class for Kids At Homewood Public Library (2:00 PM)
• Adult Coffee & Crafts: Resin Crafts At Homewood Public Library (2:00 PM)
• 2022 Annual Moon Viewing Festival At Birmingham Museum of Art (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• According to the US National Weather Service of Birmingham Alabama, moisture will increase significantly today. There is potential for widespread showers and a few embedded thunderstorms as well. (US National Weather Service Birmingham Alabama via Facebook)
• A total of 383 University of Alabama students enrolled during the summer 2022 term were named to the Dean’s List or President’s List. The GPA requirement for the Dean’s List is 3.5 while the President’s List is 4.0. (The University of Alabama via Facebook)
• The Birmingham Museum of Art is sharing a Wedgwood blue jasper medallion with a white relief profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Adorned with a white laurel leaf border, it was made to commemorate her coronation in 1953. (Birmingham Museum of Art via Facebook)

That's it for today! See you all Monday for another update.

— Miranda Fraraccio

About me: Miranda Fraraccio is a born and raised Rhode Islander, now living in New York. She works as a staff writer for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island, where she earned a degree in Writing & Rhetoric and Communication Studies. In her free time, you can find her traveling, drinking tea, or photographing her neighborhood as a street photographer.