🌱 Parking Tickets Pardoned + Four House Blaze + Apt. Shooting

Good morning, Birmingham! It's Wednesday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on today in Birmingham.

First, today's weather:

Breezy in the morning. High: 67 Low: 43.

Here are the top three stories today in Birmingham:

1. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is using his executive authority to pardon all parking and traffic tickets prior to 2011. As a part of the city's new initiative called Stop and Go, pardons will be provided for 756,531 outstanding traffic and parking violations in Birmingham Municipal Court for the years prior to Jan. 1, 2011. According to Woodfin, many beneficiaries of this initiative include individuals who are homeless, cannot read their parking or traffic tickets because of illiteracy, and who have been incarcerated. (AL.com)
2. Four homes are a total loss after a blaze broke out in Birmingham. According to authorities, the initial fire broke out in one home in the 400 block of 14th Court North, then quickly spread to three others due to the wind. There were no reported injuries and police are investigating the cause of the fire. (WVTM13 Birmingham)
3. A man was killed and a woman was injured by police gunfire at an apartment complex on Monday night. Just after 5:00 p.m., Birmingham police arrived at University Crossings (formerly known as Montevallo Gardens) initially on a report of a fight and then a hostage situation. According to authorities, police observed a woman who came out of the apartment complex with a gun, then fatally shot a man in front of them. Officers then fired at the woman; they believe she was struck at least twice. (AL.com)

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Today in Birmingham:

• Friends Bookstore Spring Book Sale, At Birmingham Central Library (10:00 AM)
• 1-On-1 Computer And Tech Help, At Birmingham Public Library (10:00 AM)
• Coffee With A Cop, At Woodlawn Branch Library (11:00 AM)

From my notebook:

• Meet fast-growing OnCentive, the latest startup to open its corporate headquarters in downtown Birmingham. (Bham Now)
• In the market for a new home? Check out this week's Birmingham area real estate roundup! (Birmingham Patch)
• Birmingham neighbors are supporting a Ukrainian church that's helping to evacuate and shelter refugees. (WIAT - CBS42.com)

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That's it for today! See you tomorrow for your next 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.