Jim Carns Alabama House of Representatives, District 48 Party: Republican Political experience: Member of House since 2011; member Jefferson County Commission, 2006-2010; has been member of Association of County Commissioners of Alabama; National Conference of Republican County Officials; at-large delegate to 2016 Republican Convention; chairman of House Commerce and Small Business committees. Professional experience: Owner,
Susan DuBose Alabama House of Representatives, District 45 Party: Republican Residence: Hoover Political experience: None. Professional experience: Retired from Compass Bank. Civic experience: President of Republican Women of North Shelby County, on governmental affairs committee of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, member Shelby County Republican Party Executive Committee. Education: Bachelor’s from University of the South, 1985;
Dickie Drake Alabama House of Representatives, District 45 Age: 75 Residence: Leeds Political experience: Has served in House of Representatives for past 11 years ago; chairman of House Military and Veteran Affairs Committee. ProfessionalCivic experience: Served in the U.S. Air Force and Alabama National Guard for 42 years; founded Drake Lawn Maintenance. Main issues: Improve education
Brad Tompkins Alabama House of Representatives, District 15 Party: Republican Residence: Bessemer Political experience: None Professional experience: President and owner of Automation Solutions in Birmingham and the Fab Fruit in Hoover. Civic experience: Affiliated with the Bessemer Industrial Development Board. Education: Associate degree from Jefferson State Community College, 1993; bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, 1991. Main issues: “I am a conservative.
Leigh Hulsey Alabama House of Representatives, District 15 Party: Republican Residence: Helena Political experience: Ran for House District 73 in 2021. Redistricting changed her district to 15. Professional experience: Owns Crossfit in Alabaster. Civic experience: Member of Helena City Council for 13 years; president of the Alabaster Business Alliance, vice president of campaigns for the Republican Women of North Shelby
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday unceremoniously approved providing $500,000 to help bring the United States Football League to Birmingham. With much more consternation, commissioners settled on a plan for redrawing commission district lines. The USFL money, which will pay for personnel to operate Protective Stadium on game days, was passed without discussion, along with 48 other resolutions on the agenda. The City of Birmingham also will provide $500,000 to aid the USFL operation. Most of the meeting was comprised of a public hearing discussing three options for redrawing commission district lines to reflect changes in the population of the districts. Lines are adjusted every 10 years to keep populations of the districts as even as possible. Commissioners voted 4-1 for a plan that Commissioner Steve Ammons said was needed without making additional changes. He noted that Districts 3, 4 and 5 were the same in each plan. Read more.
The number of COVID-19 patients in Alabama hospitals has fallen below 1,000 for the first time since mid-July as case numbers continue to tumble since the peak from a summer surge of the delta variant. There were 970 patients being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals around the state on Friday, according to the Alabama Hospital Association. That is the lowest since a total of 957 on July 16, and down by about 66% since the inpatient count reached a peak of 2,890 on Sept. 1. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 919 new cases of COVID in its daily update on Saturday. The state averaged 1,097 new cases a day over the past week, almost 77% below the average of 3,962 cases per day on Sept. 8. ADPH has reported 807,479 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. Read more.
The average number of new COVID-19 cases per day has fallen by about 70% over the past month as the vaccination rate has grown, according to Friday's update by the state Department of Public Health. There were 1,048 new cases on Friday, raising the total to 806,560 since the pandemic began in March 2020. The state has averaged 1,177 new cases a day during the past week -- about 70% lower than the weekly average of 3,962 cases on Sept. 8. Figures compiled by The New York Times show that, through Thursday, 53% of adults in Alabama had received at least one dose of one of the COVID vaccines, and 43% were full vaccinated. Less than one-third of Alabamians were fully vaccinated during the summer. Alabama has moved up from last among the states in vaccination rates to fourth from the bottom. Read more.
Ava Wise was thinking first of others as she considered what would have happened if the federal Paycheck Protection Program had not provided her employer with money to pay her during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. “We may not have been open to serve people,” said Wise, director of Project Hopewell, a nonprofit formed under Hopewell Baptist Church in Birmingham’s Hillman Station Neighborhood. Effects of the COVID-19 relief program hit close to home for Wise and others who benefited from federal relief money that was paid to businesses, state and local governments, and churches and other organizations. Without the payroll assistance, she said, “We can't pay our bills. We can’t buy food. It cuts off our livelihood.” Although it is unusual for churches, synagogues, mosques and groups with religious affiliations to receive taxpayer money, many were awarded federal stimulus funds during the pandemic. While churches may be tax-exempt, their employees pay taxes to city, state and federal governments. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s PPP program was designed to cover the payrolls of recipients. A review by BirminghamWatch of federal records listed about 321 applicants from Jefferson County that identified themselves as religious organizations received loans totaling $39.7 million during a 14-month period under the PPP program. Read more.
The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 1,262 new cases of COVID-19 and added 63 deaths from the disease on Thursday as the daily averages continued to decline. The state has recorded 805,511 cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began in March 2020. There has been an average of 1,291 cases a day over the past week, a significant drop from the average of 5,538 cases daily at the peak of the delta variant surge on Sept. 1 and 2,080 a week ago. There have been 14,675 deaths from COVID in the state through the course of the pandemic. The total has risen by an average of 54 a day during the past seven days, compared to a peak of 134 daily on Sept. 23. It takes about two weeks for a death to be report and confirmed as being from the coronavirus. Read more.
