A poll of Republican voters in Alabama shows Gov. Kay maintaining popularity as she heads toward a reelection campaign in 2022. Polling this month by Alabama Daily News also indicated support for the effort to improve conditions in Alabama prisons, education reform and the fuel tax that was approved in 2019. But respondents said they
MONTGOMERY – A new poll of Alabama Republicans shows voters are open to a prison infrastructure plan, want the State House open to the public and support both charter schools and the Alabama Literacy Act. In addition, a plurality of Republican voters supported the 2019 gas tax increase, known as Rebuild Alabama. State lawmakers and
MONTGOMERY – A new Alabama Daily News poll of Republican voters shows Gov. Kay Ivey with a high approval rating and a big lead over potential opponents in her bid for reelection in 2022. More than 60% of Republican primary voters in the survey say they approve of the way Ivey is handling her job
MONTGOMERY -- The committee charged with making Alabama’s monster constitution more user friendly and less racist is taking written public comments. Only one speaker attended the public hearing Tuesday at the State House for the committee on recompilation of the constitution, but a two-week period for written comments to be sent to the committee was also approved. Committee Chair Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, said during Tuesday’s meeting that she knows some members of the public could not come because of concerns over COVID-19. People wishing to submit a comment have until Sept. 7. Those can be sent by email to Othni Lathram, director of the Legislative Services Agency, at olathram@lsa.state.al.us. Read more.
Most Alabama school teachers who are temporarily sent home this school year because they contract COVID-19, are exposed to it or are caring for their own children in quarantine will have to use their personal leave time to do it. A few weeks into the academic year, some schools have had to move students temporarily to virtual learning as COVID-19 cases prevent in-person learning. The Alabama Education Association is asking local systems to extend paid emergency leave to staff. Read more.
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Alabama has dropped for the past two days, but the state is still averaging more than 4,000 cases a day. After reporting a record daily high 6,210 cases on Saturday, the Alabama Department of Public Health listed 3,315 cases in its update on Sunday and 2,588 on Monday. The average for the past seven days stands at 4,041 cases a day. Alabama has recorded 665,653 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. Read more.
There were 3,799 new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama on Friday, raising the overall total to 653,540, the state Department of Public Health reported. The state has averaged 3,662 additional cases a day over the past week. There were additional 28 deaths from the virus reported by ADPH. The seven-day average of Covid deaths is 25 a day. Alabama now has 2,702 Covid patients in hospitals across the state. That number has risen steadily from that total of 1,451 reported on Aug. 1. Read more.
MONTGOMERY – Summer discussions between lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey’s administration on how to fix the state’s crowded and crumbling prisons have entered the draft legislation phase. Officials aren’t talking publicly about the details, but Ivey said she’s “encouraged” by the work done so far. A draft bill prepared at the State House calls for new and renovated prison infrastructure over a 10-year period. “While there has yet to be a final plan in terms of legislation, I’m encouraged by the progress being made from the ongoing discussions with the Legislative leadership,” Ivey told Alabama Daily News in a written statement. “For several months, they have engaged with our team, and I can assure the people of Alabama that we are like-minded and laser-focused on finding a solution to our decades-long problem within our correctional facilities. I’m extremely hopeful they are on the right-track, and I am encouraged by their holistic approach to this issue.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Alabama's unemployment rate was 3.2% in July, down from 3.3% in June and 7.4% in July 2020. That’s a continued drop since a pandemic-high of 13.2% in April 2020. Prior to virus-related slowdowns and shutdowns, the state’s unemployment rate was in the 2% range. “Each month we edge closer and closer to our pre-pandemic unemployment rate,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a written statement Friday morning. “Employers have added over 73,000 jobs in the past year, and nearly 83,000 more people are working today than they were last year. Industries that were hit the hardest are seeing employment numbers increase monthly. We’ll keep working as hard as we can to continue this remarkable progress.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY – A new state commission studying how to help released inmates stay out of prison spent much of a meeting Wednesday working on a definition of recidivism that all state agencies can use. One of the goals of the Joint Commission on Reentry is to create a definition so the state can implement best practices to aid those leaving prisons and create a safer Alabama. Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole, said during the meeting that since every state agency defines recidivism differently, it is a nearly impossible task to settle on a singular meaning and mission. Read more.
