Virginia Martin

COVID Decline: Alabama Almost Down to Low Virus Transmission Rate

For the first time in more than four months, Alabama is very near a level of community COVID-19 transmission that public health officials have been hoping for. In BirminghamWatch’s periodic analysis of the state’s pandemic data, the two-part criteria for officially rating the transmission level as “low” has almost been met. The positivity rate — the percentage of all COVID tests in a 7-day period that return a positive result — is at 4.6%. The rate has been below the required 5% threshold for more than a week. But the 7-day average of total cases per 100,000 residents isn’t yet at the required level, though it is very close. It’s now at 10.02, just above the 9.99 mark classified as “low.” The last time the community transmission level met both criteria for a “low” classification was in early July, and then it was only for three days as the positivity rate dipped below 5%. On July 5 and 6, the cases-per-100,000 average reached 2.41, the lowest reading since the pandemic began in early 2020. But while the statewide transmission level is the best it’s been in months, county-by-county data tells a different story. Eight of Alabama’s 67 counties are still in the highest of the four classifications, which means that one or both criteria are above the top thresholds. Among them is nearby Walker County, which has a moderate 8.9% positivity rate and a high 7-day cases-per-100,000 average of more than 100. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Ivey Recommends a One-Year Delay on Holding Back of Third Grade Readers

MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday recommended a one-year delay to the Alabama Literacy Act's holdback provision for third graders struggling with reading. “Because we are implementing a new assessment, we need the spring 2022 data to further validate the cut score before we implement the promotion policy and, in the meantime, we will be doubling down for the supports needed to implement the Alabama Literacy Act to fidelity,” Ivey said at the state school board meeting. The board voted on setting the reading score on standardized testing that will determine which students would continue on to the fourth grade. To implement Ivey's recommended delay, the Alabama Legislature will have to approve the change during its regular session starting in January. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Board Rejects Bid for Woodlawn High Stadium

Just shy of four months after the ceremonial groundbreaking, the Birmingham Board of Education Tuesday rejected the bid to build a stadium and fieldhouse on the campus of Woodlawn High School. Five board members — Leticia Watkins, James A. Sullivan, Derrick L. Billups, Neonta Williams and Jason Meadows — voted against approval of the bid. Walt Wilson and Sonja Smith voted in favor with Sherman Collins Jr. and Mary Boehm abstaining. The stadium had been trumpeted as a major boost to Woodlawn High School, one of just two Birmingham City Schools that does not have an on-campus stadium. The other, Ramsay High, is landlocked. “I would like for us to start the project over, bringing as much information as we have to the forefront in the beginning,” Watkins said. “If the cost of the materials has gone up at that time, I don't think there's a question about what we're willing to invest in our young people and we're willing to make this happen for them. We just want the process to be better.” The initial base estimate on the project was $4.2 million. Architect Charles Williams said the revised estimate is $8.7 million. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Advocates Suggest Housing Assistance for Those Leaving Prison

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Commission on Reentry heard presentations Tuesday about the need for expanding housing assistance for those leaving prison as a way to reduce recidivism. The state currently provides no housing assistance for the majority of people who are leaving prison at the end of their sentences. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Internal Poll Shows Katie Britt Ahead Slightly in U.S. Senate race

MONTGOMERY — A new internal poll released by Katie Britt’s U.S. Senate campaign showed the first-time candidate now with a slight lead in the race among likely GOP primary voters. The online survey conducted by TargetPoint on behalf of the campaign showed Britt leading a ballot test 31% to U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks’ 30%, with Mike Durant at 12% and Jessica Taylor at 7%. A full 20% of respondents were undecided, according to the internal Britt poll. Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Commission on State’s Pandemic Response Recommends Legislation

MONTGOMERY — Alabama state agencies say they need more flexibility in purchasing during emergencies and the ability to hire essential staff in times of crisis. Those were among the findings of the Alabama Pandemic Response and Preparedness Commission based on input from various state agencies on how they responded in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission’s final report included recommendations that could become legislation. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Wastewater Failures for Lowndes County’s Black Residents at Center of DOJ Investigation

The U.S. Department of Justice is opening an investigation into the Alabama Department of Public Health and Lowndes County Health Department over concerns that the wastewater systems in rural Alabama discriminate against poor Black residents. The investigation, opened Tuesday, is looking into the health departments’ wastewater disposal and infectious disease and outbreaks programs. In a press release, the department said it is examining whether ADPH and LCHD are violating Civil Rights Law and whether the departments’ policies have reduced Lowndes County’s Black residents’ access to sufficient sewage and water systems and increased their exposure to harmful infections associated with poor wastewater management, such as hookworm — an intestinal parasite widely eliminated elsewhere in the U.S. Read more.

by Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, Gulf States Newsroom

Birmingham Promise Gets $1.8M Grant From Bloomberg Philanthropies

Mayor Randall Woodfin’s Birmingham Promise educational initiative has received a $1.8 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, it was announced Tuesday. That grant will go toward the program’s apprenticeship initiative, which Woodfin said “will be used to help Birmingham City Schools high school students to start gaining work experience to gain career skills that will last them a lifetime.” Woodfin also told the City Council during Tuesday’s meeting that Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “very vigorous vetting process … shows that this program is sustainable, and it’s a model for any city across America for how we should engage in partnerships to invest and give opportunity and exposure to our youngest generation and our high school students.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Authority: $40.8M in Emergency Rental Assistance Has Reached Alabamians

About $17.5 million in federal emergency rental assistance reached Alabamians in jeopardy of losing their homes in October after a dip in distributions from August to September. Through October, a total of $40.8 million from a possible $263 million in pandemic help made available earlier this year has been distributed, the Alabama Housing Finance Authority told Alabama Daily News. The authority is charged with distributing the federal funding. The pace of those allocations has worried some lawmakers and advocates. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Trash is piling up around some apartments in Birmingham. It is not just about the pandemic.

Some people who live in apartments or operate a business around the Birmingham area have complained about trash piling up this fall. It’s reasonable to assume the city should be picking up that garbage, but that’s not the case. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM