Virginia Martin

Low Math, Reading Scores Have State Leaders Looking for Options

MONTGOMERY — A north Alabama lawmaker says he plans on introducing a bill for next year’s regular session that would seriously address the state’s drastically low math scores. Only 24% of Alabama’s public school fourth graders were labeled as proficient or better on a springtime math assessment taken this year. For eighth graders, it was even worse: just 14%. Those are significant, but not unexpected, drops from previous statewide assessments, according to an analysis released this week from the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Read more.

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Tyson Assures Ensley Residents She’s Not Trying to Get Rid of Them in Commission Redistricting

Commissioner Sheila Tyson said today she has fielded phone calls from Ensley residents who think she’s trying to cut them from the Jefferson County district she represents. Nothing could be further from the truth, she said during a brief meeting of the commission at the Bessemer Justice Center. “It wasn't that if you're underpopulated, you try to get rid of what you've got,” Tyson said. “It makes no sense. I just wanted to straighten that up.” During the Oct. 5 commission committee meeting, Board of Registrars Chairman Barry Stephenson presented three plans for evenly distributing the county population between its five districts using 2020 U.S. Census numbers. Commissioners advanced all three maps for public review. A hearing on the plans will be conducted during the Nov. 4 commission meeting. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Debuts New Tech Hub to Help Solve Crime in Real Time

Birmingham leaders officially opened the city's Real Time Crime Center Tuesday, a project intended to give the Birmingham Police Department new technological tools to help resolve crime more quickly. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM

Reapportionment Meeting, Maps Release Expected Tuesday

Alabamians should get their first looks at proposed new State House, congressional and state school board voting districts next week, two days before the Legislature begins debating and voting on them. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Dropping COVID Case Rates Ease Pressure on Alabama Health Care System

The surge of COVID-19 that plagued Alabama and the nation over the summer continued its decline over the past week as summer gave way to fall. The number of new cases reported each day by the Alabama Department of Public Health has fallen by more than 60% since the beginning of October. The 7-day moving average fell to 784 on Wednesday, a drop of 12% in the past seven days. The longer-term 14-day average fell to 838.57, a decrease of almost two-thirds from Oct. 1. Since the Delta-induced summer surge peaked Sept. 1 with a 7-day average of 5,538, the new-case numbers have tumbled by more than 85%. The current level is still well above the low set just after Independence Day, 3½ months ago, when the average bottomed out at 121 cases per day. The steady decrease is also shown in the state’s hospitalization numbers. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Birmingham Takes Part in Embrace Mothers Guaranteed Income Pilot

The city of Birmingham is taking part in a pilot project to provide guaranteed minimum incomes to 110 female-identifying heads of households with at least one child. The Birmingham City Council gave final approval Tuesday to the Mayor Randall Woodfin Administration initiative, Embrace Mothers. The program is in partnership with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, which is giving the city a $500,000 grant to execute the pilot program. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Mike Durant of ‘Black Hawk Down’ Fame Enters Alabama U.S. Senate Race

Huntsville businessman and “Black Hawk Down” veteran Mike Durant announced his campaign for U.S. Senate Tuesday, entering an already crowded Republican primary field. In a press release, Durant labeled himself as a “pro-Trump conservative Republican” and criticized many of the actions taken by the Biden Administration. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

JeffCo Commission Seeks Info About Relief Fund Status

Jefferson County commissioners said during their committee meeting Tuesday that they want to be informed about federal rescue funds that they ultimately will be asked to approve. Commission President Jimmie Stephens told County Manager Cal Markert that the commission wants to know who has applied for the latest brand of COVID funds from the federal government and where those applications are in the system of approval. The commission also heard an update on the talks about the USFL being reestablished with its headquarters in Birmingham. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Council Says Goodbye to Three of Its Members

The Birmingham City Council bid farewell to three of its members Tuesday, as well as to outgoing city finance director Lester Smith. Council President William Parker and District 9 Councilor John Hilliard lost their re-election bids in a runoff earlier this month, while District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt decided not to seek reelection. Smith’s departure from Birmingham’s city government, meanwhile, was announced by Mayor Randall Woodfin at Tuesday’s meeting. Parker was praised for his work to bolster the city’s entertainment industry, Hoyt for his Education with a Purpose scholarship initiative and Hilliard for his work in economic development. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

As Vaccine Bills Threaten Lawsuits, Business Groups Line Up in Opposition

A north Alabama lawmaker wants to prohibit Alabama businesses and agencies from requiring their employees or patrons to be immunized. House Bill 31 also says that anyone fired or discriminated against because of their immunization status — it doesn’t specifically mention COVID-19 — can sue the business or entity, which range in the bill from amusement parks to zoos. “I feel like it’s my body, my choice,” Rep. Ritchie Whorton, a two-term Republican from Owens Cross Roads, told Alabama Daily News on Monday. “No one is going to tell me I have to put something in my body. It’s not right.” The bill isn’t yet available on the Legislature’s website, but copies are floating around Montgomery — and drawing opposition from some of Alabama’s most influential organizations. “(The Business Council of Alabama) is opposed to HB 31 and any similar legislation that opens Alabama businesses up to frivolous lawsuits,” BCA Vice President Susan Carothers told ADN. “Very few, if any, laws have been introduced in the Alabama Legislature with more onerous provisions against business than HB 31,” the Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee said in a letter opposing the bill. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News