Virginia Martin

Alabama Population Shrinks Under Weight of COVID-19 Deaths

For the first time in the history of Alabama, COVID-19 last year pushed the state’s death rate higher than the birthrate. “The state population is shrinking, and we have never seen that happen before in the history of Alabama,” Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said Wednesday. In fact, more people died in Alabama last year than any other year on record. The Alabama Department of Public Health reports that 7,181 people died from COVID-19 last year. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Town Hall Meeting Encourages People to Pay Attention to Redistricting

Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson hosted about 75 people at Lawson State Community College Tuesday night to talk about redistricting of legislative and congressional districts and what citizens can do to affect it. “This is not a county initiative,” Tyson said. “This is a people initiative.” The town hall meeting was done to answer questions about redistricting and to let citizens know what they can do to possibly affect how districts are redrawn to account for population shifts documented in the 2020 Census. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

‘Retain Alabama’ Effort Aims to Sell Students on Homegrown Opportunities

Alabama college students rank cost of living, job opportunities and salaries as key factors in deciding where they’ll live after graduation, and about 43% of them are undecided about staying in Alabama, according to a recent survey. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Birmingham Applies for Grants to Beef Up Surveillance, Readies to Open Real-Time Crime Center

The city of Birmingham will apply for state and federal grants to purchase new license plate readers and high-definition surveillance cameras, the City Council decided Tuesday. It also increased its contract for computer-aided dispatch maintenance services. The city plans to launch its “real-time crime center” later this month to combat the city’s rising rate of violent crime. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Animal Shelters in the Gulf South Are Overflowing With Animals

When Alie Dennis laid her eyes on Copper at the Metro Animal Shelter in Tuscaloosa, it was love at first sight. Dennis, a University of Alabama student, came to the shelter in hopes of adopting a dog before her final year of school. After playing with the 3-month-old German shepherd Labrador mix for about an hour, she knew he was the one — asking for a 24-hour hold on the dog to talk the adoption over with her family. But for Metro Animal Shelter, even 24 hours can be a long time if people are willing to take home a new pet. Last year, shelters in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi were running out of so-called “pandemic puppies.” Now, they are overflowing with dogs, cats, and even hamsters. Read more.

by Eva Tesfaye, WBHM

Where to Find a COVID-19 Vaccine, Test

Find resources to get a COVID test or vaccine. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Climbing 110 Flights to Remember First Responders of 9-11

About 75 persons – most of them first responders and military veterans – climbed 110 floors of stairs in the parking deck at the Riverchase Galleria Saturday to represent the experience first responders had climbing the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 21, 2001, on a mission to save lives. The event was one of several in the Birmingham area held Saturday to memorialize that day. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

You Know Delta, but Have You Met Mu and the Rest of the Relatives?

Viruses mutate. Researchers say there always will be new variant strains of the COVID-19 virus, although all the strains won’t be as deadly as delta. The delta strain has made COVID more deadly for the unvaccinated. It is responsible for 90% of the 40 million COVID cases in the U.S and the deaths of 648,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It spreads much faster and may cause more severe cases than other variants, according to the CDC. The delta strain is not alone. There are many variants being studied by researchers and scientists. Last Friday, the World Health Organization added the mu strain to its list of COVID variants of interest. It joins eta, iota, kappa and lambda on the list. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Statewide Testing Shows Low Scores in First Look at COVID Impact

MONTGOMERY — Student test results released Thursday showed overall disappointing scores in the first statewide data revealing the impact of COVID-19 on learning. State Superintendent Eric Mackey said the low scores were expected because of complications with learning during the pandemic last school year. “When students don't have a teacher in the classroom with them, it is much more difficult for them to learn,” Mackey said. “We need students in the classroom with teachers as much as possible, and so the scores did go down and that is a trend we are seeing all across the country.” Just more than half of the state's third graders tested as proficient in English language arts, while 40% tested at basic grade level and 10% tested below grade level. Among eighth graders, 52% tested as proficient in ELA, while 40% had basic grade-level skills and 9% were below grade level. Math scores were worse. Just 30% of the state's third graders tested proficient in math, while 37% tested at basic grade level and 33% tested below grade level. Among eighth graders, just 14% tested proficient in math, while 60% had basic grade-level skills and 26% were below grade level. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

COVID Policies Vary by School District, Causing Confusion for Parents

The state of Alabama has issued recommendations to school districts on how to handle COVID-19 in the classroom. But many of them are just recommendations, giving districts lots of flexibility in setting their own COVID-19 protocols. Read more.

by Kyra Miles, WBHM