The Alabama Law Enforcement Academy’s 2020 syllabus includes: 8 hours of introductory topics 72 hours on criminal investigations, which includes major crimes and the practices of handling complaints, crime scenes, evidence and searches 63 hours on laws and court procedure, including laws surrounding arrests, handling of suspects after arrests and civil rights 6 hours on
Thursday was show and tell day at the Jefferson County Courthouse as the County Commission displayed life-saving devices it was able to provide to area fire departments with Cares Act funds. Read more.
WBHM State Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, takes over Monday as head of Alabama’s Bureau of Pardons and Paroles and plans to make changes to the system. Read more.
As local families enter the holiday season, some are turning to food banks for the first time.
Even as Alabama’s child population grows more diverse, children of color are experiencing disproportionately high rates of poverty, according to a report published Thursday using pre-pandemic data. The report, titled Alabama Kids Count, indicates that children of color will make up the majority of the child population and the majority of the workforce by 2030. At the same time, Black and Hispanic children suffered average poverty rates of 41.9% and 42.6%, respectively, between 2014 and 2018. The rate for white children was 16.5%. These findings are especially significant considering that Alabama’s child population is shrinking, said Stephen Warner, the executive director of Voices for Alabama’s Children, which has published the Alabama Kids Count report annually since 1994. Though Alabama’s overall population grew by 10% from 2000 to 2019, its child population shrank by 3%. “Minority children are more likely to struggle in school. Minority children are more likely to live in poverty. And so as the workforce ages, we need these kids to be successful to be the next generation of workers,” Woerner said.
Sen. Doug Jones raised and spent almost four times as much as Republican Tommy Tuberville in his unsuccessful campaign to hold onto his seat in the U.S. Senate, according to reports filed Thursday with the Federal Elections Commission. Read more.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, head of the UAB School of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases, is not a person given to hyperbole. But as the numbers in the coronavirus pandemic rise at an alarming rate, Marrazzo resorted to terminology of a level she hasn’t used before. Speaking to reporters in a teleconference Tuesday morning, she said the situation is approaching levels that evoke “tidal wave imagery.” The weekly BirminghamWatch analysis of the state’s COVID-19 data shows all of the major indicators of the disease continuing to rise sharply, giving a foundation for Marrazzo’s heightened concerns. Moving averages of daily positive cases are at record high levels, while the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients also has reached its highest level. The death toll also is rising rapidly. Read more.
WBHM The state is working through a backlog of requests from local governments, nonprofits, and others for CARES Act funds. Read more.
Few things are as they normally are this year. The pandemic has changed schedules and turned normally large events into socially distanced gatherings. But Tuesday night brought back an iconic image of the season in north Jefferson County and, in the minds of many, a return to a sense of normal. The Jefferson County Commission and the Hallmark Cooperative brought back the iconic Christmas tree that had been on the lake of the Hallmark farm for years. About three dozen people were masked up and bundled up to be present for the first time the lights of the restored tree were turned on. The tree is no longer on the lake, as it was for many years. Instead, its reflected white lights glisten on the nearby water. Read more.
WBHM Alabama will likely receive its first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine in January, according to health care experts. It was previously predicted that Alabama would receive the vaccine in December. Read more.
