Virginia Martin

Hoover, Shelby Schools Planning Moves to 5-Day-a-Week Classes

In-person learning at Hoover City and Shelby County schools will go to 5-day-a-week formats later this month. In each case, the move is a continuation of plans that had been in place for the year. Shelby County told parents Monday that the change to five days a week would go into effect Sept. 14, and Hoover schools make the change Sept. 21, provided the COVID-19 numbers remain favorable. Any students going to school virtually will continue to do so. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

PSC Allows Alabama Power to Raise Fee Charged to Solar Power Users

UPDATED — The Alabama Public Service Commission this morning unanimously voted to allow Alabama Power to increase the monthly fee it charges customers who have solar or other alternative power sources. On recommendation of the PSC staff, commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh joined commissioners Jeremy Oden and Chip Beeker in approving without discussion the increase from $5.00 to $5.41 per kilowatt-hour. That would raise the cost to customers with a typical five kilowatt system from about $25 to $27.05 per month. The vote came over the objections of representatives from environmental groups, who contended that the fees were punitive and intended to discourage the use of renewable-energy power sources such as solar panels. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Birmingham School Board Takes the ‘Interim’ Off Sullivan’s Superintendent Title

The Birmingham Board of Education on Monday night named Dr. Mark Sullivan school superintendent, replacing Dr. Lisa Herring, who left Birmingham in April to become superintendent of Atlanta schools. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

No Buses, No Dress Code, But It’s Still School

Classes start in some of the area’s largest school systems this week and next, but the experience of the students is going to be very different from last fall. Jefferson County schools start Tuesday, Bessemer schools follow on Thursday and Birmingham schools start up Sept. 8. All three are offering virtual only learning for the first nine weeks in an attempt to block the spread of the coronavirus, as are many other schools. As Jefferson County school officials describe it, the school day will begin with students logging into class, which lets teachers take roll call by seeing who is logged on. A teacher can go online with his or her entire class in a Zoom-type setting called Webex, which allows video conferencing, online meetings and screen sharing. This synchronous learning allows students to interact with teachers and each other. At other times classes are divided, giving the teachers time to work interactively with five to eight students while other students work on assignments such as reading or testing. So, while students might not have to show up at class, it still is a full day’s work. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Inmate Deaths: Even Behind Bars, Coronavirus Takes a Deadly Toll

In Alabama, 19 of the state’s more than 2,000 deaths from the coronavirus have been among inmates incarcerated in state prisons. The inmates who have died with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 have mostly been over 60, with one under 40. Most of the deceased inmates had preexisting conditions, and some already had terminal diagnoses. Several of the prisoners who died were serving life sentences. “All inmate or staff deaths reported as COVID-19-related by the ADOC occurred following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. COVID-19 therefore was either a direct or indirect cause of death, or a medical condition associated with death,” said Alabama Department of Corrections communication specialist Samantha Rose. “Our goal is to transparently track and share the disease’s evolving impact on our system, including all deaths conclusively or likely related to COVID-19.” Read about Alabama inmates who have died after being diagnosed with the coronavirus. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Furloughs on Hold, but Maybe Not for Long

Earlier this month, employees of several city-owned entities — including the Birmingham Public Library and the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board, among others — received letters from Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office informing them that they would be furloughed. Now, they’re being told to ignore that furlough letter — but another one might be coming. “The letter is now moot,” said Cedric Sparks, Woodfin’s chief of staff, during a teleconference with Birmingham employees on Friday, responding to a question specifically focused on library employees. “The letter that you have received, please disregard that letter. Your next letter will come directly from the library board.” However, the mayor’s office also announced that it had raised funding for libraries and parks in a revised budget proposal. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

UAB Doctor Encourages Tests Despite CDC Guideline

A UAB infectious disease doctor weighed in today on a guideline released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that people exposed to COVID-19 should not be tested if they do not have symptoms of the virus. "It is really extreme to say that people without symptoms do not need to be tested," said Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, assistant professor in UAB's Division of Infectious Diseases. "We know that 40% of the people with COVID are asymptomatic and are highly likely to pass the virus to other people." Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Masks for Trumpets, Connections for Internet and Fear of the Unknown as the 2020-21 School Year Opens

In any normal year — which is to say, pretty much any year before 2020 — faculty, administrators and staff in more than a dozen metro Birmingham school districts would have worked at a frantic pace to get their facilities ready for another academic year. That’s all still happening, but in a much different way than in the past, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that looms large over everyday life. Because state officials this year have given districts a lot of latitude, in addition to the usual issues, school systems this year have had to determine when they will open and how children will be educated during the outbreak. They also are facing decisions about how to provide internet access to children who don’t have it in their homes but are taking classes by computer for at least some of the year. There are issues of how to provide meals to children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches if the schools are not having in-person classes. A shortage of substitute teachers already has made itself known in systems that have opened, and some teachers still are on the fence about whether they will stay with the school system, retire or ask to teach virtual classes, rather than be in a classroom. In addition, the schools had to determine whether to go forward with football seasons and when to start, as well as monitoring young athletes and their coaches and responding quickly if anyone tests positive for the coronavirus. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Gov. Kay Ivey Extends Face Mask Order to Oct. 2

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, citing the statewide drop in COVID-19 numbers, today extended her mandatory mask-wearing order until Oct. 1. The governor said she knows wearing a mask is not popular. "I don't want to wear a mask, either. I can't understand what people are saying when they are muffled behind a mask, and masks make my glasses fog up," she said. But, she said, the protection is needed at this time. “To get to normal, wear a mask," she said. She extended her Safer at Home order during a press conference Thursday morning to continue the mask requirement and other restrictions that have been in force statewide for another five weeks. Ivey also warned residents to be careful mixing with other households during upcoming Labor Day activities. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Continued Improvement in Key Alabama COVID-19 Numbers

As health officials keep a wary eye on data with college students returning to campuses, the COVID-19 numbers for Alabama keep heading in favorable directions. In BirminghamWatch’s weekly analysis of data reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the 7-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases was 763.14 per day for the week ending Aug. 26. That’s down by more than 91 cases from the previous week. The average of new cases has fallen almost 60% from the record high in July. The longer-term 14-day average is at 808.93, down by 263.07 from the week before, a drop of 25% in one week. Read more.

by Robert Carter