Virginia Martin

Jefferson County Commission Considers More COVID-19 Relief for Businesses

Businesses in Jefferson County will be able to apply for more money to help them combat the effects of COVID-19 if the County Commission approves a resolution being considered Thursday. The resolution, presented by the Office of Community Services and Workforce Development, seeks up $1.15 million in supplemental funds for the county’s revolving loan fund grant from the state's Economic Development Administration. Jefferson County commissioners in their committee meeting Tuesday decided to place the issue on the agenda for action Thursday. Read more.

Birmingham Delays Budget Talks to Determine COVID-19’s Damage to City Coffers; Mayor Warns Next Year Could Be Austere

Birmingham’s FY 2021 budget will be delayed for three months as the city works to ascertain the financial impact of COVID-19. Mayor Randall Woodfin told the City Council on Tuesday morning that the city could take a $75 million to $110 million hit to next year’s budget because of losses in revenues from sources such as sales, use and occupational taxes. He hopes delaying the budgeting process will give city leaders more time to understand the extent of the damage. “Adjustments to an operational budget of our size to offset this amount of deficit would require major reductions and austerity measures to our current cost structures,” Woodfin said. Read more.

Alabama COVID-19 Cases Top 12,000

Alabama reported an increase of 315 cases of COVID-19 and one death late Monday. The increase brings the state’s totals to 12,086 cases and 489 deaths, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. Read more.

National Guard Continues Nursing Home Disinfections

Since being activated about a month ago, Alabama National Guard teams have completed nearly 130 disinfection missions at nursing homes around the state as part of an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Read more.

Lawmakers Approve Ivey’s $1.8B Coronavirus Spending Plan

Alabama's elected leaders have approved a plan to spend $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, despite Senate leaders saying they were left out of the process before their vote Monday. "Some meetings took place in our absence that we weren’t involved in and I thought that was inappropriate," Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, told reporters. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said House members were worried about slowing down the process of passing the state budgets and getting relief funds to those who needed them immediately, but there was no nefarious intent behind their meetings with Ivey last week. "The House was willing to step up and bring suggestions to the governor," McCutcheon said Monday, "We were not working against the Senate. We were not working in secret. We were just doing our job as the House body." Ivey said in an emailed statement Monday that her "friendly" amendment to the budget was to ensure CAREs Act funding was made available immediately to those who needed it the most. Read more. Related Story:

Ivey Signs State Budgets Into Law

Ivey Signs State Budgets Into Law

MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law the state’s two budgets Monday after a unique and at some points tense final weeks of the 2020 regular legislative session. “I appreciate the hard work of the Legislature during an unprecedented regular session,” Ivey said in an emailed statement. “While we have yet to know the full impact of COVID-19 on our state, these budgets will ensure continuity of government, while being fiscally responsible. There is more work to be done, and I look forward to working with the Legislature in the days ahead.” A $7.2 billion Education Trust Fund budget was approved, as well as a $2.3 billion General Fund budget, both for fiscal year 2021, which begins in October. Read more.

Guard Pre-Deployment Training Tweaked for COVID-19 Prevention

Though deploying in much smaller numbers than they did during the height of U.S. involvement in the Iraq and Afghan wars, Alabama National Guard troops are still deploying, and in the time of COVID-19, they are doing things a little differently. About 30 soldiers with the Guard’s 666th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company are expected to deploy in the near future for about nine months overseas. Earlier this month, the soldiers with the Jacksonville-based unit arrived at a mobilization station for additional training before they deploy. But the soldiers did not hit the ground running. Because of the COVID-19 threat, they have some additional do’s and don’ts. Read more.

New Report Recommends Overhaul of State Education Department

The Alabama State Board of Education and Alabama Department of Education will spend the next two months creating a strategic plan to better organize the department and improve Alabama’s K-12 education system. The plan is the result of a recently released 168-page report that recommends a major overhaul and shift of operations within ALSDE. Lawmakers approved an appropriation of $750,000 in last year’s education trust fund budget to conduct this evaluation by a Boston-based consultant. An author of the report told board members the report is centered on the idea of the ALSDE taking the lead on education reform in the state. Read more.

Alabama Reports 11,771 COVID-19 Cases

Alabama reported 11,771 confirmed cases of COVID-19 cases late Sunday and 488 deaths. That’s an increase of three deaths and just 72 new cases, though case reporting can be spotty on the weekends. In the past two weeks, the case count in Alabama has risen by 4,105, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. Read more.

Alabama’s House Delegation Votes Along Party Lines on 3rd Relief Package

The House on Friday narrowly approved a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package (HR 6800). Alabama’s representatives voted along party lines, with Democrat Rep. Terri Sewell voting to approve and the Republicans voting against the matter. The measure is unlikely to become law. Republican senators oppose it, and President Trump has said he would veto it. Read more.