Government

COVID-19 Positive Homeless Can Be Quarantined at Former Salvation Army Building, Jefferson County Commission Says

“Steve, we hear you. Can you hear us?” As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the state, the Jefferson County Commission continues to hold its meetings via videoconference, shown live on Facebook. Sometimes it takes a little while for everyone to get online, as when Commission President Jimmie Stephens was trying to get through to Commissioner Steve Ammons before the meeting began Thursday morning. But they do eventually get together, as they did today for a meeting dominated by the pandemic and its effects on the county. The agenda of regular business filled just a handful of pages thanks to the shutdown of nearly all government functions. The only item of new business was approval to use the former Salvation Army facility in the northern part of downtown Birmingham as a place for homeless people who test positive for COVID-19 to stay. The facility would be used on an as-needed basis. Read more.

Legislative Session on Hold Until May 4

Concerns about the coronavirus will keep lawmakers out of the State House another week, their planned resumption of the legislative session now May 4, as reported first by Inside Alabama Politics.  The session has been on hold since mid-March and lawmakers had hoped to be back next Tuesday.  Read more.

Birmingham Mayor Undecided on When to Reopen City Economy

The city of Birmingham is working closely with Alabama health officials to determine when the city’s economy will reopen. At a press conference Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin offered updates on the city’s fight against the coronavirus. Woodfin said it’s important for residents to continue following the stay-at-home order as local and state officials take the next steps to address the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Woodfin was joined by Wesley Willeford, medical director of disease control with the Jefferson County Department of Health. Willeford said the number of new coronavirus cases is decreasing each day. He said that’s due to social distancing efforts and the work of the community, as residents limit interaction with each other. Read more.

ADOC: 3 COVID-19 Cases Reported in Prisons, 1 Inmate Died After Diagnosis

The Alabama Department of Corrections on Friday reported the first three confirmed cases of COVID-19 within its prisons. One of the diagnosed inmates, a 66-year-old with a terminal illness, died Thursday, but an official cause of death has not yet been determined, the ADOC said in a statement on its website. Read more.

Contributors in the U.S. Senate Race

Following are lists of contributors of $5,000 and up to U.S. Senate candidates. Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, faced no opposition from within his party and will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Jeff Sessions and Tommy Tuberville are candidates for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat, and the winner of their July 14 GOP primary runoff will face Jones in the fall election. Read more.

New Coalition Pushes for Medicaid Expansion, Republicans Remain Reluctant

The spread of COVID-19 and the strain it has placed on Alabama’s health care system has inspired a new coalition to push for Medicaid expansion in the state, but support from Republican leadership still seems doubtful. Read more.

Byrne to SBA: More Help, Clarity Needed for Small Businesses

Congressman Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, on Thursday led a bi-partisan letter to Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza asking the agency to offer more help and guidance for those seeking Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDLs. In March, the SBA began allowing states to apply for the EIDL. The loan program helps qualified businesses and non-profit organizations recover from economic losses tied to the abrupt economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 disease and efforts to stop its spread. The program offers up to $2 million in assistance for an eligible small business, and advance grants of up to $10,000 are available. However, there are reports of “severe oversubscription” to the EIDL program and of the $10,000 advance grant being insufficient to meet the needs of businesses trying to survive in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the lawmakers wrote. Read more.

Tuberville, Sessions Fundraising Neck-and-Neck for Senate Seat

Tommy Tuberville and Jeff Sessions have been running almost dollar-for-dollar in recent weeks as they raise cash for their campaigns for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate, according to reports they filed this week with the Federal Elections Commission. Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach, narrowly led a field of seven candidates in the GOP primary on March 3. He will meet Sessions, who held the Senate seat for almost two decades until he resigned in early 2017 to become President Donald Trump’s first attorney general, in a runoff on July 14. Read more.

See the lists of contributors in the U.S. Senate race.

Crime Slows as People Shelter from Coronavirus

Crime isn’t taking a coronavirus holiday, but law enforcement statistics show it headed in a positive direction as more people shelter from the pandemic. In fact, streets in the Birmingham area and around the world are not only safer from crime so far in 2020, but also from automobile accidents. Evidence indicates, however, that domestic disturbance calls in some communities are increasing as people spend more hours together at home. Read more.

Parole Hearings Will Resume With “Reduced Person-To-Person Interaction”

The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles will resume parole hearings May 18 after stopping them last month in response to COVID-19. Advocates say the state should expedite the parole process to protect inmates and alleviate prison crowding. Read more.