Category: Uncategorized

Alabama COVID-19 Case Total Rises by 1,561, With 42 More Deaths

BirminghamWatch,

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported a big increase in the number of casses of COVID-19 and deaths from the disease on Saturday, but the agency issued a statement saying the figures included a backlog of cases from the past few weeks.

The daily dashboard showed 1,561 confirmed new cases and 42 deaths, bringing the totals to 115,284 cases and 2,059 deaths since the pandemic began in mid-March. In addition 8,462 casees and 90 deaths were listed as probably from the coronavirus.

But the department said in a statement that it began using a new laboratory and when that happens “we sometimes will receive a backlog of results, both positive and negative.”
Read more.

New Drug Shows Promise for Treatment of Diabetes, UAB Researcher Says

Virginia MacDonald,

After 30 years of research and the screening of 300,000 compounds, a new drug has shown promise in mice and larger animals to control blood glucose in Types I and II of diabetes, UAB announced Thursday.

“Diabetes is a serious disease,” said Dr. Anath Shaler, director of UAB’s Comprehensive Diabetes Center. A Center for Disease Control report this year found 34.2 million Americans, or 1 in 10, have diabetes.

“It is a major public health problem worldwide, with the South particularly hard hit over the years,” Shaler said.

“In fact, the prevalence of diabetes in adults in Alabama is over 15%, which is really huge,” she added. 
Read more.

DOJ Finds Excessive Use of Force In Alabama’s Male Prisons

Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM 90.3,

In a report released Thursday, U.S. justice officials said men confined to Alabama’s prisons are subject to excessive force at the hands of correctional officers. They said the issue is pervasive and systemic and likely violates the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

In the 30-page document, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the three U.S. Attorney’s Offices for Alabama said prison staff regularly use batons, chemical spray and physical attacks to improperly and unjustly punish inmates. They said the excessive force can result in serious injury or death, citing two men who died in 2019 at the hands of correctional officers. Autopsies found both men were beaten so badly, they were left with intracranial bleeding and multiple head and body fractures.
Read more.

Small Business Loans Site Crashes Amid Flood of New PPP Applications

BirminghamWatch,

Alabama bankers couldn’t access the federal Paycheck Protection Program application site on Monday so that small businesses hurt by the coronavirus could apply for the loans.

Alabama Bankers Association President Scott Latham said the U.S. Small Business Administration promised that its systems would be prepared for action on Monday, but they were not.

“Despite the agency’s efforts to be ready, it has failed,” Latham said in a press release.
Read more.

Alabama’s COVID-19 Numbers: 1,265 Confirmed Cases, 17 Deaths

BirminghamWatch,

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alabama climbed today to 1,265, the state Department of Public Health reported. The agency said it has confirmed 17 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic and is investigating the cause of death of another 15 people who had tested positive for COVID-19.

The total number of people diagnosed with the disease rose by 104 since Wednesay night, but the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 remained the same.

Jefferson County continued to have the most cases in the state with 327. But the state’s most populous county still had no confirmed deaths from the disease, though health officials were investigating the deaths of five people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Read more.

Alabama COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to 13, Five More Being Checked

BirminghamWatch,

Alabama’s death toll from COVID-19 rose this morning from six to 13, and the state Public Health Department reported it was looking into five more deaths of people who had been diagnosed with the disease.
The department said there have been three deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Chambers County and two deaths each in Lee and Shelby counties. These counties reported one death each: Jackson, Lauderdale, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tallapoosa. Officials did not say where the other five deaths occurred. The department verifies the cause of death before adding a case to its official lisst.
Read more.

  COVID-19

  BirminghamWatch Recommends

  CongressionalWatch

  • Republican-Backed Coronavirus Relief Bill Dies on Party-Line Vote

    Voterama in Congress

    WASHINGTON — Alabama’s senators split along party lines this week as the Senate failed to reach 60 votes needed to advance a Republican-sponsored coronavirus relief package.

    Sen. Richard Shelby, R, voted to advance the bill, and Sen. Doug Jones, D, voted against it. Overall, the vote, held Thursday, was 52 for and 47 against.

    Consisting of $300 billion in new spending and $350 billion in recycled funds, S178 stopped well short of a competing $3.4 trillion measure passed by House Democrats in May. Read more.

  2020 Elections

  • Polling Place Changes Prompt Jefferson County to Send Out New, More Colorful Cards

    Barry Stephenson frequently has attended meetings of the Jefferson County Commission this year as polling places have said, ‘Thanks; no thanks’ to hosting elections during a pandemic.

    The county registrar stood before commissioners during their committee meeting Tuesday, again announcing a change in a polling place.

    “I hope this is the last one I bring before you,” he said. “It’s been interesting. We’ve been told to leave over the summer, and we found replacements.” Read more.

  Economy

  • Auto Supplier Moving Into Industrial Park in McCalla, Creating 120 Jobs

    Jefferson County commissioners learned during their committee meeting Tuesday that a new auto supplier is going to the Jefferson Metropolitan industrial park in McCalla, which is called JefMet and owned by the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority.

    Development attorney Warren Matthews of Burr Foreman joined representatives of Mobis US Alabama to seek tax abatements from the commission as the firm looks to add more than 120 jobs to JefMet McCalla. Mobis expects to spend nearly $16 million to establish the operation.

    “Mercedes is transitioning a lot of their fleet to electric vehicles,” Matthews said. “They are going to be the front and rear axle manufacturers for those vehicles.” Read more.

  Schools

  • Board of Education President Criticizes Woodfin’s Plan to Cut Funding for Birmingham Schools

    Though she insisted that she was “absolutely not here in my professional capacity,” Birmingham School Board President Daagye Hendricks addressed the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, calling Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposed FY 2021 budget “egregious” for cutting funding to city schools.

    This year’s city budget is nearly $50 million smaller than last year’s budget, thanks to a sharp decline in the city’s business tax revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the $412 million budget’s many proposed austerity measures — which include funding cuts for external organizations and furloughs for hundreds of city employees — is a reduction of $1 million in city funding to Birmingham City Schools.
    Read more.

  • JeffCo Schools Moving Toward On-Campus Classes Starting Later this Month

    Jefferson County Schools will begin accepting students back onto campuses in just more than a week.

    Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin announced on Facebook Thursday that the system would resume traditional learning starting Sept. 21. Grades will have staggered starts on the in-person learning. Students will go to class two days a week at first. Wednesdays will be set aside for remote learning for children and cleaning schools for staff. After two weeks, they will transition to five days a week on campus.

    Students who want to may continue with virtual learning. Read more.

  • 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.

  COVID-19

  • Alabama’s Nursing Shortage Worsens During Pandemic
  • UAB Doctor Questions Wisdom of Releasing a Vaccine Without Full Trials

    UAB’s director of infectious diseases Thursday questioned the safety of a COVID vaccine that might be released in October or early November. Dr. Jeanne Marazzo said she would want to assess the data used in development of the vaccine. She joins other scientists from across the country who have questioned whether the vaccine would be safe and effective after it had undergone such speedy clinical trials. Read more.

  • 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.

  • Parole Hearings Continue Despite COVID-19

    Since being authorized to hold parole hearings under a special order from Gov. Kay Ivey, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles has held more than 1,200 hearings and granted 253 paroles. In the past, the board has held public hearings. But because of the pandemic, it is holding hearings in which it reviews materials submitted by the interested parties. Read more.

  • 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.

  Colleges and Coronavirus

  • College Virtual Learning Rife With Technical Challenges

    WBHM

    Several Alabama colleges and universities welcomed students back to campus last week. Since the pandemic began, many schools have shifted toward more virtual instruction. For some students, that has introduced a lot of technical headaches.

    Like thousands of students, Andrew Yarborough, a sophomore at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, finished out the spring and summer semesters with online classes. The transition wasn’t an easy one.

    “I had a lot of trouble with my online classes just because, for starters, they weren’t formatted very well,” he said. “They were rushed online.”

    “Also because, you really have to find what works for you and that’s a big shift to have to do immediately,” he said. Read more.

  GovernmentWatch

  • Budget Blows to Birmingham Schools and Transit Being Cushioned, Other Groups are Not as Lucky

    Mayor Randall Woodfin defended some controversial cuts in his proposed FY 2021 budget Tuesday, arguing that, despite a significant drop in city funding, both Birmingham City Schools and the Birmingham-Jefferson Transit Authority would continue to operate as usual. Much of the money they lost will be made up by funds from elsewhere.

    Many other groups, including the library system, zoo and Railroad Park, are facing much bigger consequences. Read more.

  • Jefferson County Commission Adopts Budget With Longevity Payment

    With Commissioner Joe Knight declaring, “The sausage is made! We have a budget!” the Jefferson County Commission today passed a $199 million budget for fiscal 2021.

    All five commissioners voted for the budget, which included $1.485 million for a one-time longevity payment to each county employee. Commissioner Lashunda Scales objected to longevity pay during Tuesday’s committee meeting, favoring instead 1% across-the-board raises, but she voted for the budget, anyway, because it did give an extra payment to employees. Read more.

  • Jefferson County Bids for Release From HR Consent Decree

    A motion filed just before the close of business Tuesday could end 45 years of scrutiny for Jefferson County. County attorney Theo Lawson filed a joint motion that Jefferson County be removed from its consent decree, stating that the county not only complies with but in many cases exceeds the requirements of federal law regarding recruitment, hiring and promotion of qualified individuals. Read more.

  • Political Suicide: Jefferson County Commission President Opposes Extending Trash Contract

    Commission President Jimmie Stephens said he would be committing political suicide if he agreed to extend the contract of Advanced Disposal, the company that provides single-family residential garbage and trash services in unincorporated Jefferson County.

    David Denard, the director of Environmental Services, presented the Jefferson County Commission with a resolution to renew the county’s contract with Advanced Disposal until April 2021 to give the county enough time to lock in another vendor.

    Stephens said he gets complaints three times a week about Advanced. Read more.

  The Legacy of Race

  Alabama's First Class Pre-K Program

  • Education Researchers Publish Study Showing Effects of Pre-K are Long-Term

    Alabama researchers recently have been acknowledged for their work showing that gains made while children are in Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program continue into the students’ elementary years.

    Their peer-reviewed article on the topic was published in the July edition of the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy. It was written by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, ThinkData and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education.

    The paper counters some recent studies of long-term impacts that have shown that advantages from pre-K learning diminish of “fadeout” over time.

    But the Alabama researchers found no statistical evidence of fadeout through the 7th grade. Read more.

    BirminghamWatch took a deeper look at the pre-K program. You can read it here:

    First Class in More Than Name Only: Why Alabama’s Preschool Program Is Best in the Country on National Standards

  Economy

  • Alabama Is in ‘Survival Mode’ Says University of Alabama Economist

    Every sector in Alabama’s economy is shrinking this year because of the pandemic. That’s according to Samuel Addy, senior research economist and associate dean for economic development outreach at the University of Alabama.

    During a press conference Thursday, Addy joined Democrat Sen. Doug Jones to talk about Alabama’s economy, which they both agreed is in ‘survival mode.’

    “All the help coming from D.C., the bills that the senator and others are working on, are not stimulus bills. They are actions and investments for survival,” Addy said. “We know that we are in a worse situation than a few months ago. We need to invest for survival because if we don’t survive, nothing matters.” Read more.

  • With End of $600 Unemployment Benefit, Groups Expect Surge in Evictions, Homelessness

    As Congress debates another stimulus package, many Alabama residents will now see their weekly unemployment checks drop to less than $300. Read more.

  2020 Elections

  Race and Health Care

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