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1. Ivey to send back amendment on coronavirus funds
- Gov. Kay Ivey today sent state lawmakers a detailed proposal for how to spend $1.8B in federal coronavirus relief money. This comes a week after a public dispute over the funds.
- The Legislature meets for its final day of the Regular Session on Monday and some had been preparing for an Ivey veto of supplemental budget legislation directing federal coronavirus relief funds. The Legislature sent Ivey a bill allowing her and state agencies to spend $200 million of the about $1.8 billion from Congress, while leaving the Legislature discretion over the rest.
- State Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, said he’ll move Monday to accept Ivey’s amendment, saying her office did a good job of identifying COVID-related losses in the state.
- “The governor, and the Legislature, too, has been trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again,” Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, told Alabama Daily News. He’s chairman of the House General Fund budget committee.
- They are not so sure in the Senate. While General Fund budget chairman Greg Albritton, R-Range, called the development a “good thing,” Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh’s office indicated he was disappointed to be left out of the discussions.
- This is one of those stories you have to read through to the end, from Mary Sell and me HERE.
2. House votes today on Pelosi relief bill
- The Democratic-controlled House is pressing ahead today with votes on another massive rescue bill that would pump almost $1 trillion to state and local governments, renew $1,200 cash payments for individuals, and extend a $600 weekly supplemental federal unemployment benefit.
- The first four coronavirus response bills were bipartisan measures that passed by sweeping votes, but today’s measure — with a $3 trillion-plus price tag that exceeds the prior bills combined — promises to pass largely along party lines.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has loaded the 1,815-page measure with a slew of Democratic priorities, including funding to cover rent payments and utility bills, “hazard pay” for essential workers, and grants to thousands of municipal governments grappling with sagging revenues.
- But it’s earned a White House veto threat and a scathing assessment from top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who called it “a totally unserious effort.”
- Few Republicans are expected to vote for the bill today despite popular provisions like help for the Postal Service and local schools, $1,200 payments to most Americans, and $175 billion to help homeowners and renters stay in their homes.
- Full story HERE.
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3. Alabama nurses ‘tired and stressed,’ seek compensation
- recent survey by the Alabama Nursing Association shows that nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle have been concerned about a lack of personal protection equipment, their own health, bringing the virus home to their families and having the needed time to spend with patients isolated from their loved ones.
- Others, furloughed by public health orders that stopped elective surgeries and procedures, worried about paying their bills and even their own health insurance.
- There are more than 100,000 licensed nurses in Alabama, but only a few facilities in the state have been able to provide leave at normal wage levels during the crises, association president Dr. Sarah Wilkinson-Buchmann said in a letter last month to Alabama’s congressional delegation.
- “… approximately one-third of our workforce has served tirelessly and courageously during COVID-19 while approximately one half of our nurses have been sent home,” she wrote in the letter seeking financial assistance for nurses.
- The survey of about 1,600 ASNA members in mid-April asked about their experiences, needs and fears. A lack of personal protection equipment was mentioned in many responses.
- “Not enough PPE, we are wearing the same stuff for at least 12 hours, some more than 12 hours!,” one respondent wrote about concerns. “Not testing everyone with symptoms bothers me because we discharge them not knowing if they have COVID or not.”
- Full story from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE.
4. More than 470,000 Alabamians have filed job loss claims
- New unemployment claims have leveled off somewhat in Alabama, according to numbers released Thursday, as a record 470,000 people applied for job loss benefits during the coronavirus outbreak.
- The Alabama Department of Labor reported that nearly 27,000 unemployment claims were filed last week. More than 17,800 of those claims are COVID-19 related. About 29,000 people filed the previous week.
- The numbers are well above normal unemployment levels in the state, but down from the start of the pandemic when as many as 100,000 claims were being filed weekly.
- The drop could indicate Alabama is on the downward slope of the coronavirus-related jobless claims that soared after businesses shut their doors because of the virus and state closure orders.
- The new jobless claims included more than 5,200 from the manufacturing sector and nearly 2,500 from the accommodation and food services industry.
- More than 470,000 people applied for job loss benefits since the outbreak began here.
- Story link.
5. NASCAR plans to race its way through the South in June
- It will be a summer in the South for NASCAR: The stock car series announced Thursday it will stick to Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Florida and Alabama for June races — all of them without fans.
- NASCAR has now set plans for 20 races — including nine in the elite Cup Series — as it returns to the tracks after being shut down for more than two months by concerns about the coronavirus.
- The Cup Series is scheduled to resume this Sunday at Darlington Raceway and run four times in 11 days at the South Carolina track and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
- NASCAR will go to to Talladega Superspeedway with the ARCA Series and the Xfinity Series racing June 20 and Cup on June 21. The teams can drive to the Alabama speedway but many might use hotels.
- Full story HERE.
Headlines
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – House to vote Friday on more virus aid, despite GOP skeptics
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama nurses ‘tired and stressed,’ seek compensation
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – More than 470,000 Alabamians have filed job loss claims
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – NASCAR plans to race its way through the South in June
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama delegation reacts to new Pelosi relief bill
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Five COVID-19 cases at state mental hospital for the elderly; ADMH intakes stopped in March
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Community Colleges plan on opening campuses in fall; System working to improve distance learning
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Marsh’s office: CARES Act money won’t be used for State House
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Scott Stantis: Bad Timing
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Highlights of Democrats’ $3 trillion-plus virus relief bill
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Census response map shows lags as field operations restart
ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – May 14, 2020
AL.COM – Wildfire and water restrictions: ‘Severe drought’ impacting coastal Alabama
AL.COM – Ivey proposes plan for spending $1.8 billion in CARES Act funds
AL.COM -High school seniors protest plan for large graduation ceremonies in Alabama next week
AL.COM – Megachurch Pastor Stephen A. Davis says restarting in-person worship ‘too risky’
AL.COM – 400,000+ unemployed Alabamians may have lost their health insurance
AL.COM – Montgomery County emerging as Alabama’s latest coronavirus hotspot
AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald: Immunologist gives Congress – and us — dire warning
AL.COM – EPA grants to help clean up pollution in Africatown, Dothan and Bessemer
AL.COM – Sidewalk dining? Alabama cities grapple with social distancing for restaurants
Montgomery Advertiser – MPS graduations to be at high schools with extremely limited guests, no speeches
Montgomery Advertiser – Ivey refuses to sign off on Legislature coronavirus funds plan, instead suggests her own
Montgomery Advertiser – Ex-Autauga deputy accused of smoking pot turns self in on misdemeanor charge
YellowHammer News – Ivey intends to sign FY21 General Fund, ETF budgets — Offers executive amendment on SB 161
YellowHammer News – ADEM receives $500K grant for a reducing litter in waterways project
YellowHammer News – NASA moves to resume SLS testing — ‘Next great era of space exploration’ still on horizon
Tuscaloosa News – Ivey won’t sign spending bill, wants plan for COVID-19 cash
Tuscaloosa News – Five COVID-19 cases at state mental hospital for the elderly; ADMH intakes stopped in March
Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa Police recover more than 40 firearms during special detail
Decatur Daily – Alcohol revenue up, other tax revenue down in 1st COVID-19 month
Decatur Daily – Nichols hired as Madison City Schools superintendent
Decatur Daily – McConnell hits Democrats’ ‘totally unserious’ relief bill
Times Daily – Ivey details her plan for $1.8B in coronavirus relief funds
Times Daily – Madden seeks Place 2 seat on Muscle Shoals Council
Times Daily – Lauderdale deputy hopefuls take physical test
Anniston Star – Muscadine man charged with meth trafficking
Anniston Star – After dispute, Ivey sends lawmakers proposal for $1.8B in coronavirus spending
Anniston Star – Five COVID-19 cases at state mental hospital for elderly; ADMH intakes stopped in March
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Alabama delegation reacts to new Pelosi relief bill
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Can you get COVID-19 more than once? Experts say we still don’t know
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – ADL, Birmingham Jewish Federation urge education after video of students with swastikas
WAFF Huntsville – Increase of cases may not be linked to lifted restrictions
WAFF Huntsville – 48 COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths confirmed at Russellville nursing home
WAFF Huntsville – Madison County volunteer fire departments say they need more funding
WKRG Mobile – Fairhope woman plans to donate kidney during COVID-19 pandemic
Dothan Eagle – UPDATE: Fire danger advisory issued for Wiregrass
Dothan Eagle – ACOM names Jones as permanent dean
Dothan Eagle – Area census response lagging as deadline extended to August
Gadsden Times – Teen killed in collision near Hokes Bluff
Gadsden Times – Ninth judicial circuit to hold-off on in-person hearings
Gadsden Times – Officials release edited coronavirus reopening guidance
Troy Messenger – Second man charged in Grandberry murder
Troy Messenger – Brundidge man charged with capital murder
Troy Messenger – State COVID cases top 11,100
Andalusia Star News – Two charged after meth lab discovered on Dunson
Opelika-Auburn News – Downtown Auburn hotel bid gets initial approval
Opelika-Auburn News – County adjusts budget; discusses Opelika quarry help
Opelika-Auburn News – Opelika library reopens with restrictions in place
Daily Mountain Eagle – Marsh’s office: COVID-19 money won’t be used for Statehouse
Daily Mountain Eagle – CH pool plans on hold; splash pad damaged
Daily Mountain Eagle – UPDATE: Walker jury trials on hold until fall
Trussville Tribune – Alabama coronavirus cases close in on 11,000; state reports 450 have now died
Trussville Tribune – All-access COVID-19 testing begins Thursday at Legion Field
Trussville Tribune – VIDEO: Trussville City Schools Board of Education meets online, elects officers for 2020-21 school year
Athens News Courier – COVID-19: Athens updates rules governing court, recreation, disconnects
Athens News Courier – Ivey won’t sign spending bill, wants plan for COVID-19 cash
Athens News Courier – Man charged with reckless endangerment
Sand Mountain Reporter – Human remains found near Mentone
Sand Mountain Reporter – Downtown Boaz ready to blossom | City hopes floral decorations uplift community
Sand Mountain Reporter – Boat ramps at Guntersville dam reopen Friday
WSFA Montgomery – Economist: Slow recovery expected as the country desires ‘new economy’
WSFA Montgomery – Suspect identified, charged with capital murder after woman found dead in Troy
WSFA Montgomery – Second suspect charged with murder after body found along Troy roadside
WKRG Mobile – Baldwin County homeowners see property tax increase, but can cut payment in half
WKRG Mobile – ECSO: Suspect wanted for 2003 cold case homicide
WTVY Dothan – Covenant Preschool and Daycare protects students from COVID-19
WTVY Dothan – Henry County Courthouse Reopening on Monday
WTVY Dothan – Geneva County Schools set graduation dates
WASHINGTON POST – Ousted vaccine official testifies country still lacks master plan amid pandemic
WASHINGTON POST – Trump’s company has received at least $970,000 from U.S. taxpayers for room rentals
WASHINGTON POST – Democrats scrutinize State Department plan to overhaul Social Security
NEW YORK TIMES – As Pandemic Wrecks Budgets, States Cut and Borrow to Balance Books
NEW YORK TIMES – Changing Subject Amid a Pandemic, Trump Turns to an Old Ploy: Blame Obama
NEW YORK TIMES – Domestic Violence Calls Mount as Restrictions Linger: ‘No One Can Leave’
Front Pages (images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)
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