Presented by

The Boeing Company

1. House passes ETF, General Fund goes to governor

• Alabama lawmakers continued their budget-focused, abbreviated session Thursday, sending the General Fund budget to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk and getting one step closer to final passage of the education budget.
• The House approved the $7.2 billion Education Trust Fund, which is a $91 million increase from the 2020 fiscal year budget, but about $300 million less than the pre-pandemic proposed budget. The education budget and other education funding bills now go to the Senate, where they will be in committee today and could get final passage Saturday.
• House education committee budget chairman Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, said conservative appropriations in the past and a reserve fund kept major cuts out of the 2021 budget, despite declines in revenue following the coronavirus pandemic.
• The House also gave final passage to a $1.25 billion bond issue to fund capital improvement projects at K-12 schools and colleges and universities. That legislation now goes to Ivey for her signature.
• The Alabama Literacy Act will receive $18.5 million to fulfill necessary summer school and professional development requirements under the 2019 law that allows students to be held back in the third grade if they’re not reading on grade level.
• The House also passed the General Fund budget with a few changes, and the Senate concurred Thursday afternoon sending the package to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. The governor’s spokeswoman said “all options remain on the table” for her decision on the budgets.
• Full story from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

2. Ivey cedes control of coronavirus funds, chides Legislature for spending ‘wishlist’

• After private wrangling between the Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey over the authority to spend nearly $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, Ivey on Thursday publicly put the responsibility on lawmakers.
• “I have never desired to control a single penny of this money and if the Legislature feels so strongly that they should have that authority, I yield to them both the money and the responsibility to make good decisions – in the light of day where the people of Alabama know what is happening,” Ivey said in a written statement to reporters Thursday afternoon.
• Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said in response that he appreciates Ivey “adhering to the Alabama Constitution on how taxpayer dollars are appropriated.”
• His account differed from Ivey’s in that he implied the governor “expected to have sole discretion” over the federal relief funds. Multiple lawmakers told Alabama Daily News that the governor’s office resisted the Legislature’s recent attempts to stake out control of how those dollars will be spent.
• “… it is surprising that anybody expected to have sole discretion on how this money would be spent without public input and oversight,” Marsh said. “We look forward to working with Gov. Ivey and her team as we reopen Alabama for business, put people back to work, and get money from the CARES Act into the hands of those who need it the most.”
• Ivey’s statement, its tone more pointed and passionate than usual, came hours before lawmakers gave final passage to the General Fund budget. How much federal coronavirus relief money Ivey would be allowed to immediately spend has been a moving target in the budget in the last two weeks.
• Ivey put the onus on the Legislature to come up with a spending plan.
• Read more and see the “wish list” itself from Mary Sell, Caroline Beck and me HERE.
• A more detailed account awaits below…

A message from

The Boeing Company

• As Alabama’s largest aerospace employer, Boeing has more than 3,000 employees driving innovation that will carry humans farther and faster in our solar system than ever before possible.

• The Huntsville-based Space Launch System (SLS) team designed the first core stage of the massive rocket for NASA’s Artemis I mission around the Moon. SLS production for Artemis II is already progressing faster than the first stage.

• Alabama’s workforce is at the center of this technology and is now developing a bigger SLS variant.

• The more powerful Exploration Upper Stage will be able to power NASA missions that carry crew and heavy cargo on the SLS deeper into space.

• You can read more about the progress HERE.

3. Inside Alabama Politics

• Behind the Budget Brouhaha;
• The Plan for the End of Session;
• What About Special Sessions?
• Going Forward on Prisons;
• Troy King Can’t Catch A Break;
• BamaJam Contrempts Ongoing.

4. Jarring jobless report

• Nearly 29,000 Alabamians filed initial unemployment claims the week of April 26-May 2, with 19,452 of those claims related to COVID-19, the Alabama Department of Labor said Thursday.
• Claims hit a record high at 106,739 the week ending April 4 and nearly 450,000 claims have been filed since efforts to control the coronavirus began restricting businesses’ operations in mid-March.
• Read more on the state’s unemployment situation from ADN’s Will Whatley HERE.
• This morning we are getting our first glimpse at just how drastically the coronavirus outbreak is impacting unemployment nationwide.
• The U.S. Labor Department reports that the economy shed more than 20.5 million jobs in the month of April. The unemployment rate is now at 14.7%, the highest it has been since the Great Depression.
• Read more about the national jobs report HERE.

5. Ivey: Remembering My Father and the Greatest Generation

• Gov. Kay Ivey contributes an op-ed in today’s Daily News marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
• Of course, VE stands for Victory in Europe, which happened when the allies secured the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945.
• Ivey remembers the service of her father and others who fought in World War II for their great sacrifice.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read her full op-ed HERE.

Headlines

INSIDE ALABAMA POLITICS – May 8, 2020

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS  – House passes education budget, General Fund goes to Ivey

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS  – Ivey cedes control of coronavirus funds, chides Legislature for spending ‘wishlist’

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Jobless rate spikes to 14.7%, highest since Great Depression

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS  – State unemployment claims continue, decline from record high

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Kay Ivey: Remembering My Father and the Greatest Generation

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS  – SEC schools expect campuses to be open in the fall

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Lives Lost: Alabama Medal of Honor winner downplayed heroism

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – AP Exclusive: Admin shelves CDC guide to reopening country

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS  – 2 drivers arrested in fatal race on Alabama interstate

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Leah Nelson: Changes needed on funding for courts, law enforcement

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Daily News Digest – May 7, 2020

AL.COM   – Gov. Kay Ivey says ‘wish list’ shows need to shed light on CARES Act funds

AL.COM  – 30,000 more Alabamians filed for unemployment last week, bringing coronavirus total to nearly 450K

AL.COM  – Mobile tests jail guards but not inmates, prompting outcry from civil rights groups

AL.COM  – EPA offers environmental justice grants during pandemic

AL.COM  – Alabama lawmakers pass education budget reduced by pandemic

AL.COM  – ‘Government is still controlling me’: Alabama deli owner drops plan to defy coronavirus order

AL.COM  – Fairhope blogger sues Baldwin Sheriff for not following Alabama State Health Order

AL.COM  – Columnist Roy Johnson: Courts stymied by COVID-19 expose state’s flawed funding of state DA offices; layoffs looming

Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama House passes education budget

Montgomery Advertiser – Maryuri Aleman Cantillano was killed the day she was last seen by her family, court records say

Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama House approves Montgomery property tax referendum

YellowHammer News – Alabama House passes education budget package

YellowHammer News – Asian giant hornets? Murder hornets? Not in Alabama

YellowHammer News – Ivey to allow legislature to spend ‘every single penny’ of State stimulus funds

Tuscaloosa News – Arrests made in shooting death of black man after outcry

Tuscaloosa News – CECIL HURT: The value of Tua’s new number

Tuscaloosa News – Court proceedings remain delayed to mid-May

Decatur Daily – House passes education budget, General Fund goes to Ivey

Decatur Daily – Decatur Morgan Hospital: Patient load closer to normal as elective surgeries, non-COVID-19 patients return

Decatur Daily – Sheriff’s Office: Grand jury could get Somerville shooting case

Times Daily – Ivey to lawmakers: Make good decisions on relief fund use

Times Daily – Eubanks seeks second term for District 4

Times Daily – Colbert County emergency app available for iPhone

Anniston Star – Man charged with shooting into occupied car

Anniston Star – Ivey cedes control of coronavirus funds, chides Legislature for spending ‘wishlist’

Anniston Star – House passes education budget, General Fund goes to Ivey

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Ivey gives control of coronavirus funds to lawmakers, chides Legislature for spending ‘wishlist’

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Pell City dog dies at vet after abandonment, apparent pill overdose

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Push to open Alabama churches or possible lawsuits

WAFF Huntsville – Ivey cedes control of coronavirus funds, chides Legislature for spending ‘wishlist’

WAFF Huntsville – House passes Education budget, General Fund goes to Ivey

WAFF Huntsville – Marshall County Health Department expands drive-thru testing site

Gadsden Times – Gadsden City seniors pick up cap and gowns

Gadsden Times – Etowah County schools to resume feeding program

Gadsden Times – School feeding program will continue until summer nutrition starts

Dothan Eagle – Early Thursday morning fire claims two lives in Houston County

Dothan Eagle – ADPH expands criteria for COVID-19 testing

Dothan Eagle – Southeast Alabama Community Foundation awards grants to Wiregrass nonprofits

Troy Messenger – Arrests made in shooting death of black man after outcry

Troy Messenger – State tops 9,000 confirmed cases, Pike County numbers increase

Troy Messenger – Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle

Opelika-Auburn News – Whatley will bring back bill to require ‘ownership’ of emergencies

Opelika-Auburn News – Troy U to reopen campus June 1; no word yet from AU

Opelika-Auburn News – Beauregard residence search yields drugs, firearms, police say

Daily Mountain Eagle – Ivey criticizes lawmakers for taking control of relief cash

Daily Mountain Eagle – Carbon Hill City Council will meet Monday

Daily Mountain Eagle – PHOTOS: Celebrating DHS Class of 2020

Trussville Tribune – Alabama falls well short of Harvard Global Health Institute’s minimum testing recommendations

Trussville Tribune – Nearly 450,000 have filed for unemployment in Alabama; Jefferson County still leads state in number of claims filed

Trussville Tribune – Alabama coronavirus cases continue to climb with 8,699 positive tests, 347 deaths; St. Clair County experiences first virus-related death

Athens News Courier – New unemployment claims fall after 400,000 seek benefits

Athens News Courier – Ivey criticizes lawmakers for taking control of relief cash

Athens News Courier – County announces changes ahead of Monday reopening

WSFA Montgomery – House passes Montgomery County property tax referendum

WSFA Montgomery – Alabama forestry officials monitoring wildfire on Florida panhandle

WSFA Montgomery – Ala. cattle farmers take another hit as meat packing plants crippled by COVID-19

WKRG Mobile – Fatal accident blocking Gulf Beach Highway in Escambia County, Fla.

WKRG Mobile – Parts of the United States could see a historic snowstorm this weekend

WKRG Mobile – Locally-grown produce sales rise while US meat supply is at risk

WTVY Dothan – Gov. Ivey issues response to Alabama legislature’s desire to control CARES funds

WTVY Dothan – Taylor girls raise over $6,000 for essential working from lemonade stand

WTVY Dothan – Two dead in Houston County house fire

WASHINGTON POST  – Justice Dept. moves to drop case against Michael Flynn

WASHINGTON POST  – Flynn decision cheered by Trump and the right, as critics decry it as an attack on the rule of law

WASHINGTON POST  – Trump tightens grip on coronavirus information as he pushes to restart the economy

NEW YORK TIMES  – America’s Business of Prisons Thrives Even Amid a Pandemic

NEW YORK TIMES  – U.S. Jobs Report Shows Clearest Data Yet on Economic Toll: Live Updates

NEW YORK TIMES  – The Results Are In for the Sharing Economy. They Are Ugly.

Front Pages (images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)