7. Out of state hospitals want Alabama’s help
- The coronavirus pandemic is clearly putting a strain on medical facilities across the country, and now David Spillers, CEO of the Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System, has claimed that hospitals in Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Alabama have requested to move patients to North Alabama, which he rejected.
- Spillers explained that the hospitals were “all asking to transfer patients to Huntsville Hospital because the hospitals in their area were full.” He added, “They felt like they could not take any more COVID patients. We were unable to accept those patients because we were dealing with the patients we have here in north Alabama.”
6. The push to cancel schools continues
- Green and Sumter Counties have delayed all sports for nine weeks and Birmingham City Schools has canceled middle school sports. Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson has recommended to superintendents across the county that middle schoolers and high schoolers not return to the classroom for the first nine weeks of this school year and younger grades should only be in the classroom if there’s isolated groups, social distancing and masks.
- Wilson said that due to the current level of coronavirus spread occurring in the area, “there is a considerable chance that cases of COVID-19 will occur among students/and or staff despite precautions in the schools.” Wilson also warned, “If classes are not stringently isolated from one another, whole schools may end up having to close.” He recommended canceling or postponing “close contact sports.”
5. Huntsville is one of the best cities to live in
- Business Insider is starting to examine which cities would be best to live in after the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s been determined that Huntsville is the top Southern city to live in and 13th-best nationally.
- Decatur was ranked the 19th-best Southern city to live in post-pandemic. These rankings were determined by unemployment rates before the pandemic, housing costs and how many jobs in the area that can be done remotely.
4. Renaming U.S. Highway 80 highway for John Lewis
- In a letter written to Governor Kay Ivey, the seven U.S. Representatives in Alabama are requesting that the part of U.S. Highway 80 between Montgomery and Selma be renamed the “John R. Lewis Voting Rights Highway” after U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA) passed away.
- Members wrote that “sacrifices made by John Lewis in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches were essential to advancing civil rights to countless Americans.” the portion of the highway that would be renamed is “from the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to the city of Montgomery.” The letter reasoned, “[T]his was the 54-mile stretch of highway where the march to Montgomery took place.”
3. Coronavirus only spreads after 11:00 p.m, apparently
- As a way to try and prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board has decided to ban the sale of alcohol at any establishment after 11:00 p.m., starting August 1.
- This was done to try and limit “social gatherings,” according to ABC Board administrator Mac Gipson. ABC Board chair Col. Alan Spencer emphasized that this won’t be a long-term rule, but they “will relieve this restriction as soon as possible.”
2. The HEALS Act is here
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Republicans have released their new economic relief package, and McConnell said that he hopes this legislative package won’t provoke “partisan cheap shots” or “the predictable, tired, old rhetoric as though these were ordinary times and the nation could afford ordinary politics.”
- The $1 trillion package includes $100 billion for schools, another round of $1,200 stimulus checks, another round of the Paycheck Protection Program, $200 per week of additional of unemployment benefits instead of $600 per week, lability protections for churches, businesses, charities, schools, nurses and doctors, $20 billion for vaccine development, $16 billion for coronavirus testing, and funding for farmers and military.
1. Dismukes has denounced the KKK, but calls for his head continue
- State Representative Will Dismukes (R-Prattville) previously posted a picture of himself attending and speaking at the birthday celebration of the first grand wizard of the KKK and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and while he has since disavowed the KKK, he left much to be desired from his statement.
- Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan commented on the issue, saying those elected in Alabama are held “to a high standard of actions.” She also criticized Dismukes for not explaining why he was at the birthday celebration and called his statement “shallow in understanding.” The College of Republican Federation of Alabama and many Alabama Democrats have asked for Dismukes’ resignation. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) pointed out that many representatives spent the weekend honoring the life of U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA) who he noted is “an Alabama native and civil rights icon who dedicated his life to securing freedom, liberty, and equality for all Americans.”
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.