7 Things: Ivey will sign budgets, football will be back in the fall, CDC has new reopening guidelines and more …

7. Alabama’s new coronavirus hotspot

• While Alabama’s recent coronavirus case numbers have seemingly plateaued as a whole, it appears that the state’s capital is seeing a spike in cases over the last few weeks, with only hard-hit Mobile experiencing more new cases of the virus.
• The White House has even said that Montgomery’s metro area is a “location to watch”  for new cases of COVID-19.

6. States see decline in cases while reopening

• The media and their Democrats have relentlessly criticized any state that would dare move towards reopening their economy without any concern for the results and facts that not every state is a disaster like New York. They have also been praising any governor who wanted to shut down their states for months on end. 
• Now, the preliminary results of reopening some states are starting to be seen with 28 states now seeing new cases decline. States like Florida and Georgia are not seeing the mass death and chaos we were told we would see, instead, their cases are continuing to decline with cases down 14% in Florida and 12% in Georgia.

5. Redstone general leading vaccine efforts

• President Donald Trump’s administration’s work to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus is going to be overseen by Army General Gustave Perna who is from Army Material Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. 
• Perna will be a co-chair for “Operation Warp Speed” and will oversee logistics, according to White House officials. The goal is to determine the best vaccine out of a group of 14 potential vaccines. 

4. Pelosi is willing to negotiate

• After the White House threatened to veto the Democrats’ most recent coronavirus relief bill that would total $3 trillion, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that they’ve put their “offer on the table, we’re open to negotiation,” but Republicans don’t seem like they are interested.
• The White House was threatening to veto the bill on the accusation that the Democrats were trying to pass “long-standing partisan and ideological wish lists.” Included in the bill would be another round of $1,200 stimulus checks that illegal immigrants would be eligible and $25 billion to support vote-by-mail through the U.S. Postal Service. 

3. CDC has released guidelines for reopening

• Guidelines for schools, businesses and other establishments have been released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but churches were not included in these guidelines after the White House raised concerns about government guidance for places of worship. 
• The CDC has detailed specific guidelines for businesses, schools, camps, mass transit, childcare centers, bars, restaurants and workplaces. All of the guidelines include sanitation practices, capacity suggestions and encourage social distancing. 

2. Football will be back by Fall

• Jay Gogue, Auburn University president, said in a recent video released by the school that they will “have all of the activities that we have every fall,” including football. He did not say he would “suit up” and play like West Virginia University’s president. 
• Gogue added that the only difference is “that you will be with us this fall, and we’re looking forward to having you.” The University of Alabama System intends for on-campus activity to resume by Fall semester. 

1. Ivey will sign both budgets

• The Fiscal Year 2021 General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets will be signed by Governor Kay Ivey as she announced, but SB 161 has been returned to the Alabama Senate with an amendment added. 
• The executive amendment added by Ivey would allow all $1.8 billion of the federal funds from the CARES Act available to her finance director. Ivey said she “will not call the legislature back into a Special Session unless and until they provide the people of Alabama – in advance – a full, detailed and public list of how the money will be spent in exact amounts, down to the penny.”