Presented by Alabama’s Locally-Owned
Health Mart Community Pharmacies
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Good morning!
Cities and towns across the state are voting in municipal elections today, so don't forget to vote in your mayor, city council and local ballot initiative elections.
Here's your Daily News for Tuesday, August 25.
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1. State virus cases steady, Tuscaloosa closes bars
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- The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 675 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the seven-day average for new cases to a relatively steady 882.
- Hospitals reported a total of 1,149 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 Monday, an increase of 81 from Sunday. State hospitalizations due to the disease had been falling steadily over the last few weeks after peaking at 1,613 on Aug. 6.
- Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on Monday issued an executive order closing local bars for 14 days and limiting restaurants to table service only. This came after the University of Alabama on Friday announced a 14-day moratorium on all in-person student events outside of the classroom, including off-campus parties and Greek life events.
- Maddox's order said bars and restaurants "present a unique risk for the spread of COVID-19 based upon the length of time people spend in close proximity indoors and the inability to wear a face covering while eating and drinking."
- University officials requested the action, according to Maddox. He said an unchecked spread of the virus threatens both the health care system and the local economy if students are sent home for the semester to do remote learning.
- “The truth is that fall in Tuscaloosa is in serious jeopardy,” Maddox said.
- The University of Alabama reported Monday that 531 students, faculty and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 since August 19. That does not include the 310 positives in reentry testing, which is required for students to return to campus. Those students are presumed to be back at home with their parents.
- According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, the positive cases from college campuses are included in the statewide tally that comes out each day.
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Read more HERE.
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2. Scott, Haley steal the show at Trump-focused RNC
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- A rising generation of Republican stars offered an optimistic view of President Donald Trump's leadership, but the GOP's scaled-back convention featured dark warnings about the country's future, particularly under a Joe Biden administration.
- Two South Carolinians - Sen. Tim Scott and former Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley - stole the show as voices of hope and moderation, casting the GOP as welcoming to Americans of color, despite the party’s overwhelmingly white leadership and voting base.
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“I was a brown girl in a black and white world,” Haley said Monday night, noting that she faced discrimination but rejecting the idea that “America is a racist country.” She also gave a nod to the Black Lives Matter movement, saying “of course we know that every single Black life is valuable.”
- Scott also spoke of his unique upbringing, noting that his family went "from cotton to Congress in one lifetime" from hard work.
- The convention was not without its MAGA-esque speakers, from Charlie Kirk to Kimberly Guilfoyle and Donald Trump, Jr.
- President Donald Trump also made a surprise visit to the convention hall in Charlotte to accept the Republican nomination.
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Read more about the RNC's opening night HERE.
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A message from Alabama’s Locally-Owned
Health Mart Community Pharmacies
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- Alabama’s community pharmacists are more than just the friendly faces that fill your prescriptions every month; they are an essential link in the healthcare chain.
- In rural areas, community pharmacists are often the first – and sometimes the only – healthcare contact for residents in a community.
- In addition to keeping Alabama communities healthy by filling prescriptions, most of the APCI network of community pharmacies provide vital healthcare services such as immunizations, clinical testing, and medication counseling.
- We appreciate the pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy staff members – your friends and neighbors – in our locally-owned pharmacies who go above and beyond to safely meet the healthcare needs of Alabamians.
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Find your locally-owned community Health Mart pharmacy HERE.
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3. Marco fades, but Laura looks to pack a punch
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- As Tropical Storm Marco made landfall and dissipated, the Gulf Coast turned its attention to Laura, another system following just behind that could grow into a supercharged Category 3 hurricane with winds topping 110 mph and a storm surge that could swamp entire towns.
- Laura became a hurricane Tuesday shortly after entering the warm and deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, gathering strength on a path to hit the U.S. coastline as a major storm that could unleash a surge of seawater higher than a basketball hoop.
- "Our sights are on Laura now,"Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told a news briefing. "It has the potential to be a major hurricane."
- Shrimp trawlers and fishing boats were tied up in a Louisiana harbor ahead of the storms. Red flags warned swimmers away from the pounding surf. Both in-person classes and virtual school sessions were canceled in some districts.
- Heavy rain was expected across portions of the north-central Gulf Coast overnight, according to the National Hurricane Center. In Pensacola, Marco produced a one-day record rainfall of 2.22 inches, breaking a record set in 1961. But forecasters predicted Marco would no longer be a tropical storm by the end of the night.
- More workers were being evacuated from production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in anticipation of Laura's arrival, reducing offshore oil and gas production to less than one-fifth the normal activity. The Interior Department said Monday that 281 platforms had been evacuated by around midday. That's nearly half of those normally with workers on site.
- Read more HERE.
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4. Mentzer takes command of Maxwell's 42nd Air Base Wing
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- Col. Eries Mentzer took command of Maxwell Air Force Base's 42nd Air Base Wing Monday, replacing Col. Patrick Carley.
- Lt. Gen. James Heckler, commander and president of Air University, presided over the change of command ceremony and told Mentzer she had "big shoes to fill."
- “You are obviously qualified to do this job, and we are happy, enthusiastic and optimistic about you arriving here," Heckler said. "We look forward to being your wingmen along this journey.”
- Mentzer is coming to Maxwell from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. where she served as both the vice commander and Air Force commander.
- The commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing functions much like the mayor of Maxwell Air Force Base, taking care of the functionality of the base and working as a liaison with the surrounding community.
- Mentzer becomes the first black woman to serve in the role and she mentioned finding inspiration in Montgomery civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.
- “A former Maxwell Air Force Base seamstress, she challenged the status quo and sparked a movement that changed our nation for the better,” she said. “Ms. Parks’ competence, confidence, compassion and courage motivate me to drive change that is more inclusive and reflective of the Airmen who serve today.”
- Full story HERE.
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5. API: Where is the Legislature? |
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- Caleb Crosby and former State Sen. Phil Williams of the Alabama Policy Institute contribute an op-ed today discussing the need for a special session of the Alabama Legislature.
- API had previously advocated its plan for how the state should spend federal coronavirus relief dollars and, while much of that has already been worked out, many decisions still remain, they say.
- The Legislature is overdue for meeting to discuss a range of issues, they argue.
- Here's an excerpt:
As we sit here today in what are hopefully the late-innings of a declared pandemic, with epic government action impacting the daily lives of citizens and businesses, the representative body of government – the same people we elect to be our voice in Montgomery – is nowhere to be found.
To be fair, a little-known fact is that the part-time bodies of the State House and Senate cannot simply convene when they feel like it. Aside from the annual Regular Session and the quadrennial Organizational Session, the Legislature can only convene in Special Session when called upon by the Governor. And right now she ain’t callin’.
Then again, I don’t hear them askin’.
The Alabama Legislature was one of the earliest in the nation to adjourn its Regular Session this year, and they did so sooner than planned. As I write this, 27 states stayed in session longer to tend to their people’s business and 18 states have already reconvened in special sessions to address coronavirus-related relief or issues.
But in Alabama, one branch of government is running everything.
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Read the full op-ed HERE.
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AL.COM - Get ready for spike in cases from high school football crowds, north Alabama official warns
AL.COM - Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill checking out potential cases of crossover voting
AL.COM - University of Alabama reports more than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases
AL.COM - Hecklers shout down group speaking in support of Confederate monument in Huntsville
AL.COM - Alabama’s Cliff Sims, White House tell-all author, back on Trump team: Reports
AL.COM - Alabama senator battling COVID-19 moves to rehab center
AL.COM - Tuscaloosa bars shut down 2 weeks to slow COVID spread on Alabama campus
AL.COM - Pilgrim’s initiative to pump $1.6 million into Alabama communities
Montgomery Advertiser - After road rage incident, Tallassee mayor, woman charged with misdemeanor harassment
WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham - Birmingham businesses take pledge to support UAB, students’ effort to stop COVID-19 spread
Tuscaloosa News - After road rage incident, Tallassee mayor, woman charged with misdemeanor harassment
Decatur Daily - Absentee ballot signups for today’s municipal elections double those in 2016 in Decatur
Decatur Daily - Hundreds of Decatur City Schools students switch to remote learning
Times Daily - Muscle Shoals firefighters begin training on new fire boat
Times Daily - Sheffield man shot several times died from wounds
Times Daily - Average new virus cases steady statewide; Tuscaloosa moves to close bars
Anniston Star - Polls to open at 7 a.m. Tuesday for city elections
Anniston Star - Average new virus cases steady statewide, Tuscaloosa moves to close bars
YellowHammer News - Program in Montgomery launched to accelerate app development companies headquartered locally
YellowHammer News - James Spann: Marco fizzles, turning eyes to Laura; rain for Alabama
Gadsden Times - Multiple agencies chase stolen vehicle; pursuit ends with crash in Gadsden
Dothan Eagle - Dothan's eastside LaBamba Mexican Café being sold at auction
Dothan Eagle - Dothan expresses condolences after loss of former city commissioner John Craig
Dothan Eagle - Dothan official: ‘Tremendous amount of roadwork’ next few years should ease growing pains
Opelika-Auburn News - More than 200 Auburn University students test positive for COVID-19 after week 1
WSFA Montgomery - CrimeStoppers: Business burglary suspect sought in Tallassee
WSFA Montgomery - ‘Don’t blow this for everyone else’: Dr. Harris discusses college campuses, high school football
WAFF Huntsville - Huntsville doctor speaks highly of plasma for treating COVID-19
WAFF Huntsville - Elderly residents stranded after second broken down elevator
WKRG Mobile - UPDATE: 19-year-old shot on Farnell Drive
WKRG Mobile - Local treatment for pediatric condition that can cause anxiety, heart failure
WKRG Mobile - Marco spares Mississippi Coast, residents focus on Laura’s track
WTVY Dothan - Learn how UAB & ADPH plan to enhance the state’s stroke response system
WTVY Dothan - Parents struggle to balance working from home and at-home learning
WTVY Dothan - Governor Ivey likely to extend mask order
WASHINGTON POST - Republican convention speakers share dark vision of Democrats and praise Trump’s character
WASHINGTON POST - From ‘visionary’ to ‘guardian of America’ — the Republican convention is all about Trump
WASHINGTON POST - Trump, Republicans attack Biden as tool of the left and an agent of socialism
NEW YORK TIMES - Trump’s Fights Are Their Fights. They Have His Back Unapologetically.
NEW YORK TIMES - DeJoy Defends Postal Changes as Trump Continues to Attack Voting by Mail
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Front Pages (images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)
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