Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:
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March 1
The Dothan Eagle on extending COVID-19 restrictions:
For most of the last year, Alabama has been under a 12-page executive order from Gov. Kay Ivey, urging residents to stay home, eschew gatherings, wear face coverings, and maintain a social distance of at least six feet. Unless the governor chooses to extend that order, it will expire on Friday.
From appearances, it’s clearly not been taken as a mandate. Alabamians have, more or less, gone about their business, using their own judgment to determine where they will go and when, and to what extent they’ll conform to recommendations from the governor’s office, the state Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control.
It’s encouraging that most people appear to be taking precaution. Masks are prevalent to the point that one is more likely to notice a person without a mask than with one. People have become accustomed to the level of precaution they exercise, which doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t tired of it.
We expect Gov. Ivey to hold a press conference this week to extend the order. Recent data shows Alabama’s numbers are falling, although our risk level remains high. Vaccinations continue, and a new vaccine from Johnson and Johnson is expected to ship this week.
Perhaps the best news comes out of Birmingham, where an epidemiologist projects that the U.S. could reach herd immunity as early as May or June, because of the increase in the number of people vaccinated and new data that shows more people have had COVID than were tested.
We’re hesitant to say we’re over the hump, but the progress that’s been made toward reining in the virus is encouraging.
Now is not the time to weaken our resolve. Gov. Ivey should leave the order in place for several more weeks. More important is for residents to continue to follow safeguards and precautions with the hope that there will be a time ahead when we can leave our masks at home and gather without fear of illness.
Online: https://dothaneagle.com/
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Feb. 27
The Cullman Times on teacher appreciation during the pandemic:
A year ago, we were on the cusp of this new reality. Little did we know all the ways in which a global pandemic would change our everyday lives and cost us the lives of so many. As science discovered new information about this new virus, we struggled through the uncertainty.
Teachers and students were among the first affected. The schools shut down and then the economy shut down.
Teachers rolled out online learning plans, made sure students had the technology to access the lessons and handed out meals for students. Eventually, here at least, the economy reopened and the students returned to much-changed learning environments.
Being among their peers, back in the classrooms is important not just for educational purposes, but also for mental and physical health. The CDC notes, “It is critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible, and remain open, to achieve the benefits of in-person learning and key support services.”
Teachers provide more than just lessons. They also provide emotional support. Just about everyone has a story or stories of the teachers who impacted their lives. These are the teachers who push students to be better when they see unreached potential, but who also offer care and comfort when it is needed most.
For some children, schools are where they know they’re safe from abusive or dysfunctional home lives. Routines and schedules are important to all children, and the disruption students faced in learning and in our changed society may have a lasting impact. The events of the past year have likely traumatized some students, and it is our teachers who deal with the effects of that.
We ask a lot of our teachers: educate, love, protect, guide and counsel our children. On top of that, there are the administrative tasks, the hours of grading and the classroom supplies teachers pay for out of their own pockets. It takes a special person to be a teacher.
This special section recognizes some of our amazing teachers. We know, though, that there are far more teachers that could and should be recognized. To all of them, we say a heartfelt “thank you.” We are grateful for the love and care you show our children, and we appreciate the sacrifices and risks you took this year to make things as normal as possible for students.
A+ effort by all.
Online: https://www.cullmantimes.com/
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Feb. 25
The Decatur Daily on the purposed lottery bill:
“Politics,” said 19th century German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, “is the art of the possible, the attainable - the art of the next best.”
In the Alabama Legislature, the possible is usually something more like the third best, or possibly not good at all.
Of course, Bismarck also famously quipped that “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America,” so maybe there is hope for the Alabama Legislature yet.
What it seems impossible for the Legislature to do is give Alabama voters a straight up-or-down vote on authorizing that thing all of our neighbors have but we don’t: a state lottery.
Gaming legislation that is possible, that has a hope of making it through the Legislature and onto the ballots in the form of a constitutional amendment voters would have to approve, also must apparently include some form of casino gambling.
That’s second best. But where we are is somewhere below even that option, with a proposal that not only would establish regional casino monopolies throughout the state, but would enshrine those monopolies in the state’s already labyrinthine constitution.
The current bill proposed by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, would establish a state lottery and authorize five casinos: one each at four existing dog tracks and one run by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. This has upset smaller track operators in Lowndes and Houston counties, and with good reason: They would be left at a competitive disadvantage.
Marsh has taken his bill off the table for the next two weeks to work on a compromise. One possibility, he has said, is to increase the number of casino sites from five to seven, divvied up by the state’s congressional districts, but that doesn’t help Lowndes County, which is in the same congressional district as Greentrack.
There is no logical reason to establish regional casino monopolies on the basis of congressional districts. Congressional districts are themselves irrational. They’re drawn to protect incumbents and for partisan gain. No business would decide where to put branch locations on the basis of congressional districts except, of course, government contractors, which always want to make sure they have enough votes for their appropriations.
Meanwhile, populations shift, districts are redrawn, and casinos enshrined in the state constitution today will remain there until the constitution is amended - again, with yet another statewide vote.
A more reasonable solution, a second-best solution, would give the regulatory board that Marsh’s proposal would create the ability to authorize casino gambling for any applicants who meet minimum standards.
Marsh maintains that Alabama voters want some kind of control over gambling, but there is no reason a ceiling on the number of gambling facilities can’t be set by the Legislature. But voters don’t trust the Legislature, you say? Yes, that’s true, but that lack of trust is what is giving us a convoluted gambling bill.
If lawmakers can’t put a best solution - a lottery-only bill - before voters, they should strive for a second-best solution: one that allows casinos and gives the most people a fair shake at having one if they want it.
Put that before voters, and maybe, with a little special providence, it will pass. It’s just possible.
Online: https://www.decaturdaily.com/
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