Author

Eddie Burkhalter

Eddie Burkhalter is a reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter. You can email him at [email protected] or reach him via Twitter.

State moves forward with next step in prison lease plan

The Alabama Department of Corrections on Friday opened submitted proposals for the construction of three new prisons in the state, moving Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan for the state to lease three new prisons, to be built by private companies, one step further. The opening of the proposals took place in a conference call, only the … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 15, 2020

Two prison workers test positive for coronavirus

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 6 p.m. Friday to clarify the number of confirmed cases. ADOC mistakenly counted one confirmed case of a staff member twice. Two more workers in Alabama prisons have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. One worker at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women and … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 15, 2020

Jones calls for more federal aid to students, schools and teachers amid COVID-19 crisis

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, on Thursday asked Senate leadership to include money for public schools and students in the next round of COVID-19 relief funding. Jones and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, led a group of other senators in drafting a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that urges … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 15, 2020

Jones calls for more testing, urges GOP senators to take up more coronavirus aid

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, on Thursday said that he hopes Republican leadership in Alabama will “trash” what’s been called a “wish list” of uses for federal coronavirus aid, and instead put that money toward more testing, contact tracing and to plan for another spike in cases that could come. Speaking during a video press … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 14, 2020

Three more prison workers test positive for COVID-19

One worker at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women and two employees at the Ventress Correctional Facility have tested positive for coronavirus, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced Wednesday. The announcement means that eight workers at Ventress prison in Clayton have tested positive for COVID-19, and two at Tutwiler. Ten inmates at Ventress have been … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 14, 2020

Alabama Arise urges federal guidance on return to unsafe working conditions

As thousands of Alabamians return to work this week, an Alabama nonprofit has joined hundreds of organizations nationwide in a call for federal guidance to protect workers from having to return to jobs that don’t take proper precautions against the spread of COVID-19. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on communities of color, … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 14, 2020

State VA commissioner: Universal testing needed for nursing homes, veterans homes

When it came time to discuss the deaths of 23 veterans at an East Alabama veterans home due to coronavirus, Kent Davis became emotional, and he stressed the need for blanket testing of residents and staff at all the state’s veterans homes. Davis, the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, said during a … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 13, 2020

Alabama Corrections Dept. investigating death of inmate who died after falling ill

The Alabama Department of Corrections on Tuesday said that a 41-year-old inmate who died Monday after falling ill was not showing symptoms of COVID-19 and so was not tested for the virus. Colony Nicole Wilson, 41, complained of feeling sick while at the Birmingham Women’s Community Based Facility and Community Work Center and was taken … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 12, 2020

Three more prison workers at three facilities test positive for COVID-19

Three more Alabama prison workers have tested positive for coronavirus at three separate facilities, bringing the total of workers who have contracted the virus to 22, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. One worker at the Ventress Correctional Facility, one at the Easterling Correctional Facility and another employee at the Montgomery Women’s Community Based … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 12, 2020

Isolation, mental health problems persist for seniors in Alabama amid COVID-19

Seniors in Alabama are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, and the isolation caused by the social distancing needed to keep them safe comes with its own set of special problems for them, according to state experts on senior care. Those experts spoke about the needs of Alabama seniors amid the COVID-19 crisis during a … Continued

Eddie Burkhalter

May 12, 2020