Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: A federal judge Monday laid out a contingent plan to implement a previous ruling that the Alabama State Senate map violated the Voting Rights Act.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The comments from Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s State Health Officer, came after a meeting of the Alabama Department of Public Health Thursday, in which officials stressed the importance of vaccination amid threats from diseases and federal policy changes.

Butterscotch (temp foster) will be writing all my stories today. Hope that’s ok with everybody.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The State Employees’ Insurance Board (SEIB) Wednesday approved withdrawals from a trust fund and increases to certain deductibles and co-pays for state employees to address a deficit caused by increasing health care costs.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama’s top health official said in a report released Thursday that unpredictable federal funding and changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding vaccines will have ramifications for public health.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: A federal court heard arguments Tuesday in Alabama’s appeal of a 2024 ruling that blocked a portion of a state law criminalizing some forms of absentee ballot assistance.

I’m back from a much needed vacation to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks! My sister and I had a blast. Photos to prove I don’t just work, eat and sleep. Go outside! Touch grass!

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: In the face of rising insurance rates, Alabama will have to consider allocating more money to the state employees’ health insurance program while altering state workers’ benefits, the State Employees’ Insurance Board leader said during a meeting Wednesday.

Secretary of State Wes Allen told a federal judge today he still does not know if the governor will call a special session to redraw state Senate districts in Montgomery after last month's ruling that they violate the Voting Rights Act. alabamareflector.com/2025/09/04/s...

And now I'm covering health, since @alander.bsky.social moved to the lovely Georgia Recorder!

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Public Education Employee Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) board approved a request for a $380 million budget increase for fiscal year 2027 at its quarterly meeting Wednesday.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama’s new statehouse is the first of its kind built in the United States since 1977.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama union leaders says they’re still focused fighting to ensure workers get into the middle class, even as the percentage of unionized workers in the state — traditionally one of the most organized in the South — continues to fall.

POV: It is one hour before the holiday weekend and you check your email for court filings #alpolitics

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Alabama Department of Public Health will seek an additional $15 million for the state share of the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 2027.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The chair of the Alabama Senate’s General Fund committee said Tuesday “the numbers are not adding up” on budget requests from state agencies for fiscal year 2027.

My 1st election coverage (start to finish) ended tonight with the election of GOP Heath Allbright to represent AL HD11. It's one to remember. Both these candidates were such lovely people to talk to. Dem Alex Braswell has begged me to report this: her fav ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Amid municipal elections throughout the state Tuesday, voters in Cullman and Blount counties go to the polls to choose a state representative. It’s the first time a Democrat has run in House District 11 since 2006.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Three Republicans will run in an October primary for the east Alabama seat ahead of a February general election against a Democrat in the race.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Alabama Department of Public Health said the 5-year-old child, who was not vaccinated, contracted the disease while traveling outside the United States. The child did not attend day care or school and the child's siblings were vaccinated, ADPH said.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: An Alabama state senator said last week that members of the Trump administration raised questions about language in some ADPH documents. The head of ADPH said Friday the White House had not contacted them with specific concerns.

Breaking via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: A federal judge ruled Friday that Alabama’s current state Senate district map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and said an additional majority or near-majority Black district would need to be drawn in Montgomery.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Next week’s Alabama House District 11 election will be the first time a Democrat has run in a contest for the Cullman and Blount county seat in nearly 20 years.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Wednesday that if elected governor he would encourage some students to go into technical training after completing 10th grade as a means of building the workforce.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama community college enrollment went up nearly 12% over the last year, outpacing national numbers.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Alabama’s summer reading programs appear to have improved reading results for the children who attended them, though the full scope isn’t fully clear.

A worthwhile trip to Orange Beach today to the Alabama County Commission Association convention. Heard from Tuberville, Ivey and now Steve Marshall. Story to come. #alpolitics

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Realtor Cindy Myrex won the Republican nomination Tuesday for a special House election in District 12 in Cullman County. Myrex will face Democratic nominee Matt Glover, a former Good Hope city councilman, in the election on October 28.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Republican voters in Cullman go to the polls today to choose a nominee for a special House election later this year. Here’s a guide to the race.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: What does state intervention in Sumter County’s public schools look like? In the rural west Alabama county, facing significant population decline, it’s led to concentrating elementary schools at a high school campus, new construction, and school closings.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Southern Poverty Law Center Wednesday hosted a panel of politicians and activists to mark the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, celebrating progress and acknowledging the fight for ballot access continues.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Nearly every Democratic and Republican candidate in two upcoming Alabama House elections in Cullman agrees that a bill allowing the city of Cullman to annex county land was a mistake. Now the co-sponsor of the bill agrees.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The winner of next week’s runoff will face Democratic nominee Matthew Glover, a former Good Hope city councilman, in an October special election.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The Alabama Republican Party Saturday approved a new rule that would allow the party to disqualify an elected GOP official if they appoint a Democrat to a position during their term.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Wayne Reid, executive director of APT, said it will lose about $3.2 million, equal to about 13% of its FY24 budget, after President Donald Trump signed a law revoking $1.1 billion for public media over the next two fiscal years. (Corrects earlier post.)

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones hosted a town hall in Cullman Wednesday for Alex Braswell, a Democrat running in a special election for Alabama House. Jones has not said what his plans for the 2026 state elections are.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Behind Alabama's intervention in Dallas County Schools are financial issues caused by poverty and population loss. The rural county lost 12% of its population between 2010 and 2020; public school enrollment fell by a third between 2014 and 2024. Part 2 of a series.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The race for the Republican nomination for House District 12 in Cullman County is officially headed to a runoff after provisional ballots were counted on Tuesday.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The legislation would require electors to vote for the candidates to which they are pledged, or be replaced by alternates.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Republican voters will choose between Greg Barnes, Dustin Beaty and Mike Elliot on Sept. 30, with primary runoff on Oct. 28, if needed. With no Democrat in the race, the winner of the GOP primary will be the presumed representative for the seat.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Realtor Cindy Myrex and Cullman City Councilman Clint Hollingsworth Tuesday appeared headed to a runoff for the Republican nomination for House District 12 in Cullman County, though Myrex appeared to be within a dozen votes of winning the nomination outright.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Under a new public school funding formula adopted by Alabama earlier this year, a rural school district in northern Alabama is getting almost half of its additional funding for students who are learning to speak English.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: About a year ago, the Alabama State Department of Education intervened in Bessemer City Schools. Teachers and staff say in that time they're seen infrastructure improvements and are hopeful academic gains will follow.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The chancellor of the Alabama Community College System said Wednesday he is more optimistic about the impact of President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill after proposed changes to Pell Grant eligibility were dropped from the final draft.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Republican voters in Cullman County go to the polls today to select a nominee for a special Alabama House election in October. Here's a guide.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The freshman representative from Montgomery, whose election in 2022 marked the first time a Democrat had flipped a Republican-held seat in the Alabama Legislature since 2010, said he plans to move back to New York at the end of his term to be closer to family.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Republican voters in Cullman County go to the polls Tuesday to pick a nominee for a special Alabama House election later this year. Here’s a guide to the race.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Gov. Kay Ivey Tuesday set a January special election for House District 13 in Walker County.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The number of Alabama public school students scoring below proficient dropped on most subjects on the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment of Progress (ACAP), the state’s standardized test.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: Of some 14,000 students planning to use the voucher-like tax credit for private school in the 2025-26 school year, 10,000 were enrolled in private school last year.