Baillee Majors

An APR News feature

Alabama and the rest of the country have been in the COVID-19 pandemic for a year now.

A lot of attention in Alabama is being focused on COVID-19 and the state’s vaccination program, but that’s not the only public emergency residents are dealing with. Alabama continues to clean up and recover after a devastating 2020 hurricane season. Assistance is still available for those in need of help after Hurricane Zeta, but time is running out to apply.

Small businesses in Alabama are looking to get an economic boost from holiday cheer. COVID-19 is changing the holiday shopping experience at a time when mom-and-pop shops are on a thin lifeline from the pandemic.

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way people are voting during the 2020 elections. November’s general election is no different. The option to vote with an absentee ballot has been granted to Alabamians in one of the most-watched presidential elections, but a lot of questions are being raised on the proper way to fill out an absentee ballot application and the absentee ballot itself.  

An APR News Feature --Part of an innovative collaboration between Alabama Public Radio, the commercial newsroom at WVUA23-TV, and the University of Alabama's Center for Public Television.

State leaders are doing what they can to keep Alabamians safe as coronavirus cases and deaths climb in Alabama, but some say there’s more lawmakers can be doing right now, like expanding Medicaid.   

An APR News feature

A stay-at-home order in Birmingham and a growing number of testing centers were just some of the stories related to the Coronavirus outbreak and Alabama. As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Alabama, state leaders say it’s more important than ever for Alabamians to listen to state and health officials during this unprecedented pandemic.  

An APR News Feature

This legislative session, one Alabama lawmaker is proposing a constitutional amendment to reform the state’s bail system. It would deny bond to anyone accused of some of the most violent crimes, but opponents say there are unanticipated consequences to this law and order bill.

Jenny Carroll is a professor of law at The University of Alabama. She says,

Right now in Alabama, people accused with some of the most serious crimes in the state are allowed out on bail. One state senator is working to keep violent offenders who are charged with these crimes locked up longer. But, in this journalism collaboration with the commercial news team at WVUA23-TV, some say there are unintended consequences in what seems like a law and order issue.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. Advocates, organizations and individuals unite to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking across the country. An Alabama audience recently heard from a trafficking survivor who gained national attention and advocacy from celebrities, but the road to freedom for Cyntoia Brown has been rocky and controversial.