The latest version of the COVID-19 vaccine is now available in Alabama. The COVID-19 vaccine is now being treated like the flu shot. The new shots were updated to target the XBB variant strains of the virus descended from the original omicron variant. Dr. Wes Stubblefield with the Alabama Department of Public Health tells WHNT TV the vaccine will be offered in a number of places including pharmacies, health departments and doctor’s offices.
Huntsville has the best job market in the United States. That’s according to an analysis by New York-based financial tech firm SmartAsset. They recently looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2021. Only cities with a population of more than 100,000 were considered for the ranking. AL.com reports SmartAsset looked at cities’ unemployment rate for 2021; median housing payments compared to the median income; minutes spent in commuting to work; and the percentage of workers who have private health insurance. The survey also looked at two-year growth in median income between 2019 and 2021. SmartAsset put Huntsville at the top of the list because its unemployment rate was three percentage points lower than the national average, and the median income grew 30% from 2019 to 2021.
Birmingham-based Capstone Development Partners and Huntsville-based Boaz Ventures have broken ground on a $60 million project that will provide housing adjacent to UAH. The housing community, Nexus on Holmes, will be a four-story, 249-unit facility envisioned to house students, faculty and staff from UAH. Business Alabama notes it’s also convenient to Cummings Research Park, Redstone Arsenal, MidCity, Bridge Street and downtown Huntsville.
Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded grants totaling $1.03 million to assist residents with purchasing and installing child safety seats. The Alabama Department of Public Health will use grant funds for the Child Passenger Safety Program to educate Alabamians on the safe use of child passenger restraint systems. The program qualifies individuals to become certified Child Passenger Safety technicians through a short training course. The Alabama Political Reporter says ADPH is also using funds to organize car-seat fitting stations around the state where you can have seats checked and installed by certified technicians. Information about fitting stations and training, along with educational materials about safe use of car seats will be available on the program’s website: alabamapublichealth.gov/injury prevention/car-seats
The Huntsville/Madison County Public Library officially opened the new Makerspace Studio on the first floor of the Downtown Library last week. The studio is free and open for any library cardholder to use. It offers 3D printing, access to a sewing machine, embroidery machine, as well as a selection of craft supplies and hand tools. The Downtown Makerspace can also digitize a variety of media, including cassettes, VHS tapes, film negatives and slides, 3.5-inch floppy disks, and vinyl records.
For the second straight year, Huntsville’s Orion Amphitheater has been nominated for the Amphitheater of the Year award given by International Entertainment Buyers Association. Huntsville Blast points out that that the amphitheater was built last year and therefore has only been eligible for the award for two years. The winner will be announced at a conference in Nashville next month. Last year’s Amphitheater of the Year award went to Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.