Community Corner
🌱 1st Alabama Omicron Case + TN Charter School Expanding To AL
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Montgomery.
Happy Saturday, people of Montgomery! Here's everything you need to know going on today.
First, today's weather:
Cloudy, brief showers; warm. High: 69 Low: 53.
Here are the top 3 stories in Montgomery today:
- On Thursday, the Alabama Department of Public Health identified the first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant in the state. The variant was discovered in a resident of Alabama's West Central Public Health District who experienced mild symptoms and had not traveled outside Alabama. As of yesterday, Montgomery County has seen "substantial" community transmission in the previous seven days, with a positivity rate of 6.9 percent. (Alabama Daily News)
- A Tennessee charter school is looking to expand into Montgomery. Freedom Preparatory Academy, which currently has five campuses in Memphis, wants to open its first Alabama campus in fall 2023. School leaders say they are having conversations with Restoration Baptist Church about a possible location at the former Harrison Elementary School building at 164 E. South Blvd. (WSFA)
- Montgomery police are investigating a two-car wreck that left a woman dead on Thursday morning. Officers responded to reports of an accident in the 1500 block of Eastern Boulevard, near the Woodmere Boulevard intersection. The passenger of one of the cars, 21-year-old Amari Hunter, was taken to a nearby hospital for her injuries and was later pronounced dead. The drivers of both cars suffered non-life-threatening injuries. (Alabama News Network)
Today in Montgomery:
- Make & Take Crafts: Paper Mache Star Ornaments At Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library (11:00 a.m.)
From my notebook:
- Montgomery Alabama Public Schools are officially on Winter Break as of yesterday afternoon. Students will return to school Tuesday, Jan. 4. MPS offices will be closed until Monday, Jan. 3, when teachers will return for a day of professional development. (Facebook)
- The City of Montgomery's search for its permanent police chief has attracted nearly 100 highly qualified applicants from across the nation, including Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, and Alabama. (Facebook)
- Montgomery Advertiser has compiled a list of 100 ways the COVID-19 pandemic has changed daily life across the South. (Instagram)
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You're officially in the loop for today. See you all Monday morning for another update!
— Sammi Caramela
About me: Assistant Managing Editor at Lightning Media Partners and author of "Some Place Like Home."