Southern Region

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BROADBAND EXPANSION

Gov. Kay Ivey announced that Alabama allocated $100 million of federal coronavirus relief funds to expand and improve internet access for K-12 students who started the school year virtually. The program, known as Alabama Broadband Connectivity for Students, provides internet vouchers for families of students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. Slightly more than half of Alabama’s 723,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the federal funding for the program, in partnership with CTC Technology and Energy, an independent consulting firm. The plan was formulated with the input of the Broadband Working Group, comprised of legislators and industry experts. The internet vouchers, which were distributed at the beginning of September, provide almost $400 of internet service, including installation, equipment and monthly fees/charges, for 250,000 students through Dec. 30. Internet providers contracted with the state to offer access using existing lines and technologies, including broadband, wireless hot spots, satellite, fixed wireless, DSL and cellular-on-wheels. The type of service in an area depends on the closest available existing infrastructure.

Senior education officials in the state, including Superintendent Eric Mackey, have pushed for more internet access, particularly in rural areas and households that are unable to afford reliable internet access. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 20% of Alabama households did not have access to internet in 2018. As many as 17% of households lack a computer of any kind, and another 8% have access to smartphones but not another type of computer.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

High school students in 16 Virginia school districts now have the option to take an African American history course as an elective, Gov. Ralph Northam announced at the end of August. The course surveys African American history from precolonial Africa through the present day, introducing students to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction and civil rights era. The development and introduction of the course follows Northam’s directive last year requiring the state Department of Education to collaborate with educators to develop a course that provides an African American perspective. Teachers responsible for leading the course will receive professional development and support throughout the year.

PLUTONIUM SETTLEMENT

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the federal government reached an agreement to pay the state $600 million and clean up weapons-grade plutonium from the Savannah River Site (SRS), a nuclear weapons complex, following years of litigation. In the 1990s, the federal government announced that it would ship 34 metric tons of the nation’s surplus weapons-grade plutonium as feedstock for a mixed oxide fuel plant. However, the federal government abandoned the fuel plant project in 2018, citing untenable delays and cost overruns, leaving anywhere from 7 metric tons to 10.5 metric tons of plutonium at SRS. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. Department of Energy is obligated to remove the plutonium by 2037.

FLOOD PREPARATION

Kentucky announced a new online mapping tool to help local officials and first responders develop emergency plans for vulnerable dams. The interactive map provides approximate areas, or inundation zones, which could be affected by damaged or collapsed dams. Using satellite imagery, the map identifies properties, roads and geographic areas that could be impacted. So far, nearly 3,000 business structures and 14,000 residences fall within the state’s high hazard dam inundation zones. The map is part of a broader initiative to raise awareness of dam-related risks in the state.

MAGNOLIA FLAG

A state commission selected the Magnolia Flag as the next flag of Mississippi. The flag, selected among 3,000 proposals submitted to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for consideration, includes a magnolia flower and 21 stars — representing Mississippi’s entry as the 20th state to join the U.S. and one gold star for Native Americans who originally inhabited the land — along with the words “In God We Trust,” which was a requirement under rules adopted by the Legislature. Voters will decide in November whether to approve the flag or restart the process to find a new design.

BUSINESS SUCCESS

Gov. Brian Kemp announced that Georgia was named the top state for doing business for the seventh year in a row by Area Development, a magazine covering corporate site selection and relocation. The magazine ranks states based on weighted scores in overall cost of doing business; cooperative and responsive state government; a favorable regulatory environment; business incentives; workforce development programs; competitive labor environment; speed of permitting; logistics and infrastructure; available real estate; energy availability and costs; site readiness programs; corporate tax environment; and access to capital and projects. Georgia received the top ranking in 10 of the 13 categories and was among the top five in the other three categories.

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