Auburn taps HPM for $94.5 million culinary education center, hotel
Birmingham’s HPM has been selected as construction manager for a $94.5 million culinary science center — including a teaching boutique hotel and restaurant — that is slated to open next year at Auburn University. Work to prepare the site began in April on the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center, a 142,000-square-foot complex at the corner of East Thach Avenue and South College Street in downtown Auburn. – AL.com
Montgomery City Council votes down mask ordinance, sends doctors out in disgust
Jackson Hospital pulmonologist William Saliski cleared his throat as he started describing the dire situation created by the coronavirus pandemic in Montgomery to its City Council before they voted on a mandatory mask ordinance. “It’s been a long day, I apologize,” he said. “The units are full with critically-ill COVID patients,” Saliski said. More doctors followed him to the microphone, describing the dead being carried out within 30 minutes of each other, and doctors being disturbed when people on the street ask them if the media is lying about the pandemic as part of a political ploy. – Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama’s car dealers see demand picking back up after lockdown
Go to the Facebook page for Birmingham’s Adamson Ford, and you’ll see standard promotional shots of dealers and customers posing in front of newly purchased vehicles. But in some photos, both the salesperson and buyer are wearing masks – yet another sign of how the marketplace has changed due to the coronavirus pandemic. – AL.com
UM wins accreditation for its new post-graduate nursing programs
The University of Mobile’s Doctor of Nursing Practice and post-graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Certificate programs are now fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners granted accreditation during the May 5-8 meeting after determining the programs met all four accreditation standards in the areas of institutional resources, proper mission governance, quality curriculum and teaching practices, and program effectiveness. – News release
Birmingham bar cancels ‘racist’ dress code after social media outcry
A bar in Birmingham’s Five Points South entertainment district has rescinded its dress code after critics called the policies “racist” on social media. The Woolworth, 1006 20th St. South, on Tuesday issued an apology for rules that were posted at the nightspot and on its website. They prohibited clothing such as athletic jerseys, cargo pants, construction boots, skullcaps, bandannas and clock necklaces. – AL.com
Retail sales up 17.7% after record drop as states reopen
As more states and cities allowed restaurants and shopping centers to reopen, U.S. retail spending swung big in May, climbing 17.7%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. Major stock indexes rose after the report was released. Spending is still down 6.1% from a year earlier because of the coronavirus pandemic. And economists warn of a long and uncertain recovery. But May’s upswing follows a record historic collapse in March and April, when retail spending nose-dived as people avoided outings. – NPR
