SBA rolls out program to keep small businesses afloat
Small businesses across Alabama can benefit from a U.S. Small Business Administration program launching this week that is designed to help these enterprises keep their workers on the payroll during the coronavirus crisis. The Paycheck Protection Program will provide a direct incentive for small businesses to maintain their workforces by getting cash into their hands quickly in the form of an ultra-low interest loan. Significantly, the SBA will forgive the loan if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. – Made In Alabama
Coronavirus could be worse for beach than oil spill, hurricanes
Rolls aren’t being thrown inside Lambert’s Café. Napkins aren’t being flung at The Hangout. Visitors aren’t scrawling their names on duct tape at Tacky Jack’s. A Bushwacker hasn’t been made at the Flora-Bama for far too long. Alabama’s most popular tourist haunt has turned into a chilling ghost town in rapid fashion. Roads often jammed with tourists are empty, and the towering condos lining Beach Boulevard are at a capacity of 20% or less. – AL.com
3-D printing technology gets battlefield promotion
Doctors and nurses caring for COVID-19 patients at Birmingham’s UAB Hospital will soon receive protective face shields thanks to 3-D printing technology and a partnership involving the Alabama Productivity Center at The University of Alabama, Alabama Power and UAB’s School of Engineering. Alan Hill, executive director of the Culverhouse College of Business’s Alabama Productivity Center, said the effort is moving ahead quickly. – Made In Alabama
Even with everything going on, get counted for Alabama in Census
April 1 marked Census Day in the U.S., a key reference date for the U.S. Census and a strong reminder of the importance of filling out the 2020 U.S. Census. The Census, which American households should have received in the mail by now, influences everything from the Electoral College to the House of Representatives to voting districts and even to the creation of roads, schools and hospitals. – Troy Today
Traffic down nearly 80 percent at Montgomery Regional Airport
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, travel is down nearly 80 percent at Montgomery Regional Airport. Officials urge people to stay at home and not travel unless it is absolutely essential. The airport does have outgoing flights for those that must travel. In March the airport was deep cleaned and disinfected twice as a precaution. Right now, flights to D.C. have been temporarily grounded, and Delta has reduced fights from 7 to three. – AL NewsNet
Worker dies in industrial accident at chemical plant
An industrial accident claimed the life of a worker at a Dow Chemical facility in Mount Meigs on Tuesday morning, officials said. Fire and law enforcement personnel were called to the Ohio Ferro Road site at about 9 a.m., Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Leigh Persky told WSFA. The facility manufactures high-grade silicon metal used in chemical and aluminum applications. No other information was available. – Powder Bulk Solids
