Birmingham Business Alliance Chief Executive Officer Ron Kitchens has stepped down from his post, the organization’s executive committee announced Friday.
Birmingham News
Alabama Inno: Prosper’s HealthTech Accelerator launches with five companies
The Prosper HealthTech Accelerator spring cohort has kicked off with five startups joining the program.
UAB News: Telehealth and therapeutic advances are focus of 2022 Rare Disease Genomics Symposium
The University of Alabama at Birmingham will present the ninth annual Rare Disease Genomics Symposium on March 4 virtually. The symposium is held every year in conjunction with World Rare Disease Day and is hosted by UAB, Children’s of Alabama, Alabama Rare and the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative, and the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science.
Alabama Daily News: Bill expands schools’ technology fund uses
A bill moving in the Senate would expand how schools can use their Advancement and Technology Fund money. The fund was created in the Rolling Reserve Act that caps the annual education budget. In good years, some of the excess money goes back to schools in the form of Technology and Advancement Fund dollars. The fund is never guaranteed and amounts vary.
Alabama Inno: ResBiotic expands leadership team
Birmingham startup ResBiotic has expanded its leadership team. The startup, which is a nutrition company focused on finding and producing probiotics for lung health, is expanding its employee count to include Maggie Belshe as chief customer officer, Nina Rance as chief of staff and Mani Kukreja as director of integrative health and wellness.
AL.com: Alabama House passes bill to allow local grants to expand high-speed internet
The Alabama House passed a bill today that county governments said was needed to help deliver high-speed internet to places where it’s not available. The bill, by Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Baileyton, passed by a vote of 101-0. It proposes an amendment to the state constitution, which prohibits counties and cities from providing grants or other things of value to private companies.
National Law Review: Alabama Allocates More Than $276 Million for Broadband Under American Rescue Plan
Broadband expansion in Alabama will be a hot topic in 2022 after the state legislature teed up over $276 million in broadband-related spending from funding provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The appropriations bill passed during the final day of a special session called specifically to divvy up ARPA funding for broadband expansion and other state priorities such as water/sewer investments and healthcare. The Alabama Legislature provided few details on how the broadband money will be spent, leaving implementation specifics to state regulators. The Legislature is expected to take up more broadband-related items in regular session this year, including action to allocate millions more in broadband funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Taken together, this federal funding represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to promote broadband deployment and adoption that deserves close attention by both service providers and state/local governments.
Read the full article at the National Law Review.
Alabama Inno: Teksouth secures $89 million multi-year contract
A Gardendale tech company has secured an $89 million contract with the U.S. Air Force.
Yellow Hammer News: Attraction and retainment of talent a key component of economic support found in Innovate Alabama report
Attracting and retaining skilled workers continues to be a major hurdle facing Alabama employers. As the state’s economy has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, the supply of skilled labor has struggled to keep pace with the amount of jobs employers seek to fill.
As part of the Yellowhammer News Connect to your Future series, the following serves as an informational piece regarding talent attraction and retention courtesy of series sponsor Alabama Power.
Read the full article at the Yellow Hammer News.
Alabama Inno: Startup funding in Alabama: Where funds are going and what’s next
When illicit drugs crept into Liz Read’s life, she began looking for a way to help her family – and millions of others like hers. That call to help others and take action when encountering hardships due to a loved one’s drug use disorder is how Birmingham-based ClearMIND was born.
