Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:
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April 14
The Florence Times Daily on the coronavirus’ impact on an Alabama United Way fundraising campaign:
The impact of the slump in contributions to the United Way of Northwest Alabama’s annual fundraising campaign won’t be known for some time, but the 20 agencies that benefit should anticipate significant cutbacks.
United Way officials announced about a week ago that the current campaign, which officially ends April 30, has hit an all-time low in contributions.
Through the end of March, the campaign had raised only $440,988, leaving it about $559,000 shy of the $1 million goal.
Chief Executive Officer Jennifer McNulty said agency officials have received $120,000 in additional commitments. If those come through, the campaign will close with a deficit of $439,000.
Internally, United Way officials were hoping to collect at least $850,000 this year, a goal based upon the average contributions for the past two campaigns. They’ll fall short of that mark by $289,000.
How will this shortfall impact the 20 partner agencies? An across-the-board equal reduction cut payments to each agency by $14,450. But decisions on funding reductions won’t follow such an easy path.
Kerry Del Pizzo, chief operating officer, said recipient agencies will undergo a screening process designed to gauge need and help United Way officials make the difficult decisions on who gets what this year.
The question United Way leaders did not answer in announcing the campaign results is “What happened?” For the past five fund-raising campaigns, the average amount of funds raised was $900,000. Why did this year’s campaign raise only about half that amount?
Off the cuff some would point to COVID-19 as the culprit, but that’s not really the case. The pandemic alarm wasn’t sounded in the U.S. and Alabama until last month while the United Way fundraising campaign kicked off last fall in September.
United Way officials will have to look long and hard at this year’s results when they do their post-campaign analysis. The economic repercussions related to the pandemic are certain to weigh heavily upon next year’s campaign as well.
But you have to give agency leaders a nod for resiliency in the face of hardship.
After the agency’s 211 Information and Referral system’s call volume increased 300% from residents impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, officials established a COVID-19 Emergency Fund. The goal is to raise $10,000 to provide assistance for local residents needing help with rent and utilities, basic human needs, hygiene and care products, and food.
“Right now, we’re dealing mostly with those needing rent and utilities help,” said Del Pizzo, “but we’re preparing for … getting more food to people. We’re also thinking people may need gas cards.”
We hope the community can and will step up to help them reach this worthwhile effort.
Online: https://www.timesdaily.com
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April 12
The Gadsden Times on a study analyzing crime trends amid the coronavirus pandemic:
It seems like even criminals are hunkering down as COVID-19 spreads its tentacles through the atmosphere - or maybe not.
USA Today recently published an analysis of crime data compiled by 53 law enforcement agencies in two dozen states. The outlet called it “among the largest studies measuring the impact of the coronavirus on crime and policing.”
The survey compared numbers from the last two weeks of March, when states began locking down over concerns about the coronavirus, to those from the previous six weeks. It found drastic declines in service calls to law enforcement, officers stopping individuals either driving vehicles or on foot (that number declined by more than 90% in some jurisdictions), actual crime reports and arrests and jail bookings.
We’d like to think the bad guys (and girls) have decided to err on the side of staying healthy rather than ill-gotten gains. More likely, and realistically, this is an offshoot of (a.) fewer vacant houses because of stay-at-home orders, creating unappetizing targets for all save the most vicious, nothing to lose burglars and thieves; and (b.) law enforcement officers being more selective these days about who they pull over.
The latter observation isn’t criticism; we are quite aware that officers continue to put their lives on the line daily to keep society safe from assorted predators or threats like drunken drivers. It’s hard to blame them for any selectivity right now or for balancing their decision on whether to engage their flashing lights and sirens for someone going 5 mph over the speed limit against the present and legitimate risks.
However, the survey found something else that’s disconcerting and, if you really think about it, completely non-surprising. Police calls for domestic disturbances and domestic violence were up by anywhere from 10% to 30% in the jurisdictions and time frames considered.
Domestic violence is a reprehensible crime that has been the source of much tragedy and heartache in our society, and cannot be justified or explained away under any circumstances, period. So don’t take our “non-surprising” remark as going there.
Still, it doesn’t take a chemist to know that cooping people up in a house - even if the reason is a valid and righteous one like social distancing to control the spread of a killer virus - and taking away outside outlets for relieving stress and pressure is going to magnify existing issues and unleash a problematic reaction.
Telling people to “chill out, this too shall pass” is easy, although applicable. Following that advice could ease minor strife between frazzled people.
However, if serious, potentially life-threatening issues are happening, don’t let fears of the coronavirus stop you from taking action. Call 9-1-1 locally or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. Trust us, it’s essential business.
Online: https://www.gadsdentimes.com
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