I’m impressed with Birmingham’s new Mayor–Randall Woodfin.
His first few months in office have been a whirlwind of positive energy.
He’s surrounded himself with good people, sought feedback from anyone who will talk to him, and slowly and methodically identified and prioritized Birmingham’s problems and opportunities. Continue reading Is Birmingham mayor crazy?
Why do Alabama governors seem not to care about Jefferson County?
Often our governors, our legislature and even some state departments–either ignore or abuse us. Continue reading Fox6 asks Gov. Ivey about her tough comments on Birmingham
Governor Ivey, you can do better than this.
Ivey, who’s campaigning for a full four year term as governor, addressed the Rotary Club of Birmingham on March 7th.
In her prepared remarks she bragged about $6 billion of new investments in Alabama since April of last year…including the $1.6 billion Huntsville Toyota-Mazda plant. Continue reading Gov. Ivey sticks foot in mouth
Rarely do you have an opportunity to read an article that clearly shows why we’ve had virtually no job growth in our metropolitan area.
Erin Edgemon of al.com recently wrote a piece about how a Jefferson County municipality took a big gamble and lost.
Continue reading Mtn. Brook, Homewood, Vestavia wannabe gambles & loses
If this article doesn’t get your attention about the future of greater Birmingham—nothing will.
We all know how a bathtub works.
Water comes out of a faucet into a tub and as long as the stopper is engaged, the bathtub fills up.
But what happens if there is no stopper? Continue reading Birmingham like a bathtub with no stopper
I’m almost shell shocked.
I was flipping through the pages of the Over the Mountain Journal, when I saw the headline, “Hitting on all cylinders—Mountain Brook Mayor Welch Lays Out His Plans for 2018.”
The mayor of Mountain Brook, as you might expect, discussed his efforts to help Mountain Brook merchants and restaurants.
But then Mayor Welch, a longtime financial executive, went off in a completely and unexpected direction. Continue reading Mountain Brook, Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia Hills show leadership
I don’t know if you noticed—but three Jefferson County cities had a really terrible week.
We in Jefferson County are so intent on staying divided that we’re willing to suffer financial disruption and the unfortunate consequences. Continue reading 3 local cities at risk
Watching UA win another national championship game was exhilarating!
But there’s been something I’ve always wondered.
Many of you young folks may not remember, but Birmingham used to be called ‘The Football Capital of the South.” Continue reading Did Bear Bryant block Birmingham’s aspirations?
It was painful!
I was driving to Atlanta to visit my family during afternoon rush hour traffic.
It took almost an hour to exit from I-285 to Georgia 400 in Atlanta–almost as much time as it took to drive from Birmingham to Anniston.
I kept asking myself —how can people live like this? Continue reading Do we want to be another Atlanta? (vote)
It’s uncomfortable to talk about race.
It seems that most whites don’t like to discuss race–and neither do some blacks.
However, how can we have an intelligent conversation about Birmingham without race when race is almost always the central issue?
Last week I was wheeling my shopping cart through the produce section of Publix in Vestavia Hills when I was confronted by a casual acquaintance. Continue reading Confronted by a Vestavia man