The speaker completed his talk at my Rotary meeting.
When I got up from my table to leave, a young man tapped me on my shoulder.
After introducing himself, he said, “Mr. Sher, I enjoy reading ComebackTown, but I was upset by one of your articles.” Continue reading Does Birmingham have a ‘closed’ culture that shuts out millennials?
Fewer people are employed in our Birmingham-Hoover Metro Area today than in 2007.
Meanwhile cities like Nashville, Charlotte, and Austin are growing jobs exponentially.
What is wrong with us? Why can’t we compete? Continue reading Mtn. Brook & Vestavia don’t have to give up their schools for a better Birmingham
I may be sorry I wrote this column.
Any time I write a piece that might be perceived as negative to Irondale, I’m attacked by unhappy Irondale citizens. (I respect their pride and loyalty)
However, in this particular case, I don’t know if Irondale is the devil or an angel. Continue reading Is Irondale gouging us?
Okay, I should have titled this column, “How Trussville, Adamsville, Hueytown, and Pleasant Grove mucked up Birmingham’s future.”
I’m repeatedly surprised by the animosity between our suburbs and the City of Birmingham.
The lack of trust between our City and its suburbs continually plays havoc with our progress. Continue reading How Trussville mucked up Birmingham’s future
When I first saw the headline, my instinct was to laugh.
But after a few seconds I began to weep uncontrollably.
We and our Birmingham suburbs are sometimes so dumb you might think we all graduated from “Dumb School.”
While progressive southern cities make big-picture transformative decisions, we scurry back into our municipal silos and think small.
Here’s the headline… Continue reading Sometimes you have to laugh at Homewood
Oh no! It’s happened again.
Birmingham City Schools lost another superintendent.
Kelley Castlin-Gacutan was fired after 16 months—the 8th superintendent in 17 years.
How can one school board after another continue to make such bad hiring and/or firing decisions?
Continue reading What’s wrong with Birmingham School Board and City Council?
Week after week I read comments on al.com and on social media blaming Birmingham’s misfortunes on black politicians.
They infer Birmingham would be a better city if whites were in control.
Recently ComebackTown published a piece on efforts to designate our Civil Rights District as a new National Historic Park.
I immediately received a tweet, “Aren’t you embarrassed by what black people have done to Birmingham once they took COMPLETE political control of the city?” Continue reading Are black politicians what’s wrong with Birmingham?
Here are those ‘hellish’ numbers: 37, 53, and 24.
But you will have to see the list at the end of this piece to understand the magnitude of the problem.
Let’s start with a question: Would you know where to drive if I invited you to lunch in North Johns?
How about Maytown?
Or Sylvan Springs?
Don’t know where these cities are located?
Well you should. Continue reading 3 hellish numbers wrecking Birmingham
Okay, we were embarrassed again…
…actually twice within two weeks by the same publication.
But I keep having this unsettling thought.
What if we live in one of the most livable cities in America, but these preposterous loony rankings convince us and people elsewhere that we’re a bunch of losers? Continue reading Birmingham slammed twice by national publication
Vulcan has a problem–a serious problem!
I find this distressing since I have a soft spot in my heart for this not so lovable Roman God.
I can’t imagine a Birmingham without Vulcan…and no other city in the U.S. or abroad has anything like him.
This 50-ton cast iron statue (the largest in the world) was a meaningful part of my childhood.
When I was a boy, I remember the slow/squeaky elevator ride up to the viewing platform where I was rewarded with a stunning view of Birmingham. Continue reading Does anyone give a damn about Vulcan?