My wife and I are a Costco family
We shop Costco every week, eat free snacks, and look forward to chance meetings with friends—many we haven’t seen in years. Continue reading Oh no! Homewood, Vestavia, & now Hoover
Category Archives: Government structure
What I’ve learned about Birmingham, Mtn. Brook, & people
It’s been a wild ride publishing ComebackTown.
I never dreamed publishing a weekly blog about how to create a more prosperous Birmingham could be so challenging—but so DARN interesting!
I’ve learned so much about human nature, Birmingham, and our suburban neighbors. Continue reading What I’ve learned about Birmingham, Mtn. Brook, & people
13 Jeffco cities wasting your money–risking your life
It’s a beautiful sunny day.
You work downtown and make plans to meet a friend at the Summit for lunch.
You drive onto the 3rd Avenue North entrance ramp of the Red Mountain Expressway. Continue reading 13 Jeffco cities wasting your money–risking your life
The rocket fuel that could launch Birmingham!
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a more prosperous Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Jim Dixon. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
What makes a city great?
My team should know—we evaluate cities every day.
Our work as real estate developers requires us to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of cities and towns before we ever search for and underwrite development or investment opportunities. Continue reading The rocket fuel that could launch Birmingham!
Confusion in Mtn. Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, & Birmingham
I recently published a piece titled “Mountain Brook stealing from Vestavia Hills.”
It tells about my clever Mountain Brook friend who smuggles his garbage into the trashcans of a nearby Vestavia Hills’ neighbor because Vestavia picks up garbage more often than Mountain Brook. Continue reading Confusion in Mtn. Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, & Birmingham
We increase our taxes to screw each other
I apologize for using the word ‘screw’ in the title, but I can’t find a more appropriate term.
Why is there so little job growth in Birmingham? Well, look no further than what appears to be happening in Hoover.
How do you feel about tax increases?
How about tax increases to stab your neighbors in the back? Continue reading We increase our taxes to screw each other
Why we should worry about what’s happening in Irondale
Some of you are probably going to think I’m going to blame Irondale’s financial challenges on its elected officials.
I am not.
I’m not sure there’s a human being alive who could find a painless way for Irondale or many of our other municipalities to avoid financial challenges. Continue reading Why we should worry about what’s happening in Irondale
Mountain Brook stealing from Vestavia Hills
It was the dark of night.
My Mountain Brook friend slipped down the stairs to his basement, opened his garage door, and quietly pushed his trash container to the street. Continue reading Mountain Brook stealing from Vestavia Hills
There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook
“There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook.”
It’s a bit unsettling, but that’s what a prominent Mountain Brook man says to me every time he sees me.
If you follow his logic, then you would assume I also would be the guy who would like to get rid of Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Trussville, and every other Jefferson County municipality. Continue reading There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook
Nashville’s goof may be Birmingham’s big break
There’s an old joke about the highly addicted smoker who complains, “I’ve read so much about the dangers of smoking that I’ve decided to quit reading.
That is how I feel about Nashville.
I read story after story about Nashville’s continued economic successes—recruiting companies—large and small to their city. Continue reading Nashville’s goof may be Birmingham’s big break