ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Tripp Watson. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
I have an ominous suggestion for you: The political process in Birmingham might actually be working.
What if our elected officials are doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing? What if they are looking out for the people that they represent and passing laws that best embody those interests? Continue reading Political process in Birmingham actually working→
There’s no doubt I feel a certain amount of envy —probably because I grew up in the ‘50’s when Birmingham and Atlanta were about the same size. I have fond memories of my dad taking me to Rickwood Field to root for the Birmingham Barons when we played the evil Atlanta Crackers in Southern League baseball. Continue reading Atlanta more screwed up than Birmingham→
On November 14, Jeffrey Bayer, President and CEO of Bayer Properties, and I were scheduled to deliver a speech about regional governance at a symposium of Birmingham area commercial real estate professionals (CCIM).
The Harbert Center was dark when we arrived. The lights and electricity were off and the escalator to the upper floors was motionless. There had been an traffic accident killing the power to the Harbert Center and nearby buildings. Continue reading Bayer and Sher don’t have a prayer→
I’ve lived most of my life in the over the mountain communities of Mt. Brook and Vestavia Hills. I’ve worked most of my life in the City of Birmingham—primarily downtown.
I’ve never felt unsafe in the suburbs or in Birmingham.
Thanks to the resurgence of downtown, I now often find myself downtown in the evenings. I’m usually more concerned about finding a parking place at night than I am about being a crime victim.
A good friend came rushing up to me as I entered the Harbert Center for a meeting. He said, “I just found out something I bet you don’t know— “The University of Alabama doesn’t exist.”
Now I’ve heard some farfetched things in my life, but few topped this one.
But before all you anti University of Alabama folks from UAB and UAH get too excited, he explained that you don’t exist either.
I recently read a piece in the Nashville Business Journal that made me ill.
The nausea was amplified by the memories of a humiliating Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA) trip I took with about one hundred corporate, community, and political leaders to Nashville ten years ago.
None of us were prepared for the way we were mistreated. One Nashville speaker called us racists; another attacked our healthcare industry; and third referred to Birmingham as ‘Bombingham.’ (Nashville spits on Birmingham)
My 5 year old granddaughter, Aly, proudly pictured with UAB Cheerleaders at CUSA Tournament
The UAB basketball team won nine straight home games, triumphed in the Conference USA Tournament, and captured a cherished birth in the NCAA Play Offs. But as the clock counted down in the final moments of the Conference USA championship game, some UAB fans broke into the all too familiar chant, “Fire Ray Watts!”
I completely understand why many UAB fans are upset. Last fall the plug was pulled on UAB football and the decision and announcement was totally mishandled. We must blame someone. Continue reading Fire Ray Watts chant makes me crazy→
