Today’s guest columnist is Jacob Rogers.
Born and raised in the Birmingham metro area, I attended elementary school in Midfield, middle school in Warrior, and high school in Blount County.
After graduating from Samford University in 2009, it took me several months to find an entry-level position. Continue reading The missing secret sauce for Birmingham’s future
Today’s guest columnist is Malcolm McDonald.
“If you want a career in tech, you really need to move to the coast.”
The words rang in my head. “He would know.” I thought. Nestled in the sunny hills of San Francisco, my childhood friend was a product leader at Netflix. Continue reading I can’t believe I’m hunting $1 billion companies in Birmingham, Alabama
Today’s guest columnist is Billy Field.
I first learned about reputation, at least the reputation of a state, in the summer following my 7th grade year, the summer of 1963.
My mother loaded up my sister, my half-blind grandfather (meaning he couldn’t help with the driving), me and my good friend Reid, and we set out across America in a 1961 straight-shift Rambler with a canvas cargo carrier on top, packed with a five-person tent, sleeping bags and fishing rods. Continue reading Are the ghosts of George and Bull keeping Alabama poor?
Today’s guest columnist is David Fleming.
Parking lots are dead spaces. Nothing we can construct sucks the life and vibrancy out of a place more than a parking lot.
Yet we cannot seem to live without parking. Views on parking dominate almost every issue related to downtown growth. We hear:
“There is not enough parking.” Continue reading Downtown Birmingham, Time for a parking revolution!
Today’s guest columnist is Don Erwin.
In the last thirty years Birmingham has lost one company after another.
There’s an old saying among economic developers that “It’s easier to keep an existing business than to find a new business to replace it.” Continue reading Hey Birmingham, it’s not people versus business here
Today’s guest columnist is Robert Simon.
It’s remarkable how a single trip changed my life and likely the future of the city I love.
In 2004, I traveled with a cohort of about 100 business, community, and political leaders to Charlotte, North Carolina sponsored by the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. Continue reading Two major projects among the largest in Birmingham history
Today’s guest columnist is Janice Wilson.
There is a popular Facebook group entitled, “You knew you grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, if:”
It’s filled with fond memories and photos of such fun and happy places like Cascade Plunge, Kiddieland, and Joy Young.
Continue reading My childhood memories of Birmingham may be different than yours
Today’s guest columnist is Ryan Hankins.
The purpose of expanding Medicaid is to provide access to medical care for a population of adults who don’t have employer-provided insurance and whose incomes are too low to qualify for a subsidy on the healthcare exchange.
Continue reading Alabama paying the cost of Medicaid expansion but getting none of the benefits
Today’s guest columnist is Chris Nanni.
We see it every day – those hugely expensive MAX buses—trundling down the street carrying one or two passengers.
It looks like another example of our public dollars not being deployed in the most efficient manner. Continue reading Good-bye to empty MAX buses and hello to Birmingham On-Demand
Today’s guest columnist is David Fleming.
Birmingham was founded in 1871 – well before the invention of cars and certainly before they were common.
However, the city’s core was built to support many different modes of transportation, including streetcars, horse and buggies, and trains. Continue reading Time to rid ourselves of outdated one-way streets downtown