Today’s guest columnist is Jennifer L. Greer.
Editor’s note: Last year ComebackTown published a column titled Birmingham bullet train to Atlanta. It was the most read piece in our history. I asked Jennifer Greer, a profession journalist, to determine its likelihood.
On a recent flight from North Dakota, Jane and Charles Falany, of Vestavia Hills, AL, thought they were almost home when their plane touched down in Atlanta, GA, around 4 p.m. Continue reading High speed rail Birmingham to Atlanta
Today’s guest columnist is Brian McCoy.
Why did I leave Birmingham?
I was a dusty teen in the former coal mining camp, Docena, Alabama playing outside in the mud just 22 years ago.
After serving as a community activist in Birmingham and graduating from UAB in 2006, I had to focus on my career. Continue reading Birmingham, how do we get our millennials back?
Today’s guest columnist is Thomas Spencer
I confess.
I’ve run into a conflict of interest. Though, I think it’s better described as a confluence of interests.
As a public policy researcher in my professional life and as a hiker, biker, runner, history buff, and nature nut, I like public parks.
I like parks, trails, and greenspace because I enjoy using them. And I like them because they are good policy. Continue reading Hope for Birmingham hikers, bikers, and runners
Today’s guest columnist is Daniel Coleman.
After returning home full-time in 2017, I began to invest in local companies, where I got to know many of our city’s entrepreneurs.
I also started teaching finance at Birmingham-Southern College. At 53 years old, I realized that I was a little rusty. So I decided that it was time for me to learn to program in Python as well as learn actuarial math. In December 2018, I became the 16th president of Birmingham-Southern. Continue reading Birmingham secret weapon on west side hilltop
Today’s guest columnist is Marshall Malone.
When people discuss issues in the City of Birmingham, they may mention crime, education, or population loss.
However, there’s one issue most people may not be aware.
Today’s guest columnist is Alan Register.
The first World Games were played in Santa Clara, California in 1981.
They have not been played in America since.
Why then did they choose Birmingham?
And while we’re at it, why did the USFL select Birmingham?
There’s a simple answer, “a crazy idea” and “a winning streak.” Continue reading Why World Games chose Birmingham
Today’s guest columnist is Michael Calvert.
Predictions are always risky—especially about the future—but here are my predictions for downtown and the larger City Center.
In 1982, when I became CEO of Operation New Birmingham, REV’s predecessor, many people asked if I would bring back department stores and other retailers. I said downtown had evolved beyond its past as a retail center. Continue reading The transformation of downtown Birmingham
Today’s guest columnist is Daniel Coleman.
If economic growth comes from increased productivity, where does productivity come from? Capital and labor.
Capital can come from anywhere. Our issue in Birmingham is with “labor.” We have some great entrepreneurs here, with great ideas, who cannot find the workers they need to build and grow their companies. Continue reading Why Birmingham is not competitive
Today’s guest columnist is Marva Douglas.
I was 12 years old in 1951.
Too young to vote.
But that really didn’t matter because even if I’d been an adult, I could not have voted.
Voting rights for Black people didn’t come until 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading Terrified 82-year-old says Alabama uses tax dollars against her
Today’s guest columnist is Terry Barr.
My brother asked me the other day if I remembered a place on Birmingham’s north side—1st Avenue, to be exact.
A place run by an old Bessemer guy, a friend of our mother, named Jim Anderson. His place was called: Seeds 4: Never Before Store. Continue reading Did you know Birmingham had a counterculture?