Today’s guest columnist is Dick Pizitz.
In 1969, a future mayor of Birmingham, David Vann, recruited a few people to initiate a quiet campaign to consolidate all of the municipalities and unincorporated areas of Jefferson County into a single combined metropolitan government. Continue reading How Birmingham came within one vote of becoming a major U.S. city
Today’s guest columnist is Bill Ivey.
There’s no way to understand Birmingham until you know its history.
Slavery was never practiced in Birmingham because it wasn’t founded until 1871, six years after the Civil War.
But after its founding Birmingham took an ugly turn. Continue reading The ugly turn Birmingham took after its founding
Today’s guest columnist is Barry Copeland.
Back in 2005, the former Birmingham Chamber of Commerce hosted one of its annual BIG Trips (Birmingham Innovation Group) to a competitor city to help our leaders learn lessons from their leaders.
That year in Nashville, guess what we saw under construction? A 50-story residential building in the heart of downtown. It was going up a block or two from the Ryman Theater, and within an easy stroll of their “Broadway” entertainment district. Continue reading A downtown Birmingham residential project so big it may require its own zip code
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