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
By David Sher
Birmingham’s a great place for foodies.
We have fantastic restaurants…like Highland Bar & Grill, El Barrio, Automatic Seafood, and Helen.
There have been other great restaurants past or present, but in my heart and stomach, none compare to an American Chinese Restaurant that opened in 1919 and operated successfully mostly in downtown Birmingham for about 70 years. Continue reading Birmingham’s best restaurant ever
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
By David Sher
Most folks’ first impression of Birmingham won’t be from driving to town on I-65.
Nor arriving at our Amtrak station, or at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
It will likely be from a simple Google search.
A Google search of Birmingham, however, can be quite embarrassing. Continue reading How Google is sabotaging Birmingham
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?
Today’s guest columnist is Hunter Williams.
Regional cooperation is the rising tide that will lift all ships in the Birmingham Metro area.
Unfortunately, our ships seem to have been stuck in the mud and the mire for quite some time. Continue reading Mistrust and inequity in Birmingham region
Today’s guest columnist is Allison Dearing.
If you haven’t watched ‘Maid’ on Netflix, please stop what you are doing and watch it now.
‘Maid’ passed ‘The Queens Gambit’ to be the most watched limited TV series on Netflix. Continue reading What if Netlix’s wildly popular ‘Maid’ lived in Birmingham?
By David Sher
To grow or not to grow–that is the question.
A couple of years ago I sat down with the CEO of a successful Birmingham family owned business.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how we might grow our Birmingham region. Continue reading Mountain Brook parents, aren’t we tired of losing our children?