Is Irondale gouging us?

City of Irondale Municipal Complex
City of Irondale Municipal Complex

I may be sorry I wrote this column.

Any time I write a piece that might be perceived as negative to Irondale, I’m attacked by unhappy Irondale citizens. (I respect their pride and loyalty)

However, in this particular case, I don’t know if Irondale is the devil or an angel. Continue reading Is Irondale gouging us? →

Birmingham: Silicon Valley ‘eat’ your heart out

Joshua Jones
Joshua Jones, Managing Partner, StrategyWise, Birmingham’s fastest growing company

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is Joshua Jones.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

I’ve considered myself lucky to have spent most of my life traversing different cities, countries and cultures.

As a teenager, I started and sold a series of companies while exploring and working in Latin America. Later, my wife and I moved with our children to Japan, where I worked for a non-profit organization as their Asia Director. Continue reading Birmingham: Silicon Valley ‘eat’ your heart out →

How Trussville mucked up Birmingham’s future

Veterans Memorial in Trussville
Veterans Memorial in Trussville

Okay, I should have titled this column, “How Trussville, Adamsville, Hueytown, and Pleasant Grove mucked up Birmingham’s future.”

I’m repeatedly surprised by the animosity between our suburbs and the City of Birmingham.

The lack of trust between our City and its suburbs continually plays havoc with our progress. Continue reading How Trussville mucked up Birmingham’s future →

Homewood kicked to the curb for trying to do the right thing

Peter Wright, President Pro Tem Homewood City Council
Peter Wright, President Pro Tem Homewood City Council

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.

Today’s guest blog was written by Peter Wright as response to “Sometimes you have to laugh at Homewood.

 If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

Thanks for all you do for the City of Birmingham, but as a member of Homewood City Council, I have to respond to your most recent article about “laughing” at “dumb” ‘ol Homewood for looking at a bus service of its own. Continue reading Homewood kicked to the curb for trying to do the right thing →

Sometimes you have to laugh at Homewood

Birmingham busWhen I first saw the headline, my instinct was to laugh.

But after a few seconds I began to weep uncontrollably.

We and our Birmingham suburbs are sometimes so dumb you might think we all graduated from “Dumb School.”

While progressive southern cities make big-picture transformative decisions, we scurry back into our municipal silos and think small.

Here’s the headline… Continue reading Sometimes you have to laugh at Homewood →

Birmingham parent: How to save our children and our schools

Tae Alexander
Tae Alexander

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is Tae Alexander.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

I’ve not been to space, nor have I solved the pressing issues of our today. It would be great to discover a simple cure for that which physically ails and handicap some of those dearest to us. I am simply a random 30 something, wife, mother, daughter, and friend.

I’m a product of school systems throughout western Birmingham, Al and surrounding areas. Continue reading Birmingham parent: How to save our children and our schools →

What’s wrong with Birmingham School Board and City Council?

Members of the Birmingham City Schools Board of Education
Members of the Birmingham City Schools Board of Education

Oh no!  It’s happened again.

Birmingham City Schools lost another superintendent.

Kelley Castlin-Gacutan was fired after 16 months—the 8th superintendent in 17 years.

How can one school board after another continue to make such bad hiring and/or firing decisions?

Continue reading What’s wrong with Birmingham School Board and City Council? →

Birmingham’s rough and tumble world of political intrigue

Maury Shevin
Maury Shevin

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is Maury Shevin.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

For the last nine months, I have been meeting with opinion leaders and opinion makers both within and without the City of Birmingham to find out what a run for the Birmingham City Council would take. Continue reading Birmingham’s rough and tumble world of political intrigue →

Are black politicians what’s wrong with Birmingham?

Jonathan Austin, President of the Birmingham City Council & Mayor William Bell
Jonathan Austin, President of the Birmingham City Council & Mayor William Bell

Week after week I read comments on al.com and on social media blaming Birmingham’s misfortunes on black politicians.

They infer Birmingham would be a better city if whites were in control.

Recently ComebackTown published a piece on efforts to designate our Civil Rights District as a new National Historic Park.

I immediately received a tweet, “Aren’t you embarrassed by what black people have done to Birmingham once they took COMPLETE political control of the city?” Continue reading Are black politicians what’s wrong with Birmingham? →

Young professional: Why I came back to Birmingham

Roman Gary
Roman Gary

ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is Roman Gary.  If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.

My name is Roman Gary.

As you can tell from my photograph, I’m a young African-American.

What you can’t tell is that I attended Ramsay High School and graduated from Auburn.

You also can’t tell that I’m married, have a baby girl, and am a principal in a local architecture firm.

You also wouldn’t know that I chose to move back to Birmingham when many of my professional friends moved away.

Why Birmingham?  Here is my story…

Continue reading Young professional: Why I came back to Birmingham →

To begin a conversation about a better Birmingham