Corporate community, David Sher posts, Government structure

A challenge for the Birmingham Business Alliance

21 Comments
Johnny Johns, Immediate past Chairman of BBA

“Let’s take one incredibly hard issue and prove we can solve it“

Giant headline front page,–The Birmingham News February 28, 2012,  “Let’s take one incredibly hard issue and prove we can solve it.”

The article then quotes Johnny Johns, the then  Chairman of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA)…

 “Johnny Johns, the Protective Life Corp. Chairman, president and CEO, gave a call of arms of sorts when he said this to 28 political, business and civic leaders who had gathered at The Birmingham News to discuss how to tackle metro Birmingham’s most pressing problems.”

“…So we all stand off and we talk, talk, talk… Continue reading A challenge for the Birmingham Business Alliance →

David Sher posts, Race relations

50 Shades of grey–successful book–maybe it will work for Birmingham

14 Comments

When I was growing up, Birmingham was black and white.

Blacks were required to sit in the back of the bus; there were separate restrooms and water fountains for colored and white; and the schools were segregated.

As a child I had a sense that something wasn’t quite right because one day while riding on a public bus with my mom I asked if it was okay to offer my seat to a black woman.  Her response still rings in my ear.  “David, you can’t do that–someone might hurt us.” Continue reading 50 Shades of grey–successful book–maybe it will work for Birmingham →

Government structure, Guest blogger, Race relations

Should we celebrate Birmingham’s 50th civil rights anniversary?

2 Comments

 

Willie Chriesman

Comebacktown published by David Sher & Phyllis Neill to begin a discussion on creating a better government for our region.

Today’s guest blogger is Willie Chriesman.

The city of Birmingham has come up with a name for its observations of the landmark events of the Civil Rights Movement that took place here in 1963. But you have to wonder if “50 Years Forward” is more descriptive of the last half-century or more aspirational for the decades to come. Continue reading Should we celebrate Birmingham’s 50th civil rights anniversary? →

Corporate community, David Sher posts, What's great about Birmingham

Birmingham has done it again!

2 Comments

It’s one of those things we take for granted living in our Birmingham region.

It’s an important quality of life issue—one we seem to take for granted.

We may be at the bottom of many lists, but this one—we excel.

The idea for this piece came in the form of an e-mail…

“David, todays bham news….Mayor in shootout , Katapodis appeal denied, and Malzahn new auburn coach…that’s our front page headlines….buried on page 8 or so….the REALLY GOOD NEWS Continue reading Birmingham has done it again! →

David Sher posts, Government structure

How’s metro Birmingham doing? Ask Southwest Airlines

8 Comments

When I write about Birmingham, I typically receive comments like, “The City of Birmingham’s a disaster, but metro Birmingham and the suburbs are doing just fine.”

Certainly the City of Birmingham has seen better days, but when our city sneezes our suburbs catch a cold.

In previous blogs I’ve mentioned that Birmingham’s metro is the slowest growing of its Southern peers Continue reading How’s metro Birmingham doing? Ask Southwest Airlines →

David Sher posts, Uncategorized

So goes Birmingham…so goes America

3 Comments

The presidential election is over.

Many people felt this election would make or break America.

When discussing the ramifications of the U.S. going broke or being driven into socialism, this small blog about metro Birmingham seems inconsequential.

Then I ran into this piece written by Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, and he reinforced the importance of our efforts to make our metro Birmingham great. Continue reading So goes Birmingham…so goes America →

David Sher posts, Government structure

What if Moses was Mayor of Birmingham?

4 Comments

Moses was a remarkable guy.

He parted the Red Sea, brought us the Ten Commandments, and delivered the Israelites to the Promised Land.

If you need someone to accomplish a task, Moses’ resume looks pretty good.

However, even if you could convince Moses to run for political office in metro Birmingham, he would be unable to make us competitive. Continue reading What if Moses was Mayor of Birmingham? →

Government structure, Guest blogger

A modest idea to end balkanization of Birmingham School System

3 Comments

 

Scotty Colson

Comebacktown published by David Sher & Phyllis Neill to begin a discussion on creating better government for metro Birmingham.

Today’s guest blogger is Scotty Colson.

When the School Board went to an elected board is when my family pretty much gave up on quality changes in our system. At that time I asked anyone who would listen how adding 9 more politicians did anything to make our system better. Since then we have seen an exodus from our schools and a consistent descent into failure culminated in recent events. Continue reading A modest idea to end balkanization of Birmingham School System →

To begin a conversation about a better Birmingham