Why do Alabama governors seem not to care about Jefferson County?
Often our governors, our legislature and even some state departments–either ignore or abuse us. Continue reading Fox6 asks Gov. Ivey about her tough comments on Birmingham
Governor Ivey, you can do better than this.
Ivey, who’s campaigning for a full four year term as governor, addressed the Rotary Club of Birmingham on March 7th.
In her prepared remarks she bragged about $6 billion of new investments in Alabama since April of last year…including the $1.6 billion Huntsville Toyota-Mazda plant. Continue reading Gov. Ivey sticks foot in mouth
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Tom Manzo. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
Alabama beats California — and no, I’m not talking about college football.
Many Californians would bristle at the notion of being bested by Alabama. But employers aren’t so picky:
Continue reading Why California should be more like Alabama — seriously
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Samantha Dubrinsky. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
“There are Jews in Alabama?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question over the past six years working as a Jewish professional for the Birmingham Jewish Federation. Continue reading Alabama Jews thank Christian neighbors
Do you have any idea what’s about to hit us?
D Day is October 1st, 2018—next year.
And we’re letting it happen without a whimper—because, quite frankly, it’s too late.
This is just another example how we in greater Birmingham accept our helplessness and lack of vision. Continue reading Alabama must think we’re chumps (and we are)
I love living in Birmingham.
I love living in Alabama.
We live in a beautiful state with kind and generous people.
But the State of Alabama is just not competitive with many Southern states. Continue reading Birmingham needs to get the hell out of Alabama
I recently wrote a piece, “Birmingham punished for being in Alabama,” where I pointed out that job growth in Birmingham and around the state has been relatively flat while other cities in the South are flourishing.
Our Birmingham-Hoover seven county metropolitan area has fewer people working now than we did at the beginning of the recession.
I regularly blame Birmingham’s lack of job growth on too many competing governments, but being located in Alabama is not a positive. Continue reading Alabama: A great State unless you are black, gay, or Hispanic
One of the greatest obstacles to metropolitan Birmingham’s growth is too many competing governments, but that’s not the only deterrent.
Being located in Alabama is also an obstacle.
The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) publishes a report that compares key economic figures of metropolitan Birmingham to eleven peer cities.
In my opinion, the most important of these key metrics is job growth. And metropolitan Birmingham has no more jobs than they had before the recession. Continue reading Birmingham punished for being in Alabama
I attended Gary Palmer’s victory celebration at the Birmingham Marriott and I was blinded by the “white.” There may have been an African-American there, but I didn’t see one. This should not be a surprise since Alabama’s 6th Congressional District is 88.8% white and 7.7% African-American. Continue reading The worst thing to happen to America and Birmingham
Comebacktown published by David Sher & Phyllis Neill to begin a discussion on better government for our region.
Today’s guest blogger is John Northrop.
If Birmingham is a “comeback town,” what do we want to come back to? Surely not the days and ways of Bull Conner. Nor of chain gang labor in coal mines. Nor as a mere colony in a 19th-century steel empire.
Birmingham’s “good old days” were better for some than others. The same can be said of Alabama as a whole. Continue reading How 155 white guys are ruining Alabama