By David Sher
I’m sometimes criticized for comparing Birmingham to Nashville.
But in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, when I was growing up, Nashville was a smaller city than Birmingham.
My dad used to take me to Rickwood Field to watch the Birmingham Barons play baseball with the Nashville Vols. Continue reading Nashville punished, a cautionary tale for Birmingham
Today’s guest columnist is Karen Musgrove.
On April 1, 2022, the children at our school, the Magic City Acceptance Academy (MCAA), were attacked.
MCAA, a free public charter school founded in 2021 by BAO (Birmingham AIDS Outreach), opened with 250 students grades 6th through 12th. Continue reading What do you do when your children are attacked by an Alabama politician?
Today’s guest columnist is Maury Shevin.
If there is any dream that I have for my hometown it is this:
Birmingham, Alabama is a metropolitan area where its young people do not leave home for other cities; rather young people move to Birmingham for its world class job opportunities and vibrancy. Continue reading Birmingham, My dream for my hometown
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 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!
By David Sher
According to Birmingham Lede “Jefferson County lost nearly 4,600 people between 2021-2022.
Even the Birmingham Hoover Metropolitan area lost population.
How’s it possible to be located in the center of the Sunbelt, the fastest growing region in the U.S. and be shrinking? Continue reading The next logical step for our Birmingham region