I have mixed emotions about Atlanta.
There’s no doubt I feel a certain amount of envy —probably because I grew up in the ‘50’s when Birmingham and Atlanta were about the same size. I have fond memories of my dad taking me to Rickwood Field to root for the Birmingham Barons when we played the evil Atlanta Crackers in Southern League baseball. Continue reading Atlanta more screwed up than Birmingham
I’m currently binge-watching The Walking Dead.”—the TV series about a small band of survivors struggling to live day to day in an apocalyptic world overrun by flesh-eating zombies.
The survivors are strong-willed, tenacious—and optimistic. The zombies are vicious, unrelenting and intent on destroying all that is good. Continue reading Zombies spotted in Birmingham
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
On the evening of June 17, 2015, a mass shooting took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston. Nine people were shot and killed.
You can’t help but wonder, ‘What if nine people had been executed in a church in Birmingham?’
Would there be rioting in the streets of Birmingham like there was in Ferguson–or would we come together as a community as they did in Charleston? Continue reading Glenn Beck: Birmingham will restart America
When our Chamber of Commerce (BBA) visited Charlotte in 2004, we were greeted by the President of the University of North Carolina Charlotte.
Charlotte’s a city on fire, but the first words out the President’s mouth were, “We don’t have anything like UAB.”
Can you believe a great city like Charlotte is jealous of us?
But it appears by recent events we may be taking UAB for granted.
It’s been a few weeks since UAB decided to retain its football program, so I thought it might be healthy to take a moment to reflect. Continue reading UAB deserves better from Birmingham
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Janice James Eubank. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
We recently had family visiting in town. Although they are native ‘Hamians’….they most recently lived out of the country but wanted to see the “old town,” with an emphasis on seeing loft locations in Birmingham. We only had an afternoon with them, so we packed in a loaded agenda ending the night at Highland’s Bar and Grill with Goren Avery, “Gastro Concierge Extraordinaire”. Continue reading New energetic Birmingham: Not just for young folks
I’ve lived most of my life in the over the mountain communities of Mt. Brook and Vestavia Hills. I’ve worked most of my life in the City of Birmingham—primarily downtown.
I’ve never felt unsafe in the suburbs or in Birmingham.
Thanks to the resurgence of downtown, I now often find myself downtown in the evenings. I’m usually more concerned about finding a parking place at night than I am about being a crime victim.
So it’s kind of surreal to watch a mini-crime spree unfold in Mt.Brook. Continue reading Mt. Brook mini-crime spree
I’m jealous.
I recently read a piece in the Nashville Business Journal that made me ill.
The nausea was amplified by the memories of a humiliating Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA) trip I took with about one hundred corporate, community, and political leaders to Nashville ten years ago.
None of us were prepared for the way we were mistreated. One Nashville speaker called us racists; another attacked our healthcare industry; and third referred to Birmingham as ‘Bombingham.’ (Nashville spits on Birmingham)
The CEO of one of our area’s largest companies approached me at a business reception recently and said he was concerned about Birmingham.
I’ve had lots of people tell me they were worried about Birmingham, but never like this. Continue reading Is Birmingham becoming too cocky?
Has Publix gone mad?
The executives at Publix must be on drugs—bought at its own pharmacy.
Why would any sane company build a grocery store in downtown Birmingham?—not just a kids sized model—but a full size grocery store—pharmacy and all.
Publix must not have gotten the memo about white/black flight from the city center and the vast dangerous wasteland left behind.
Has Publix lost all sense of reality?
Continue reading Publix wacky for building a store downtown?