Primary runoff election is July 14: What you need to know
There’s no missing the headliner in the July 14 primary runoff election. Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville faces ex-U.S. Senator turned Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. The winner will face Democrat Doug Jones in November. It’s the first Alabama election amid the coronavirus pandemic […]
Birmingham’s Avondale is now an entertainment district
Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood is now an entertainment district, which means you can take your beer with you when you leave the brewery in search of pizza. On Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council unanimously approved a measure designating Avondale as the city’s fourth entertainment district. The city is allowed to have up to five entertainment districts. […]
Ice cream shop opens in Pepper Place
A James Beard Award-winning, ice cream maker, is officially open in Birmingham. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams opened last week in 640 square feet in Pepper Place at 219 29th St. S. It’s the first location in Alabama, and now patrons can purchase the ice cream in person rather than just at Publix. Jeni’s Splendid Ice […]
Non-profits struggling with COVID-19 and damage from protesters
Some Birmingham businesses and even some of our non-profit charitable organizations are struggling to survive. First, it was COVID-19. Now, some are recovering from damage to buildings after a Sunday night riot. First Light Shelter has been downtown at its current 4th Avenue North location for almost twenty years. They provide shelter to homeless women […]
How Birmingham City Councilors Maintain Contact With Constituents. From a Distance.
Social media, emails, conference calls. These have become popular means of communication for Birmingham City Council members, who are limited in the ways they can meet with constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
After Topgolf shanked on minority- and women-owned participation in construction, Birmingham terminated tax incentives
Topgolf, the national chain of high-tech driving range and entertainment venues, was coming to Birmingham. In December 2016, the company, along with St. Louis-based ARCO Murray Construction Inc., signed an inclusion agreement with the City of Birmingham with a goal of 30 percent participation by minority- and women-owned firms in the construction of the huge facility on […]
Birmingham City Council could move to virtual meetings
“Up to this point, we have been taking precautions for those on-site meetings at city hall. I think the best thing for us to do is to do exactly what we’re advising our citizens to do which is stay at home,” O’Quinn said. O’Quinn says the council has been practicing with Zoom but has yet […]
Mosquito Spraying to Continue in Birmingham Despite Objections
The council voted Tuesday to purchase $2,475 of adulticide spray from Clarke Mosquito Control Products, a company based in Saint Charles, Illinois. The resolution initially was slated to be passed as part of the noncontroversial consent agenda before it was removed by District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn. When the resolution came before the council later […]
Birmingham firefighters receive cancer insurance coverage
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – As we’ve reported over the past two years, more firefighters are facing health risks that could last long after the smoke clears, especially when it comes to cancer. Now, Birmingham firefighters are getting some help. This week the Birmingham City Council approved the additional cancer coverage for its firefighters which helps […]
Mayor announces plan to reduce illegal dumping across city
For Robert Walker, president of the Wahouma Neighborhood Association in southwest Birmingham, illegal dumping of trash, household items such as couches, mattresses, bed frames and any other form of debris is a problem that he and other residents have fought for years. Help may now be on the way. On Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor Randall […]