Sherrel Stewart
Reporter
Sherrel Wheeler Stewart is a veteran journalist with experience in print, digital, and broadcasting. She began her work in professional media in 1982 after graduating from the University of Alabama where she was an editor at The Crimson White student newspaper and also an associate producer with University Television Services.
At The Birmingham News she covered communities, education, and local government before moving to Nashville, Tennessee and working as education editor at The Tennessean. She has also worked in corporate communications and as a visiting professor of journalism at the University of Alabama. In 1998, she returned to The Birmingham News and was the breaking news editor before leaving in 2012.
A founding member of the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists, Sherrell is active in several community organizations. She is on the board of Special Equestrians and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Down Syndrome Alabama, and the Echo Highlands Neighborhood Association.
State and Local Leaders Break Ground for BJCC Stadium
12-13-2018
Local and state leaders turned the first dirt today on a lot that will become a new open-air stadium in downtown Birmingham. The $175 million stadium is part of a larger BJCC expansion.
State Attorney General Takes Over Galleria Shooting Case
12-13-2018
State Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today his office is taking over the prosecution in the Thanksgiving shootings at the Galleria that left one man fatally shot by a Hoover policeman and two others wounded.
Protests Following Police Shooting Reveal Divide in the Black Community
12-3-2018
The police shooting of 21-year-old Emantic Bradford Jr. has sparked frequent protests in Hoover. And while demonstrations played a key role in the struggle for civil rights decades ago, many African Americans today are divided as to whether these marches calling for justice in the wake of Bradford’s killing help or hurt the cause.
Woodfin’s First Year: Priority Remains on Neighborhoods
11-29-2018
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin began his second year in office Thursday. When he was elected, he pledged to improve the quality of life in the city, and make it a safer, more economically vibrant place.
Residents and Activists Oppose ABC Coke Air Permit
11-15-2018
Speakers at the first hearing Thursday asked the Jefferson County Department of Health not to renew the emissions permit for ABC Coke. Companies with air emissions are required to have permits renewed every four or five years, the health department says.
New Jefferson County Commission Takes Office With Three New Members
11-14-2018
Sheila Tyson and Lashunda Scales were sworn into office as Jefferson County commissioners Wednesday, along with Steve Ammons, a former Vestavia Hills City Council member. Tyson and Scales are Democrats; Ammons is a Republican. The Republican majority continues on the commission with incumbents Jimmie Stephens and Joe Knight.
Environmental Groups, Others Oppose Renewal of ABC Coke Air Emissions Permit
11-14-2018
The Jefferson County Department of Health has received 10 public comments about the proposed renewal of the air emissions permit for ABC Coke, an industrial plant in Tarrant. Most of the comments since August opposed re-issuing the company’s air emissions permit, according to the health department.
Jeffco Voters Elect County’s First African-American Sheriff and District Attorney
11-7-2018
Mark Pettway upsets longtime Sheriff Mike Hale and Danny Carr wins Jefferson County District Attorney.
Local Party Leaders Hope the Midterms Turn Counties Purple
11-2-2018
Shelby County is red, Jefferson County is blue. But party leaders hope to nudge the political landscape toward a shade of purple, especially in the local races.
Why Many Alabamians Won’t Vote in the Midterms
10-31-2018
Alabamians go the polls Tuesday to vote in midterm elections, but if history is a predictor, most eligible voters will likely sit this election out. Six out of 10 Alabama voters didn’t vote in 2014 when it was time to elect a governor, state lawmakers and other key leaders.
