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Birmingham Land Bank
While Birmingham's city center has seen a wave of new development, drive around some neighborhoods and it's hard to miss dilapidated homes and vacant lots. The rolls of abandoned properties have swelled as people left the city in recent years. But a new proposal under consideration by the Birmingham City Council called a land bank aims to turnaround these neighborhood eyesores.
Birmingham Schools: Takeover To Today, Part 1
The state education department's intervention team is now monitoring Birmingham City Schools from afar, a year and a half after it first took control of the school system. The district had been facing major challenges, including a board so dysfunctional it made national news. But that's only part of the picture. In this first of a three-part series, WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen delves into the complex and often painful situation leading to state intervention.
Leroy Stover: Birmingham’s First Black Police Officer
Leroy Stover joined the Birmingham Police Department in 1966 as the city's first black police officer. He recounts his career, struggles, and triumphs with WBHM's Sarah Delia.
Act of Congress: Christmas Vol. 2
The Birmingham acoustic quartet features influences from jazz, rock and pop and just released an album of Christmas songs. WBHM's Michael Krall spoke with band members Adam Wright and Chris Griffin and produced this audio postcard. (Note: Click the title bar above for music downloads.)
John Archibald: Hoover Reverses Bus Decision
School officials in Hoover are trying to figure out what's next now that the district has reversed a decision to end bus service for most students next school year. The Hoover School Board made the change Monday after months of harsh criticism from some parents and residents. We hear more from Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald.
Kyle Whitmire: Hoover School Bus Services Will Continue
On Monday members of the Hoover board of education agreed to overturn an earlier vote to stop offering bus services next school year. The vote came after months of complaints and protests by parents. Kyle Whitmire with Al.com and the Birmingham News discusses how this decision will impact students, families, and schools in the Hoover system.
INTERVIEW: Hoover School Bus Supporter Trisha Powell Crain
There's been a victory of sorts for parents whose children ride school buses in Hoover. In July, the school board got national attention and angered many residents by voting to scrap the sprawling district's busing program starting next school year. But after intense community pressure and input from the Justice Department, the board unanimously reversed itself Monday night. Shortly after, WBHM's Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen caught up with Trisha Powell Crain, a Hoover parent and longtime education policy writer. Though she has some misgivings, she calls last night's school-board reversal an example of what persistent community activism can accomplish.
Dar Williams: Finding Her Musical Voice
Singer-songwriter Dar Williams has been compared to Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez but with a bit of an acidic twist. Her ninth studio album is called In The Time of Gods. Williams performs in Birmingham Tuesday night and she spoke with WBHM's Michael Krall.
State Seeks Dismissal Of Suit Against Birmingham Takeover
BREAKING: Lawyers representing the Alabama State Department of Education late Wednesday filed a brief asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the state's 2012 intervention in Birmingham City Schools.
John Archibald: Low Voter Turnout
What if you held an election and nobody showed up? That's practically what happened this week in a special election to fill the House District 53 seat in Birmingham. Out of almost 21,000 eligible voters turnout was just 2.6 percent. We hear more from Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald.
Hops for Honeys
Some might open a bottle of wine for Thanksgiving dinner or crack open a cold one for the football game. If that drink is a craft beer, there's a good chance the person enjoying it is a woman. Recent surveys have shown a major driver of Alabama's growing craft beer market is women in their 20's and 30's. As WBHM intern Hollie Parrish reports, one Birmingham group is tapping into this growing interest among female beer drinkers.
Chanukah in Story & Song
Sung by the The Western Wind, the acclaimed vocal sextet and the renowned actor present 25 eclectic selections, from the Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews and Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe to modern Israeli tunes.
Kyle Whitmire: The Reality of Exiting Bankruptcy
If things go according to plan, Jefferson County will exit municipal bankruptcy on December 3. However, many of its financial problems remain. Kyle Whitmire with Al.com and the Birmingham News joins us to discuss four things that will come out of exiting bankruptcy and four things that won't change.
Restoring the Lyric
As officials work to restore the Lyric Theatre in downtown Birmingham, some obstacles could be expected -- funding the project, removing lead paint and plumbing issues. But there are tougher, less obvious challenges too. When the Lyric opened in 1914, Birmingham was a city with lines of segregation and the theatre reflects that. So how do you faithfully restore a historic building still physically marked by the city's racist past?
School Weather Closings
A handful of schools around north central Alabama are closed Wednesday due to the threat of icy weather. They include Hoover City Schools and Blount County Schools.
Jefferson County Bankruptcy Round-Up
After multiple corruption trials, years of hand wringing and intense negotiations with creditors, Jefferson County has been cleared to exit municipal bankruptcy The $4.2 billion bankruptcy was the largest in U.S. history until Detroit's filing earlier this year. This is the collection of WBHM's stories to date.
Judge Approves Jefferson County’s Plan to Exit Bankruptcy
Federal bankruptcy judge Thomas Bennett has confirmed Jefferson County's bankruptcy plan, paving the way for the county to exit its $4.2 billion bankruptcy in December. Most of that debt was linked to corruption, mismanagement and bad deals around the county sewer system. Thursday's ruling ends two years under municipal bankruptcy, the second largest in U.S. history after Detroit's filing earlier this year. County leaders say the confirmation allows Jefferson County move past its fiscal turmoil.
John Archibald: An End to Jefferson County’s Bankruptcy
Jefferson County's municipal bankruptcy appears to be in its final days. County commissioners approved the sale of $1.7 billion in new sewer debt Wednesday. Meanwhile a federal bankruptcy judge began a hearing on the county's plan to exit bankruptcy. We talk about it with Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald.
WBHM Hosts Issues and Ales Event Tuesday, Nov. 19 at WorkPlay
Make plans now to attend WBHM 90.3 FM's next Issues and Ales event on leadership and civic engagement on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at WorkPlay at 500 23rd St S. The evening will feature a panel discussion focusing on how can we work together to build stronger communities. Representatives from throughout Birmingham will focus on North Central Alabama's challenges with leadership and regional cooperation.
Stephen Hough: Playing the piano isn’t enough
Stephen Hough is one of the world's leading pianists, but he's also been described a as a renaissance man -- excelling as a writer and composer. It's all part of his creativity beyond the piano. But it also adds to his creativity and his musical personality. He performs with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Friday and Saturday night.
John Archibald: Remembering Maxine Parker
Birmingham Mayor William Bell called it "a sad day for our city" when reacting to news of city council president Maxine Parker's death. She died unexpectedly Tuesday leaving colleagues in shock. But they also remembered Parker as a quiet, fierce advocate for residents of her north Birmingham district. We remember Parker with Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald.
Birmingham Author’s JFK Assassination Book Inspires Play
Next Friday, November 22, marks the 50th Anniversary of the assignation of President John F. Kennedy. It's a story James Douglas of Birmingham knows well. He's the author of the 2008 book "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters." It’s a detailed account of his research into President Kennedy's work for peace and his assignation. The book has been adapted into a play, entitled "Noah’s Ark," by Pittsburgh playwright Ginny Cunningham. The Birmingham Festival Theatre will present a staged reading of the play this Sunday, November 17, at 2 p.m. As Douglas and Cunningham describe in this interview, there were many challenges involved in turning Douglas's 500-plus page book into a 90 minute play. The version presented in Birmingham this weekend is three years and 20 drafts in the making.
Kyle Whitmire: Maxine Parker’s Legacy
City Council President Maxine Parker died at the age of 69 on Tuesday. We'll take a look at Parker's legacy as well as what's next for the council. Plus, JeffCo gets another bad review from a major rating agency regarding the county's sewer debt. Kyle Whitmire from Al.com and the Birmingham News joins us to discuss.
Birmingham City Council President Maxine Parker Dies
Birmingham City Council President Maxine Parker has died. She was 69. No word yet on the cause of death. The three-term councilwoman spent more than four decades working at Talladega College. She also served as president of the Collegeville Neighborhood Association in Birmingham. Vivian Starks succeeded Parker in that position. Starks tells WBHM's Andrew Yeager her memories of Maxine Parker.
A Vietnam Rescue and Reunion
Monday is Veterans Day and we mark the occasion with a special conversation between two Veterans. It involves a nighttime firefight, a rescue by helicopter and an unlikely reunion 44 years later.
Healing Body and Soul in Alabama’s Black Belt
While Birmingham is a city with large hospitals and many medical professionals, there are relatively few physicians in Alabama's Black Belt. It's an impoverished region already facing high rates of obesity, diabetes and cancer deaths. One doctor has made it her mission to provide medical care to residents of Pine Apple, a town of just 130 people in Wilcox County. She also happens to be a Roman Catholic nun.
Not quite “Mission Accomplished” for Jefferson County bankruptcy
Jefferson County commissioners are out talking to investors, pushing a revised plan which would allow the county to exit bankruptcy by the end of the year. It's a major accomplishment given that rising interest rates made a previous plan unworkable. But Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald says its too early to say "mission accomplished."
Kyle Whitmire: The Pitfalls of Exiting Bankruptcy
There are still many hurdles Jefferson County must overcome before exiting bankruptcy. Kyle Whitmire with Al.com and the Birmingham News stops by to discuss worst case scenarios.
From UAB to White House Intern
With the end of this college semester just a month away, many students are busy applying for internships. As one UAB graduate knows well, internships can be a life changing experience. Mallick Hossain had been on a path toward medical school before his internship at the White House this summer pushed him to pursue a Ph.D in economics. WBHM intern Hollie Parrish spoke with him about his experience in Washington.
Birmingham Ghost Tours: Revealing the Unseen
Walk around downtown Birmingham and you see many old, vacant buildings. But Wolfgang Poe argues just because you can't see someone in one of those old buildings doesn't mean nobody's there.
John Archibald: Fighting for Fighting’s Sake
After a two year legal battle, the fight over Alabama's toughest-in-the-nation illegal immigration law appears to be at an end. Tuesday, the state and a coalition of civil rights groups challenging the law announced a settlement. Alabama agrees to not enforce parts of the law, many of which had already been temporarily blocked by federal courts. But Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald says this kind of fight seems to be part of Alabama's DNA.
Alabama Immigration Law Settlement
Civil and immigration rights groups in Alabama are cheering after the state agreed Tuesday to settle three lawsuits challenging HB 56, the state's controversial illegal immigration law. The move caps two years of legal battles and comes after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Alabama's appeal to restore parts of the law.
