Birmingham
Waiting for a Plan for Alabama’s Budget, and Birmingham – Destination City or Not?
Kyle Whitmire says he was certain that a small group of public officials, business leaders, and bureaucrats was busy working and drafting up a solution to the General Fund deficit. But when the session ended, no group was revealed. The Special Session later this summer should offer an ability to work out a deal, since the legislative rules allow leadership to limit the scope of what can be considered, focused on solving the budget crisis. Kyle and Scott also discuss another topic of debate – there’s a debate brewing within the pages, printed and digital, about whether or not Birmingham is a “destination city,” and what that may or may not really mean.
Birmingham City Schools Released From State Takeover
State Board commends school system for improvements in finances and governance
James Hanks, a Dropout “Recovered”
The U.S. Secretary of Education recently recognized Alabama for having one of the nation’s steepest increases in high school graduation rates. Birmingham City Schools’ rate increased even more – up roughly 23 […]
More Robust FEMA APP Released Just In Time for Hurricane Season
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is launching a new feature to its app that is a one-stop-shop of sorts that will help people prepare for, respond to and recover from hurricanes.
Kyle Whitmire Discusses UAB Football Future And The Legislative Session
The much anticipated College Sports Solutions’ report on University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) athletics is now public and the findings are somewhat ambiguous. In essence, it says UAB can […]
Steel City Jug Slammers: Delta Blues and Old-Time Jug Music
Birmingham's own Steel City Jug Slammers perform Delta blues and old-time jug music.
A Snapshot of the Convention and Event Business
Birmingham did not win the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Nor has it hosted an NCAA basketball tournament game in years. But players in Birmingham's tourism and convention industry are working to keep a steady stream of events through the city. We have a snapshot of that industry in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Magic City Marketplace: A Long Time Coming
Much has been written about the investment and nightlife along Second Avenue North in Birmingham as a sign of the city center's rising fortune. But the area's comeback isn't just a post-recession story. And it's one economic development leaders hope isn't done. We talk about that in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Magic City Marketplace: Hospitals Set to Merge
Hospitals around Birmingham are preparing for a major shift in the healthcare marketplace -- the proposed merger of Baptist Health System and Brookwood Medical Center. That deal could close as soon as next month and would combine two big players in Birmingham healthcare. Thats where we start in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Winter Storm Warning for N. Central Alabama — Schools Closing, Gov. Bentley Declares State Of Emergency
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for much of north central Alabama from 9 a.m. Wednesday though midnight Wednesday. The warning covers an area roughly along the Interstate 20 corridor and north. UAB classes and campus operations will be cancelled for Wednesday, Feb. 25th and additional cancellations are likely.
Magic City Marketplace: Birmingham Job Market
Birmingham's unemployment rate is at its lowest point since the recession and about 5,000 jobs were added last year. That's good news. But the shiny headlines are tempered by the fact that Birmingham job growth is slower than other southeastern cities. We talk about that in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Schools Delayed Due To Potential For Icy Roads
Several schools around north central Alabama are on delayed starts Monday.
“Sam” To Bring Produce To Food Deserts
The economic development group REV Birmingham has turned a federal grant into a refrigerated truck meant to bring fresh produce to Birmingham's food deserts. The truck's name is Sam. WBHM's Joseph Thornton has the story.
John Archibald: Thousands Continue to be Spent on City Travel
The Birmingham mayor's office and city council spent more than $300,000 dollars on travel last year, more than any other city in Alabama. So far in 2015 the trend has continued. It's an issue Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald has written about regularly.
Magic City Marketplace: Gay Marriage and the Workplace
It's now been one week since same-sex couples could get marriage licenses in Alabama. Most counties are now following a federal judges' ruling overturning the state's ban on gay marriage and the decision could also affect employers. We talk about that in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Judicial Chaos Complicates Same-Sex Marriage In Alabama
Despite judicial confusion throughout Alabama, on Monday several Alabama counties did issue same-sex couples marriage licenses, including in Birmingham, Huntsville and Montgomery. Rachel Osier Lindley explains what happened across the state the day Alabama became the 37th to recognize same-sex marriage.
Magic City Marketplace: Free College Tuition
President Obama cast a spotlight on community colleges when he announced a plan last month to offer free at such institutions. It's a plan that could have significant effect on Alabama as the state tries to make its 2-year college system a bigger educational and economic player. We talk about it in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
Magic City Marketplace: The Future of the Historic Tax Credit
Some of downtown Birmingham's redevelopment projects have been helped along by Alabama's historic tax credit. But that credit is capped and will sunset next year. So developers and political leaders are debating what to do with this popular incentive. We hear more from Cindy Fisher Crawford in this week's Magic City Marketplace.
John Archibald: Birmingham to Host 2021 World Games
Birmingham leaders are celebrating today's announcement the city has won the chance to host the 2021 World Games. It's an international competition of non-Olympic sports. Birmingham beat Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia, to capture the games. City officials are not only talking about history and civic pride but economic impact as well. We hear reaction from Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald.
BPD Issues Statement On Looming Pepper-Spray Trial
If you read this after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 20, the day after Martin Luther King Day, witnesses may already be on the stand in a federal courtroom in yet another Birmingham trial with civil rights implications. Barring a last-minute settlement, the Southern Poverty Law Center's suit against the Birmingham Police Department over officers using mace on city students will go forward, and lawyers representing the city and the police are promising a vigorous defense. WBHM's Dan Carsen has more.
John Archibald: No Confidence Vote on UAB President
The UAB Faculty Senate will vote Thursday morning on a resolution expressing no confidence in university president Ray Watts. It's the latest fallout from his decision to end UAB's football, bowling and rifle programs. This is in addition to no confidence resolutions passed by the Graduate Student Government and the Undergraduate Student Government Association, the latter saying Watts misled people and didn't adequately inform the UAB community.
Ollie’s Barbecue: The Case that Integrated Restaurants
One of the enduring images of the Civil Rights Movement is of black protesters being pulled away from lunch counters. Fifty years ago this Sunday a U.S. Supreme Court ruling effectively ended segregation in restaurants. That case came from Birmingham.
The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark
Many names are associated with the Civil Rights Movement, but sometimes buildings can hold just as much importance. Once such building is Birmingham's A.G. Gaston Motel. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders stayed there and it served as the headquarters for the Birmingham movement. Marie A. Sutton wrote about the history of the building in her new book.
Kyle Whitmire: Gerrymandering In Alabama
On Wednesday the US Supreme Court took up the complicated question of what kind of gerrymandering is acceptable and what kind is not. The court is being asked to decide whether a 2010 state legislative redistricting in Alabama overloaded some districts with black Democrats on the basis of race or party.
Election 2014 Results
Alabama Republicans maintained their dominance sweeping all statewide offices in the 2014 election. Governor Robert Bentley wins a second term and he'll have a legislature in firm Republican control to work with. We have the results.
The Races for Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District
As Alabama voters pick their members of Congress at the polls next week, only residents of the sixth congressional district will be guaranteed to have new representation. Long-time Congressman Spencer Bachus is retiring from the district that covers suburban Birmingham. The fight for Alabama's only open seat is heating up.
Federal Complaint Alleges Fund Misappropriation in Birmingham Schools
A Birmingham City Schools parent who's also president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers has filed a complaint against the school system with the U.S. Department of Education over allegedly misappropriated Title One funds.
BCS Superintendent Craig Witherspoon To Resign: Reaction And Perspective
Last night Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Craig Witherspoon announced he would resign at the end of the year. Neither he nor board members had much to say immediately after the announcement, but late last night WBHM's Dan Carsen caught up with some key players for reaction. We've put together links to some key moments in Witherspoon's tenure, too.
Kyle Whitmire: Politics is local, School and City Politics have a busy week
After renewing his employment contract, the Superintendent of the Birmingham City Schools resigns. Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council has voted to give themselves a lift in their expense accounts, future council members a raise in salary, and give the mayor more freedom to spend. We ponder these local political acts and what's next with Kyle Whitmire, political commentator for the Alabama Media Group.
Birmingham Fashion Truck: Making The Magic City Rethink Fashion
Food trucks have become ubiquitous in many cities. Entrepreneurs have taken the same concept of retail on wheels and applied them to apparel. That trend has now come to Birmingham. WBHM's intern Morgan Smith has more.
Kyle Whitmire: Judge Lifts Restrictions On The Montgomery Advertiser
Last week Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance lifted his ban that temporarily blocked the Montgomery Advertiser from publishing information from Alagasco documents. We take a look at why the ban was set in the first place as well as job numbers in the state.
Artwalk: Public Forum
Artist Steve Lambert likes to say his medium is "trouble." That's a creative way of saying he's less interested in pretty pictures than in artwork that challenges the audience. Or in the case of his latest, work that forces them to examine their own views. The New York-based artist is currently an artist in residence at Birmingham's Space One Eleven gallery. This weekend he brings his work called "Public Forum" to Birmingham’s Artwalk.
