Tag Archives: Larry Langford

Maybe Larry was on to something…

Posted on January 11, 2013 by | 3 comments

Larry Langford - acnatta/FlickrIt’s been awhile since I’ve written about former Birmingham mayor Larry Langford. It’s been so long I had to add his name to my spell-check list again. It’s a lot longer than the last time he was mentioned in the press.  This summer we learned he’d been moved to a prison medical facility in Lexington, KY for undisclosed reasons. I for one hope he’s doing well.

Whenever someone brings up Langford’s name, there’s normally some snickering about several of his proposals and their effects on the city and surrounding community. There is none that draws giggling and snark quicker than his attempt to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

If you approach it on face value, it didn’t make sense at all – at least it shouldn’t have. When it was presented in 2008, I suggested folks consider looking at it as a blueprint to measure his effectiveness as mayor. I got comments and emails from visitors to the site suggesting it was a noble interpretation, but the idea was still unrealistic.

I’ve left the notion alone now for the last 4+ years, thinking I may have missed something. Then, as I sat at my desk towards the end of last year, starting to shift my thoughts towards the city’s efforts to recognize what happened in 1963, it hit me. I’d found a new way to look at Langford’s proposals – one many wouldn’t want to acknowledge or admit to even if pressed. It was still compelling.

Langford’s proposals were his way of trying to get the city ready for 2013… and 2021.

Another look at Langford’s list of ideas

There is an entry dedicated to the list of initiatives proposed by Larry Langford throughout his political career maintained over on Bhamwiki. The collections of suggestions made during his time as mayor is extensive (and exhausting for some), but reviewed through the lens of getting a city ready for its international close-up, it is impressive.

Some, like the proposal to demolish the Birmingham Board of Education headquarters across from Linn Park to allow for redevelopment, sounded crazy, but now it appears as though it’ll happen now. Others, like suggesting we build fountains and plazas in Pratt City, Five Points West and downtown, seemed too far out there.

Now we get to the 2020 Olympics bid.

No, I’m not saying we had a chance, but it goes back to my original point from the June 2008 piece – it was a goal to place in front of the city. It was the ultimate target. It intrigued me as the math began to make sense. The proposal would have to go in during 2008, getting us media attention (which it did). There would have to be significant progress made on the infrastructure by late 2012/early 2013 at the latest, regardless of the situation in which Langford found himself. This would mean the city would be “ready” by 2013 – the moment Birmingham would once again be in the international spotlight for not just one, but two reasons.

It would provide a different angle for visiting journalists and bloggers to take on the city; it becomes less an issue of what we’re commemorating and more of where we are and where the city is going. It would also provide some buzz on which you could build on and realize several significant changes to the city for 2020, when journalists would undoubtedly come back to see if we’d taken advantage of those necessary improvements.

By the way, those improvements would have us ready for the following year, 2021. The significance of that year? It’s the 150th anniversary of the founding of Birmingham, AL.

I’m not asking you to anoint Langford a saint. I’m trying to demonstrate the madness had a method, albeit a haphazard one. It led to several of the things we’ll be celebrating and recognizing this year:

He asked us to do something, even though we didn’t necessarily want to play along. He will go down as a polarizing figure in Birmingham history, but he’ll also have a place in the hearts of some who’ve started to connect the insanity of the dots – as insane as they may be.

He even ended up scoring one of those proposed fountains downtown – over at our new Uptown entertainment district. The first groundbreaking – yeah, he was there, too.

André Natta is the stationmaster for bhamterminal.com.

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Why we are not covering the trial

Posted on October 17, 2009 by | Leave a comment

I thought about writing some long drawn out explanation about why The Terminal will not be covering the Langford trial… we’ll see how long this actually ends up.

I actually got stole the idea from Andrew Huff, editor of fellow hyperlocal blog Gapers Block and how they handled coverage of the Olympic bid in Chicago. My reasons are somewhat similar – everybody else is going to be covering it – a lot.

We already know that NBC 13 will be tweeting from the trial. Then there’s the possibility that Birmingham Weekly will do the same. All four of our local television networks will no doubt provide extensive in depth analysis of the situation and we haven’t even talked about The Birmingham News, The Birmingham Times, local talk radio and other bloggers. Overkill may be a kind word for what’s about to happen.

It would also help if there were three or four of me to be able to truly do it justice.

Maybe it’s not relevant to not cover a major trial. Maybe it’s more relevant to remind folks that regardless of what happens with this trial, the work of moving the City of Birmingham forward continues. I do realize that we live in a city and region that loves politics and drama, so we’ll see if taking this approach was appropriate.

Now, with all of this being said, there is one possible way to convince me to go back on my word (though even then, it will depend on how it’s proposed): One or two people would need to volunteer to attend the conference and cover it for The Terminal.

If there is anyone who thinks that they would be willing to do daily updates about the trial, then drop me a line at andre@bhamterminal.com and we’ll talk about you doing just that. Realize that any attempt to get a hold of me today may be thwarted thanks to BarCamp Nashville (great job so far guys) and the National Preservation Conference (same goes for you too), so don’t be discouraged if I don’t respond immediately.

We’ll see you on Monday morning!

André Natta is the stationmaster for bhamterminal.com.

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Understanding the brain drain in Birmingham

Posted on May 14, 2009 by | 14 comments

NOTE: Don’t forget to share your thoughts on whether or not we have a brain drain in Birmingham over on MCQ.

So apparently when The J. Clyde owner Jerry Hartley and Birmingham mayor Larry Langford had their disagreement yesterday tat the end of the Five Points South Merchants Association meeting, they weren’t arguing about that album by The Ramones. They also weren’t approaching the comments from the same perspective based on the varying accounts of the story. Though based on what’s been going on around the region for the past few years, they should have been.

Perhaps if Hartley had used the term human capital flight instead of brain drain Mayor Langford would have understood his point more clearly. Funny thing is I’ve sat in several meetings both here in Birmingham and elsewhere where the term brain drain has been used with most people agreeing that it is the case. It’s not necessarily a knock on the city’s residents, but the causes for the drain are something to consider when you look at the tools needed to showcase the magic that Mayor Langford says is happening right now in town and needs to continue to happen.

This would be why organizations like the local chapter of the Harvard Club created a program called “Stop the Brain Drain” and several organizations, including  our Regional Chamber of Commerce (it’s on page 2) and Empower Alabama (under education) use the term to describe our community’s perception that we cannot retain our college-educated individuals.

People have been working for years to combat the issue; in 2002, then CEO of CTS Steve Atkins told the Birmingham Business Journal that “we strive to keep these kids here by getting them involved in challenging and interesting projects and actually help with the brain-drain problem.”

When revealing their Top 40 under 40 in 2008, the BBJ reported that according to available data, Birmingham was the only city in Alabama that didn’t show a brain drain.

Even with those efforts and results, we should not be content with just getting by on our efforts to make the region more welcoming and inviting for those young professionals looking for somewhere to call home at the beginning (and hopefully throughout) their careers or to those that want to advance in their career considering metro Birmingham as an option. I’ll aim my comments towards the young professional angle.

There are a lot of active young people in Birmingham, AL nowadays. They are finding a way to have their voices heard, however we are still hearing them say that they need to go somewhere else to advance their careers. They want to make an impact now and have their voices heard; they’re willing to sit on a junior board and wait their turn, though they hope that they are being used as effectively as possible. If they find that they aren’t, they are more willing to disconnect from the rest of the community, depriving us of that one person that could take us to the next level. Sometimes that disconnection doesn’t necessarily mean leaving town but just leaving the high society life that many feel is the only way to become a leader.

We should not just look to young people as prospective members of a junior board or as people who can offer opinions on suggestions but not the reccommendations themselves. There is still a level of disconnection among young professional organizations, despite significant efforts for that not to be the case. There are also young people that don’t necessarily know how they can contribute nor do they feel as though they are going to be allowed to. Communication should be strengthened – which means more than just sharing what’s going on but figuring out how folks can work together to effective move Birmingham forward faster than it’s currently happening and that we’re actually working together and not functioning on two different planets of reality.

Our region’s future is dependent upon everyone being on the same page about the issues. Let’s hope that the buzz surrounding this exchange that exists online already ensures we’ve gotten to that point and that we can move forward to effectively deal with the problem, instead of spending more time hoping that the overlap that needs to be happening for meaningful progress to be made does.

André Natta is the stationmaster of bhamterminal.com.

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Birmingham's internal battle has got to stop

Posted on January 29, 2009 by | 5 comments

Yesterday’s debacle at the BJCC board meeting shines a bright light on some of the issues still facing our region despite having attempted to put on a face to the outside world that we’ve overcome.

Even more disturbing were the comments that have been appearing after hearing about the exchange between Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford and State Representative Mary Moore. The underlying tone of the discussion seems to insinuate that all African-American contractors do bad work (not to mention the fact that other minority contractors don’t seem to exist) and that the facility shouldn’t even be built because we can’t support a professional sports team.

I’d ask those throwing that second stone all the time to take note that in most cases, the problem has not been lack of community support for the team but the lack of success of the league. In many cases, the city led league attendance figures. Plus, if we do so poorly supporting sports teams, why do we even get considered for things like U.S. Soccer and the upcoming Davis Cup matches. More importantly, the facility should not be seen as only being used for those 8-10 sporting events a year.

Our convention center needs the space, period. Whether we want to admit that or not, it’s true. Despite the fact that the new facility will never fully recoup its construction or operating costs for itself, it is something that can provide long term jobs and revenue for this region. We spend so much time in this city taking pot shots at each other and not realizing that the true change is going on despite what loud mouths with bully pulpits say (and I’m not talking about Larry). As we continue to grow and change regionally, we must start to act our age and put the petty bickering behind us.

The fact that a state constitutional amendment can be introduced at the whim of someone feeling that there is not enough being done is absurd and speaks to the issue of self-rule and why the 1901 Constitution should be replaced as soon as possible. This is an example of wasting taxpayer dollars on an issue that should be settled locally without having to run to Montgomery to have Daddy or Mommy fix it for us. The mayor is correct – he represents the city on the board. Having council members appointed may take us down a very slippery slope, especially considering some of the positioning that people are starting to do now for 2011. It should not be political and should serve the best interests of Birmingham and the community.

While in Washington for the Inauguration, I was surrounded by people of all races and creeds. I was part of a mass of humanity that did not have one incident or arrest (save for that one person falling from a tree trying to see The Mall). The issue of race, at least in that corner of the world, was there but ceded to the idea that we had to work together to solve problems without finger pointing and the We do need to do something that will allow for more minority contractors and minority businesses in general getting that foot in the door so that they can achieve the American Dream. It is our duty to help change things to make them better. However to ignore those groups that are truly minorities when looking at the numbers in Birmingham and the surrounding area while doing it makes it shallow and pointless.

But maybe that means that I’m not Black enough…

André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal.

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What would Larry say on a blog?

Posted on July 14, 2008 by | 11 comments

Larry Langford - acnatta/FlickrCould you imagine the conversations that would result from Birmingham’s mayor, Larry Langford, taking his ideas directly to the blogosphere? We had definitely thought of it and all of the possibilities – that’s why we offered him a chance to write a weekly column here on my Birmingham during the early days of his administration. We also tried to include him in the interviews that we conducted as part of our election coverage. We never received an official response from him on either of those invitations.

One may ask, “Why would the mayor want to share his thoughts with us using a blog platform?” The better question may be “Why not?” Mayors across the country have turned to the blogosphere to share their thoughts for the future of their city, to control potential spin on comments and to help shape their image of #1 cheerleader of the city. Maybe some folks would be a little nervous about giving Larry that much access to us, or that he wouldn’t have access to enough people. That hasn’t stopped Mayor Slay of St. Louis, who recently used his blog to voice his opinions surrounding what’s become today’s announcement about IN Bev’s purchase of Anheuser-Busch. Huntsville’s mayor, Loretta Spencer, hasn’t posted since late January but saw the benefit of having one set up. Mayors in Richmond, VA; Phoenix, AZ; and Miami, FL all use their blogs to broadcast announcements affecting the day-to-day lives of their citizens and to share their ideas for the future of their cities.

Maybe the immediate feedback would help temper some of the grandiose aspirations that have come out of the mayor’s office – though we were all warned that we were going to have to hold on tight back on Election Night. He also doesn’t seem to be one that likes to be criticized or second- guessed (that’s why we’re still expecting fireworks at 5:15 p.m. tonight). It would be funny to see how he’d react to the instant, immediate and sharp wit shared both in support of him and against him via blog comments.

Some may wonder why we wanted him to participate on this site in the first place. Our answer is simple, “Wouldn’t you?” It would be a great way to truly encompass all thoughts and perspectives on issues in our community directly from mayor’s mouth. “Where does he actually want to lead the city?” “What has to happen to get there?” “What else do we need to know before a decision can be made?” These are all questions that are asked by a lot of people nowadays that would be easily answered if he or anyone else in his position chose to join the conversation wholly. Until then, it remains a guessing game, one that could lead many to wonder with all of the ideas floating in Larry’s head, imagined or otherwise, what more don’t we know.

André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal.

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Well, at least we're talking about it

Posted on May 19, 2008 by | 4 comments

“Nobody is trying to deny the seriousness of getting this under control, but does it have to be on a billboard?”

– Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford

Yes, as a matter of fact Larry, it does.

But apparently making Jefferson County residents aware of a syphilis outbreak is more of a detriment to our efforts for attracting new businesses into the region than a necessity to make sure that it does not become worse than it already is. In case you didn’t see Saturday’s Birmingham News story, two of our elected leaders feel as though bus advertisements calling attention to the fact that we have the #1 concentration of syphilis cases in the United States were portraying a bad image for the region (among other things).

While they are only removing ads announcing the outbreak off of the sides of buses, it takes away a valuable tool available to the Jefferson County Department of Health in this battle of educating the public, one that they should be commended for. It was doing what it was supposed to do – catching the attention of those that saw the signs even if only for a few seconds at a time.

If there is anyone that understands the importance of catching the attention of people in short, simple sound bites, it is the current mayor of the city of Birmingham. Mayor Langford provides just enough information to pique our interest and then he moves on to the next 6 or 7 things on his agenda. We stay just confused and bombarded long enough for the next idea to be planted and then the questions that need to be raised never are. It’s a shame, since some conversation may actually make some of these ideas better. In this case it’s a real shame that he doesn’t realize that the Department of Heath is simply taking a page out of his play book.

He’s done something again, only this time it’s something that could become a bigger issue if not handled properly. I’d like to know if he and Commissioner Fine-Collins plan to have the health department remove the billboards and television ads as well? If so, we’re going to use taxpayer dollars to remove ads that were partially paid for by taxpayer dollars trying to educate the taxpayers about a serious issue — like the logic?

Maybe he has a secret plan to use that bully pulpit that mayors possess to make sure that more people are aware…

Maybe.

Maybe spending taxpayer dollars to sweep one of our regions issues under the rug could be better spent making sure that we dealt with the outbreak appropriately, making sure that everyone was aware of the issue.

The problem with both of those solutions is that they sound too logical.

As a city recognized as a national leader in medical research, maybe the idea of making people aware of the issue constitutes our area hospitals and medical leaders doing the job that they are best known for. And it’s not like the ads haven’t had an effect, it has encouraged more people to go in and be tested for symptoms.

We can’t call the kettle black without making sure that we air all of our dirty laundry as well. We’d actually had a story prepared about the outbreak more than a month ago; however we were waiting for a list of current solutions that were being undertaken to be completed before putting it up on the site. We felt as though that was most important – making sure that solutions were presented. Unfortunately, most of us are only now writing about the issue because Mr. Langford and Ms. Fine-Collins finally gave us a reason to do so.

So we decided to run the story this morning (if you didn’t come here directly from the post, head on over to the Newsstand to take a look). Even if you feel as though this issue cannot hit you personally, it is important enough to the overall health of our region to take a good, hard look at it and what can be done to assist with handling it.

So maybe recent stories about Birmingham’s potential are just not powerful enough to overcome this outbreak as selling points, at least in the eyes of our city’s chief executive. But I think I’d rather have folks coming in to join this transplant in a movement to make the city a better place than have them wonder why we hadn’t accepted the situation and admitted to it up front — completely.

André Natta is the managing editor of The Terminal.

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Posted in Birmingham, Commentary

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Proclaiming the real issues

Posted on April 23, 2008 by | 3 comments

Andre Natta headshotThe inboxes at The Terminal received several emails late yesterday afternoon, a couple of them including the responses received by two citizens after they sent in their concerns to Mayor Langford’s office about his proclamation declaring this coming Saturday a citywide day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes. They’re posted over here.

After sleeping on it, maybe I’m not that worried about Saturday evening at Fair Park Arena Friday evening at Boutwell Auditorium – mainly because I’m not sure that getting upset and frustrated will do much to solve the issue at hand. After reading the emails and the responses, it’s clear that there will be no consensus on the issue any time soon.

Now the typos in the proclamation – they bother me. I still haven’t quite gotten to über wordsmith status, but I’ve written more than enough posts to know that what you put out there on paper – whether as a hard copy or virtually, is a visual representation of you as a person. The typos and grammatical errors found in both the proclamation and the email responses from City Hall yesterday speak more about the attention to detail paid to the issues affecting our city currently.

There are times when the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed, and there are other times when the intention is understood but the follow-through is questionable.

There is no question that the city of Birmingham needs to come together to address the crime epidemic that has us listed as the sixth most dangerous city per capita in the United States by some.

Yes, there is a major role that our area’s religious leaders need to play in getting us out of the moral cesspool that is our inability to believe that life can get better in Birmingham. This is despite the fact that the hours of worship are still one of the most segregated and divisive times in our society today, both in terms of denomination and race (but that’s another post).

Yes, there is even a need for the man that holds the biggest and loudest bully pulpit in the city to use his influence to encourage this dialogue to take place. He could even show up at an event like the one he’s announced for Saturday in his role as the leader of the city and speak of how he supports an initiative.

But I’m certainly not sure if he should be organizing the event himself, whether the money being used to pay for the sackcloth is donated or not.

Everyone agrees that something needs to be done to quell this issue. Langford’s police chief admits that there’s not necessarily a one-solution fixes all approach, but I think that his philosophy is more along the lines of what needs to be the focus of the problem as it exists now.

It’s not that we don’t like some of the things that Mayor Langford is doing. Yesterday’s proposal to pay for city bus services as the heat of the summer and the pain of paying higher prices at the pump both begin to expose themselves to the people of Birmingham was something desperately needed. But as mentioned in today’s Birmingham News article, this proposal will not necessarily encourage new riders to begin to use the system – though taking advantage of rising gas prices to get the word out may just be the incentive needed to expand ridership. Maybe then there would be more voices lent to the case made by the Transit Advisory Committee to improve the system that we currently have.

The ideas are great, however (as we’ve learned here during our short existence) sometimes it’s better to pay attention to the content of the message instead of how it’s being packaged for the audience receiving it.

André Natta is the publisher and managing editor of The Terminal.

What do you think? Let’s hear your thoughts about it over on Magic City Question!

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