Tag Archives: AL

Creative collaborative community – that’s the plan

Posted on April 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Today I’m starting to test the waters virtually to determine whether or not we’ll open our own office later this summer. The space would double as a coworking community for some of the city’s creatives and a physical home for us to host events related to content on the site.

There’s a new section in the process of being built out that currently has a post explaining what’s on my mind (at least, the first of many that will explain) as well as a survey that will help us determine if we can responsibly move forward with the process. The new section will also be used this spring and summer to help folks get a better understanding about just what coworking is and take a look at some of the other coworking communities taking shape in Birmingham.

The hope for the short term is that those of you that are freelancers and solopreneurs (and potential sponsors) will consider filling out the survey and passing the link on to as many people as possible.

We’ll keep you updated on what’s going on.

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Posted in From the Stationmaster, The Terminal

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UPDATE: A busy summer ahead for local media

Posted on April 19, 2010 | 1 comment

John Archibald - acnatta/FlickrThings are getting interesting all over Birmingham, AL (particularly in the world of local media) as we enjoy a beautiful spring day.

Kyle Whitmire has shared via Facebook that John Archibald has written a column about the buyouts at The Birmingham News though it hasn’t been published as of yet.

UPDATE: Kyle has decided to post the unpublished column as a note to his Facebook profile. He’s also shared via Twitter that he will be on The Matt Murphy Show tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 7:30 a.m.

UPDATE 2: John Archibald’s column returned to the pages of The Birmingham News on Wednesday morning. It was not the “unpublished” one that has been circulated via social networks and local bloggers, but a follow up to his April 14 column about Alabama oddity.

The News started offering buyouts in November 2008; they were extended in late 2009 and again earlier this year (February).

We’ll keep an eye on what’s going on over there for you. You may also want to check out the recent posts over on Media of Birmingham.

We’ve got a favor to ask of you ourselves; we’ll explain shortly…

Photo: acnatta/Flickr

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Posted in Media

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Welcome aboard Witherspoon

Posted on March 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

Craig WitherspoonCall it an initiation rite. Birmingham’s new school superintendent, Craig Witherspoon, sat quietly through his first school board meeting Tuesday. Mostly, he just watched. He watched as board members Virginia Volker and Emanuel Ford grilled the child nutrition director on a $57,702 bid for sliced meat. Ford requested that the meats be housed in a variety of breads. You know, something other than the standard bun. Spencer Taylor, the child nutrition director, agreed. There would be wraps and flatbreads, he said. Volker had another concern. “Can we go easy on the salami?”

Taylor assured her that the board has historically used turkey salami. Volker’s face lit up, clearly surprised. The item passed.

Recent articles by The Birmingham News have noted that no school district in the state has shelled out as much dough as the Birmingham system–$1.5 million last year–on legal fees. The board retains two law firms, and let’s just say that at the board meetings, attorneys take up substantial real estate near the dais.

Board member April Williams said that while there may be a small army of lawyers in attendance at each meeting, the board pays for only one attorney from one firm each meeting. The board meets twice a month. Tom Stewart, of the firm Waldrep, Stewart & Kendrick, said that his firm, one of the two representing the board, doesn’t attend committee meetings unless asked by the board. Then only the firm that was invited bills the board. As for the new superintendent’s welcome reception last night, where revelers grumbled that the attorneys present were getting paid, Stewart corrected, “We did not get paid.” They attended, he said, because they wanted to.

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Posted in Education, The City

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Yes, John’s column is still on the site

Posted on March 21, 2010 | 1 comment

John Morse headshotNo, you didn’t imagine it yesterday… you did see a John Morse post in this section yesterday. This morning the commentary, My recent brushes with wild speculation, was moved over to our my Birmingham section (just so you know where to send folks to go check it out).

Some of you may remember John from The Terminal’s early days as the curator of our daily A Look Back series that referenced our city’s incredible wiki Bhamwiki (which he started four years ago this month). His new column will appear occasionally (but with some frequency) on my Birmingham – the start of what will hopefully become a collection of the city’s voices. We’re definitely looking forward to it and glad to have him back on board.

By the way – if you want to add your voice to that collection, please feel free to contact me via email or Twitter.

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Posted in Timetable

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Building our way out of traffic

Posted on March 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

US 31/280 sign The proposal to build metro Birmingham out of the traffic congestion that is Highway 280 has been seeing a lot of attention recently.

This morning’s Birmingham News talked about the idea of flex tolls on the elevated portion. The plan being presented by ALDOT officials continues to do the rounds, with varying results. The Birmingham Business Alliance issued a press release last week strongly supporting the project while members of the Birmingham City Council have strongly voiced concerns about the project.

Groups are still organizing both for and against this project (including this memo from Homewood written last month) that will undoubtedly change the face of the metropolitan area’s Southernmost regions and they’re still trying to get a better understanding about just how the road will operate once constructed.

We were wondering if you’d share your opinions over on Magic City Question…

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Posted in traffic, transportation

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Birthdays everywhere

Posted on March 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Octagon Clock. Pam Morgan/FlickrIt’s been a fairly busy past few days so far as birthdays or anniversaries go.

Birmingham’s newspaper of record, The Birmingham News, celebrated 122 years of existence yesterday. The Birmingham Genealogical Society turns 51 today while BhamWiki marks four years of documenting the Birmingham district today (they decided to celebrate on Saturday).

Oh yeah… this site, The Terminal, turned three yesterday. We haven’t celebrated yet, though we’re looking for help to figure out how. I figured the best way to honor that yesterday was to write a post over on the site that led to its creation, Dre’s Ramblings (the new one) as opposed to the old one that still needs to come down (it has the same stuff after all)- and say thanks.

Photo: Octagon Clock. Pam Morgan/Flickr

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Posted in The Terminal

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What is the future of coworking in Birmingham?

Posted on March 9, 2010 | 1 comment

Shift Workspace Bob Farley/f8PhotoThe hope for the meeting taking place this evening at Shift Workspace starting at 6 p.m. is to answer the question of if there is a future for coworking in Birmingham, AL. The collaborative space opened to much fanfare (and media coverage) last May. We’ve maintained a desk in the space for several months and are considered an anchor tenant, originally hoping to use it for a series of conversations about issues affecting the city.

This January however, a post on the site quietly announced an initial decision to downsize and move the concept of the space to Austin, TX. A recent article in the Birmingham Business Journal revealed that the location would most likely close when its lease is up, though some of the members are trying to see if they will be able to keep the idea alive (whether it be there or elsewhere in the city), hence why they’re meeting tonight.

The hope is to see if the city’s tech and creative communities want a space and, if so, what’s needed to make it useful for them. Come on out and share your thoughts.

Photo: Bob Farley/f8Photo

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Posted in technology, The Terminal

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