Tag Archives: Alabama

Railroad’s next phase

RRP-Amphitheater

There’s been a lot of conversations about Railroad Park recently, particularly about the status of work on what’s been called Birmingham, AL’s living room. Two weeks ago during a presentation at the Operation New Birmingham breakfast, attendees were given an update on the progress of Railroad Park, complete with renderings of the proposed 3,000-seat amphitheater and of the signage that would great users as they entered from the corners. Funds must still be raised for its construction, which means it will most likely not be completed until it is a part of phase II of the site’s development

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How crooked is Birmingham?

Local blogger Wade Kwon is tackling this question via a month-long series on Wade on Birmingham, taking a look at some of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks. The site describes the series as “a celebration of Birmingham’s most notorious crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs.” If you’re in love with RSS feeds, you can even subscribe to one just to follow along.

The series’ calendar ends on August 31, the same day that Birmingham’s mayor, Larry Langford, is scheduled to go on trial on federal bribery and conspiracy charges.

Football, racecars and tailgating in October…

Magic City Classic LogoIt should be an interesting Halloween in and around Birmingham, AL this year. The Magic City Classic is less than 90 days away and it is the largest single sporting event held in the city every year. Last year’s attendance was more than 69,000 – and that only represents those who made their way inside Legion Field.

This year the crowds associated with the annual battle on the gridiron between Alabama A&M and Alabama State will be competing with another pair of large scale events for weekend sports coverage (and hotel rooms) – the Mountain Dew 250 and the Amp Energy 500, both taking place at the Talladega Superspeedway. Fans of both events may want to start looking into hotel rooms as soon as possible – or at least plan for a weekend of tailgating madness.

A Picture of Health atop the Redmont tonight

healthposterIf you’re still looking for something to do this evening, Birmingham Bombshells is holding a pretty nice party tonight atop the historic Redmont Hotel in downtown Birmingham, AL. The event, A Picture of Health, is a benefit to raise money for ovarian cancer research and in particular the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation. It starts at 7 p.m. and it gives you a chance to enjoy one of the most breathtaking views of The Magic City while dressing up in 1940s-era glamour and bid on items as part of the “Every Girl’s Fantasy” auction.

There are still tickets available, at least you’ve got until 5 p.m. to purchase them in advance. We’d love to hear that they sold out tonight…

Rapoport talks about his new gig in Boston… in Boston

Sports fans across central Alabama have been mourning the fact that Ian Rapoport will be leaving The Birmingham News at the end of the week to get back to his roots so to speak. The man behind The Rap Sheet will be moving back up to Boston to cover the New England Patriots for The Boston Herald.

Ian took some time recently to talk with a local Patriots fan blog, PatsPulpit, to give folks up there a chance to get to know him before he ventures up there to cover training camp starting next week.

BTW, he’s wanting to hear from you about what you want to hear from him during SEC Media Days later on this week.

What are we building in Birmingham?

One of the people who spoke at last week’s launch event for the Birmingham Business Alliance was Birmingham’s mayor, Larry Langford. Among other things, he announced plans for tomorrow’s groundbreaking for the BJCC’s multipurpose facility (a.k.a. dome) and other progress on projects throughout The Magic City.

As people begin to talk about the feasibility of the dome and other projects, they may want to take a look at this story published by The Next American City about whether or not a city should take the leap into convention center expansion.

JeffCo unveils their new website

newJeffCowebsite

Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Smoot announced the unveiling of the county’s new website earlier today. According to the release, the new website was built entirely in-house by the Program Management Office of the county’s Information Technology department and is the first major upgrade in nearly twenty years. The site is currently under consideration for the Center of Digital Government “Best of the Web” award.

Screenshot: http://jeffconline.jccal.org/