Tag Archives: information

It’ll take just a little longer at Ruffner

Tree Top Vistors Center - Ruffner Mountain Nature CenterWe’ve just received word that the repaving of the parking lot on Ruffner Mountain Nature Center‘s East Lake side that was scheduled for this week will now not start until tomorrow morning (BTW, they’ve launched their new website earlier this week).

If everything goes according to plan, officials at the center hope that hikers will be able to access the hiking trails from the East Lake side of the mountain beginning on Tuesday, June 30 (though they would rather you call the center before you head over there just in case bad weather causes additional delays).

The new visitors center is still not scheduled to be open to the general public until August; so for now you’ll just have to watch it from afar – after Tuesday – until then. The website’s front page has information about other access points for folks wanting to hike.

Image: courtesy of the organization’s website.

The downtown circulator and Birmingham’s future

In case you couldn’t make it to this morning’s ONB breakfast briefing to check out the presentation made by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham about the possible new bus circulator service, we thought we’d bring the video to you:

For additional information, you’ll want to visit the In Town Transit Partnership’s website.

Election ’09: We’ve got a date!

New Birmingham, Alabama logoWe learned yesterday that this year’s municipal elections in Birmingham will take place on August 25. The Birmingham Election Commission set the elections for City Council and the school board after it received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice last week. The decision means that we’ll be voting on the same day as much of the rest of the state this year.

We’re aware of several people who’ve already declared themselves as candidates in this year’s City Council races; we’ve even heard a few rumbles about the folks thinking about running for the school board seats.

Who do you know who’s announced their intentions to run?

A Smart Directory for teachers

Smart Directory logoThe Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham has recently launched a new directory for educational programs in the greater Birmingham area. The Smart Directory includes listings of in-school presentations, off-site programs and field trips and links to other useful resources for our community’s teachers – and those just interested in seeing all that we have available to us in the area.

Image: courtesy of the organization’s website

Will World Cup Soccer return to Birmingham?

Soccer ball. thebuffafamily/FlickrLost in the talk about the City Council approving an extra $250,000 for this year’s City Stages (bringing the total amount to $550,000) was the announcement by Mayor Langford that Birmingham, AL would be submitting a proposal to be one of the facilities that could be used for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Now, to put this in perspective, there are 37 potential host cities (with 45 facilities total) across the United States being asked to submit for a chance to hose the soccer matches. The hope is to have the final list ready by the end of the year, allowing them to be included in the bid book, due in May 2010.

If successful, it would be the first time Birmingham sees World Cup action since the 2005 qualifying match between the U.S. and Guatemala at Legion Field. The U.S. is competing against several countries for the honor, including the United Kingdom, meaning that our sister city across the pond wants in on it too.

Photo: Soccer ball. thebuffafamily/Flickr

UPDATE: The Lego Store’s coming to The Galleria

legocolours

UPDATE: 7.14.2009The Birmingham News has now reported the story and has additional information.

Yes, it’s true – no longer do you have to travel down to Orlando to get your Lego fix. you won’t have to drive all the way to Charlotte either (since they’re getting one too). You’ll just have to go down the road to Hoover and the Riverchase Galleria…

Metro Birmingham is one of twelve U.S. locations announced for the building block’s stand alone stores to be opened in the near future. The store’s site is already up, allowing folks interested in specifics to keep track of the store’s progress. Now, if we can only score some Lego sets based on Birmingham landmarks, similar to the Frank Lloyd Wright series (or a relaunch of the Zack commercials)…

Photo: Lego bricks. Courtesy of The Lego Group.

The YP Expo turns 3

ypexpo2009Tonight more than 1,000 are expected at the Birmingham Museum of Art for the 3rd annual YP Expo. It will be a chance for more than 30 young professional organizations from throughout metro Birmingham and their memberships to mingle with each other and potential new members. The Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce‘s Meredith Davidson was recently interviewed by Magic City Living about the event and while there’s not time to register online for tonight’s event, which starts at 5:30 p.m., it is free and open to the public.

Today’s my Birmingham post deals with the question asked in the official press release for the event – What’s next?

Image: courtesy of Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce