Tag Archives: information

Two chances to vote Birmingham this week

Posted on July 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Birmingham has at least two chances to use their well-known voting prowess to help catapult two individuals into the cable television spotlight in the coming weeks.

Last night Martie Duncan became one of the final four for the current season of The Next Food Network Star. You can vote up to 10 times a day by phone or online via the show’s website (with a Facebook account). As pointed out in today’s Birmingham News article by Chanda Temple, you’ve got until 4 p.m. CT tomorrow (Tuesday, July 16).

The folks at 106 & Park on BET are asking viewers to vote for who they want to see as the next hosts of the long-running show via The Search. We’ve found one person currently campaigning online in Birmingham to be considered for one of the slots, Wondrea Gilmore (known on Twitter as @Dree_GotU). Her YouTube video’s up and her requests on Twitter for help have gotten a nice response so far. Of course, if you’re a DirecTV subscriber, watching every day to see if it comes on TV is just a little harder than it used to be. Just saying…

If you know of any other metro Birmingham area people considering submitting for The Search, let us know in the comments section.

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Posted in Online, television

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Housing vacancy goes up, apartment vacancy goes down

Posted on July 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

29/7 in Lakeview under construction, June 2012.Yesterday’s Birmingham Business Journal shared an encouraging report from New York-based real estate services company CBRE that included Birmingham among seven cities with the largest decline in apartment vacancies during the second quarter of this year (compared to the same period in 2011).

The results seem to make sense when looked at alongside another report shared by the BBJ back in late June that pointed to the Magic City as having the 16th highest vacancy rate for overall housing units based on 2010 U.S. Census numbers. The folks at real estate research firm Reis, Inc. released a report back in April announcing the national vacancy rate for apartments had reached their lowest levels (4.9%) since the first quarter of 2001. The piece filed by Reuters points out that Alabama’s largest city was tied with New York, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, and Northern New Jersey for the second lowest increase in the country.

Projects like 29 Seven in Lakeview (set to open later this summer and pictured above while under construction in June) will continue to add to rental properties in Birmingham proper for some time to come, supporting the statements in the Reis report that suggest that it will be a great market for landlords for the foreseeable future with rent increases accompanying this period.

Of course, if demand keeps up, we may see initiatives like those underway in San Francisco and New York for micro-efficiences…

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Posted in Business

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Oskar Blues comes “home” to Alabama next month

Posted on June 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last night, one simple tweet stopped the local craft beer scene in its track, but  in a good way:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/OskarBluesBama/status/214742671938424832″]

That’s right; Oskar Blues and their cans of craft beer will be making its Alabama debut later this summer – perhaps as early as July based on this other tweet sent out by the account dedicated to the state earlier today:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/OskarBluesBama/status/215486689215385601″]

This development is big news for fans of the Lyons, CO-based craft beer maker, especially those aware of the fact that the company’s owned by Florence, AL natives Dale and Chris Katechis will turn to Birmingham Beverage to begin distributing their cans in Birmingham and elsewhere in the northern 2/3 of the state. They’re scheduled to be in holding release events between July 2-4 according to their press release.

We got a chance to catch up with Ben Lewellyn of Good People Brewing Company to hear what someone from the only brewer in the state currently making craft beers delivered in cans had to say.

Keeping up with plans as they unfold should be easy if you’re a fan of social networks. They’ve got a brand page on Facebook in addition to the Twitter account.

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Posted in Business, food

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Bettola’s Lewis involved in new Aspen concept restaurant

Posted on June 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

chefs-club interior. courtesy of their websiteLast week the St. Regis Aspen opened a new concept restaurant. Why should this culinary event in Colorado mean something to Birmingham residents? It matters because James Lewis, the chef at Bettola in Pepper Place, will be among the first of the chefs to be involved in the project.

The 2011 winner of Food & Wine magazine’s New Chef award is one of four past recipients chosen to collaborate on the initial menu offerings for the new Chefs Club by Food & Wine. Lewis will join George Mendes of ALDEA in New York City; Alex Seidel of Fruition in Denver, CO; and Susan Zemanick of Gautreau’s Restaurant in New Orleans, LA. Plans call for the chefs to make appearances at the restaurant during their involvement and work with Food & Wine editors to determine and/or create the restaurant’s wine and cocktail offerings. Plans also call for the venue’s artwork to be changed out twice a year to showcase local artists.

Photo: Interior of the restaurant. Courtesy of its website.

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Posted in food, Travelogue

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Magnetic strips just the beginning of BJCTA changes

Posted on May 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

Things have been staying busy over at the BJCTA‘s Central Station in recent weeks following Peter Behrman’s recent departure. One of the most recent changes was the recent introduction of magnetic 31-day transit passes. While the announcement was made back in April, a video announcing the change (which was not accompanied by a fare increase) was posted to YouTube earlier this month embedded in this post.

There have also been ads announcing the new cards visible on buses throughout the city.

The county’s transit authority also started accepting credit cards and debit cards for purchases back in early March and launched a fan page on Facebook (though they may want to also claim one of the two place locations already in existence) as well as a Twitter account to share information about the short range plan. Based on what’s been shared on their page so far, the organization has also been making regular appearances on WATV-AM and WJLD talking about upcoming changes to the system. These outreach efforts follow a series of public hearings held in February giving riders an overview of proposed changes to several BJCTA routes.

There will also be continued focus on the system beginning this summer as the fuel-cell bus demonstration project begins where a hydrogen-powered bus will be operated among the regular fleet. The project is one of several National Fuel Cell Bus Program initiatives taking place across the country under the watchful eye of the Federal Transit Administration. Needless to say that the BJCTA’s board won’t be the only ones watching to see how the area’s transit network is re-made.

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Posted in Transit

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Witherspoon to share state of city schools, tax increase proposal

Posted on May 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

Craig Witherspoon speaking at TechFridayBirmingham City Schools superintendent Craig Witherspoon‘s been answering a lot of questions about the current state of the school system in recent weeks.

This photo was taken on Friday morning, May 11, during his remarks at the monthly TechFriday event at Innovation Depot downtown. Earlier in the week he’d appeared with Mayor William Bell at the first of three community meetings where he’s updating parents and concerned citizens about the state of the school system and plans for its future. It’s also been an opportunity for him to explain his proposal for raising property taxes in the city by 3 mills (generating approximately $9 million/year).

Witherspoon will be holding two more of those informational meetings this week. Monday evening, May 14, will take place at the Davis Center, 417 29th St. S. (between Pepper Place and the Lakeview commercial district). Tuesday evening, May 15, will take place at the Don Hawkins Recreation Center, 8920 Roebuck Blvd. with Mayor Bell once again participating and talking about his bond proposal. Both meetings start at 6 p.m.

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Posted in Citywide, Education

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Fountain Heights’ new rec center well underway

Posted on May 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

New Fountain Heights rec center under constructionTwo years ago when the Fountain Heights Recreation Center was included on the list of nine such facilities across the city of Birmingham that could potentially be closed as a cost-cutting measure, it’s safe to assume no one would’ve thought we’d be looking at significant progress being made on its new, larger replacement.

Folks driving along I-65 have probably seen the new structure going up on their right as they make their way north in recent months. Bids for the privilege to build the project were due to City Hall early last May – a good reason why sharing a photo of its progress seemed like the right thing to do this afternoon.

According to the original inclusion in the city’s 2008-2012 capital budget, the purpose of the then estimated $1.5 million project (PDF – it’s 681 pages – you’ve been warned – the rendering is on page 1 though), designed by Exford Architects, was to replace the existing gym due to unstable soil and structural fatigue. Based on the original estimate of 245 days to complete the project, we may see folks using it and the park’s new playground by the end of the year.

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Posted in Parks, The City

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