Why Birmingham’s Economic Future Depends on Regional Alignment

Steve Ammons
Steve Ammons

By Steve Ammons

Economic competition today doesn’t happen city by city.

It happens region against region.

Companies evaluating where to invest aren’t comparing one municipality to another.

They’re comparing metropolitan areas, looking at workforce size, infrastructure, talent pipelines, quality of life, and economic momentum. In other words, they’re evaluating regions. Continue reading Why Birmingham’s Economic Future Depends on Regional Alignment

A New Five Points South Is Emerging Right Before My Eyes

Steve Alexander
Steve Alexander

By Steve Alexander.

If you haven’t visited Five Points South lately, you’ll be amazed with what you see.

Gone is the graffiti.

Clean and Safe ambassadors patrol the district.

There are no encampments in the park.

The unhoused are being proactively connected to the
services they need.

Five Points South is re-emerging right before my eyes.

Continue reading A New Five Points South Is Emerging Right Before My Eyes

The Idea that Could Bring Excitement Back to Downtown Birmingham

Charles Barkley, basketball legend, TV Personality, & philanthropist born in Leeds, Alabama (al.com)
Charles Barkley, basketball legend, TV Personality, & philanthropist born in Leeds, Alabama (al.com)

By David Sher

Walk down 3rd Avenue North outside the Alabama Theatre.

Look down.

See those stars embedded in rose-colored marble?

Birmingham residents have walked past them a thousand times without a second glance. Continue reading The Idea that Could Bring Excitement Back to Downtown Birmingham

Your Parents Abandoned Birmingham. Will You?

Tony Tamburello
Tony Tamburello

By Tony Tamburello

Birmingham has changed dramatically in my lifetime.

Downtown revitalization, mixed-use development, and reinvestment have turned stagnant areas into hubs of activity. Much of this progress comes not from flashy reinvention but from undoing past mistakes that pushed people away. Continue reading Your Parents Abandoned Birmingham. Will You?

Birmingham Woman Walked Away from a Dream Job. Now Being Recognized for Oscar-Nominated Film

Birmingham Woman nominated for Academy Award
Beth Shelburne, co-producer of Oscar-nominated documentary, The Alabama Solution

By David Sher,

I have the deepest respect and admiration for people who are brave and unselfish enough to go out and make the world better.

Not people who talk about making the world better.

Not people who share articles about it on social media.

People who actually give something up — real comfort, real security, real stability — to go do the hard, unglamorous, sometimes thankless work that changes lives. Continue reading Birmingham Woman Walked Away from a Dream Job. Now Being Recognized for Oscar-Nominated Film

Most prominent Newspaper in Canada Declares Canada is Poorer than Alabama

Mercedes-Benz US International plant in Vance, Ala., The beginning of Alabama's transformation
Mercedes-Benz US International plant in Vance, Ala., The beginning of Alabama’s transformation

By David Sher

Quite frankly, I am stunned.

Year after year, Alabama has been a punching bag for the press.

What a breath of fresh air.

Canada’s Globe and Mail — widely regarded as Canada’s most influential national publication —sent a reporter to the Deep South to figure out how Alabama had become richer than their country. Continue reading Most prominent Newspaper in Canada Declares Canada is Poorer than Alabama

To begin a conversation about a better Birmingham