Special Rights For Churches

Dan’s already highlighted this story about opposition in Hoover (a white-flight suburb of B’ham) to a proposed Muslim center. The stated reason for the opposition is fears of increased traffic in a residential area. We can all guess what the real reason probably is. Let’s assume, though, that these folks would be just as upset [...]

I’m Still Here

First, I’m still here. We’re now not only in S’port, but pretty well unpacked and settled. So why is this the first post since Monday? Like I said, I hate phone companies and I hate cable companies.
We gave up on using the cable for internet access when Comcast told us we could not get [...]

I Haven’t Quit Yet

We’ve moved: Packed up Thursday, drove Friday, unloaded Saturday.
A few quick points:
1) I hate phone companies. Weeks prior to the move, we started trying to get service, yet it will be Thursday before we have a phone or internets. (Hence, spare posting until then).
2) I hate cable companies. Not only do we not have service [...]

Goodbye, Part II: Closing Shop

My office is empty, I’ve deleted all trace of myself from the computer, and I just sent my last e-mail to my co-workers.
Feels weird. Of course I’ll miss the folks I worked with. But part of me is saying that the years (and money) I spent on law school, and the time I’ve spent since [...]

Goodbye, Part I: Stuff I’ll Miss

Opening my latest water and sewer bill and seeing a $65.00 sewer fee (that’s for the sewer ALONE; it doesn’t include the water) almost made we write a post about stuff I won’t miss. But I’ve already griped plenty enough. So here are some of the things I really loved about Alabama in general and B’ham [...]

“I probably won’t ever kill anything else that big.”

I hope not; as an unarmed backpacker, I’d like to believe this is as big as it gets in the woods of Alabama:
An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog his father says weighed a staggering 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its [...]

Why I Like Bob Riley

How do you suppose Fob James, or if he’d succeeded in last year’s guber election, Roy Moore, would have handled this?
The Legislature adopted a resolution Thursday apologizing for Alabama’s role in slavery but restricting the use of the resolution in any lawsuits. . . .
Immediately after the votes in the House and Senate, Gov. Bob [...]

ThyssenKrupp: An Answer And Some More Questions

A few weeks ago, I wondered about the total cost of the incentives package. Here’s the answer:
Total offer – $810.4 million
Land acquisition – $45 million
Site preparation, water and sewer facilities and river barge terminal – $314 million
Work force development – $77 million
Public road improvements – $25 million
Application fees for foreign trade subzone designation – $85,000
State [...]

In Which I Grouse Like An Old Curmudgeon

Anybody read this NY Time article about parents trying to teach their kids to play outside? Here’s the first paragraph:
JOSEPH GALLO, 10, of Santa Cruz, Calif., is well armed in the battle against childhood boredom, with a bedroom arsenal that includes a computer hooked to the Internet, a DVD player, two Game Boys, as well [...]

Tomorrow Is Do Dah Day!

For those who don’t know:
In 1979, a small group of friends got together and decided to have a party — or so the story goes — and Do Dah Day was born.  The following years saw the party grow into an event raising money for local charities such as the Birmingham Zoo, Avondale Library and [...]