Birmingham News Archives

Birmingham, AL - It's campaign crunch-time for Birmingham mayoral candidates. The special election will be held Tuesday, December 8th and the Jefferson County Board of Registrars wants to make sure all Birmingham voters know exactly where they need to go to cast their ballots.

The Montevallo Police Department charged a 52-year-old Birmingham woman Nov. 26 with the death of an 18-year-old University of Montevallo freshman.

The National Climatic Data Center reports that there's a less than 5 percent chance of Alabama getting any measurable snow on Christmas this year.

Following his medal-winning showing at the 1997 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Yakov Kasman moved to Alabama, where he continues to garner respect as a performer, teacher and recording artist.

Despite some signs of recovery, parts of Birmingham's economy remain bogged in recession The shadow of recession is lifting in many parts of the nation.

Gov. Bob Riley is absolutely right on at least one important point about the latest proposal for U.S. 280: After nearly three decades of talking about the traffic problems on the road, it is long past time to move beyond the talk and actually do something.

The Avondale Business Association will clean up the area at 41st Street and Third Avenue South in Birmingham this morning.

Jefferson County plans to reopen satellite courthouses in Gardendale and Forestdale next month.

Birmingham police officer James Kendrick has been arrested in connection with a deadly accident.

Birmingham's Courteney Cox and husband, David Arquette, are ready to scream a fourth time.

BIRMINGHAM, AL A Birmingham-Southern College professor has received a very prestigious accolade.

JEFF HANSEN Growing older population causes UAB to add elder care to medical school curriculum BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Jefferson County police officials say the homicide rate in unincorporated portions of the county is on pace to decline this year.

Temple Emanu-El , Birmingham's oldest synagogue , unveiled a tribute to its 125-year history on Friday night with a prayer book tailored for the use of its congregation.

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday chose Roderick Royal as council president, making him acting mayor.

David Arquette, left, and Courteney Cox Arquette pose together In this Aug. 31, 2009 file photo.

You can follow live updates from the Junior League Market , underway today at Cahaba Grand Conference Center .

A Birmingham police officer has been charged with murder in connection with a fatal wreck authorities said happened because he was drinking and driving while off-duty. James Kendrick, 36, of Birmingham, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at about 2 p.m. today and was released on bond less than 20 minutes later, according to the Jefferson ...

Birmingham auto supplier Kamtek Inc., which used to be known as Ogihara, has landed a contract with the new Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin completed a Birmingham-area book signing where she was greeted by hundreds of fans chanting her name.

Royal lobbied for Council President, but hopes he does not have to serve as interim Mayor any longer than he must.

Jimmy Snow , candidate for mayor, was arrested for disorderly conduct Saturday night.

A Birmingham Mayoral candidate has been arrested. The Birmingham Police Department confirms to NBC13HD News that James Snow was arrested Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 11:45pm CT.

SWBC's mortgage division has acquired the assets of six branches from a Birmingham, Ala.-based bank.

The title says she's going rogue, and more than one thousand Sarah Palin fans are cheered her on Monday night at Brookwood Malla s Books-A-Million. People from all over the country made their way to Birmingham, fighting the long lines and sleep deprivation, to get a glimpse of former Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin.

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin brought her book-signing tour to the Fort Bragg Army post on Monday as thousands greeted her in a campaign-like gathering that tested military rules involving politicians.

Birmingham may be seeing welcome relief when it comes to crime, but not enough to sway its ranking in the CQ Press' annual city crime rankings released today.

Overall crime was down 12% through the end of September. Homicides had dropped 25% from the same point in 2008.

All visitors will receive half-price admission -- $6 for adults, $3.50 for senior citizens 65 years and older and children ages 2 to 12 years old -- for those bringing a non-perishable food item, per individual, to support the canned food drive.

Birmingham News analysis of the 2008-09 Alabama High School Graduation Exam shows that 130 public high schools either failed reading or were classified as "borderline" failing, based on 11th-graders' performance on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam.

Need something to go with your lunchtime reading? To celebrate Patron Appreciation Day, all Birmingham Public Library locations will give visitors free cake and coffee from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday.

A concert by acclaimed new music specialists eighth blackbird nearly fills Samford University's Brock Recital Hall.

Birmingham mayoral candidate Jody Trautwein visited NBC13HD on Thursday, Nov. 19. Check out his interview with Andrea Lindenberg on our Midday newscast.

Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper spoke Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, to a crime victims group in Birmingham, telling them he understands their pain.

An Irondale man was shot to death Friday night in eastern Birmingham, police report.

Police are investigating after a woman lost control of her car and struck 11 people in Fairfield.

Police have charged a Birmingham man with manslaughter in the shooting death of his brother.

Artur Davis, U.S. Representative of Alabamaa TMs 7th congressional district in 2009, at a news conference announcing his bid for the 2010 Democratic nomination for governor.

A lawsuit contended the council discussed issues June 25 at a closed meeting not allowed under the open meetings law and that it failed to give proper notice for a July 6 meeting.

The Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force has arrested eight people in connection with methamphetamine drug activity.

Authorities have charged two men with capital murder in the shooting death of a man in east Birmingham earlier this week.

Richard "Richie Rich" Johnston boasted to a fellow inmate about a 2005 double-homicide, not realizing the other inmate was a long-time friend of the victim, a Birmingham police detective testified today.

Former federal prosecutor Michel Nicrosi says she plans to run for Alabama attorney general as a Democrat.

James Armstrong, a long-time Birmingham barber and civil rights foot soldier, died today.

BIRMINGHAM, ALA.: An undercover officer posing as a prostitute in Alabama tried more than once to run off a 13-year-old boy who asked her for sex, but police say the teen insisted and had to be arrested.

It's a nationwide phenomenon and now it's in bookstores. Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue" has finally hit the shelves and it's getting quite the response.

The person shot and killed while in a car in Birmingham has been identified. According to the Birmingham Police Department, the victim was found in the 7700 block of 4th Avenue South about 5:30pm CT Monday, November 16, 2009.

Today's shooting victim appears to have suffered life-threatening injuries, officers said.

Three people are now charged in connection with a burglary of high-tech items. The Birmingham Police Department reports the burglary happened Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Oklahoma City forward Shaun Livingston was scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday to remove staples from an earlier procedure on his left knee.

The Birmingham News reports that authority director Pamela E. Darwin says the grant to re-roof 154 apartments owned by the authority has created 14 jobs.

Birmingham P.D. is investigating the city's 57th homicide. It happened on Monday around 5:30 p.m. Officers from the East Precinct responded to the 7700 block of 4th Avenue South to investigate a report of shots fired.

BIRMINGHAM - Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy's estate in Vestavia Hills, estimated to be worth $4 million, is scheduled for auction next month.

An increase in rail traffic has caused Norfolk Southern Railway to recall furloughed workers in northwest Alabama.

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society and Shelby Humane Society are joining forces to adopt 500 pets during December as part of the Forever Home for the Holidays adoption drive.

Birmingham's former mayor, Richard Arrington, said today, Nov. 16, 2009, he's not in the hunt to lead the city again through the Dec.

Birmingham police today announced the arrest of three suspected burglars nabbed by patrol officers in the western area of the city.

Published: Monday, November 16, 2009 at 3:30 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 11:43 p.m. BIRMINGHAM They fit snugly around your wrist, are in the shapes of your favorite animals or objects and are so popular in Birmingham that they're difficult to find on store shelves.

Clarinetist Lori Ardovino is composer and performer Monday at BAMA concert. Wind Chill, the second installment of this season's Birmingham Art Music Alliance series, features new compositions by Lori Ardovino, Ed Robertson, Joseph Landers, Alan Goldspiel, Don Bowyer and Michael Coleman.

Travelers looking for something different will find a fun, quirky oasis from the chaos of the common business trip--or simply a cool, unconventional getaway--at the Aloft hotel in the Homewood neighborhood in downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld two death sentences Friday, including one for Kenneth Eugene Billups in the drug-related fatal shooting of Stevon Lockett in Birmingham.

THOMPSON GUITAR DUO Mark Godwin and Robert Thompson, guitarists Tuesday, Brock Recital Hall Davis Architects Guest Artist Series The first requirements for listening to an acoustic guitar recital are to reset your ears, lean forward a little and stay as quiet as you can.

An Alabama legislator is picking up support for his bill to stop the state's public universities from offering employee benefits to same-sex couples.

Firefighters work the single-unit fire at Nob Hill Apartments about 9:30 Saturday, Nov.

A Birmingham man convicted of intentional murder in the 2007 shooting death of a romantic rival was granted a new trial today by an Alabama appellate court, which ruled jurors also should have been allowed to consider a lesser charge.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the death sentence for Kenneth Eugene Billups in the drug-related fatal shooting of Stevon Lockett in Birmingham.

The sentencing for the former chancellor of Alabama's community college system has been delayed again.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn this week sentenced two Birmingham men for a February carjacking in the parking lot of a drugstore on West Valley Avenue in Homewood, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance announced.

Demarius Seay has pleaded guilty to felony murder in the April 12, 2008, slaying of Parker High School student Brandon Ashley Donkor.

By the time this blog is published, the number will probably be higher, but so far there are at least a dozen candidates for Birmingham mayor.

Thomas Robey of The Veranda on Highland is planning a New Orleans-styled Thanksgiving feast that includes a choice of entree, soup, salad and dessert.

William Bell is shown in this file photo celebrating after he won a seat on the Jefferson County Commission.

Hands On Birmingham will start passing out saplings for families to plant in their yard or civic areas that need a little sprucing up.

Former Jefferson County Commissioner Mary Buckelew enters the Hugo Black Federal Courthouse in Birmingham on Tuesday, Oct.

With winter and cold weather coming on; the Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service offers the following Space heater safety tips: * Space heaters need space.

One can't help but wonder what the members of the Birmingham Board of Education would have done this week if somebody hadn't noticed one of the agenda items included electing officers for the next term.

Birmingham police are now calling a little boy's death a homicide. On Saturday, August 29th, four year old Evan Byrdsong's mother took him to Children's Hospital.. He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

In an exclusive interview, Birmingham defense attorney Emory Anthony told ABC 3340's Roy Hobbs he is going to run for Mayor of Birmingham.

The annual Veterans Day parade began at 1:30 p.m., making its way through the streets of downtown Birmingham.

Forecasters said the slow steady rain from what was tropical storm Ida caused flooding problems throughout the region, not just in Birmingham.

Homicide #55: Was discovered on Monday, November 9, 2009, at approximately 1:57 a.m., at 4044 38th Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama.

"Going Rogue: An American Life," * the new Sarah Palin memoir, will be out in a week.

Ida dwindled to a tropical depression on Tuesday after crawling ashore in Alabama from the Gulf of Mexico, and oil operations in the Gulf were returning to normal after being widely disrupted by the storm.

McCalla residents A in favor of a $112 milA lion Norfolk Southern railA road hub -- and a few who remain undecided -- were able to hear from some of those behind the project at a meeting Monday night.

At a meeting with all city department heads, interim Chief of Staff Kevin Moore announced the hiring freeze and ordered all non-law enforcement overtime had to be approved by the mayor's office.

The Birmingham Business Alliance has picked Atlanta's Market Street Services to tinker under the metro area's hood to help the business group tune up the area's economic engine.

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A Walker County woman was killed Sunday in a two-car accident in downtown Birmingham, according to the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.

Birmingham, Ala.- Another candidate has announce a bid for Birmingham Mayor. Defense attorney Emory Anthony confirmed with NBC 13 HD NEWS that he will run for Mayor of Birmingham.

Birmingham - Birmingham police say a toddler was dropped off at Family Court last week, and they need your help finding out his identity.

Market Street Services will work with the newly merged Birmingham chamber group over 6 months on the planning process.

A Birmingham man is being held in the county jail on $500,000 bond after authorities say he hit and raped a 55-year-old woman in late October.

Four stars out of five HUBBARD STREET 2 Friday Alys Stephens Center Final performances Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at ASC Kids' Club event By PHILLIP RATLIFF Hubbard Street 2, the training company of the famed Hubbard Street Dance based in Chicago, consists of six dancers whose ages range from 17 to 24.

Defense Attorney Glennon Threatt talks to Larry Langford as he arrives at the Federal Building in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for Langford's federal bribery trial Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

Seven teachers had sued the Birmingham Board of Education because they were dropped from non-teaching supplemental positions, such as coaching and other sports-related activities, after the school year ended.

Hank III performs at the Zydeco in Birmingham, Ala. on Nov. 4, 2009. Hank Williams III might not play country music just like his grandfather, but that doesn't mean that he's not proud of his legacy.

Alan Albert, 48, and Natalya McArthur, 25. Birmingham police announced today that a man and a woman have been charged with murder in two unrelated shootings that killed two people this week.

Planning to attend the Wailers ' Nov. 12 concert at Birmingham's Alys Stephens Center ? Then you'll want to be aware of the reggae band's local connection.

See this graphic in PDF: SEC lawsuit and settlement documents Federal regulators allege in a lawsuit that Jefferson County Commissioner Shelia Smoot and former Commissioner Jeff Germany demanded that JPMorgan Chase & Co.

More details are developing regarding a person who was shot this morning in Birmingham.

Emergency vehicles work the crash at Avenue W in Pratt City. Birmingham Fire and Rescue workers at 11:25 a.m. today extricated a woman's body from a wrecked car following an accident that happened this morning around 9:30 a.m. on Avenue W. in Pratt City, near Republic Boulevard.

Acting Mayor Carole Smitherman and Chief of Staff Deborah Vance-Bowie talk during a recent City Council meeting.

Candidates are beginning to line up in Birmingham to replace Larry Langford as mayor of Alabama's largest city.

Workers at Alabama's Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa met with the head of the Alabama Department of Mental Health to express concerns for their 655 jobs and for the nearly 300 patients if the state mental hospital is sold to the University of Alabama and its patients possibly move to a Birmingham location, the Tuscaloosa News reports.

Several Alabama cities are planning parades and ceremonies to observe Veteran's Day on Nov.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to a settlement worth more than $700 million over federal regulators' charges that it made unlawful payments to friends of public officials to win municipal bond business in Alabama.

Federal jurors convict Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford of bribery, a conviction automatically removing him from office.

Birmingham police have identified a body found earlier this week in an abandoned building as Jacqueline Callen.

Birmingham, Al Nov. 3 -- Hip Hop artist Suzanna Samone aka Ferrari Barbie is the Best Female Artist in Birmingham at this year's Life Great Music Awards, besting Alabama's top female emcees Ms.

The city of Birmingham will hold a special election for mayor on December 8th. The election commission set the date following the conviction of Larry Langford on bribery charges last week.

The Birmingham City Council today unanimously endorsed a resolution asking the Alabama Department of Mental Health to relocate a mental health hospital from Tuscaloosa to the Norwood neighborhood.

Pierre Smith, then 16, appears at a preliminary hearing in the Jefferson County Criminal Justice Center on July 25, 2008.

O'Jays and SWV at Boutwell Auditorium Friday night. Review gets three out of five stars.

After the guilty verdict in the Langford trial, the next question was who would be the next mayor of Birmingham.

Larry Langford exits the Federal Building in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday, Oct.

Steve Sayler exits the Federal Building in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009, after testifying during Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford's federal corruption trial.

Larry Langford blamed everyone but himself when he stood outside the courthouse moments after he was convicted on federal corruption charges and ousted as Birmingham's mayor.

Some Alabama electronic bingo halls have until Thursday to shut down. The district attorney in the Bessemer Cutoff division has demanded electronic bingo halls in his area close by Nov.

Several gay rights organizations in Alabama have announced that they plan to protest a Focus on the Family "Love Won Out" conference on homosexuality that will be held Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at Metropolitan Church of God.

A UAB student told police she didn't know what she saw early Saturday morning was the robbery of another woman until she was robbed herself.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King is running for re-election while feuding with influential Republicans who would normally be his allies, including the top three GOP officeholders in the state.

The Birmingham Golf Association Metro Amateur Championship will return next year after a five-year absence.

Hubbard Street 2, a group of seven dancers who perform under the umbrella of Chicago's renowned Hubbard Street Dance Company, performs Friday and Saturday on the Alys Stephens Center's Sirote Theatre.

UAB and the Birmingham Society for Human Resource Management hold a work force survivors camp to help job seekers at UAB's Hill University Center.