Barnett Wright News Today

Alabama Power runs a news service. Its foundation bought a Black newspaper. Neither publishes critical stories about the utility.

A Floodlight investigation found Alabama Power runs a news service and its foundation bought a Black newspaper. Neither publishes critical stories about the utility

Met: Spring, 2000 at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery during their sophomore math class. Renea and John were introduced by a mutual friend who was also in the class. Renea said that she and John were just cool and that was it. “I remember him being kinda quiet, he was on the football team and really nicely built, and very handsome but it was a friendship,” Renea said. Renea “was a nice girl,” said John. After high school, John and Renea went on with their lives and ...

By Barnett Wright The Birmingham Times Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin, joined by nearly two dozen faith leaders, on Tuesday announced a $125,000 fund to help solve crimes against six children under the age of 10 who have been shot in Birmingham so far this year. One of the children, Major Turner, 2, died Feb. 5, just hours after someone riddled his Kimbrough Homes apartment with gunfire. Arrests have been made in only one of the cases. The Gun Violence Against Children Fund will be used to...

One in an occasional series about Birmingham’s 150th anniversary From a very rough beginning 150 years ago, Birmingham smoothed out and became a world-class city. Founded on June 1, 1871, by real estate promoters who sold lots near the planned crossing of the Alabama and Chattanooga and South and North railroads, Birmingham was incorporated on Dec. 19, 1871. The site of the railroad crossing was notable for the nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone—the three principal raw materia...

By Barnett Wright The Birmingham Times “Like mother, like daughter” is more than a proverb for Lucy Emonina and Ovuke’ Emonina McCoy, both of whom had strokes and received heart transplants decades apart. Mother (Emonina) and daughter (McCoy) were born with a genetic condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the walls of heart that makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood. The illness runs in their family: Emonina lost four brothers and two sons, McCoy’s siblin...

From left: Bessemer City Council President Cynthia Donald; KikStart, Inc.’s Executive Director, Douglas Jackson; Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson; Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway and Bessemer City Councilwoman LaTricia Crusoe at the grand opening. (Barnett Wright, For The Birmingham Times) By Barnett Wright The Birmingham Times  Kikstart Inc., the non-profit that provides healthy meals across Jefferson County, on Saturday opened its first brick and mortar store in the Birmin...

By Barnett Wright Protective Life Corporation will begin a series of meetings with residents in Birmingham’s Northside Community to discuss the new downtown stadium, which is expected to open in the fall. D. Scott Adams, Executive Vice President Corporate Responsibility, Strategy & Innovation, for Protective, told the Jefferson County Commission that the company wants to “hear what’s on the minds of residents.” Protective has naming rights for the $174-million dollar open-air stadiu...

The complete article can be found at AlabamaNewsCenter.com. By Barnett Wright The Birmingham Times Discussed for years, the redevelopment of the Southtown Court housing project moved one step closer to reality on April 13 when the Birmingham City Council voted to rezone the property from multiple dwelling to mixed-use. The council voted 7-0 to rezone, with Councilor Valerie Abbott abstaining and Councilor Crystal Smitherman absent. Demolition will start in mid-June, with the first phase of resi...

The Birmingham Times  Discussed for years, the redevelopment of the Southtown Court housing project moved one-step closer to reality on Tuesday when the Birmingham City Council voted to re-zone the property from multiple dwelling to mixed-use. The council voted 7-0-1 to rezone with Councilor Valerie Abbott abstaining and Councilor Carole Smitherman absent. Demolition will start in mid-June, with the first phase of residential construction slated for the fall. The new development will include...