Page 11 - Erica Wright News Today

From left to right: Kevin Powe, BJCTA Board member; James Sullivan, BPL Board of Trustees member; Ted Smith, BJCTA board member; Janine Langston, BPL Interim Director; Frank T. Martin, BJCTA Executive Director and CEO; Ed Ticheli, Developer American Life Lofts; and Willie Davis, III BPL Board Vice President and BJCTA board member during the unveiling of the new BPL book mobile service. (Erica Wright, The Birmingham Times) By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit...

We asked Birmingham-area residents, During severe weather, what’s your emergency plan? MACAYLIN CROWLEY: “I go to the basement in our house. It has no windows and we just bunk down and get settled down there. We have a basement floor that leads to a closed garage so we go to the basement and watch TV . . . and see where the storm or weather is headed and if it gets worse we go into the actual garage that is in the back corner that is underground.” JESSICA HAMILTON: “It depends on if I�...

As the city of Bessemer grew, so did LaTasha Cook-Williams. The 45-year-old Marvel City native is the first woman and first African American to serve as president of the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held since 2015. “I am excited to set some examples and, hopefully, make it easier for the generation after me when it comes to taking leadership positions,” she said. Cook-Williams said she has noticed gradual changes with businesses in Bessemer since she started workin...

By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times When the U.S. shut down last March, Birmingham City Schools (BCS) quickly transitioned to virtual learning with seven weeks left in the academic year. “What we realized was that many of our students did not have the devices or internet access needed for us to provide instruction in a digital way,” said BCS Superintendent Mark Sullivan, EdD. “Not only that, but we had not really trained our teachers on many of the digital platforms we were using because...

Met: At Miles College in 1996 where both were students.  “I saw her a year before I asked about her and I was watching her, she was with her friends and I didn’t want to intrude,” said Arthur. “When the following school year started, I asked her friend about her and introduced us and that’s how we started talking.”  Said LaTessa, “He did ask a mutual friend about me and we ended up going on a date at Burger King some time later.”  First Date: At ...

Erica Wright Reading IS Fundamental.  That was the message of I See Me Inc.’s, 11th annual “Real Men Read: You Can Be Virtually Anything if You Can Read” held via YouTube Livestream on Friday.  Organizers noted the event was different than past readings. “Normally when we host this event, it is held in an auditorium, filled with boys and men using literature as a means to evoke conversation,” said Devon Frazier, founder and executive director of I See Me. “A...

By Erica Wright On Thursday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey extended Alabama’s statewide mask order to April 9.  Ivey was joined by State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris to announce an extension of the state’s existing Safer at Home Order that requires mask wearing in public places and gatherings.  “We are definitely moving in the right direction and I want to thank the people of Alabama for their tremendous help and support to get us where we are,” said Ivey. “Dr. Ha...

The Birmingham Times Birmingham’s Linn Park, from the now defunct City Stages music festival to the recently removed Confederate monument, has seen its share of city history. The seven-acre park that separates Birmingham City Hall and the Jefferson County Courthouse in downtown also may also have been the site of the county’s first lynching, according to a local grass-roots coalition that documents racial terror. The Jefferson County Memorial Project (JCMP), composed of over 40 community pa...

Compiled by Erica Wright During a month when women are recognized, we asked Birmingham-area residents, name a woman in history who stands out for you? LISA BECK: “I’m thinking of trailblazers like Marsha P. Johnson. She was a transwoman of color who was heavily involved in the Stonewall Riots in New York for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights. I think we have to take an intersectional look at LGBTQ rights . . . and I think it gets really whitewashed.” MARY EVINS:...

www.birminghamal.gov Area organizations with programs to help improve Birmingham, will soon receive funding from the city’s Building Opportunities for Lasting Development (BOLD) Grant Program. This program, led by the city’s Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity (IEO), provides financial support to organizations and agencies that are taking creative, evidence-based approaches to solving various community issues. Nearly $500,000 was allocated across four categories: Job Accessi...