Page 9 - Erica Wright News Today

Met: Fall 2003, at Auburn University in their freshman biology class. “When I first saw her she was walking in class and what most attracted me to her was how she dressed and how she carried herself,” said Bruce. “Her mannerisms illuminated the type of person she was. Eventually, one day I sat beside her in class and asked her if I could walk her to the transit stop [the university shuttle] and that started our daily walks. During that time she actually had a boyfriend she had be...

The Birmingham Times  Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin on Tuesday pardoned more than 15,000 individuals with closed misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions between 1990 and 2020. Woodfin formed a Pardons for Progress program in 2019, an initiative designed to remove barriers to employment for individuals who have been convicted of marijuana possession. Pardons for Progress, which is for closed cases only, addresses a prior closed conviction of Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, 2nd Degree ...

By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times Birmingham City Schools will offer free programs for its students this summer to recover learning loss and provide enrichment opportunities for all students.  During a virtual press conference on Monday, BCS Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan announced the enrichment programs as well as free transportation, breakfast and lunch for students who enroll.  “In Birmingham City Schools, our educators work diligently every day to meet the needs of every student ....

By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin on Monday announced the formation of the city’s first Civilian Review Board.  The review board, which came in response to recommendations from the City’s Public Safety Task Force, comes one year after widespread outrage at the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minnesota police officer kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes. A jury is now deliberating the fate of that officer, Derrick Chauvin. Du...

By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times The Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) has earmarked $6 million to make security upgrades in its public housing sites.  Several children have lost lives in public housing over the past 24 months including four-year-old Jurnee Coleman; three-year-old Kamille ‘Cupcake’ McKinney, and two-year-old Major Turner. “They did not deserve to die and we owe it to them and their families and all existing families that reside in our pub...

Dr. Pauline Long, co-owner of MedsPLUS flanked by (from left to right) Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Dr. Jennifer Campbell, co-owner of MedsPLUS and Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, The group announced a new vaccination site has opened at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Five Points West. (Erica Wright, The Birmingham Times) By Erica Wright A new COVID-19 vaccination site has opened at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Five Points West.  Vaccines will be administered by MedsPLUS Consul...

By Erica Wright The Birmingham Times  Desmon Ray Jr. had a big smile and even bigger heart, remembered family members during a candlelight vigil Thursday night for the 28-year-old killed in an officer-involved shooting on Easter Sunday. “That was my baby, he loved his mama, he loved his children, he loved everybody,” said LaShondra Wilson, Ray’s mother. “My baby would come and get in the bed with me and make it known that he loved his mama. [He would] call and check on m...

The Birmingham Times Dancer and businesswoman Christian Taylor accomplished two of her biggest goals before the age of 30. “One of my top things was I wanted to go on tour. I [also] wanted to be in a movie. And I did [both],” said Taylor, an Alabama native who graduated from Ramsay High School in Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The movie was “Coming 2 America,” the sequel to 1988’s “Coming to America,” starring renowned comedian and actor Eddie Murphy; it p...

Eric Wright, famously known as Eazy E has shared her frustration with Ice Cube for not taking part in a documentary in the life and death of his West Coast peer. During an interview with Too Fab, Wright claimed that although Ice Cube has said he would participate, he has not been easy to book. She revealed that the rapper’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. spoke to his father on her behalf. “You know, it really breaks my heart that he hasn’t spoken on this yet because I grew up with his sons...

Compiled by Erica Wright We asked Birmingham-area residents, How do you feel about the Magic City Classic game being played in the spring? MICHAEL LARCHE: “I’ve been going to the Classic since I was a kid so I’m used to it being in the fall, but I’m excited for it being in the spring, even though there is no tailgating and the bands can’t come. I think it’s going to be just good to watch a good old fashioned football game and [even though] it will not have all the extras that normal...