Big Bob Gibson created a distinct style of barbecue in 1925 when he started combining mayonnaise and vinegar as a sauce for chickens that he pit-cooked whole at his restaurant in Decatur. To this day, the pit crew at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que dunks cooked chickens into a vat of white sauce before portioning them and serving […]

When Freddie Lynn and Webb Smith met at church, they quickly became friends, thanks in part to complementary careers; Lynn is an architect with Goodwyn Mills Cawood and Smith owns a contracting firm. They started looking for a way to collaborate and recently partnered to form Bridge & Hill Holdings and launch the company’s first project: transforming […]

Daniel Creech doesn’t talk much. When he does, it packs a punch. Creech doesn’t have to talk to communicate how he feels. When he’s excited, his eyes shine. And when he’s happy, his contagious, full-throated laugh draws in anyone who is near. His friends and professional relationships at United Ability, the Birmingham nonprofit agency that serves […]

Astronauts who walk on the moon or take flights into outer space capture lots of attention. But few people think about the people who have spent hours working behind the scenes to make those “giant leaps for mankind” happen. Jeanette Scissum was one of the behind-the-scenes contributors. Like those early explorers of the last frontier, […]

When it comes to feeding the hungry, the state’s two fiercest football rivals are on the same team, working together to offer a helping hand. Last summer, Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) launched the End Child Hunger in Alabama (ECHA) County Food Guide Project, a centralized clearinghouse of food resources for struggling families, and then partnered with the University of Alabama (UA) School […]

Progress continues toward groundbreaking for the Jones Valley Trail extension, which will connect downtown Birmingham to the Avondale neighborhood’s entertainment district. The new connection, spearheaded by the nonprofit Freshwater Land Trust, will provide a car-free extension along the popular trail. “The extension of the Jones Valley Trail is a project we are excited about,” said Rusha […]

A Mobile business has found a way for their employees to help the environment amid COVID-19 restrictions on normal volunteer activities. Evonik Corporation (EC) recently built and deployed more than 70 bird boxes on its property in Mobile County. EC Logistics Manager Helen Bush says the idea came about during a Partners for Environmental Progress membership meeting last fall. “We […]

One Shelby County family has found their faith in God strengthened after a tornado tore through the Eagle Point neighborhood on Thursday.

Rock the South will be back this summer, event organizers announced on Monday. The festival will be held August 13-14.

When it comes to extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), Vitina Feo knows her stuff. “We hand pick everything, which is very costly, but what it does is it keeps your tree happy and they keep producing good olives,” Feo said. As CEO of Papa Vince, a small, family-owned business based out of the Alabama coastal […]

The century-old sport of table soccer is played by millions worldwide, yet no player has exceeded the standard of excellence set the past four decades by Birmingham native Cindy Head. She’s won 50 world championships (more than 70 major titles) and “many, many” local, state, regional and national tournaments stemming from the day Head first […]

The University of South Alabama will begin a new era of coastal education and research with a newly created School of Marine and Environmental Sciences. Plans call for new undergraduate and graduate programs to complement the existing degrees that have been offered by the department of marine sciences. “We can make a much larger impact by […]

The World Games 2022 Birmingham announced three competition venues: Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham-Southern College and Avondale Park.

Harp and Clover restaurant in Gadsden has quite a following. While most customers are from Gadsden, many “foodies” drive 100 miles or more to indulge in delicious steaks, seafood and other fare. The restaurant at 124 Court St. is the perfect place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or any time you want to enjoy a good meal. On […]

The next time you’re straining to steer safely through a sudden thunderstorm, give thanks to the Alabama woman whose clever idea made the path forward a little easier. Mary Anderson (1866-1953) is credited with designing the first operational windshield wiper, and she had the patent to prove it. Anderson was born just after the Civil […]

Alabama poet laureate is more than an honorific title. It’s not a lifetime achievement award, either. The poet laureate is poetry’s chief advocate and ambassador in the state. Any Alabamian can nominate a candidate for poet laureate, as long as the candidate meets criteria set out in the nomination guidelines. The Alabama Writers’ Cooperative (AWC) president nominates […]

Being diagnosed with breast cancer is the furthest thing from most young women’s minds. In 2019, Audra Chiles’s life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Chiles’s first inkling that anything was amiss was when she noticed a marble-size growth. Before that, the busy young career woman looked only […]

About 75 years before the Titanic set sail from England for the first time and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, something eerily similar happened in the Atlantic Ocean much closer to home. At 11:04 p.m. on the night of June 14, 1838, the steamship Pulaski had an explosion in its boiler room. It sank […]

New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews on Monday released “Killing Dr. Seuss,” a poetic commentary on cancel culture’s continuing proliferation across American society. Andrews, an Alabama native and resident of Orange Beach, released the poem in written format — complete with Dr. Seuss-esque illustrations — and in video format with Andrews narrating the poem. […]

Startups from around the world are encouraged to apply for the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator 2021 class. In its second year, the innovative program, located in Birmingham, seeks early-stage startups focused on emerging energy technologies. Areas of interest include smart cities, electric grid resiliency and sustainability, industrial electrification, connectivity and electric transportation. The class will run for […]

COVID-19 has forced many nonprofits to shift gears in their fundraising efforts and the American Heart Association (AHA) is no exception. The AHA’s 2021 Birmingham Heart Walk has been reimagined as a digital experience this year to maintain necessary safety protocols due to the ongoing pandemic. Through the event design, AHA is striving to get more people moving in Birmingham […]

When kids participate in the life of a garden, they see the complete cycle of growing food, cooking and preparing it to eat. School gardens are exciting places for kids to learn basic academic subjects, too. The Tuscaloosa community came together more than 10 years ago to develop a garden-based learning program called the Druid […]

She could neither see nor hear. But her vision influenced countless millions. Helen Keller’s influence reached far beyond her native Alabama. She became a celebrity at an early age and remained so throughout her life. Born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Keller was 19 months old when an illness left her deaf and blind. With the […]

Automatic Seafood and Oysters has definitely caught on. Since opening in Birmingham in 2019, the restaurant from chef Adam Evans and his wife and designer Suzanne Humphries Evans has attracted and wowed with its inviting space and amazing food. It’s not just patrons who are impressed. The prestigious James Beard Awards had Automatic Seafood and Oysters among its […]