MONTGOMERY — Respective bills to extend “stand your ground” law to churches and allow the Bible to be taught as an elective social studies class in Alabama public schools each received a favorable recommendation from a legislative standing committee on Wednesday.

Kerry Madden-Lunsford first met Ernestine Upchurch more than a decade ago. It was just after the 2005 release of “Gentle’s Holler,” the first of three young adult novels (the others are “Louisiana’s Song” and “Jessie’s Mountain”) that Madden-Lunsford would write set in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. Turns out that was Upchurch’s territory, and she […]

Alabama’s Kelsey Barnard Clark has won one of America’s most prominent culinary contests. The Dothan native and owner of KBC restaurant in the “Peanut Capital of the World” brought home the title in the season 16 finale of Bravo’s “Top Chef” that aired Thursday evening. “It made me realize that I am stronger than I […]

One 72-year-old Beauregard woman’s faith has been strengthened in the midst of terrible tragedy. Amid the rubble of what was her house just minutes before, Earnestine Reese thanked God for sparing her when two tornadoes tore through Lee County Sunday. In a Facebook video, Reese, who has suffered a broken hip and will have surgery Monday morning, […]

Building on a record-setting year for film projects in Alabama, the stage appears set for a sequel, with a string of movie productions already filming in the state or getting the cameras and crews ready for action. Since Oct. 1, more than a dozen movie and TV productions have qualified for state incentives available to […]

A culinary science center unlike any other is coming to Auburn University in 2021. The university’s Board of Trustees took the final steps Feb. 15 to create the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center, a transformative complex blending a learning environment with a luxury boutique hotel and restaurant. “The Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center will […]

John Hall could cook anywhere in the world. He’s talented enough. He’s driven enough. But seven years ago, he chose to come home to Birmingham and reclaim this food city as his own. Like many chefs in Birmingham, Hall did a stint with Frank Stitt. His formal training included culinary school at the Johnson & Wales University Charleston, […]

Members of the Mobile community are coming together to help a six-year-old fighting a chronic illness. WALA reported that Christian, the young boy, was surprised Thursday when he learned he will be going to Disney World thanks to the generosity of some fellow Alabamians. Students at St. Paul’s reportedly organized a partnership between their own […]

Some familiar names in Alabama’s culinary world are semifinalists for the 2019 James Beard Awards, announced Wednesday morning by the James Beard Foundation. Birmingham’s The Atomic Lounge for the second year in a row is a semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program, one of 20 across the country to make the cut. The Outstanding Bar Program award is for “a restaurant or […]

The second morning after Dolester Miles won the 2018 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in America, her Instagram account lit up with its first posts. Miles, who has worked for Frank Stitt at Birmingham’s Highlands Bar & Grill since he opened in 1982, posted photo after photo of her, of her desserts, of her with her […]

Restaurateurs and friends Reginald “Reggie” Washington and Duane Nutter opened Southern National in 2017, serving “globally inspired Southern food” in the historic Wilkins-Higgins Building in Mobile’s lively arts district. The buzz leading up to the opening was big; the response after they opened was even bigger. After only about four months in business, the restaurant was named […]

Nearly 80 years after Walker Evans and James Agee shined a light on life in Hale County, Alabama, Greensboro and its environs are taking center stage again, this time in RaMell Ross’ Oscar-nominated documentary film, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” follows Daniel Collins and Quincy Bryant, and their […]

This weekend, Jay Spencer became the first wrestler in his school’s history to win a state title. And even more impressively, he did so while being legally blind. “[D]on’t let what anyone thinks about you change how you think,” Spencer told WZDX. “As long as you believe you can do something, then you can.” Spencer, a […]

Billboards. Television commercials. Print ads. Everyone in Alabama knows Alexander Shunnarah. In fact, the Birmingham-based trial lawyer has become a true celebrity figure in the Yellowhammer State, with his ubiquitous advertisements driving his name identification sky-high. While he has poked fun at his own billboard empire before, the advertisements appear to be paying off through […]

A new report has named Alabama as the most financially friendly state for senior citizens. Research released this week by Stannah revealed, “The main reason senior citizens would move to a new city, state or country is to save money and improve finances.” In this important metric, the Yellowhammer State is king. For people over the […]

The story of one Gulf Coast Alabamian is being hailed as a “miracle” and “sign from God.” As reported in the past few days by Fox News and WALA, Scot Byrd was faced with a devastating tragedy when his Baldwin County home was destroyed in a Christmas tree fire last month. Byrd, a veteran and […]

Alabama has beaten Oklahoma once again, this time vaulting over the Sooner State to be named the most polite state in America. Last year, FreshBooks ranked Alabama second behind Oklahoma in its annual “politeness index.” In results released Monday, the company announced its 2019 edition, which saw the Yellowhammer State surge to the top spot. […]

The memorabilia collection is one clue that Cleon Jones is a pretty famous fellow. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder with the New York Mets for 13 years. In 1969, he caught the final out of the Miracle Mets’ World Series championship over the Baltimore Orioles. In other words, Jones has every reason to stay in New York and […]

Alabama foodies and ‘Top Chef‘ fans can celebrate one of their own advancing to the final six on Bravo’s hit television series. Dothan native Kelsey Barnard Clark continues to impress celebrity judges and fellow contestants on the show’s 16th season set in Louisville, KY. Clark is the chef and proprietor of KBC — a local Southern-French fusion […]

Alabama author Erin Brown Hollis has written a book she hopes will engage women spiritually and provide the same sort of outlet many seek through reality television. Hollis recently published The Remarkable Housewives of the Bible which she says is the first of a three-part series.

Two long-standing Alabama ministries recently found a way to help each other in a unique way. The Jimmie Hale Mission handed over its thrift ministry to King’s Home, creating for King’s Home a much-needed source of donations, according to a release from the group.

Lean On: Alabama is set to host its inaugural Alabama Women’s Summit on Friday, with a star-studded lineup of featured speakers on the agenda. The summit, to be held at the Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa, will focus on the organization’s core values of wisdom, hope, faith and friendship through not only inspirational speakers, but workshops […]

Not all heroes wear capes. And few take credit for their actions. Just count Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong as the latest example of this. On Saturday, Strong shared his account of saving a man’s life earlier in the day. The Republican from the Huntsville area detailed a dramatic turn of events that sprung from […]

To the average person, Leldon Maxcy‘s basement in Cullman is home to a ton of wood. To the untrained eye, stacks of wood may not be exciting, at first. But to those with an artist’s eye, like Maxcy, the room holds a world of possibility. With the whir of his scroll saw, the billow of smoke […]