We’ve taken a few days off here at the Ramblings in part because, well…
We’re just busy doing WORK! As a result, I would be remiss to not mention an event occurring in one of my office’s target districts tomorrow afternoon. Smiles for Keeps is a new dental office catering specifically to the dental needs of children and teens in our community. They have located their office in the Woodlawn commercial revitalization district (5528 1st Avenue North to be exact), providing an excellent example of renovation of ground floor retail space in the urban core. There are some that would say that Woodlawn is not part of that core, but Birmingham itself serves as the core for the region and has already seen renewed interest as the city center continues its renaissance.
Several elected officials, representatives from the YWCA and my board chair are among those scheduled to be in attendance for the office’s grand opening celebration, from 2 – 4 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) afternoon at its offices. Look for the red and white awning on the first of what will be several renovated buildings in these other urban nodes throughout the city in the coming years. Come out and show your support to a business dedicated to helping our community, and to tour the office and check out all the cool stuff too.
There are several other events going on in town tomorrow, some focusing on the fun and vitality that can be had in the Magic City, others focusing indirectly on one of our strongest assets in the region, our medical community. The Kirklin Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is serving as one of several locations nationwide participating in the 8th annual International Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week by providing free screenings for those that seek it tomorrow from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Yul Brynner Foundation with support this year from Major League Baseball and former baseball great Brett Butler.
I wish I could attend that event, but I will be attending the annual Livable Cities Conference on the campus of Birmingham Southern College tomorrow morning and then the grand opening celebration in the afternoon, leaving little time to breathe actually. The conference, sponsored by the Southern Environmental Center at BSC, is also celebrating its eighth year, with a focus on regional greenway development. Among the speakers will be Colin Coyne, COO for Melaver, which I wrote about recently on the blog with reference to their announced plans for the Federal Reserve site. It is free and open to the public, providing a great way to hear about some of the ways that quality of life issues are being dealt with in the region and how developers plan to continue their efforts here in town. I’m going to offer my comment about Thomas Friedman’s remarks on the Today show later on this evening, but I think that this post on John’s blog hit the nail on the head in terms of public opinion. It’s a shame that it is the general opinion, but more on that this evening.
ArtWalk’s Brewhaha is tomorrow evening as well. The flyer just about says everything, so click here to look it over. Hopefully I may see some of you out there (they’re saying no rain, but I’m as optimistic about that as I was about the weathermen in Savannah).
I hope everybody down here in the Southeast stays as safe (and as dry) as you can.
Cheers.
