UAB AD Mark Ingram fired after 11 years. Very, VERY interesting that none of his senior assistant AD's named interim.
UAB President Ray Watts just met with entire athletic department.
That silver/blue SUV? Yeah, it's stopped IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.
The bear? NOWHERE CLOSE. It was AT LEAST 200 yards from the road, in high grass. Hell, you have people standing there who aren't even LOOKING IN THE BEAR'S DIRECTION.
Shout out to the guy ahead of me in the jam who layed on his horn until they started moving.
This is the official music video for "Where The Streets Have No Name," from the Joshua Tree album released in 1987.
While Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal combined to form Tears For Fears in 1981, it wasn't until the 1985 release of their second album, Songs From The Big Chair, that they became international stars.
"Broken" was my favorite song on that album.
That's an increase of $316 million for White House grounds projects and upgrades in Year 2 of the convicted felon vs. Year 4 of Joe Biden.
link to aldotcom article
By William Thornton | wthornton@al.com
Birmingham restaurateur Nick Pihakis filed for bankruptcy Thursday following the stunning collapse of his restaurant group, which began with a wave of closings in April.
Pihakis filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Alabama’s Northern District.
Unlike Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Chapter 7 calls for gathering and selling the debtor’s nonexempt assets and using the proceeds to pay debts.
According to the 154-page filing, Pihakis estimates debts of more than $44 million, with total personal property of about $10.6 million, including a $1 million Shoal Creek home, and a $66,000 Porsche Cayenne.
The filing comes after months of uncertainty following the closure of more than a dozen restaurants in four states that belonged to the Pihakis Restaurant Group, and nearly a dozen lawsuits in two states seeking more than $23.4 million in unpaid bills.
Currently, the company is the defendant in at least 11 court actions in Alabama and South Carolina.
See also: Birmingham restaurant empire that helped define Magic City food scene faces its hardest days
The filing represents a breathtaking turn of events for Pihakis, 69, a legendary figure in Birmingham’s culinary scene going back four decades.
Pihakis lent his name to one half of Jim ‘N Nick’s, and slowly built a series of companies to bring food to Alabama and the Southeast.
His father, Jim Pihakis, known as “Mr. Jim,” opened his barbecue stand on 29th Street on Birmingham’s South Side in 1979.
Nick worked at John’s Restaurant, a popular downtown restaurant that opened in the 1940s and later became the now-closed John’s City Diner.
The father and son opened the first Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q in 1985 in a former Pasquale’s Pizza & Pasta location on Clairmont Avenue.
Nick took over upon his father’s retirement.
For at least six years in a row, he was a semifinalist for the Beard Award for the country’s outstanding restaurateur.
Through collaborations with award-winning chefs, he has been recognized as a force behind food in the South and one of the reasons for the Magic City’s reputation as a beacon for food culture.
See also: Struggling Pihakis faces $23.4 million in lawsuits, liens
The legal fallout began on April 12, when Tasty Town, a downtown Birmingham Greek restaurant, closed suddenly.
The abrupt Sunday night shutdown of the four-year-old dining spot began a chain of closings that sent cooks, wait staff and other restaurant workers across the Birmingham area scrambling to find new jobs.
It was quickly followed in the following weeks but closures at various locations of Hero Diner, Rodney Scott BBQ, Little Donkey, Luca Lagotto in Homewood; Luca & Lucy in Shelby County, Birmingham’s Magnolia Point; Joylands in Nashville and Birmingham and Greek spot Psito in Atlanta.
Four of the restaurants eventually reopened, apparently under different ownership.
Circuit Judge Patrick Kennedy last month asked Kevin Heard, Nick Pihakis’ attorney, during one court session if his client planned to file for bankruptcy.
“I can’t answer at this point,” Heard said.
By Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.com
An action sports event taking place this weekend at City Walk in downtown Birmingham will close several city streets for three days.
The FISE World Series, billed as “three days of insane action sports, music and urban culture,” features BMX short-track bicycle racing on custom-built courses with jumps and steeply banked turns, skateboarding and 3-on-3 basketball competitions.
Thousands of competitors and spectators are expected to converge downtown Friday through Sunday, Aug. 7-9.
Traffic changes are taking effect to accommodate the event: 18^(th) Street North from Abraham Woods Boulevard (8^(th) Avenue North) to City Walk is already closed and will stay closed until Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Also, 19^(th) Street North will close at 10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6, and will remain closed through 5 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 10.
Both 18th Street North and 19th Street North will have soft closures at Abraham Woods Boulevard, allowing limited local access. A hard closure will be in place closer to the interstate, where no vehicle access will be permitted.
Access to the Alabama School of Fine Arts will remain available via 18^(th) Street North. Vehicles must exit on 19^(th) Street North and will have to turn right to travel southbound.
Vehicle access to Boutwell Auditorium will be available via Abraham Woods Boulevard, with exits on 19^(th) Street North. Drivers must turn left to travel southbound.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the event will draw visitors and athletes from around the world while showcasing the city for culture and tourism.
“This internationally recognized event combines Olympic-style action sports, 3-on-3 basketball, live entertainment, food vendors and family activities,” Woodfin said.
“We really want to encourage people to get their tickets,” online at fiseworldseries.com, Woodfin said.
al.com article
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville warned about immigrants voting in American elections Wednesday, and suggested Alabama may need to build its own border wall to protect against terrorists.
Tuberville is running for governor of Alabama.
“If we don’t straighten out this country’s voting, if we don’t straighten out this country’s immigration system, we’re not going to make it,” Tuberville said in an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show.”
“It’s going to be over with,” he said.
“I’m going to go back to Alabama and, hey, we might build a 30-foot wall around our state, because I know what’s coming. I can see it coming, I can hear it coming. You can just smell it out there, that they want to take this country over.”
“They’re a lot more aggressive than we are as Americans,” Tuberville said.
A spokesperson told AL.com Tuberville was referring to “radical Islamic terrorists who want to destroy America.”
Earlier in the day, Tuberville called Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, a “radical Islamist.” El-Sayed is Muslim. He has also been critical of Israel and American support for the Israeli government.
Tuberville has frequently attacked “radical Islam” and made statements against Muslims and Muslim officials that critics have condemned as Islamophobic.
In recent years, Alabama and other states have identified very small numbers of people who are immigrants and who have fraudulently tried to vote in elections.
Alabama has strict voter ID laws and experts have said there is no evidence of widespread problems with American elections.
By Ruth Serven Smith | rserven@al.com
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt criticized potential colleague Abdul El-Sayed, calling him a terrorist sympathizer as many Michigan voters chose him to be their candidate for Congress.
Speaking before El-Sayed officially was named the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open Senate seat, Britt said El-Sayed’s positions would be dangerous for America.
“The fact that this man can win is unbelievable,” Britt told Bill Hemmer on Fox News.
She characterized El-Sayed and his supporters as those who “do nothing but hate America,” citing opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and police among other priorities.
Britt also raised concerns about El-Sayed’s foreign policy positions, particularly regarding Iran.
He narrowly defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a victory for the party’s progressive wing.
El-Sayed will face Michigan Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman.
“When it comes to Iran and what’s happening, he is actually a jihadist sympathizer,” she claimed, referencing a recent event where “we saw him two days ago, El-Sayed, at a pool party with Hasan Piker, who said that America deserved 9/11.”
When asked what El-Sayed’s success indicates about the Democratic Party’s direction, Britt offered a stark assessment.
“It tells me the Democratic socialists have taken over the Democratic party and we have to stand up to it and stand firmly,” she said. “The future of our country is at stake.”
El-Sayed’s win comes after a contentious race that he says saw unprecedented spending against his candidacy.
“That’s exactly why $70 million was spent against me in this race,” El-Sayed said in a recent television appearance. “They see me as a threat of the system of politics that is making it way too hard on every day people.”
The candidate has centered his campaign on Medicare for All and reducing corporate influence in government.
He has also been critical of American foreign policy, particularly regarding Israel and the influential, pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
“For too long our foreign policy has been handed to us by the likes of the state of Israel and AIPAC, who has made sure Democrats and Republicans are doing their bidding,” El-Sayed said during a July 7th debate.
The aldotcom preview says this franchise is being opened by a former UA quarterback.
From the Knoxville News Sentinel (link to article)
Demolition of the old LeConte Lodge recreation building will bring another round of traffic delays and interruptions for hikers as helicopter crews remove debris.
Demolished materials will be flown off the mountain during the second week of August. This could affect drivers on Newfound Gap Road, and hikers on Mount LeConte or those planning to be on LeConte Lodge grounds, according to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The 50-year-old building is being replaced with a new recreation center. “Significant progress” has been made since the project was announced in July, with most of the timber structure demolished, the park said. The focus now is on the basement, stone walls and foundation.
The new recreation building will be “constructed in the same character and spirit” as the original building, the park previously said. The new recreation building is expected to open in 2027.
Laurel Falls Update
Rehabilitation work at Laurel Falls Trail is actively underway. Due to unforeseen site conditions, the park anticipates reopening the trail sometime in 2027. During construction of the lower viewing platform, crews encountered differing geotechnical conditions than anticipated, which have required design modifications.
We know this delay is disappointing, and we appreciate your patience. Working in mountainous terrain and backcountry conditions often brings challenges and unknowns, even with the best planning and designs. Once the project is completed, these improvements will make the trail safer, more durable, and provide better and new experiences for everyone once it reopens.
Looking for other hikes? Visit our website for more day hikes: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/day-hikes.htm