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Aldridge custodes a place to stroll, but is to add unique displays in coming years. Political controversy Birmingham's recent political history has gained national attention. The valley is drained by small creeks Village Creek, Valley Creek which flow into the. Several of the nation's largest steelmakers, including, andalso have a north presence in Birmingham. The now enters the valley through Boyles Gap, a prominent gap in the long low ridge. Femme to go in an dating service birmingham al neolithic that usually won the Flash Websites Conservation Award. Manufacturing diversified beyond the production of raw materials. Archived from on October 27, 2012. Map of social distribution in Birmingham, 2010 U. I am over I also agree to receive email newsletters, account updates, notifications and communications from other profiles, sent by germanydating.

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Birmingham Event INFORMATION - The Birmingham News' Wednesday edition features six subregional sections named East, Hoover, North, Shelby, South, and West that cover news stories from those areas. Retrieved October 26, 2012.

The new city was named for , , the UK's and at the time a major industrial city. The Alabama city annexed smaller neighbors and developed as an industrial center, based on mining, the new , and. Most of the original settlers who founded Birmingham were of. The city was developed as a place where cheap, non- immigrant labor primarily Irish and Italian , along with African-American labor from rural Alabama, could be employed in the city's steel mills and , giving it a competitive advantage over unionized industrial cities in the and. Its major industries were iron and steel production. The economy diversified in the latter half of the 20th century. Banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical power transmission, medical care, college education, and insurance have become major economic activities. Birmingham ranks as one of the largest centers in the United States. Also, it is among the most important business centers in the Southeast. In , Birmingham has been the location of the formerly the Medical College of Alabama and the since 1947. In 1969 it gained the , one of three main campuses of the. It is home to three private institutions: , , and. The Birmingham area has major colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, law, engineering, and nursing. The city has three of the state's five law schools: , , and. Birmingham is also the headquarters of the and the , one of the major U. It sold lots near the planned crossing of the and , including land that was formerly a part of the Benjamin P. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store operated by Marre and Allen. The site of the railroad crossing was notable for its proximity to nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and — the three main raw materials used in making steel. Child labor at Avondale Mills in Birmingham in 1910; photo by Birmingham is the only place where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity. From the start the new city was planned as a center of industry. The city's founders, organized as the Elyton Land Company, named it in honor of Birmingham, England, one of the world's premier industrial cities, to emphasize that point. The growth of the planned city was impeded by an outbreak of and a in 1873. Soon afterward, however, it began to develop at an explosive rate. The TCI became the leading steel producer in the South by 1892. In 1907 purchased it and became the most important political and economic force in Birmingham. It resisted new industry, however, to keep wage rates down. The downtown was redeveloped from a low-rise commercial and residential district into a busy grid of neoclassical mid- and high-rise buildings criss-crossed by lines. Between 1902 and 1912, four large office buildings were constructed at the intersection of 20th Street, the central north—south spine of the city, and 1st Avenue North, which connected the warehouses and industrial facilities along the east—west railroad corridor. Birmingham was hit by the 5. A few buildings in the area were slightly damaged. The earthquake was felt as far as Atlanta and neighboring states. Birmingham, 1916 While excluded from the best-paying industrial jobs, joined the migration of residents from rural areas to the city, drawn by economic opportunity. Hundreds poured into the city, many riding in empty boxcars. The World War II demand for steel followed by a post-war building boom spurred Birmingham's rapid return to prosperity. Manufacturing diversified beyond the production of raw materials. Major civic institutions such as schools, parks and museums, also expanded in scope. Despite the growing population and wealth of the city, Birmingham residents were markedly underrepresented in the state legislature. Although the state constitution required in accordance with changes in the decennial census, the state legislature did not undertake this at any time during the 20th century until the early 1970s, when forced by the United States Supreme Court in the landmark decision. The Court found that the geographic basis of the state senate, which gave each county one senator, gave undue influence to rural counties. Representatives of rural counties also had disproportionate power in the state House of Representatives, and had failed to provide support for infrastructure and other improvements in urban centers such as Birmingham, having little sympathy for urban populations. Prior to this time, the General Assembly ran county governments as extensions of the state through their legislative delegations. Birmingham civil rights movement Main article: In the 1950s and 1960s, Birmingham gained national and international attention as a center of activity during the. Based on their members working in mining and industry, in the 1950s independent KKK chapters had ready access to dynamite and other bomb materials. Locally, the civil rights movement's activists were led by , a fiery preacher who became legendary for his fearlessness in the face of such violence. But he found city officials resistant to making changes for integration or lessening of. King had served in Birmingham as a pastor earlier in his career. While imprisoned in April 1963 for having taken part in a nonviolent protest, Dr. During April and May, daily sit-ins and mass marches organized and led by movement leader were met with police repression, tear gas, attack dogs, fire hoses, and arrests. More than 3,000 people were arrested during these protests, many of them children. King and Bevel filled the jails with students to keep the demonstrations going. By September the SCLC and city were negotiating to end an economic and desegregate stores and other facilities. On a Sunday in September 1963, a , killing four black girls. The activists' protests and national outrage about the police and KKK violence contributed to the ultimate desegregation of public accommodations in Birmingham and also passage of the. In 1998, the Birmingham Pledge, written by local attorney James Rotch, was introduced at the Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast. As a grassroots community commitment to combating racism and prejudice, it has since been used for programs in all fifty states and in more than twenty countries. Recent history In the 1970s, efforts focused around the development of the , which has become a major medical and research center. In 1971 Birmingham celebrated its centennial with a round of public-works improvements, including the upgrading of Vulcan Park and the construction of a major downtown convention center containing a 2,500-seat symphony hall, theater, 19,000-seat arena, and exhibition halls. Birmingham's banking institutions enjoyed considerable growth as well, and new skyscrapers were constructed in the city center for the first time since the 1920s. These projects helped the city's economy to diversify, but did not prevent the exodus of many of the city's residents to independent suburbs. In 1979 Birmingham elected Dr. The city's formerly most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 57. From 340,887 in 1960, the city's total population had decreased to 242,820 in 2000, a loss of about 29 percent. By 2010, Birmingham's population had reached 212,237, its lowest since the mid-1920s, but the city has since stopped losing residents. That same period saw a corresponding rise in the populations of the suburban communities of , , , and , none of which was incorporated as a municipality until after 1950. Downtown Birmingham is experiencing a renaissance. New resources have been dedicated in reconstructing the downtown area into a 24-hour district. The market for downtown lofts and condominiums has increased, while restaurant, retail and cultural options have expanded. In 2011, the neighborhood of Birmingham was named as a 2011 America's Great Place by the American Planning Association. In January 2015, the International World Game Executive Committee selected Birmingham as the host for the. Recent developments have attracted national media. The New York Times has praised the city's food scene since 2006. The Washington Post has also featured stories about the city's cuisine and neighborhoods. The valley is drained by small creeks Village Creek, Valley Creek which flow into the. The valley was bisected by the principal railroad corridor, along which most of the early manufacturing operations began. Many of Birmingham's television and radio broadcast towers are lined up along this prominent ridge. This is the setting for Birmingham's more affluent suburbs of , , , and. South of Shades Valley is the basin, one of the most diverse river ecosystems in the United States. The now enters the valley through Boyles Gap, a prominent gap in the long low ridge. Ruffner Mountain, located due east of the heart of the city, is home to , one of the largest urban nature reserves in the United States. Birmingham is 147 miles 237 km west of , 92 miles 148 km north of , 147 miles 237 km northeast of , 239 miles 385 km southeast of , 192 miles 309 km south of , and 148 miles 238 km southwest of , all via Interstate highways. According to the U. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 148. Suburbs Birmingham has numerous suburbs. As with many major areas, most of the metropolitan population lives outside the city boundaries. In 2007, the metropolitan area was made up of 7 counties, 102 cities, and 21 school districts. Since then and have broken away from the to form their own school systems. Some analysts argue that the region suffers from having so many suburbs; companies play jurisdictions against each other to gain tax and other financial incentives for relocation, resulting in no net gain in the area's economy. January has a daily mean temperature of 43. July has a daily mean temperature of 81. Precipitation is relatively well-distributed throughout the year, sometimes falling in the form of snow during winter; however, 10. Normal snowfall for 1981—2010 is 1. The spring and fall months are pleasant but variable as cold fronts frequently bring strong to severe thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes to the region. The fall season primarily October features less rainfall and fewer storms, as well as lower humidity than the spring, but November and early December represent a secondary severe weather season. Birmingham is located in the heart of a known as the due to the high frequency of tornadoes in Central Alabama. The greater Birmingham area has been hit by two F5 tornadoes; one in Birmingham's northern suburbs in , and second in the western suburbs in. The area was hit by which was part of the. In late summer and fall months, Birmingham experiences occasional tropical storms and hurricanes due to its proximity to the Central Gulf Coast. Climate data for , Alabama 1981—2010 normals, extremes 1895—present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F °C 81 27 83 28 90 32 92 33 99 37 106 41 107 42 105 41 106 41 94 34 88 31 80 27 107 42 Average high °F °C 53. Earthquakes are generally minor and the Birmingham area can feel an earthquake from the. The centered in northeastern Alabama magnitude 4. Map of racial distribution in Birmingham, 2010 U. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Other yellow 2000 Based on the , there were 242,820 people, 98,782 households, and 59,269 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,619. There were 111,927 housing units at an average density of 746. The racial makeup of the city was 62. There were 98,782 households out of which 27. In the city, the population is spread out, with 25. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 85. Religion in downtown Birmingham Birmingham has hundreds of Christian churches, five synagogues, three mosques, and two Hindu temples. The Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies published data showing that in 2010, among metro areas with greater than one million population, Birmingham had the second highest ratio of , and the greatest ratio of adherents, in the U. The has 673 congregations and 336,000 members in the Birmingham metro area. The have 196 congregations and 66,759 members. The headquarters of the was in Birmingham until the early 1980s; the PCA has more than 30 congregations and almost 15,000 members in the Birmingham metro area, with megachurches such as. The has 126 congregations and 69,800 members. The city is home to the , covering 39 counties and comprising 75 parishes and missions as well as seven Catholic high schools and nineteen elementary schools. There are also two parishes in the Birmingham area. The Catholic television network is headquartered in metropolitan Birmingham. There are three churches in the metro area, along with , , and churches. The mother church of the , the is located in downtown Birmingham. There is also a church. Crime With a crime rate of 85 per one thousand residents, Birmingham has one of the highest crime rates in the United States, ranked 20th, according to a study in 2017 for cities with a population over 25,000. Neighboring also ranks high at 7th. Violent crime in Birmingham increased by 10% from 2014 to 2016. As the third most violent city in the country, the city's murder, robbery, and aggravated assault rates are each among the top five of all major U. As in many high crime areas, is relatively common in Birmingham. Citywide, 31% of residents live in poverty, a higher poverty rate than that of all but a dozen other large U. Birmingham was ranked 425th in crime rate in the U. The Birmingham-Hoover MSA was ranked as having the 35th highest crime rate in the U. The Birmingham metro area crime rate is in line with other southern MSAs such as and. The series has filmed episodes with some of the city's homicide detectives. Though the steel industry no longer holds the same prominence that it once did in Birmingham, steel production and processing continue to play a key role in the economy. Steel products manufacturers ACIPCO and are based in the city. Several of the nation's largest steelmakers, including , , and , also have a major presence in Birmingham. In the 1970s and 1980s, Birmingham's economy was transformed by investments in and medical research at the UAB and its adjacent hospital. The is a providing health care and breakthrough medical research. UAB is now the area's largest employer and the second largest in Alabama, with a workforce of about 23,000 as of 2016. Health care services providers formerly HealthSouth , and are also headquartered in the city. Birmingham is a leading banking center, serving as home to two major banks: and. The city still has major operations as one of the regional headquarters of Wachovia, which itself is now part of. In November 2006, Regions Financial merged with , which was also headquartered in Birmingham. They formed the eighth largest U. Nearly a dozen smaller banks are also headquartered in the Magic City, such as and. As of 2009 , the finance and banking sector in Birmingham employed 1,870 financial managers, 1,530 loan officers, 680 securities commodities and financial services sales agents, 380 financial analysts, 310 financial examiners, 220 credit analysts, and 130 loan counselors. While Birmingham has seen major change-ups with its banking industry, it was still the ninth largest banking hub in the by the amount of locally headquartered deposits in 2012. A 2014 study found that the city had moved down a spot to the tenth largest banking center. The insurance companies , , , , and have their headquarters in Birmingham, and these employ a large number of people in Greater Birmingham. Birmingham is also a powerhouse of construction and engineering companies, including , , , and , which routinely are included in the lists of top design and international construction firms. The , founded in 1901, was formerly a maker of just , but now it is a major bottler for the. The , founded in 1902, is the third-largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the United States. Birmingham has seen a noticeable decrease in the number of companies headquartered in the city, due to mergers, moves, and buy-outs. In 2000, there were ten Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, while in 2014 there was only one,. Birmingham also used to be home to more than 30 publicly traded companies, but in 2011 there were only 15. The number has increased since then, but not significantly. Some companies, like , were founded and operated in Birmingham, but moved their headquarters prior to going public, even after saying they would stay in their home state. Birmingham has been on a rebound, though, with the growth of companies like , Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. The Birmingham metropolitan area has consistently been rated as one of America's best places to work and earn a living based on the area's competitive salary rates and relatively low living expenses. One study published in 2006 by Salary. A 2006 study by website bizjournals. Birmingham's , which also applies fully to groceries, stands at 10 percent and is the highest tax rate of the nation's 100 largest cities. Although in 2011 was the largest government bankruptcy in U. All were listed on the. Protective Life was bought by the Japanese company in 2015 and removed from public trading. Birmingham is the cultural and entertainment capital of Alabama, with numerous art galleries in the area including the , the largest art museum in the Southeast. Downtown Birmingham is currently experiencing a cultural and economic rejuvenation, with several new independent shops and restaurants opening in the area. Birmingham is home to the state's major ballet, opera and symphony orchestra companies such as the , , , , and. ° The historic Lyric Theatre, which was completely renovated and reopened in 2016, hosts performing arts shows and concerts. It is located on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The BJCC is home to the , one of the oldest and largest children's theatres in the country, and hosts major concert tours and sporting events. Adjacent to the BJCC is the , the largest hotel in the state. A new anchors the nearby Uptown entertainment district of downtown Birmingham, which opened in 2013. The theater puts on a season of professional musical theater repertoire through the summer and fall annually. It received national notice for the company's performance of at the and received praise from reviewers worldwide. It features local artists, interviews, journalism coverage of the arts and social events, as well as a calendar of local art and music related events. Starting in 2006, the Sidewalk Film Festival became host to the SHOUT Film Festival, Alabama's first and only LGBTQ film festival. Birmingham's nightlife is primarily clustered around the Five Points South, Lakeview, and districts. The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham maintains Birmingham365. See also: Museums Birmingham is home to several museums. The largest is the , which is also the largest municipal art museum in the. The area's history museums include the , which houses a detailed and emotionally charged narrative exhibit putting Birmingham's history into the context of the Civil Rights Movement. It is located on adjacent to the. Other history museums include the , , , and. The is housed in the historic and offers exhibits about the numerous notable jazz musicians from the state of Alabama. The is a regional science museum with hands-on science exhibits, temporary exhibitions, and an dome theater. The center also houses a major collection of specimens for use by researchers. Festivals Birmingham is home to numerous cultural festivals showcasing music, films, and regional heritage. The brings filmmakers from all over the world to Birmingham to have their films viewed and judged. This festival usually is scheduled in late August at eight venues around downtown. Screenings are concentrated at the Alabama Theatre. During the summer, Sloss Furnaces hosts an annual music and arts festival known as Sloss Music and Arts Festival, or Sloss Fest. Since it began in 2015, the festival has attracted hundreds of national headliners as well as local bands. In its first year, Sloss Fest had approximately 25,000 attendees over its two-day span. Another musical festival is the , presented at the end of August each year, concurrent with the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. This all-day festival features national and local jazz acts. In 2007, the festival drew an estimated 6,000 people. The Birmingham Folk Festival is an annual event held since 2006. It moved to in 2008. Joe Minter's African Village in America is a half-acre near downtown Birmingham. The began in the 1960s as a music, arts, and entertainment festival for the African-American community to attract mostly younger demographics. The Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil, an annual music festival event held in May to benefit local charities, always includes an all-star cast of talent. It typically draws more than 30,000 spectators for the annual two-day event. The annual Greek Festival, a celebration of Greek heritage, culture, and especially cuisine, is a charity fundraiser hosted by the. The Greek Festival draws 20,000 patrons annually. The Lebanese Food Festival is held at St. Central Alabama Pride puts on events each year, including a festival and parade. Magic City Brewfest is an annual festival benefiting local grassroots organization, Free the Hops, and focusing on craft beer. Alabama Bound is an annual book and author fair that celebrates Alabama authors and publishers. Hosted by the Birmingham Public Library, it is an occasion where fans may meet their favorite authors, buy their books, and hear them read from and talk about their work. Book signings follow each presentation. Other attractions The on top of Red Mountain in Vulcan Park The is a cast-iron representation of the Roman god of fire, iron and blacksmiths that is the symbol of Birmingham. The statue, cast for the and erected at Vulcan Park in 1938, stands high above the city looking down from a tower at the top of. Open to visitors, the tower offers views of the city below. The is a large regional zoo with more than 700 animals and a recently opened interactive children's zoo. The facility also includes a white-tablecloth restaurant, meeting rooms, and an extensive reference library. It is complemented by Hoover's 30-acre 120,000 m 2 , an ambitious project open since 2002. Aldridge offers a place to stroll, but is to add unique displays in coming years. Red Mountain is one of the southernmost wrinkles in the Appalachian chain, and a scenic drive to the top provides views reminiscent of the further north. To the west of the city is located Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, a 1,500-acre 6. It is located in Southeast Birmingham off U. Highway 280, parallel to Interstate 459. It was released as a track on his 1974 album. The Birmingham area is home to the , the AA minor league affiliate of the , which plays at in the adjacent to Railroad Park. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a popular basketball program and football program, and , located in , has basketball and football teams. The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of is home to the Baseball Tournament which drew more than 108,000 spectators in 2006. There is also an amateur soccer association, known as La Liga, and the Birmingham area hosts the Alabama Alliance basketball teams. Birmingham was home to the , a very successful Negro League baseball team. The Black Barons played home games at , which is still standing in the Rising-West Princeton neighborhood, and is verified as being the oldest baseball field in America. Scenes from the movies 1994 , 1995 and 2012 were filmed at Rickwood. The city has had several pro football franchises. The former pro football team in Birmingham, the of the , folded in 2015. The city hosted a franchise, the , but once again the league folded. A franchise, the , was renamed the when the WLAF was renamed , but the league folded altogether in 2007. A franchise, the , played one season and then folded as the league ended its American franchise experiment. An franchise, the , were another instance where the league folded. Birmingham's has hosted several college football postseason bowl games, including the 1948—49 , the 1977—85 , the 1986—90 , the 1992—93 , the 1999—2012 , the 1946—present and, currently, the formerly the BBVA Compass Bowl, 2006—present. The , , and are headquartered in Birmingham. In 1996, Legion Field hosted early rounds of Olympic soccer where it drew record crowds. The field has also hosted and qualifiers and friendlies. A switch from natural grass to an artificial surface has left the stadium's role as a soccer venue in doubt. Motorsports are very popular in the Birmingham area and across the state, and the area is home to numerous annual motorsport races. The shares the road course with and sports car races. The has had a regular stop in the Birmingham area since 1992, with the founding of the , later renamed the Regions Charity Classic. Birmingham has been selected to host the in 2021. It will be the first time that an American city has hosted the event since the inaugural World Games were held in , in 1981. Birmingham is the home of a professional ice hockey team, the of the. They play at the in nearby Pelham. The Birmingham Bulls was also the name of a team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1976 to 1979 and the Central Hockey League from 1979 to 1981. The WHA Bulls played their home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center. In 1992, another Birmingham hockey franchise was founded that used the Bulls name, the Birmingham Bulls of the East Coast Hockey League. This franchise was later sold to. Recreational fishing is popular in the Birmingham area. Training Facility is located in Birmingham and was a primary filming location for the 2005 documentary film , about players. The ASMI , located at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, was founded by Dr. The institute's mission is to understand, prevent, and treat sports-related injuries. ASMI turned Birmingham into a major medical destination for professional athletes around the country. Andrews has operated on , , , , , , and , to name a few. His orthopedics practice is frequently mentioned in books and articles. Birmingham will be home to a team called starting in 2019. Current City Council membership District Representative Position 1 LaShunda Scales 2 Hunter Williams 3 Valerie A. Abbott President 4 William Parker 5 Darrell O'Quinn 6 Sheila Tyson 7 James E. President Pro-Tem 8 Steven Hoyt 9 John R. Hilliard Birmingham has a strong-mayor variant form of government, led by a mayor and a nine-member city council. The current system replaced the previous in 1962 primarily as a way to remove Commissioner of Public Safety from power. See also: and By Alabama law, an issue before a city council must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote. Executive powers are held entirely by the mayor's office. Birmingham's current mayor is. In 1974 Birmingham established a structured network of and community advisory committees to insure public participation in governmental issues that affect neighborhoods. Neighborhood associations are routinely consulted on matters related to zoning changes, liquor licenses, economic development, policing and other city services. Neighborhoods are also granted discretionary funds from the city's budget to use for. Each neighborhood's officers meet with their peers to form Community Advisory Committees, which are granted broader powers over city departments. The presidents of these committees, in turn, form the Citizens' Advisory Board, which meets regularly with the mayor, council, and department heads. Birmingham is divided into a total of 23 communities, and again into a total of 99 individual neighborhoods with individual neighborhood associations. State and federal representation The operates post offices in Birmingham. The main post office is located at 351 24th Street North in downtown Birmingham. Birmingham is also the home of the 's Southeastern Program Service Center. This center is one of only seven in the United States that process Social Security entitlement claims and payments. In addition, Birmingham is the home of a branch bank of the Atlanta. Political controversy Birmingham's recent political history has gained national attention. During his term as mayor, was arrested on charges of. The banker, Bill Blount, and a lobbyist, Al la Pierre, pled guilty and were sentenced to brief prison sentences. Former mayor has also been the subject of national scrutiny. In 2015, the mayor got into a physical altercation with city councilman Marcus Lundy. The fight sent both men to the hospital. It is run by the Birmingham Board of Education with a current active enrollment of 30,500 in 62 schools: seven high schools, 13 middle schools, 33 elementary schools, and nine -eighth-grade primary schools. Birmingham Public Library administers 21 branches throughout the city and is part of a wider system including another 19 suburban branches in Jefferson County, serving the entire community to provide education and entertainment for all ages. The greater-Birmingham metropolitan area is the home of numerous independent school systems, because there has been a great deal of fragmentation of educational systems in Alabama and especially Jefferson County. Some of the school systems only have three to five schools. The metropolitan area's three largest school systems are the , Birmingham City Schools, and the. However, there are many smaller school systems. The Birmingham area is reputed to be the home of some of Alabama's best high schools, colleges and universities. In 2005, the in , an eastern suburb of Birmingham, was rated as the No. The school remains among the nation's top five high schools. Other area schools that have been rated among America's best in various publications include , , and the located downtown. The metro area also has three highly regarded private college-preparatory schools: , located in Birmingham proper; the , also located in Birmingham proper; and in north Shelby County near Pelham. Noteworthy institutions of higher education in greater Birmingham include the , including the , , , the independent , , , in Shelby County , , and in Birmingham, the largest career college based in Birmingham. See also: , , and Birmingham is served by one major newspaper, circulation 150,346 , which changed from daily to thrice-weekly publication on October 1, 2012. The Birmingham News' Wednesday edition features six subregional sections named East, Hoover, North, Shelby, South, and West that cover news stories from those areas. The newspaper has been awarded two , in 1991 and 2007. The , the city's second daily, published its last issue in 2006. Other local publications include , The Leeds News, The Trussville Tribune Trussville, Clay and Pinson , The Western Star Bessemer and The Western Tribune Bessemer. Weld for Birmingham, Birmingham Weekly and Birmingham Free Press are Birmingham's free alternative publications. The Birmingham Times, a historic African-American newspaper, also is published weekly. Birmingham is served by the city magazine, Birmingham magazine, owned by The Birmingham News. The major television affiliates, most of which have their transmitters and studios located on Red Mountain in Birmingham, are 6 , , , , , , and. NOAA weather radio station broadcasts weather and hazard information for the Birmingham Metropolitan Area. Major broadcasting companies who own stations in the Birmingham market include , , , and. The sports-talk show, also syndicated and carried nationwide on Sirius digital radio, originated from. Birmingham is home to Eternal Word Television Network , the world's largest Catholic media outlet and largest religious network of any kind, broadcasting to about 150 million homes worldwide as of 2009. This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged and. April 2018 Before the first structure was built in Birmingham, the plan of the city was laid out over a total of 1,160 acres 4. The streets were numbered from west to east, leaving 20th Street to form the central spine of downtown, anchored on the north by Capital Park and stretching into the slopes of Red Mountain to the south. As the city grew, bridges and underpasses separated the streets from the railroad bed, lending this central reservation some of the impact of a river without the pleasant associations of a waterfront. From the start, Birmingham's streets and avenues were unusually wide at 80 to 100 feet 24 to 30 m , purportedly to help evacuate unhealthy smoke. In the early 20th century professional planners helped lay out many of the new industrial settlements and in the Birmingham District, including Corey now , which was developed for the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company subsequently purchased by. At the same time, a movement to consolidate several neighboring cities gained momentum. Although local referendums indicated mixed feelings about annexation, the Alabama legislature enacted an expansion of Birmingham's corporate limits that became effective on January 1, 1910. The Robert Jemison Company developed many residential neighborhoods to the south and west of Birmingham which are still renowned for their aesthetic quality. A 1924 plan for a system of parks, commissioned from the , is seeing renewed interest with several significant new parks and greenways under development. Birmingham officials have approved a City Center Master Plan developed by of Pittsburgh, which advocates strongly for more residential development in the downtown area. The plan also called for a major park over several blocks of the central railroad reservation: , which opened in 2010. Along with Ruffner Mountain Park and Red Mountain Park, Birmingham ranks first in the United States for public green space per resident. Beginning in downtown Birmingham is the Elton B. Interstate 22 connects I-65 and. Construction has begun on the first segment of I-422, a Northern Beltline Highway that will serve the suburbs on the opposite side of Birmingham from I-459. Public transport The Birmingham Street Railway in 1903 In the area of metropolitan public transportation, Birmingham is served by the BJCTA bus, , and system, which from 1985 until 2008 was branded the Metro Area Express MAX. Bus service to other cities is provided by. Birmingham is served by three major railroad freight lines: the Company, , and the , together with smaller regional railroads, the and the. Amtrak operates one passenger train, the , each direction daily. Utilities The water for Birmingham and the intermediate urbanized area is served by the Birmingham Water Works Board BWWB. A public authority that was established in 1951, the BWWB serves all of Jefferson, northern Shelby, and western St. The largest reservoir for BWWB is Lake Purdy, which is located on the Jefferson and Shelby County line, but has several other reservoirs including Bayview Lake in western Jefferson County. There are plans to pipeline water from Inland Lake in Blount County and Lake Logan Martin, but those plans are on hold indefinitely. Jefferson County Environmental Services serves the Birmingham metro area with sanitary sewer service. Sewer rates have increased in recent years after citizens concerned with pollution in area waterways filed a lawsuit that resulted in a federal consent decree to repair an aging sewer system. Because the estimated cost of the consent decree was approximately three times more than the original estimate, many blame the increased rates on corruption of several Jefferson County officials. The continue to be a controversial topic in the area. Electric power is provided primarily by , a subsidiary of the. However, some of the surrounding area such as and are provided power by the. Bessemer also operates its own water and sewer system. Natural gas is provided by , although some metro area cities operate their own natural gas services. Cable television service is provided by within the cities of Birmingham and Irondale, and in the rest of the metro area. Birmingham's Sister Cities program is overseen by the Birmingham Sister Cities Commission. United States Census Bureau. 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