By Rubin E. Grant Mason Blasche didn’t approach his senior season on the Hoover baseball team with any statistical goals in mind.“I just wanted to have fun playing baseball,” he said. “I wanted to improve on what I did last year, but I didn’t have any set amount of numbers I wanted to put up.”A third baseman/pitcher, Blasche excelled at the plate and on the … [Read more...]
Putting in the Work: Spain Park’s Daniel Powers Her Way to OTM Softball Player of the Year Honor
By Rubin E. GrantMaggie Daniel traveled to Spain following her graduation from Spain Park in May. She spent time in Barcelona and a few other places. “It was a fantastic trip and so much fun,” she said.When she got back, Daniel quickly returned to her lifelong passion – playing softball – and rejoined the Birmingham Thunderbolts, her club … [Read more...]
Daughter Drove Decision to Choose Birmingham: From Bombings to Prison Riots: Vestavia Mayor Reflects on 23-Year FBI Career
By Anne RuisiVestavia Hills Mayor Ashley C. Curry recalls being an up-and-coming FBI agent more than 40 years ago in Tampa, Florida, when he could have had his pick of assignments anywhere in the country. That he chose a transfer to Birmingham was at the recommendation of doctors at Tampa’s Shriners Hospital – one of a network of nationally renowned children’s … [Read more...]
Three Generations of Tennis Royalty: The Weinacker Family Carries a Tennis Legacy That Begins With a Matriarch
By Lee HurleyThis Father’s Day story starts with a mother. Marcia Weinacker of Mobile passed away in 2015 at the age of 88 after leaving a legacy that few will equal. Marcia held multiple state championships in tennis, including singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. She was nationally ranked in singles and played in tournaments both nationally and … [Read more...]
Grand Design: TNT Renovating a 1925 Building Downtown to Reopen This Fall
By Anne RuisiA construction barricade blocks the inside view of the former auction house for now, but by fall a building in downtown Birmingham will be transformed into the new home of Terrific New Theatre.Work crews are converting the former Alabama Auction Room at 2112 Fifth Ave. North into the theater, a revival of a 1925 building that was vacant for 20 years before … [Read more...]