By Emily WilliamsThe arts community has been a home for Kimberly Kirklin, a place of comfort throughout much of her life. In her position as director of UAB’s Institute for Arts in Medicine, she is working to share that sense of comfort with patients at UAB Hospital. For nine years, Kirklin served as the director of education and outreach for UAB’s Alys Stephens … [Read more...]
A Whole New Ball Game: Vestavia Native Opens Cashio’s Meatball Market in Lakeview
By Donna Cornelius Mary Susan Cashio is having a ball. The Vestavia Hills native just opened her own restaurant in Birmingham’s Lakeview District. Its main attraction? Meatballs. Cashio’s Meatball Market, which opened Oct. 3, owes its existence to two very different experiences – family dinners in Birmingham and food expeditions in New York City. The young restaurateur … [Read more...]
An Unconventional Rabbi: Interim Rabbi at Temple Beth-El Was Called Back to the Faith
By Sarah Kuper Although he was born into a Jewish background, Barry Leff never had the desire to be a rabbi. “For some, becoming a rabbi is a lifelong dream – but it wasn’t that way for me,” Leff said. In fact, after his bar mitzvah as a young man, Leff said he didn’t enter a temple for more than two decades except for family celebrations. “To me, Judaism was an old man … [Read more...]
A Musical Life: Gloria Moody Still on a Lifelong Mission to Promote the Arts
By June MathewsEver since she can remember, music has played a pivotal role in Gloria Moody’s life. The Tuscaloosa native and Birmingham resident early on exhibited a natural flair for the piano that set her on a lifelong course of supporting and promoting the arts. As a 4-year-old, she’d sit at the keyboard and play by ear; as a 6-year-old, she started taking … [Read more...]
Teaming Up: JOX Host Hopes He and Co-Hosts Don’t Run out of Pink Clothes
By Emily Williams A few weeks after Jim Dunaway and his fellow JOX Roundtable hosts decided to join the Real Men Wear Pink campaign, the evening news co-anchor for WIAT 42 received news that his long-time friend Ruth Perkins of Texas had been diagnosed with breast cancer. “It means the world to me that I get to be a part of this and raise awareness for breast cancer, … [Read more...]