By Kaitlin Candelaria And Emily WilliamsMohamad Karassi is a typical teenager. A junior at Hoover High School, he enjoys his newly acquired driver’s license and working at his part-time job. But until recently, his life was anything but typical for a suburban teen.Karassi immigrated from Syria in 2013. His parents and sisters moved to the United States first, leaving … [Read more...]
Kulture Change: KultureCity Works to Create a World Accepting of Autism
By Kaitlin Candelaria One out of every 68 children in the United States will be diagnosed with autism. That’s 3.5 million people living in the United States who fall somewhere on the autism spectrum, a number that has more than doubled since 2000.These are the statistics behind the mission of KultureCity, an international nonprofit based in Vestavia Hills. KultureCity … [Read more...]
Retail Mix: OTM Shopping Centers Seek Out Local, Unique Tenants
By Kaitlin CandelariaShopping in the Over the Mountain area is changing.“I really think the trend within the shopping center business is to engage more local retailers and restaurants and bring those businesses to places like The Summit,” Sam Heide, vice president of Bayer Properties, said. “It’s like putting together a puzzle. We’re always looking to bring in … [Read more...]
Dad Takeover: Dads and Kids Plan Rally to Improve Hoover School Campuses
By Kaitlin CandelariaOn Aug. 1, Hoover schools will be overrun with daddies of all kinds.The Hoover City Dad Brigade, the brainchild of Board of Education President Derrick Murphy, encourages fathers and other male role models to come out with their children to help improve the campuses of Hoover’s city schools.Murphy, himself a father of three, worked with other … [Read more...]
Hoover Picks Familiar Faces for Principal Positions
Two Hoover City Schools will have new principals at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, but neither of them are strangers to the Hoover community.Larry Giangrosso, who recently accepted the principal position at Spain Park High School, is a Birmingham-native who began his career as an intern for Hoover legend Bob Finley before being hired on at Berry High School to … [Read more...]