By William C. Singleton III Tobacco and electronic cigarette smokers are finding fewer public places to light up. Mountain Brook became the latest Over the Mountain city to adopt stricter laws to prohibit smoking in enclosed public and work places and certain outdoor public places. Homewood, Hoover and Vestavia Hills also have anti-smoking ordinances, though they differ on … [Read more...]
Blueprints For Success: Vestavia Student Starts TV Show-inspired business
By Lee Davis People can find the inspiration to start a successful business in the most unusual ways. For Alex Ferguson, a senior at Vestavia Hills High School, the inspiration came from his then-10-year-old brother, Graham. Graham, a fan of American Ninja Warrior, a popular reality television show, wanted a ninja-style obstacle course in the family backyard for his … [Read more...]
Zaragoza Calls for Unity in His Final State of the City
By Emily Williams As Vestavia Hills Mayor Butch Zaragoza gave his final State of the City address Oct. 11, he recounted his administration’s triumphs as well as its shortcomings. The majority of his presentation, given at the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon, focused on the economic development initiatives that took place during his tenure, with the most notable … [Read more...]
M-Powering and Educating: Local Ministry Boosting Awareness Through Tasty Fundraiser
By Emily Williams At the beginning of the year, Dalton Smith of Vestavia Hills took on the executive director position at M-Power Ministries, a non-profit organization that he knew very little about before he pursued the position. But soon he was a true convert to the mission of the organization, which provides GED and career readiness courses in addition to distributing … [Read more...]
Crossing Lines: The Old Berry School Changes Hands, Now Belongs to Vestavia
By William C. Singleton III The former Berry School property is officially a part of Vestavia Hills now. In recent weeks, the city of Vestavia has annexed the 38.5-acre property off Columbiana Road, and the city school board has closed on the sale of the property for $11 million from the Hoover school system. The property houses a school building, which has been used as a … [Read more...]