Wade on July 2007

Then and now

The bucks start here: Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Fred Thompson (well, almost candidate in his case) stopped in town last month to meet the voters and raise the dollars. Both took part in private big ticket fund-raisers, and both are seeing their popularity rise in Alabama. Thompson, a Sheffield native, is the current front-runner among Republican candidates, while Obama jumped 8 percentage points to close the gap with fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to a recent poll.

Who should receive your vote on Feb. 5? Sir Charles Barkley weighs in … after the jump.

Look out: We’re pleased to offer a new feature, View Finder, with images from around the city and state. After all, too much reading makes you cross-eyed, right. Whether it’s the last hurrah for the former News headquarters, or the folks from all walks of life, you’ll see it on these pages.

And be sure to send in your photos to be included on the site.

Three more and we have a baseball team: A few have announced, a few others have slipped into the debates. Make no mistake: Six people are vying for the job of mayor of Birmingham. One is the incumbent, Bernard Kincaid. Three serve on the city council: Valerie Abbott, William Bell and Carole Smitherman. One serves on the county commission and used to be mayor of Fairfield: Larry Langford. And one’s the “outsider,” Patrick Cooper. All six trotted out their visions and accomplishments at a candidate forum last week. More events are on the way, including ones from Catalyst and the Crestwood neighborhood associations.

Only two months to Election Day, Oct. 9.