Stillborn: The state closed a Southside abortion clinic today because of allegations that a staffer administered RU-486 to a patient without a doctor present. A Summit Medical Center staffer allegedly told the unidentified patient, who sought treatment Feb. 20, that she was six weeks pregnant after an ultrasound. She received abortion-inducing RU-486 and other medications, but delivered a 6-pound “nearly full-term” stilborn infant in an emergency room six days later. The clinic’s license has been suspended and may be revoked; a hearing is set for June 20. Summit is one of seven clinics in the national chain based in Bridgeport, Conn.
• State closes Birmingham abortion clinic after investigation [Associated Press]

Soul survivor: Birmingham has landed its fourth homegrown singer in the “American Idol” finals. Hoover’s Taylor Hicks and Los Angeles native Katharine McPhee advanced Wednesday night, after Elliott Yamin was sent home in a statistical dead heat among the three. Hicks, 29, follows in the footsteps of Ruben Studdard, Diana DeGarmo and Bo Bice in the reality TV competition. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Hicks and McPhee will each sing three songs live on Fox; the results will be announced live during the two-hour season finale at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Hicks has won viewers’ votes during the season with his soulful renditions of pop and R&B hits, his attempts at dancing onstage and his trademark gray hair. Look for more coverage leading up to the season finale on Wade on Birmingham.

Big difference: More than 40 Jess Lanier High students have completed training to become Big Brothers and Sisters for Bessemer elementary students starting this fall. The program pairs volunteers to serve as mentors and role models to children in the Birmingham area. I know, because I serve on the organization’s Young Advisory Board. If you want to make a difference, contact Big Brothers Big Sisters today or give something to aid this worthy group.
• ‘Bigs’ return for ‘Littles’ to look up to [Birmingham News]

Get downtown: Two cultural events debut tonight in downtown Birmingham. The City Equity Theatre Company presents “American Buffalo” at the new Playhouse at 1818 Third Ave. N. The David Mamet play features three petty criminals planning to steal supposedly priceless coins. It starts at 8, and runs Thursdays through Sundays until June 4. Suggested donation is $15. Also kicking off tonight is Movies by Moonlight Downtown, a monthly free movie in Linn Park. The event starts at 5:30 p.m., with music by the Spots at 6 and the feature "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off" starting at sunset (appoximately 7:43). Food and drink available on site. The series runs through October.
• City Equity Theatre

Also:

• Fraud trial swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth
• Super sewer actually has no remarkable powers
• Undocumented dogs, cats prepare daylong rally for Saturday

• • •

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Radio chatter
overwhelms lousy hits on
outdated format.

• • •

Read more haiku.

The power of three was unleashed tonight on “American Idol”: three songs, three contestants, three phone numbers. Record mogul Clive Davis helped the judges pick the songs, while the singers finished with their own choices.

Birmingham’s Taylor Hicks put on some soulful showstoppers, looking like a lock with Katharine McPhee for the finals next week.

Recap after the jump …

Updated with video, elimination.

(more…)

It’s time to play “Gay, Asian or Terrorist.”

Bishop or pawn: An assistant bishop from Birmingham has been elected bishop of San Francisco. But it’s not the Rt. Rev. Mark Andrus who’s making news so much as his competitors for the job within the Episcopal Church. Of the other six contenders, three were gay. Andrus said he would continue to support gay rights in his new position. Since Donald Trump is having so many ratings woes these days, may we suggest “The Apprentice: Divine Challenge” with the Pink Corporation against the Black Corporation?
• Episcopal Church sidesteps crisis over gay bishop [Religion News Service]

S(e)oul searching: A new Catholic church is open for business in Hoover. But don’t expect to hear your favorite liturgy in English, or even in Latin. It’s all Korean. Said one member, “We are a very small community. It’s very unusual for us to have our own building. People are proud of us.” Several other Korean churches meet in Birmingham, though only one other has its own building. Next up: Korean Jehovah’s Witnesses.
• Prayer in a place of their own [Birmingham News]

Muslim momentum: Also in Hoover, the Birmingham Islamic Society has the OK to turn a church into a mosque/family life center. But before the approval, the council discussion over routine permits and planning turned into a dire warning about Those People. Resident Loyd Brannon said, “We’re allowing an organization with a worldwide terrorist reputation to establish a beachhead in this community.” Don’t send those Guardsmen to the Mexican border — send them to Greystone, on the double.
• Plan to turn church into mosque OK’d [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Downtown hot dog vendors war over frank matters
• HealthSouth to change name to EnronSouth
• It’s not actually supposed to rain today, says Farmer’s Almanac

• • •

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Each digit you dial
brings you one step closer to
Guantanamo Bay.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Taylor Hicks received an Idol’s welcome on Friday.

The Birmingham native spent the day in town visiting with family, giving interviews and receiving gifts from city and state officials. The same day, Katharine McPhee visited her high school in Los Angeles and Elliott Yamin led a parade and took batting practice in Richmond, Va.

Tonight, all three resume competition for the title of “American Idol.”

But before Hicks takes the stage, let’s take another look at his whirlwind hometown visit. Plenty of photos and video after the jump.

(more…)

Shiny monitor
and sleek mouse roam digital
pathways in a flash.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Seedy, seedy Southside: A troubling trend continues, as Birmingham faces more bad news on the crime front. Based on stats from the first quarters of 2005 and 2006, rapes have nearly tripled on Southside, from eight to 22 incidents.
• Southside Sees Increase In Sex Crimes [NBC13]

Drive for Five: Operation New Birmingham wants to re-renew Five Points South with residential/retail/office complexes. Already, seven locations are potential sites for the development. Jeff Tenner, president of the merchants association and owner of Soca Clothing, said, “I would like to see everything filled up, all the street level space occupied and doing well with more people and more activity.” Build all the new spaces you want — if you don’t curb crime, ain’t no one comin’ to play.
• Five Points South renewal targeted [Birmingham News]

Sound check: City Stages has shuffled stages again. This time, the singer-songwriter venue My People.com Stage will be back in a familiar location, Fifth and 20th. But it will be facing the Miller Lite Stage, at Fifth and 18th. This isn’t the first time Stages officials have aimed the loudest stage at one of the quietest. Guess which stage drowns out the other one? It’ll cost you $35 to find out; three-day passes are currently on sale at AmSouth and Books-A-Million through June 4 at the discount rate. Also, the June festival has teamed with churches to bring in more gospel acts.

Update: Festival organizers decided to move the Miller Lite Stage one block over for better crowd management. And, they’re adding video screens to Miller and the Coca-Cola Classic Stage.
• City Stages’ songwriters stage back at first site [Birmingham News]

Yay us!: Our (pal) Miss Brooks isn’t just a Birmingham News staffer, but a blogger, too. You’d know if you read it in City Scene, which apparently couldn’t quite find a dozen things to do this week and padded it out with staff hobbies. Check it out next week, when the nice lady in Circulation holds a yard sale and May’s top display ad salesperson reveals his Schnauzer just had puppies!!
• 12 to do [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Brighton mom still ‘phoning it in’ on dinner prep
• Free-range college grads threaten to overrun fragile downtown ecosystem
• Your MySpace page is barely readable, a tad tawdry

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If you can’t recall
your last one-night stand, is that
a good thing or bad?

• • •

Read more haiku.

Girls’ club snaps photos
of cocktail hour smiles and
sisterhood on prowl.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Art on the Rocks, July 2005

When 3,000 young professionals gather tonight in Birmingham, they’ll be ready to party with Ivan Neville’s new band, drink cocktails and mingle with 20- and 30somethings. They’ll dine on gourmet appetizers and taking part in a scavenger hunt to win a painting. Even “American Idol” finalist Taylor Hicks will be dropping by.

This isn’t a trendy Lakeview nightclub holding its grand opening. This is a museum.

Launched in April 2005, Art on the Rocks is an after-hours monthly party at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Its runaway success has inspired city arts organizations to pursue young professionals for their cachet and their cash. The movement is transforming the arts scene and the way companies view this hot demographic group.

(more…)

The right outfit takes
a closet of somethings and
eye for little things.

• • •

Read more haiku.

The Soul Man is heading home.

Not to worry. Birmingham native Taylor Hicks advanced to the final three this week on “American Idol,” facing a singing showdown with Katharine McPhee and Elliott Yamin for the title to be announced May 24.

But before the competition resumes Tuesday, the finalists are making promotional stops in their respective hometowns Friday. Yamin returns to Richmond, Va., and McPhee, well, she’s stuck in her hometown of Los Angeles.

Updated schedule.

(more…)

Fallen branches lay
broken on soggy yard to
migrate to the curb.

• • •

Read more haiku.

No bowl left behind: The Your-Corporation-Here Birmingham Bowl needs three things to succeed: right business plan (including title sponsor and TV deal), right date and right matchup. When Birmingham last held a bowl game, only 18 other bowl games were in play. Now, it’s 31. Which means more than half of Division I-A teams will be in a bowl. Since when did a post-season trip become jury duty? The good news: There’s never been another time to open a college, start a football program and see the world.
• Bowl survival [Birmingham News]

Stepping down from Samford: Thomas Corts is retiring this month as president of Samford University after 23 years. His achievements aren’t unlike other longterm college leaders: fund-raising, renovation and construction. But his most notable accomplishment: cutting school ties with the Alabama Baptist Convention in 1994. And he’s not too fond of politics in the pulpit: “Our faith is too precious to be put at risk by politicians and some in the church who want to use it to push narrow political agendas. I don’t back away from the idea that your faith can influence your vote, and should. But the church should not be organizing the vote, endorsing this candidate or slate of candidates. That is dangerous for the democracy, and it’s dangerous for our faith.”

Also stepping down is University of Montevallo president Robert McChesney after 14 years. Like Corts, McChesney favors a new state constitution. In an address to graduates, he said, “My generation has failed to produce even a draft (constitution) to be considered. You must do better. You are limited not by your ability, but by your vision.”
• Corts balanced faith, academics [Birmingham News]

What would Jesus serve?: Dr. John Crawford said he lost $85,000 in a restaurant partnership with chef Arman DeLorenz, then forgave him and lost $100,000 in another restaurant partnership with him. Now, he’s back in the biz with a new partner, taking over the failed Original Joe’s and Prairie Fire Grille near Greystone. Crawford says, “I knew there would be a degree of risk, but God wanted me to right a wrong. I did have a responsibility to the employees and a responsibility to the debt.” He also said God felt he should have been DeLorenz’ mentor, and that God later instructed him to get out of the partnership with DeLorenz after a disagreement over accounting. No wonder He doesn’t answer our prayers — He’s too busy running money-losing upscale eateries.
• Physician heals bad businesses [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Prom season ends with five breakups, two births, one missing limo
• State names official moonshine, meth
• County rezoned entirely for condos

• • •

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