To his credit, Jacksonville Mayor Johnny Smith gave a fine presentation at the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Cities gathering on Thursday. And he never said the word "tornado."
It’s not because of superior morality or political stupidity that Oxford refuses Sunday alcohol sales. Neither is true. Oxford is merely being Oxford — a city whose voters have rarely supported alcohol sales.
A confession: Tim Brunson’s widely circulated Facebook posts about Anniston often make me cringe. Not because they’re true, or because they’re wrong, or because I disagree with his takes, but because I don’t know if they’re true and they’re full of potentially damning information. They sit o…
It isn’t Oxford’s fault, but the Oxford Performing Arts Center immediately became Calhoun County’s leading concert venue when it opened in 2013, giving the Knox Concert Series and its longtime home at Anniston High School’s auditorium deathly competition, intended or not.
Michael Houck, a Revolutionary War pensioner who lived in White Plains, is a fascinating chapter of Alabama’s meandering past. And his story is particularly important since Alabama this year is celebrating its 200th birthday — a birthday that is complicated here in the northeastern hills.
“You can be 18 and own a handgun, but you can’t buy cigarettes until you’re 19, and you can’t drink until you’re 21. Which is more dangerous? I just want them to put the guns down.”
In a sense, interim City Manager Steven Folks is a Davis clone: retired military — Army drill sergeant — professional and calm, smart and dedicated, a humble civil servant instead of a seeker of headlines and collector of agendas.
As states go, Alabama’s soul is as convoluted as any other. It bathes in complexities. Outsiders never really get its idiosyncrasies, our idiosyncrasies. We love and we despise. We value life and execute inmates. We are, by and large, proud Bible Belters who nonetheless supported the candida…
Despite Roy Moore's recent entrance into the GOP’s crowded Senate field, latest polling data show him a distant third behind Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn football coach.
Tupelo, Miss., is a lot like Anniston: small, Southern, landlocked and imperfect. But when it comes to welcoming tourists downtown, the home of the King sets itself apart.
In the heart of Indianapolis stands a monument depicting a woman trampling the Confederate battle flag. Outrage is absent. It’s a shocking sight for an Alabamian and lifelong Southerner, even for those who consider that awful time in our past nothing short of treason.
Long term, the worst thing that could happen to Anniston isn’t Oxford’s ascension or the Army’s departure or the city’s confounding addiction to missed opportunities.
Alcohol started the argument, about a license for a Noble Street bar. Nineteen or so emails later, Anniston lost another city manager and the raw political dysfunction caused by two city councilmen bled out onto Gurnee Avenue. Again.
DeeAnne Lee has her uncle J.C. Blanton’s stuff — his medals, his Bible, the Western Union telegrams announcing his death, his dog tag, even a handwritten letter he mailed to his mom a few months before he died at Normandy.
Truth is, it’s been a rough few weeks for Carbon Hill, and it’s Chambers’ fault. Totally. All because he recently wrote on Facebook that gays, lesbians, transgenders, supporters of abortion rights and socialists are societal curses worthy of extreme violence.
As harsh as it sounds, D. Ray Hill, the new superintendent of Anniston City Schools, wasn’t the Board of Education’s first choice. Board members wanted Matthew Alexander, approving him by a 4-1 vote. He wanted the job, so we thought. But then he declined to sign his contract.
Two weeks ago, Gov. Kay Ivey made an emphatic announcement about Alabama’s prisons crisis: “This problem has been kicked down the road for the last time,” she said.
Oh, boy. This is just what Alabama needs -- a Twitter showdown between Roy Moore, President Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Heaven help us.
For several years, Anniston’s storyline has revolved around a few central talking points. One involves public education. Another references violent crime in certain neighborhoods. A third harps on the slow ebb of the city’s population losses. A fourth, however, is gloriously optimistic: the …
Memorial Day is solemn and festive, an odd combination of remembering the nation’s military deaths and celebrating the arrival of another interminable summer. Even the holiday’s roots are complicated by their connection to the Civil War. Sectional feelings die hard.
Let’s tell a fictitious tale about the Alabama Legislature.
Ten things we must remember about this year’s high school graduates:
With an exquisite deed and enormous wealth, the richest black man in America has given our nation something invaluable: an unexpected but much-needed lesson.
The Anniston Star has won five honors, all first-place, for work published in 2018 in the Alabama Press Association Media Awards.
Anniston City Councilman Ben Little is right.
