November 2024 | Volume 18 | Issue 1
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
RECORD HIGH GOLD PRICES
Cummings JEWELRY DESIGN
205-298-9144 THE 280 CORRIDOR’S COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE 280LIVING.COM | STARNESMEDIA.COM
3166 Heights Village, 35243 Vestavia Hills/Cahaba Heights
SERVING THE 280 CORRIDOR, HOMEWOOD, HOOVER, MOUNTAIN BROOK, TRUSSVILLE AND VESTAVIA HILLS
cummingsjewelrydesign.com
Now is the time to sell!
Reimagining the landscape Hoover’s dream to make ’80s office parks into 21st-century work spaces By TAYLOR BRIGHT
I
magine a U.S. 280 full of green, walkable communities, workers riding bikes to the office and old office parks revitalized into new multi-use communities. The idea that stretches of U.S. 280 could be transformed from acres of asphalt to idyllic spaces for living and working is one the city of Hoover hopes to achieve. Last year, the city announced they would be commissioning a study that would examine the feasibility of what the city called a “tech corridor” — looking at attracting tech-based jobs to the city. That study was completed this summer, with a set of recommendations the city hopes to implement. The study focused on Meadow Brook, but Jackson Pruett, economic development coordinator for Hoover, said the city looked at Alpharetta, Georgia, Brentwood, Tennessee, and Sandy Springs, Georgia, for inspiration.
See TECH CORRIDOR | page A20
Stephen Springfield plays with his dog, Riley, while eating lunch in the back of his car in Meadow Brook Corporate Park off of U.S. 280. Springfield commutes from Homewood, so he relies on the presence of green spaces to spend time with Riley on his break. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
North Shelby Library changes policies in line with state code; changes affect policy at heart of 2023 controversy
Rep. Susan DuBose, third from left, presents the North Shelby Library Board with a $15,000 check at its September meeting. At the same meeting, the board adopted new policies in an effort to comply with state regulations. Photo by Taylor Bright.
By TAYLOR BRIGHT The new board of the North Shelby Library made significant policy changes at its September board meeting to comply with new state guidelines, including changing a policy that led to local legislators taking control of the library board earlier this year. In June 2023, a display of
INSIDE
Sponsors......................... A4 City................................... A6
children’s books in the children’s section of the North Shelby Library celebrating Pride month divided the library community. The board at the time voted down a policy change that would allow the board to instruct the head librarian on what could or could not be displayed. The new policies change that. “The Board of Trustees holds
Schoolhouse..................A10 Business.........................A14
Real Estate....................A18 Events.............................. B4
the final approval for the display of library materials and/or resources, but the Director of Library Services and librarians may choose display topics for the area of the collection they are responsible for,” the new policy states.
See LIBRARY | page A22 Sports.............................B10 Community.................... B13 facebook.com/280living
Clearing the Way
Mail-order Maven
Legislators seek to remove restrictions for grocery tax reductions.
Resident Madison Murphy curates items made in the Birmingham area to create unique gift boxes.
See page A8
See page B1