Letters

Miffed in the Magic City

*To the editor: *

After reading Sharman Egan’s historically correct albeit no longer relevant depiction of Birmingham (Real Deal, June 5), I felt compelled to set the record straight about Alabama’s largest region in the state: the Birmingham region. It’s true Birmingham was discovered because it’s one of only two cities in the U.S. where you can find an abundance of the three main ingredients to make steel are found: limestone, iron ore and coal. The steel industry moved in and the city quickly grew, earning the nickname the “Magic City.” For years, the manufacturing industry ruled the economy, but times changed and many of the steel mills closed.

Today, Birmingham’s economy is very diverse. Our city is now known for its financial and healthcare industry thanks to businesses such as Regions and Compass banks and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Our region is even ranked 2nd in the state for tourism behind Baldwin County.

Egan stated, “Are we becoming another Birmingham or Pittsburgh, a steel town with mostly manufacturing jobs?” That is unfortunately a misconception. Although you can still see evidence of our steel industry as you drive through Birmingham, many have been closed for years. Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, seen from U.S. 280, is the only one that is open to the public for tours.

According to our research director, manufacturing is only 9.25 percent of our economy in Jefferson County compared to 10.28 percent in Mobile County. In fact, Austin, Nashville, Dallas and even Huntsville are ranked higher than Birmingham in manufacturing.

As you can see, we have a lot of “nice cushy air-conditioned” offices that Egan wishes for Mobile. It also shows, don’t judge a book by its cover. If you would like to learn more about our great city, visit our website at www.birminghamchamber.com.

Melanie Davis

Director of Communications

Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce

Reform needed with the right group

*To the editor: *

Anti-consumer groups like the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and Alabama Voters Against Lawsuit Abuse (AVALA), which are funded by big oil, drug, insurance and tobacco companies, are seeing their weak arguments for tipping the scales of justice in favor of rich CEOs and against citizens get even weaker.

The ruling last week of a Washington, D.C. judge in favor of the drycleaners in the now-famous “pants case” is proof positive that the American civil justice system works well as-is. In addition, the plaintiff, D.C. Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson, was ordered by the judge of the case to pay the defendants’ court costs in the outrageous case. Our civil justice system is designed to protect the rights of all parties, defendants included, and the judge’s ruling in this case demonstrates how well the system works to weed-out frivolous lawsuits.

Anti-consumer groups like PRI and AVALA who are the labor behind the CEO-led takeover of the courts don’t like that the judge’s ruling in this case proves the civil justice system works for consumers who are in the right, no matter if they are bringing or defending a lawsuit. Will these same groups put as much energy and money in broadcasting the result as they did when the case was filed?

The overpaid CEOs of the billion-dollar corporations behind PRI, AVALA and other anti-consumer groups hate to see justice served, especially when it works against them. Is there a need for reform? Absolutely, it’s called corp(orate) reform, not tort reform.

Bob Prince

President

Alabama Association for Justice

Tuscaloosa

ESho can learn from Mobile

*To the editor: *

Our many self-proclaimed traffic engineers claim roundabouts “ain’t gonna work,” but real ones, with degrees hanging on the wall, see them as better than the alternative stop light at every intersection(see Airport Blvd). Unfortunately though, they’re not for bad drivers and our numerous NASCAR wannabes could very well make a mess of things unless they’re made to start observing traffic laws.

It’s been suggested that instead of spending millions of dollars on a new gymnasium at Volanta Park, we use the money instead to begin addressing the traffic woes all around town before someone else gets killed.

James Watkins

Fairhope

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