Hey there, Birmingham! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☕️️
In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Free Bra Fittings to Support Breast Cancer Awareness and 9 more events.
Today's riddle: Why are elevator jokes so good ? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. 'That's nothing like my brother': Family honors man killed by Birmingham police, demands answers (wvtm13.com) — Family and friends in Birmingham are gathering this afternoon for a balloon release at the Ensley spot where Otis Phillips was fatally shot by a Birmingham police officer on August 24. Relatives say the department's account of him waving a gun doesn't match the man they knew, and they're still waiting for investigative updates as they plan his funeral for next Saturday.
2. Coast Guard graduates first class at the former Birmingham-Southern College campus (wbhm.org) — Birmingham residents are seeing the former Birmingham-Southern College campus come back to life as a new U.S. Coast Guard leadership training center, which just graduated its first class of 29 service members. Officials say they're reopening more classrooms, housing, and dining spaces, bringing new staff, students, and economic activity to the westside while preserving campus traditions like ringing the graduation bell.
3. Birmingham, Alabama: Ricky Bromberg, Longtime Bromberg & Co. President, Dies at 43-Year Career (theunionstar.com) — Birmingham is mourning Frederick "Ricky" Bromberg, who led Bromberg & Co. for more than 43 years and helped keep the family jewelry business rooted in the city. Community members are reflecting on his influence in local retail and civic life, though details on funeral or memorial arrangements have not yet been shared publicly.
4. Trump directs VA to launch clinical trial for veterans treated with psychedelic drugs (njtoday.news) — Birmingham-area veterans with treatment-resistant depression may soon qualify for a VA clinical trial testing carefully supervised doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms." The multi-site study, ordered under the Trump administration, will compare dosages, track side effects, and help determine whether this experimental therapy is safe and effective enough for broader use in treating serious mental health conditions.
5. Gov. Kay Ivey sets execution date for 1991 capital murder case (theplainsman.com) — An Alabama death row inmate linked to a 1991 double murder has been given a 30-hour execution window, with his arrest having taken place in Birmingham. Gov. Kay Ivey set the lethal injection for early November after courts upheld his conviction and sentence, while anti–death penalty advocates are urging the state to halt the execution.
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Ok Birmingham! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: Because they work on so many levels ! (Thank you Gary M. for sending it in!)
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