Remembering “Street James”
A public memorial for James Griffin will be held tonight at Urban Standard in downtown Birmingham. Griffin was homeless and beloved by many people throughout the city. He was found dead under Caraway Boulevard on August 17.
Known as “Street James”, the 59 year old Griffin struck a chord with those who came to know him. AL.com reports, local business owners said he was a fixture downtown and that he was homeless by choice, not by circumstances.
“You’re just in there and you sleeping with 100 guys in one room cramped up-coughing, sneezing, farting all of that –all through the night—that ain’t me. I’d rather live in a box,” says Griffin in a 2011 documentary.
“He could be loud and bawdy, he could be soft spoken uh it was just an interesting character and he always had an angle,” says Steve Gilmore, the owner of What’s on Second. He says there was something that endeared Griffin to just about everybody that he ran into. “He could come at the wrong time and you just dread seeing him come in the door but by and large I thought of him as something of a friend-something of a neighbor in this downtown area.”
Griffin was shot in the arm and apparently died from his injury. No arrests have been made.
Crew of fatal US military crash included Alabama father recently deployed
The six U.S. service members who died in the crash of a U.S. military refueling aircraft included an Alabama father who had just been promoted and deployed. The U.S. government released the identities of the deceased service members Saturday.
Alabama poised to drastically overhaul utility regulation. Will it lower electric bills?
The Alabama Senate unanimously voted to expand the public service commission, and create a Secretary of Energy to address rising electricity prices. A bill in the House would go even further, requiring rate case hearings and limiting utility profits.
Musher from Alabama is going for back-to-back Iditarod wins
Riches and paid appearances haven’t followed Jessie Holmes since he won the world’s most famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, last year. He doesn't mind.
Bill would move Alabama to closed primaries
Right now, any Alabama voter can participate in a primary election. Lawmakers in Montgomery took up a bill this week that would change that system.
Auburn football player uses NIL funds to open a community hub in Birmingham
Jourdin Crawford, a freshman defensive lineman at Auburn, used earnings from a Name, Image, and Likeness deal to give back to his hometown.
Ivey commutes death sentence of inmate whose accomplice fired fatal shot
Charles “Sonny” Burton was sentenced to death for the killing of Doug Battle during a 1991 robbery. However, another man shot Battle when Burton had left the building.
