Longtime Birmingham City Hall insider Bill Ricker dies at 77

Published: Sunday, January 02, 2011, 5:20 PM ??? Updated: Sunday, January 02, 2011, 5:32 PM

Bill Ricker, a presence in Birmigham civic life and at Birmingham City Hall since the 1960s, died Sunday after an extended illness. He was 77.?

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Ricker was working as a photographer for The Birmingham News when he left to join the administration of Mayor George Seibels in 1969, serving as Seibels' executive secretary. ?

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Ricker, a Carbondale, Pa. native, went on to serve as executive director of Operation New Birmingham and planning director for the United Way, and later returned to city hall to serve as an assistant to Councilmen Jimmy Blake and Joel Montgomery.?

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Visitation will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood, with the funeral?following at 2 p.m.

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West Birmingham police officers to get holiday feast

Published: Thursday, December 23, 2010, 11:45 PM

Dora Sims, secretary of the Five Points West community in Birmingham, at left, and Patricia Henderson, president of the community, prepare sweet potato pies for police officers in Birmingham's West Precinct. The pies will be part of a Christmas Eve dinner being prepared and served by numerous neighborhoods in western Birmingham. (The Birmingham News / Linda Stelter)

Their families might be cooking at home this Christmas Eve, but for west Birmingham police officers who have to work, the feast will be in the roll call room at the West Precinct.

A decades-old tradition in western Birmingham kicks off at 1:30 this afternoon, when the people they protect set out a homemade holiday meal.

Residents of the Belview Heights, Bush Hills, Central Park, Ensley, Ensley Highlands, Fairview, Five Points West, Green Acres and Tuxedo communities are pitching in, said Patricia Henderson, president of the Five Points West community. The Five Points West Merchants Association and Schaeffer Eye Center also participate.

"Everybody makes a dish. It's a way to say 'thank you' to the police officers," Henderson said.

Sgt. Dexter Cunningham, supervisor of the precinct's day shift, said all the officers are looking forward to it. "We really appreciate the community we serve thinking of us," Cunningham said. "They care enough about us to think about us."

Day shift is the first of three shifts the residents are feeding. That's about 75 officers total, so plenty of food will be kept aside for the afternoon and night shifts to enjoy a meal, dinner organizers said.

Traditional holiday fare is on the menu, such as turkey, ham, dressing, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese and congealed salad. Some of the cooks have been working since mid-week on their dishes.

On Wednesday afternoon, the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg swirled in the kitchen at dinner coordinator Dora Sims' Bush Hills home as she prepared five sweet potato pies.

What's one of the secrets to a good pie?

Boil the potatoes in their skins, then plunge them into cold water to peel, she said. It's a trick she learned from her aunt, Lucille Price of Titusville, who was a cook at the Eye Foundation Hospital and gave her the recipe.

"She said it helps keep the nutrients in," Sims said.

Today's West Precinct dinner also marks another chapter in the ongoing "turkey battle" between former Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid and Councilman Steven Hoyt, who compete to see who can cook the best bird. It has been a good-natured rivalry for several years.

Mayor William Bell hasn't entered that fray, but dinner organizers had hoped that when he stops by the precinct today, he would bring another poultry dish -- chicken and dressing, Henderson said. Bell scored a hit when he brought it last year but this year plans to bring a cake baked by his wife.

The Christmas Eve meal at the precinct grew out of the Belview Heights neighborhood's Thanksgiving tradition of preparing and serving a turkey dinner to the community's firefighters. That grew into a community-wide event, and expanded to include a meal for the West Precinct at Christmas.

"The police officers really enjoy this," Sims said. "We look at it as our gift to them."
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Birmingham area forecast calls for cold, clear night, mostly sunny Christmas Eve

Published: Thursday, December 23, 2010, 9:38 PM ??? Updated: Thursday, December 23, 2010, 9:40 PM

Tonight's forecast for the Birmingham area calls for mostly clear skies, with an overnight low of about 29.

Friday will be mostly sunny, with a high of about 53.

There's a 30 percent chance of rain after midnight Friday, with the low expected to be about 34.

Christmas Day, there's a chance of rain and snow, with the high expected to be about 43.

?Keep up with the weather at al.com's Weather Center.

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Group that collects people's stories coming to Birmingham in January

Published: Sunday, December 19, 2010, 8:22 PM ??? Updated: Sunday, December 19, 2010, 8:44 PM

A group that collects stories from people of all walks of life to preserve for future generations will be visiting Birmingham in January to capture true tales from local residents.

StoryCorps will have one of its MobileBooths -- a recording studio inside an Airstream trailer -- parked outside the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute from Jan. 6-29 to record the stories of more than 120 people from the Birmingham area. Reservations are required and can be made on two days -- beginning at 10 a.m. on Dec. 23 and again on Jan. 7 -- by calling 1-800-850-4406 or going to the group's website at www.storycorps.org.

Dave Isay, a documentary producer and MacArthur "Genius" grant recipient, founded StoryCorps in 2003. The goal of the group is to give Americans of differing backgrounds and beliefs a way to record their stories. Participants are given a CD of the 40-minute interview and, with the participants permission, a copy is also put into the archives of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

"StoryCorps tells the true American story -- that we are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness and heroism," Isay says in a prepared statement. "Each interview reminds people that their lives matter and will not be forgotten."

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Group gives kids healthful snack bags in Birmingham area schools

Published: Thursday, December 16, 2010, 5:30 AM

For many Glen Iris Elementary students, the bags of snacks handed out Wednesday by volunteers from Canterbury United Methodist Church are just a little holiday treat.

But for some, the goodie bags will fill a desperate need for healthy food during the two weeks that school is closed, a stretch when they won't get two square meals provided free or cheaply at school. That gap inspired a group of volunteers from the Mountain Brook church to fill and hand out more than 1,300 of the small brown paper tote bags.

"It really had not dawned on us that these kids were facing this," said Susan Bellows, a church member from Vestavia Hills who organized the snack giveaway. "I guess we were thinking that somebody took up the slack somewhere, but that's not so, so if we can help a little bit, that's great."

The project started early this summer after Bellows read an article about kids who receive free and reduced lunches in the public schools going hungry during summer break. She and three friends from Bible study started packing up about 20 bags a week that were doled out to individual kids through Canterbury and East Lake United Methodist.

At Thanksgiving, the group assembled 200 bags to get kids through the four-day weekend. For Christmas, they got more ambitious and aimed for 1,000 bags; they exceeded their goal and hit 1,350.

The bags will help alleviate pressure on some of Birmingham's poor families, who are already struggling with the cost of heating bills and the scarcity of hourly work during the holidays, said George Thompson, faith and community coordinator for Greater Birmingham Ministries.

"This time of year as children are out of schools, the additional burden of feeding families at home during the holidays is additional stress to already tight budgets," Thompson said.

Stuck in that bind, many low-income parents turn to the cheapest, most convenient food possible, which is often unhealthy, he said.

So the bags are filled with nourishing options such as peanut butter crackers, applesauce, Goldfish, single-sized boxes of cereal, raisins and granola bars. (Bellows said they'd like to include fresh fruit but can't because the bags are prepared ahead of time.) Each bag contains two of everything so kids can share with siblings or stretch out their stash over the break. There are a few treats, too, including pudding, fruit snacks, cookies and candy canes.

"We try throughout the year to talk to the kids about healthy nutrition and what they eat," said Glen Iris Principal Michael Wilson. "This gives them an opportunity to actually see and have the healthy snacks in their hands for the two weeks that they're off."

About 200 of the bags went to Princeton Elementary earlier in the week, and on Wednesday the church delivered about 900 to Glen Iris; the remainder will be distributed to smaller after-school and church programs.

For more than 30 minutes, volunteers hauled in boxes and carts of the bags, which stretched across the stage of the school's gymnasium. Then, one class at a time, the students filed in to pick them up. The youngest children got their bags on Wednesday and older classes were expected to receive them today, the day before winter break begins.

"It's heavy!" more than one kindergartner squealed as the students peeked into the bags and gave hugs to the volunteers who delivered them. "Mmmmm, thank you!"

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Freezing temperatures in Birmingham put people, pipes in peril

Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 6:00 AM

Eric Sudduth stood Monday afternoon in below freezing temperatures at Linn Park as one of the coldest nights in Birmingham so far this fall loomed.

? To ward off the cold he wore two pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, tennis shoes, three T-shirts, three jackets, two toboggans, two pairs of gloves and a red scarf around his neck.

? Sudduth was among more than a half dozen homeless people waiting at the park to get inside nearby Boutwell Auditorium, which the city has opened nightly as an emergency shelter.

? During the day to avoid the cold, a number of homeless people such as Sudduth have visited the downtown library, where they read books or surf on public computers, and go to area shelters or churches to eat meals. "Anything to keep warm," Sudduth said.

? The temperature early this morning was expected to hit 16 degrees, said Mary Keiser, meteorologist with National Weather Service in Calera. That would tie the coldest temperature so far this fall, which was Dec. 9, she said. The record low for Dec. 14 is 14 degrees, which was set in 1917, she said.

?The Birmingham Water Works Board on Monday also issued a winter weather advisory that asks customers to protect the outdoor and indoor plumbing from costly damage.

? Temperatures will remain cold into Wednesday, with a period of possible freezing rain that morning, Keiser said. But the high on Thursday is expected to be near 60, she said.

? With temperatures at or near record lows in recent nights, homeless shelters have been at capacity in the Birmingham area, a few homeless advocates said.

? Don Lupo, director of the Mayor's Office of Citizens Assistance, said nearly 150 people slept at the warming station at Boutwell on Sunday night.

? Steve Freeman, executive director of The Firehouse Shelter on Third Avenue North in downtown Birmingham, said the Boutwell warming station has helped ease overcrowding at that shelter. He said they had about 70 to 75 on Sunday night.

? Nicole Arlain, case manager for the Firehouse Shelter's street outreach program, handed out blankets and plastic bags filled with toiletry items to homeless people gathered at Linn Park on Monday. She said the main goal was to give the items to people who were not going to a shelter.

? Arlain, however, didn't have many blankets, gloves or other pieces of warm clothing to hand out.

? Donations of blankets, caps, gloves and other clothing are at a low point for the shelter at Third Avenue and 15th Street North, Freeman said. "We're down to our last few items," he said.

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Birmingham business owner says 'no Muslims' sign was a joke

Published: Monday, December 13, 2010, 10:27 PM ??? Updated: Monday, December 13, 2010, 10:29 PM

It was all a joke, says the Roebuck business owner whose outdoor sign last week sported the phrase "BBQ Pork Restaurant Is Safest No Muslims Inside," igniting an uproar that went global.

"I still can't get over it. It still blows my mind," Chuck Biddinger, owner of Electronic Repair Co., 8518 First Ave. North, said of the resulting furor, and that anyone would find the sign offensive.

A television station last week did a story on the sign and posted it online. Once that happened, "it went viral," and was picked up by several newspapers around the world and on websites such as wonkette.com, Biddinger said.

The phrase was one of hundreds Biddinger has put on his company marquee since 2005, changing it every week to help stir up business, he said. He gets most of the phrases from joke-oriented websites, but this one came from an e-mail he received -- he said he doesn't remember who sent it.

"It's just a freaking joke," he said, noting that the Muslim reference was on one side of the sign. "I don't want to offend people, but they need to lighten up."

The president of the Birmingham Islamic Society said Muslims don't think it is funny.

"This is just a part of the Islamophobia that's going around the country," Ashfaq Taufique said. "It's very offensive . . . Good people in this country wouldn't say it's a joke."

Biddinger said he's gotten just a couple of letters and e-mails criticizing him and that the controversy hasn't hurt his business. "The few calls I've had have been positive," he said.

Taufique said incidents like this strengthen the resolve to continue to reach out to non-Muslims to show "we are part of your community. We are your doctors, your lawyers, your business owners."

Visitors, including Biddinger, are welcome to the Islamic center in Hoover, the mosque in Homewood and worship center in Fairfield to learn more about Muslims and their faith, Taufique said.

"We want to reach out to him and others, to use the opportunity to tell what Islam is all about," Taufique said.

"I'd be glad to talk to them," Biddinger said.

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Birmingham animal activists want SRI investigated

Published: Friday, December 10, 2010, 11:22 PM ??? Updated: Friday, December 10, 2010, 11:23 PM

A group dedicated to ending abuse of animals in research laboratories has filed federal complaints charging that several animal deaths at Southern Research Institute in 2009 potentially involved negligence, unqualified personnel, improper handling of animals and inadequate veterinary care.

In complaints to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and to the federal Office of the Inspector General, Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now, asked the USDA to investigate several deaths of animals listed in Southern Research's annual USDA animal use report, dated Nov. 25, 2009.

Budkie focused on a macaque found dead at Southern Research after its head was caught in the cage, a squirrel monkey found dead after a blood collection, a macaque found dead the morning after receiving a treatment of a "test article" -- the term for things such as a potential drug that is under development -- and two cotton rats found dead without any connection to a test article or any procedure.

"I think those indicate negligence on the part of SRI," Budkie said Friday evening.

Southern Research's Public Relations Manager Rhonda Jung issued a response to the SAEN complaints.

"Southern Research Institute has long conducted important drug research which has contributed to many new medical advances, especially in the areas of cancer and infectious diseases," the written response stated. "The medical research carried out by us and other companies is highly regulated. We follow stringent guidelines and are subject to routine inspections of practices and facilities."

Jung noted that the 2009 animal use report had been submitted as required, and "it was reviewed and discussed, but no further actions were requested."

Her statement concluded, "Meeting or exceeding federal and international standards for best practices in animal care will continue to be a priority for Southern Research."

According to the animal use report, Southern Research in fiscal 2009 used 2,072 laboratory animals that are regulated under the federal Animal Welfare Act. Regulated species used at Southern Research that year were dogs, hamsters, rabbits, non-human primates, ferrets and cotton rats.

Budkie was a co-founder of the SAEN in 1996. The Milford, Ohio, nonprofit keeps tabs on the approximately 1,200 animal research laboratories in the United States by requesting public records through the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records laws.

Budkie said SAEN would like to see an end to animal research, but said he recognized that federal regulations require testing of pharmaceuticals with animals.

Budkie said about 1.1 million regulated animals are used in research labs each year.

That's a small portion of the total number of animals used each year, he said, because four groups are excluded from the act: rats, mice, birds and amphibians. Animals from those groups, especially rats and mice, probably make up about 90 percent of all animals used in research, he said.

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Forecast: Overnight low in the Birmingham area will drop to 22

Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 8:03 PM

It will be another chilly night in the Birmingham area, as the overnight low is expected to drop to 22, according to the National Weather Service.

Thursday will be sunny with a high near 47 and a low around 28.

There will be more sunny skies, and slightly higher temperatures, on Friday. The high will be near 52 with a low Friday night around 41.

Saturday's forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of precipitation that afternoon and a 70 percent chance that night.

Skies will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 61 and a low around 37.

For more Birmingham area weather information, check the Weather Center on al.com.

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Metro Birmingham forecast: More cold before a rainy weekend

Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 6:15 AM ??? Updated: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 6:19 AM

It was 27 degrees at 6 a.m. in Birmingham and central Alabama has a gray, cold day ahead of it, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecast high should be near 40 degrees under cloudy skies. The low tonight should drop to about 18 degrees, followed by sunshine with a high near 47 degrees Thursday and 55 degrees on Friday.

The warming sets up the region for possible rain from late Friday night through Sunday, although the return of cold temperatures on Sunday means some snow will be possible. By Monday, the region could be experiencing its coldest temperatures yet this winter with a daytime high near 32 degrees.

For Birmingham area weather information, check the Weather Center on al.com.

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Forecast: Ideal weather expected in Atlanta and the Birmingham area for SEC Championship Game

Published: Friday, December 03, 2010, 7:12 PM ??? Updated: Friday, December 03, 2010, 7:24 PM

The weather should cooperate Saturday afternoon?for fans traveling to the Georgia Dome as Auburn and South Carloina compete for the SEC championship.

Saturday's National Weather Service forecast for the Birmingham area and Atlanta calls for cloudy skies -- with only a 20 percent chance of rain -- and an afternoon high in the low 60s.

Temperatures in both cities are expected to drop into the low 30s Saturday night.

The Birmingham area will be mostly sunny Sunday, with a high near 47 and an overnight low around 25.

Follow developments in the al.com Weather Center.

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Forecast: More cold nights ahead for the Birmingham area

Published: Thursday, December 02, 2010, 7:29 PM ??? Updated: Thursday, December 02, 2010, 7:36 PM

There will be more cold nights ahead for the Birmingham area, according to the National Weather Service.

Tonight's low will be around 34.

Friday will be sunny with a high near 61 and a low around 42.

Skies will be partly sunny Saturday with a high near 64. That night will be mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 32.

Sunday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 47 and a low around 26.

Follow developments in the al.com Weather Center.

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Birmingham police beating video: Judge denies request by officer to have separate trial

Published: Thursday, December 02, 2010, 4:24 PM ??? Updated: Thursday, December 02, 2010, 4:44 PM

A federal judge today denied a request by one of the two former Birmingham police officers charged in the 2008 beating of an already-unconscious suspect to have a separate trial from the other man accused.

[See the video below.]

The trial for David Wayne Doran and Barrett G. Dewitt is set to begin Jan. 3.

In a seven-page ruling issued this afternoon, Chief U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn denied a motion by Dewitt to sever his trial from that of Doran.

Dewitt's attorney filed a motion Nov. 3 asking that the trial be held separately from Doran's trial.

Dewitt would be prejudiced in the event evidence against his co-defendant
is submitted to the jury, according to the motion. "Mr. Dewitt expects the evidence to be in the form of the co-defendants action," according to Dewitt's motion.

"Mr. Dewitt believes there are photographs of the suspect, A.W. (Anthony Shannon Warren), which may be admitted against the co-defendant. Mr. Dewitt aver(s) said photographs should not be admitted in his case."

In her ruling Thursday, however, Blackburn states that Dewitt failed to satisfy his burden of demonstrating "specific and compelling prejudice to the conduct of his defense" that would result from a joint trial. Dewitt also failed to show "a risk of compelling prejudice" that the court could not address with measures less drastic than separating the trials, including cautionary instructions to the jury, she wrote.

Doran and Dewitt were two of five officers fired from Birmingham's police force a year and a half ago. The two were charged in one-count indictments with using unreasonable force in the arrest of Warren. The indictments claim Dewitt and Doran aided and abetted one another in striking the man they were arresting with their fists, feet and a baton.

Both?men have pleaded not guilty to the charge.

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Forecast: As rain departs, cold arriving in Birmingham area

Published: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 7:21 PM ??? Updated: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 8:05 PM

After a heavy rain soaked the Birmingham area, temperatures are expected to drop, according to the National Weather Service.

There is a 20 percent chance of more rain until 9 p.m. The low tonight will be around 29.

Wednesday will be sunny with a high near 49 and an overnight low around 29.

More sunny skies are expected Thursday. The high will be near 57 with an overnight low around 36.

Follow developments in the al.com Weather Center.

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Birmingham City Council committee endorses two for Water Works Board seat

Published: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 6:57 PM ??? Updated: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 7:49 PM

A Birmingham City Council committee tonight endorsed two people for one vacant slot on the Birmingham Water Works Board.

The Utilities?Committee named Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery, a current member of the board, and Ann Florie, executive director of Leadership Birmingham as their choices. The full council is expected to vote Tuesday.

While other council members were present, the only members of the committee to vote were Maxine Parker and Steven Hoyt.

Committee chairwoman Carole Smitherman has abstained from the endorsement process or the upcoming council vote because her husband, state Sen. Rodger Smitherman, is a lawyer who works with Charlie Waldrep, whose firm represents the utility.

Eleven candidates are seeking a six-year term on the board currently held by Lowery, whose term expired but continues to serve until a new appointment is made.

Parker and Hoyt could not agree on a single name for a recommendation, with Hoyt favoring Florie and Parker saying she favored either Lowery or Mountain Brook Mayor Terry Oden.

The council is not bound to accept the committee's recommendation.

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Birmingham council panel to re-interview 5 candidates seeking seat on Water Works Board

Published: Monday, November 29, 2010, 5:45 PM ??? Updated: Monday, November 29, 2010, 6:05 PM

A Birmingham City Council committee on Tuesday is expected to recommend a candidate to sit on the Birmingham Water Works Board.

The Utilities Committee this afternoon narrowed down the list of 11 candidates for the Water Works Board to five?and will hold a second round of interviews Tuesday before voting on a recommendation.

Candidates are seeking a six-year term on the board currently held by Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery whose term is expired. The council's Utilities Committee agreed to re-interview Lowery, Mountain Brook Mayor Terry Oden; Ann Florie, executive director of Leadership Birmingham; VeLinda A.J. Weatherly, a community corrections coordinator for the Alabama Department of Corrections and lawyer Desiree Celeste Alexander.

Water Board members are paid $285 per meeting and decide on major contracts with engineers, lawyers and consultants for the utility. There are five member on the authority.

Tuesday's meeting is at 4 p.m. The committee will forward a recommendation to the full council which could vote as early as next week. However, the council could set aside that recommendation and also nominate candidates directly from the dais, as has been done in the past.

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Birmingham firefighters battle blaze at former Adams Inn hotel

Published: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 10:38 PM ??? Updated: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 11:01 PM

Birmingham firefighters are on the scene tonight of a fire at the old Adams Inn hotel at 3rd Avenue North and 10th Street off Interstate 65.

Flames and heavy smoke were reported at 10:15 p.m. at the former hotel, which has been abandoned and is no longer in business.

Flames were visible from?a couple of first-floor rooms, which firefighters attacked with water upon arriving.

Shortly before 11 p.m., as more firetrucks arrived on the scene, flames were no longer visible and the smoke was not as heavy as earlier.

?

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Birmingham area forecast calls for increasing cloudiness tonight, rain expected Monday

Published: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 8:08 PM ??? Updated: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 8:09 PM

Clouds will be moving in tonight as the Birmingham area braces for rain on Monday, according to a National Weather Service forecast.

For tonight, skies will see increasing clouds, with light winds and lows around 41. On Monday, showers are likely with possible thunderstorms after noon. Highs will be near 58, with rain chances of 70 percent.

Rain is expected to continue through Monday night and into Tuesday, with lows in the 50s and highs in the 60s.

More on Birmingham area weather.

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Near-freezing temperatures expected tonight in Birmingham metro area

Published: Saturday, November 27, 2010, 7:26 PM ??? Updated: Saturday, November 27, 2010, 7:33 PM

Temperatures in the Birmingham metro area will continue to drop to close to freezing tonight, according to the Birmingham office of the National Weather Service.

Clear skies and calm winds are also in the overnight forecast. The same conditions will be in place Sunday with temperatures climbing to around 60 degrees for the high.

At around 6 p.m. tonight, the NWS reported the temperature at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport was 46 degrees with wind out of the north at around 5 miles per hour.

Rain chances enter the forecast starting on Monday and lasting through Tuesday, according to the extended forecast from the NWS. Freezing temperatures are not expected again until Tuesday night.

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Thanksgiving Day edition of Birmingham News goes on sale at 9 p.m.

Published: Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 8:00 PM

The Thanksgiving day edition of the Birmingham News -- all 5 pounds, 2 ounces of it -- goes on sale at seven metro Birmingham locations at 9 p.m. this evening. The price: $2 per copy.

The biggest advertising newspaper of the year will include inserts from 69 different advertisers, display ads from 120 advertisers and more than $400 worth of coupons, said Troy Niday, vice president for circulation.

The paper also will include a 22-page special section on the Iron Bowl.

Daily subscribers will get the paper delivered Thursday as part of their regular subscription. Subscribers on a Sunday-only or Sunday and Wednesday plan also will see the paper delivered Thursday, for free, Niday said.

Where to get the newspaper

? The Birmingham News, 2201 Fourth Ave. North

? Patton Creek 15 theater, 4450 Creekside Ave., Hoover

? Vestavia Hills 10 theater, 1911 Kentucky Ave., Vestavia Hills

? Lee Branch 15 theater, 801 Doug Baker Blvd., Birmingham

? The Foundry, 727 Ninth Ave. North, Bessemer

? Regions, 896 Odum Road, Gardendale

? The Summit, near Old Navy, Birmingham?

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