Business

Mayor Woodfin strongly opposes concrete facility’s planned move to 5 Points West

THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced on Tuesday that he is opposed to a concrete company relocating to Five Points West from downtown. Sherman Industries, LLC has requested to place a concrete batch plant at 3420 Fayette Avenue in Five Points West. That will replace the existing facility on Second Avenue South, which has been in operation since the 1950s.

Published

7 years ago

May 11, 2019

Oakland Post

By Erica Wright

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced on Tuesday that he is opposed to a concrete company relocating to Five Points West from downtown.

Sherman Industries, LLC has requested to place a concrete batch plant at 3420 Fayette Avenue in Five Points West. That will replace the existing facility on Second Avenue South, which has been in operation since the 1950s.

Last week, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution opposing the relocation. On Tuesday, Woodfin joined the council and neighborhood residents in fierce opposition to the move.

“As the mayor of Birmingham, I don’t want Sherman Industries concrete company relocated to the West End,” he said emphatically.

Woodfin said he also wanted to “set the record straight” on information that has been distributed about his office in connection to Sherman Industries. “I, nor anyone from my office, have met with Sherman Industries and the first time my office had contact with the company was on May 1st of last week when they reached out to us via email and requested a meeting,” said the mayor.

Woodfin said the concrete company also has not followed the proper steps in doing business in the city. “They have not met with me or anyone in my senior staff,” he said.

Woodfin did say he supports a public hearing, but that is just a first step. “I am in no position nor have the power to rezone that area but you do,” he told councilors, “and I believe it is incumbent upon all of us to unite and protect our residents from environmental injustice of any kind.”

The Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) will hold a public hearing at the CrossPlex at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 6.

Walladeen Streeter, Bush Hills Neighborhood Association president, who lives in the area, said her residents will need help from the mayor and council.

“We on the western side of town, do not welcome Sherman Industries to our community . . . our health is very important just like yours and theirs,” Streeter told the council. “They show no concern to the citizens of the western area and we’re very upset about that because we are human… and they’re bringing the problems to us. We have children all around that area, we have new restaurants coming and the smoke, the dust goes right out there to them. We need you and we’re asking you to support us in every way that you can to stop that from happening.”

April Williams, a resident of the Bush Hills Neighborhood, said there is nothing good about a cement plant being in a high-dense residential area. “I’m not proposing it being in any residential area, but if it’s not good for Railroad Park and that area, surely we all agree it’s not good for CrossPlex and the Five Points West area.”

In a statement reported by AL.com, Kurt Milliman, Vice President and General Manager of Sherman Industries, said the company, “is committed to operating in a safe and responsible manner. We intend to be good neighbors and comply with all safety and environmental regulations that protect the health and safety of our employees and neighbors.”

In other business Tuesday, Councilor Clinton Woods drafted a resolution opposing the Alabama lottery bill without education funding.

Alabama is only one of eight states without a lottery and last week, the Alabama Senate passed a bill that would allow for a state lottery. It is now waiting for a vote in the House of Representatives.

Most lotteries across the county have money earmarked for education. Under Alabama’s proposal, the proceeds from the lottery, after administrative costs and payouts, would go into the state’s Trust Fund and General Funds.

Alabama is currently ranked 47th in the nation for education and estimated annual revenue from the lottery will be roughly $167 million.

“Here in Birmingham, I think it’s important to look at the additional needs we have when it comes to education, when we consider less than 20 percent of our students are reading at grade level and while Alabama has the number one pre-K program in the nation, all children don’t have access to it,” he said.

Council President Valerie Abbott said, “We talk about workforce development, jobs and our youth and this bill does nothing to help our youth with education. We have so many young people who can’t read at grade level and we do have a wonderful, nationally-recognized pre-K program that’s not available to all children in the state, so to me, this is an important thing.”

The council plans to send its resolution to Montgomery before the House votes.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.