Again.
From wilderness area four miles east of downtown Tuscaloosa, to growing bedroom community for the University of Alabama, home to many of the area s first chain restaurants, to a shopping and entertainment mecca, what had once been a crown jewel became badly tarnished in the 70s and beyond, as population growth extended north and south.
McFarland and University malls drained off shopping. Upscale renters moved to newer developments like the Ski Lodge development, off Skyland Boulevard. Rents sank lower, as did the quality of some of Alberta’s renters. Crime rates soared, and with it the stigma that Alberta was not a good place to visit, much less live.
Staggered schedules, leave and other pandemic-related benefits and accommodations the University of Alabama created as temporary measures for the crisis will expire mid-May, according to an emailed message sent to faculty and staff this week.
The message credited recent low COVID infection numbers, expanded campus vaccinations for employees and students, and updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the change.
It read, in part, With no COVID positives reported among faculty and staff in the last two weeks, we are pleased with these significant indicators and look forward to continued progress.
Expiring May 15 will be:
• UA-provided COVID leave, authorized by UA President Stuart Bell to provide faculty and staff campus-funded leaves as a limited-time benefit. It was enacted when federal benefits expired at the end of 2020, and replaced a similar program that gave up to 80 hours paid leave for reasons related to COVID-19.
How Tuska the elephant statue got to Tuscaloosa, Alabama from England tuscaloosanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tuscaloosanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Completing the circuit begun with a groundbreaking in November 2019, SWJ Technology opened its North American headquarters at the Alberta Technology Center, 2730 University Blvd. E., Wednesday morning.
City of Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, and City Councilman Kip Tyner, who was crucial to negotiations locating the high-tech business in the district he represents, attended the ribbon-cutting, along with officials including SWJ President and CEO Wolfgang Kneer. This facility has been a dream of mine for, oh, eight, nine years, and it finally comes to fruition, said Kneer, who first came to Tuscaloosa while working with Mercedes-Benz U.S. International. I think there’s still way more to come, and I’m very excited about it.
Until 2020, when the entire concert season and most of the ice-skating was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst thing our now 10-year-old Tuscaloosa Amphitheater suffered was storms.
But following several years of planning, with construction delayed by record-setting rain, the long-anticipated April 1, 2011 debut show featuring the Avett Brothers and Band of Horses showed fair in the dusk, despite stubborn clouds marring the afternoon.
Of that opening night, The Tuscaloosa News wrote: “…as the sun fell behind the treeline at the left of the stage, the clouds parted and a light breeze wafted the smell of popcorn over the seats, things seemed from all appearances to be running smoothly.”…