Birmingham mayor orders removal of Confederate statue
As the sun set on an extraordinary day of civil unrest across America, the mayor of Birmingham ordered the removal of a contentious Confederate statue from a public park. One day after dozens of protesters targeted the statue, the 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Linn Park, defacing and chipping away at its base, the mayor said it would be removed. – New York Times
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. among volunteers cleaning up Birmingham
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. showed up in downtown Birmingham at 8 a.m. to help clean up after businesses were vandalized following violence in the wake of Sunday night’s protests. But by the time he got there, other volunteers had already arrived and had been at work since 6 a.m. to help with the cleanup in his hometown, he said. The hometown comic set to work unloading plywood and helping to sweep up glass. – AL.com
U.S. food prices see historic jump and are likely to stay high
As if trips to the grocery store weren’t nerve-wracking enough, U.S. shoppers lately have seen the costs of meat, eggs and even potatoes soar as the coronavirus has disrupted processing plants and distribution networks. Overall, the cost of food bought to eat at home skyrocketed by the most in 46 years, and analysts caution that meat prices in particular could remain high as slaughterhouses struggle to maintain production levels while implementing procedures intended to keep workers healthy. – AP
Pizitz Food Hall merchant will not reopen storefront
Spoon & Ladle, a soup and specialty food restaurant which opened last summer in Pizitz Food Hall, has announced it is retiring its lease there to focus on its wholesale business. Kelly Todd, co-owner and business manager, said the company has had a wholesale business since 2014, and wants to “focus all our energy and effort” into the market. The company currently works with a variety of stores and restaurants such as Piggly Wiggly, Harvest Market, Beef O’Brady’s and Great Harvest Bread Company. – AL.com
Auburn University awards 2 research projects with grant funding
Auburn University recently awarded two faculty research projects $100,000 in LAUNCH funding support. This year’s recipients, both from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, will receive cash stipends toward the commercialization of their work. The recipients are Zhihua Jiang, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and director of the Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering, and Majid Beidaghi, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. – AL NewsCenter
