2022

2022 is the 151st year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

Logo for the "Birmingham Xpress" bus rapid transit system

• February 24: The Davis Lake Volunteer Fire Department was created by state law.
• March 9: Woodcrest Road was closed to traffic due to land subsidence concerns.
• March: The Embrace Mothers pilot program began providing $375 in monthly supplemental income to 110 single mothers in Birmingham.
• June: Josh, a male African lion, arrived at the Birmingham Zoo.
• June 9–12: The 2022 National Society of Newspaper Columnists Annual Conference was held in Birmingham.
• June 9–12: Magic City Fashion Week was hosted at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
• June 24–26: Magic City Con was held at the Wynfrey Hotel.
• July: Birmingham Corps was founded.
• August 6: The John Looney House in Ashville was damaged by fire.
• August 20: A small plane crashed off Wint Dunn Road near Wiley, Tuscaloosa County with no injuries.
• August 27: The Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival was held in the Historic 4th Avenue District.
• September 17: Le Dîner en Blanc was held at Railroad Park.
• September 22: Birmingham Xpress rapid transit system began operation.
• October 1: The Bluff Park Art Show was held at the Hoover Met.
• The time capsule set in 2002 at the Concord Center was opened.
• The Alabama Department of Transportation and Homewood City Council approved funding for construction of the second phase of the Shades Creek Greenway, extending west from Columbiana Road to Wildwood Court.
• Former Twitter engineer Peiter "Mudge" Zatko sent a report on alleged irregularities at the company to federal regulators.
• November 25: The Moody landfill fire was reported.

Business

• Avadian credit union acquired Citizens State Bank of Vernon, Lamar County.
• Vulcan Imaging Associates acquired Women's Imaging Associates.
• ConcertCare merged with International Development Connection of Chattanooga, Tennessee to form ConcertIDC.
• Landscape Workshop acquired A Cut Above Landscape Management of Columbus, Georgia; the landscape operations of GreenScape Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee; Bailey’s Lawn Care and Landscaping of Knoxville, Tennessee; Burning Bush Landscape and Turf Care LLC of Atlanta, Georgia; and R.G.S. Landscape of Dallas, Georgia.
• DeShazo Crane Co. acquired Integrated Machinery Solutions of Azle, Texas.
• Featheringill Capital took over as owner of the company formed by the merger of Eagle Automation of Fort Worth, Texas and VanZandt Controls of Midland, Texas.
• Protective Life Corporation acquired AUL Corp. of Napa, California.
• March: Business Interiors acquired Office Environments.
• March 31: The second election to propose union representation for workers at the Bessemer Amazon Fulfillment Center failed.
• April: OnCentive acquired SyncStream Solutions of New Orleans, Louisiana.
• April: Upstream Rehabilitation acquired Rapid Rehabilitation of Virginia.
• May: Bradford Health Services acquired The Estate at River Bend in Lucedale, Mississippi.
• June: Insured Nomads acquired app developer Peanut Travel.
• June: Upstream Rehabilitation acquired Crescent Physical Therapy of Orangeburg, South Carolina.
• July: Evernest acquired three divisions from Dodson Property Management of Richmond, Virginia.
• July: Adah International acquired North American drone-enabled warehouse inventory systems from doks. Innovation of Kassel, Germany.
• August: Capital Strategies Group acquired Goldstein Financial Group of Chicago, Illinois.
• August: PS Logistics acquired Noble Trucking / Noble Logistics of Scottsboro, Jackson County.
• September: Evernest acquired the Atlanta Property Management Group.
• September: Long-Lewis Automotive Group acquired Ernest McCarty Ford.
• September: Wayne's Pest Control acquired American Pest Control of Vestavia Hills.
• October: Evernest acquired Onsite Property Management Services of Fort Collins, Colorado.
• November: PS Logistics acquired Clay’s Transport / Clays Logistics of Brookhaven, Mississippi.
• November: IT Voice acquired The Jaekle Group of Macedonia, Ohio.
• November: Therapy Brands acquired The Echo Group of Conway, New Hampshire.
• December 1: Legacy Community Federal Credit Union merged with 1st Resource Credit Union.
• December: Evernest acquired three firms from Arizona, Colorado and Florida.
• Waverly Advisors acquired Clark Financial Advisors of Birmingham; BT Wealth Management of Atlanta, Georgia; Wall Advisors of Lakeland, Florida; and Sandifer Wealth Management of Mobile.

Establishments

• February: Vinson Walker and Randal Scott opened Potatoe Potahtoz Perfic Pizza at The Waites.
• Brock's Gap Brewing Co. in Hoover
• Troy Rhone Garden Design opened on Culver Road in Mountain Brook Village.
• March: Lauryn England opened Lady E's Chick'n Cafe on Park Place in downtown Birmingham
• April: Tim Burt opened Parkside on Fifth in the Avondale Marble Works building.
• April: Kareemah Harvill opened Bite restaurant on Pinson Valley Parkway in Tarrant.
• Spring: Fetch Rewards of Madison, Wisconsin opened a regional office in the Parkside District.
• Swaddle Kids opened on 18th Street South Homewood.
• Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers opened on Helena Road.
• Redland Rifle Co. opened on U.S. Highway 280.
• Waldo's Chicken and Beer opened on Pump House Road in Cahaba Heights.
• Dennis & Leigh Hulsey and Danny & Kathy Gingles opened The Barn at Henley in Columbiana.
• Mike Black and Robert Cato founded Mellow Oak.
• The Alabama Business Intelligence Center opened in the Parkside District.
• August 20: Alycia Levels-Moore opened the Polaris co-working space in Woodlawn.
• August 24: A "U.S. Civil Rights Trail Market" opened at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
• September 23: The Modern House coffee shop opened in Titusville North.
• October: Hi-Wire Brewing opened at Lakeview Green.
• November 1: A-Train Station opened on Pearson Avenue Southwest.
• November 19: The RideBHM mountain biking resort held its grand opening.
• Terry Colafrancesco opened Villaggio Colafrancesco on U.S. Highway 280 (Inverness).
• December: Mehmet Ozbey opened Capella Italian restaurant at Inverness Village.
• December: Monti and Shana Osman opened Magic Milkshakes & More at Galleria Trace Plaza.
• December: Mohammed Shahed opened Barbeque & Biryani at Southside Station.
• December: CRST of Cedar Rapids, Iowa opened a headquarters for its flatbed division at Daniel Payne Industrial Park.

Disestablishments

• January 6: InCare Technologies was acquired by Thrive of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
• January: The Books-A-Million at Brook Highland Plaza closed.
• May: Golden Rule Bar-B-Q closed its Pelham and Helena locations.
• March 24: The Hive at Five Points South closed.
• Spring: Macy's at Brookwood Village closed.
• Pack Health was acquired by Quest Diagnostics of Secaucus, New Jersey.
• Lyons & Co. of Florence, Lauderdale County acquired Keep IT Simple.
• Southern Research sold its engineering division to Kratos Defense and Security Solutions of San Diego, California.
• Diversified LLC of Wilmington, Delaware acquired Marca Life Planning of Riverchase.
• April: Crestwood Coffee Company closed.
• April: Basil Gourmet Pizza & Bar in Crestline closed.
• Mike's Fine Jewelry closed.
• May 21: Johnny Ray's closed its last location at the Shops of the Colonnade.
• July: DiscoveryBioMed was acquired by Eurofins Discovery of Dundee, Scotland.
• July: Lexicon Inc. of Little Rock, Arkansas acquired Universal Limited of Trussville.
• July: Zoe's Kitchen closed its SoHo Square and Brook Highland Plaza locations.
• July: Twisted Root Burger Co. closed.
• July: McFly's Bird Shop closed.
• July: Superior Grill closed.
• July: Delta Blues Hot Tamales closed.
• July 31: Taproot Cafe closed.
• July 31: Abhi restaurant closed its location at The Summit.
• July 31: The Cajun Boys & Our Poboys locations in Chelsea and on Valleydale Road closed.
• Bayer Properties sold its real estate management portfolio to Centennial of Dallas, Texas.
• August: Dreamcakes closed.
• August 12: Golden Rule Bar-B-Q closed its Trussville location.
• August 14: Smokin' Hot Sports Grill in McCalla closed.
• August: MAU Inc. of Augusta, Georgia acquired Doozer Software of Hoover.
• August: Carrigan's Public House closed.
• August: Ghost Train Brewing Company closed its 3rd Avenue South tap room.
• September: Wilson Florist & Gifts closed.
• September 1: Over Easy at The Hollywood closed.
• September 4: Bogue's in Lakeview closed.
• September: O'Charley's closed its Alabaster location.
• September: Little London Kitchen in West Homewood closed.
• September 30: Nabeel's Café & Market in Homewood closed.
• October: Camellia House homebuilders was acquired by The Peak Group of Hurst, Texas.
• October: On Tap Sports Cafe closed its Riverchase Galleria location.
• October: Underground Vegan at Pickwick Plaza closed.
• November: Bradford Health Services was acquired by Lee Equity Partners of New York City.
• November: Focus Ortho was acquired by Cloud 9 Software of Alpharetta, Georgia.
• December: Tech startup Fledging closed.
• December: Tech startup Datalus closed.
• December: Airship was acquired by Unosquare of Guadalajara, Mexico.
• December 31: Strand Coffeehouse in Montevallo closed.

Education

• Samford University received a $100 million bequest from the estate of Marvin Mann (class of 1954), to fund scholarships.
• The Alabama Aerospace & Aviation High School opened in Bessemer.

Government

• March 21–25: A "disproportionate" number of Birmingham Police Department employees called in sick, in an apparently organized protest against staffing shortages, too-modest pay raises, and diminishment of pension benefits.
• March 30: The City of Birmingham filed a lawsuit against Trane U.S. Inc. over claims made as part of its 2-year contract with SRS Inc. of Gallatin, Tennessee to perform energy upgrades and install Trane HVAC equipment in 125 city-owned buildings beginning in 2016.
• May 24: The 2022 primary elections were held.
• June 21: Runoffs were held in the 2022 primary elections.
• July 12: 2022 Chelsea property tax referendum was held.
• August 4: The Vincent City Council voted to disband the Vincent Police Department.
• August 23: The 2022 Mountain Brook municipal election was held.
• November 8: The 2022 general election was held.
• October 11: 2022 Center Point property tax referendum was held.

Nonprofits

• December: Sunrise Community of Alabama closed down its operations in Tuscaloosa.
• December 31: The Downtown YMCA closed.

Religion

• December 10: The North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church accepted the disaffiliation of 198 churches.

Sports

• The Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, UAB Blazers and Jacksonville State Gamecocks were all invited to the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. None advanced beyond the round of 32.
• April 16: The USFL kicked off with the 2022 Birmingham Stallions defeating the New Jersey Generals 28-24 at Protective Stadium.
• April 16: The Savannah Bananas baseball team sold out a performance at Rickwood Field.
• May 25–29: 2022 SWAC Baseball Tournament was held at Regions Field.
• June 6–13: The 2022 USA Pickleball National Indoor Championships were held at the Finley Center in Hoover.
• July 10: Trey Mullinax earned his first PGA Tour victory by winning the Barbasol Championship
• July 7–17: The 2022 World Games were held in Birmingham.
• September 23–25: Birmingham Bash Soccer Tournament
• October 15: Deontay Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round of his return to boxing.
• October 30: Alabama State University won the 81st Magic City Classic 24-17.
• November 20: Erica Speegle and James Graham won the Magic City Marathon.
• November 26: 2022 Iron Bowl
• December 27: The East Carolina Pirates defeated the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 53-29 in the 2022 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium.
• The Elyton Ultras was founded to support Birmingham Legion FC

Professional teams

• 2022 Birmingham Barons (Minor League Baseball, Double-A South)
• 2022 Birmingham Legion FC (USL Championship)
• 2022 Birmingham Squadron (NBA G League)
• 2022 Birmingham Stallions (USFL)

Individuals

• January 13: Robert Evans succeeded Sean Calhoun as head football coach at Vestavia Hills High School.
• January 7: Janae Pierre left WBHM-FM to host a podcast for New York Public Radio.
• January 28: Patrick Smith resigned as chief of the Birmingham Police Department. Scott Thurmond was appointed acting chief.
• March 1: Kamau Witherspoon succeeded Kelly Caruso as CEO of Shipt.
• March 31: Juan Agudelo signed with Birmingham Legion FC.
• April 1: Jennifer Gray succeeded Jera Stribling as executive director of the Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation.
• June 1: Maria Rodriguez Shirey succeeded Doreen Harper as dean of the UAB School of Nursing.
• July: Bill Rowley was named executive director of Shelby Humane.
• August: Helen Combs succeeded interim CEO Allury Arora-Lal as head of Urgent Care for Children.
• August: David Arias succeeded Karen Utz as executive director of Sloss Furnaces.
• September: Perryn Carroll succeeded Michael Coleman as executive director of Jimmie Hale Mission.
• September: Rachel Lane resigned as CEO if BIO Alabama.
• November: Cynthia Crutchfield was named CEO of Innovate Alabama.
• November: Nicole Williams succeeded Brett Meredith as CEO of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.

Awards

• Timothy Hontzas and Adam Evans were announced as semifinalists for "Best Chef: South", Johnny's Restaurant as a semifinalist for "Outstanding Hospitality" and Golden Age Wine as a semifinalist for "Outstanding Wine Program" by the James Beard Foundation.
• June 13: Adam Evans of Automatic Seafood and Oysters won the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef in the South".
• Alabama Business Hall of Fame: Walter Batson Jr, F. Dixon Brooke Jr, Ronald Bruno, Grayson Hall, Alexis Herman, Michael Mouron,, William Propst, and C. Kemmons Wilson Jr.

Retirements

• Bill Clark resigned from the UAB Blazers football team.
• Dave Clark resigned from Amazon.com Inc.
• Mark Crosswhite retired as CEO of Alabama Power Co.
• Wayne Hutchens retired as president of AT&T Alabama.
• Eric Jack retired from the UAB Collat School of Business
• Abdul Kallon retired from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
• Van Phillips retired as principal of Center Point High School.
• Jay Reeves retired as correspondent for the Associated Press
• Jera Stribling retired as executive director of the Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation.

Deaths

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office reported at least 416 deaths from drug overdoses during the year with another 32 suspected of being caused by drug use. That compares to 194 homicides and 115 traffic fatalities.

• January 2: Maxine McNair, retired teacher
• January 2: Fred Dyess, antiques dealer
• January 7: Victor Hanson II, Birmingham News publisher
• January 11: Tanya Canada, Mayor of Dodge City
• January 15: Rickey Powell, vocalist and actor
• January 23: Bettie Doss, bookkeeper and wife of Raymond Doss
• January 26: Jim Hilyer, first head coach of the UAB Blazers football team.
• January 29: Sam Lay, blues drummer
• January: Fred Foster, leather crafter
• February 1: Tyrez Garner, muralist
• February 4: Santonio Beard, former Alabama football player
• February 10: D. C. Moon, punk musician
• February 12: Dave Roddy, WSGN-AM announcer
• February 15: Danny Crowson, Shelby County District Court judge
• February 26: Navari Jones, drummer
• March 9: David Wheeler, Alabama House of Representatives
• March 23: Ozilene Cartee, elementary school principal
• April 7: Solomon Kimerling, Alabama Oxygen Co. president
• April 8: James Tuohy, Episcopal priest
• April 8: Ricko a black rhinoceros
• April 12: Ron Alexander musician and music teacher
• April 20: Johnathan Quinn, former president of Central Alabama Pride
• May 8: Ray Scott, founder of BASS
• May 15: Phil Dodd, former police chief in Homewood
• May 20: Pat Farmer, former UAB Art Gallery director
• May 21: Earl Trammell, Foreign Car Body Shop owner
• May 22: David Westbrook, biologist
• June 5: Chad Allinder, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
• June 10: Charles Walton, photographer and artist
• June 13: Christophe Nicolet, cell biologist, artist and set-builder
• June 18: Ed Khan, Jefferson County Department of Health
• July: Christy Turnipseed, artist
• July: John McDavid, communications engineer
• July 8: De Martenson, attorney
• July 12: Steve Raley, truck driver and TikTok celebrity
• July 16: Mickey Rooney Jr, former Mouseketeer
• July 18: Akili, African lion at the Birmingham Zoo
• July 20: Antwan Garnem, restaurateur
• July 31: Gabby Hulgan, skeet-shooting champion
• August 19: Rhoda Denaburg Link, owner of Levy’s Fine Jewelry
• August 21: E. Bryant Crutchfield, inventor of the Trapper Keeper
• August 23: Esther Cooper Jackson, Southern Negro Youth Congress CEO and Freedomways editor
• August 24: Hobson Bryan, educator and environmental activist
• September 14: James Brooks, pastor of New Pilgrim Baptist Church
• September 16: Fox deFuniak, banker
• September 23: Robin Metz, artist
• September 30: Bobbye Weaver, actor and musician
• December 13: Walter Griffin III, locomotive engineer trainee
• December 16: Jana McEachern, marketing professional and former Miss Alabama
• December 31: Donna Mitchell, educator
  • List of homicides in 2022

Works

• Fall: Issue 8.5 of the British literary journal Poetry Birmingham featured poets from Birmingham, Alabama.
• October 15: A street painting designed by Lydia Walker and funded by the Asphalt Art Initiative was created outside the Smithfield Library.

Books

• January 4: White Bull, poems by Elizabeth Hughey
• August 9: Alabama Short Stories: Volume 1 by Shawn Wright
• November: Segregation in the New South: Birmingham, Alabama, 1871–1901 by Carl Harris
• Black, Art (2022) At Bat: Journeys to Fame and Glory through Rickwood Field Blue Rooster Press ISBN 9780988980778
• Jones, Brian (2022) The Tuskegee Student Uprising: A History. New York University Press. ISBN 9781479809424

Buildings

• January 25: Hoover Fire Station No. 11 in Trace Crossings was dedicated
• April 11: Ground was broken for the Altec / Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building
• A. G. Gaston Motel restaurant renovations
• Alabama Aerospace & Aviation High School
• The Alamite hotel in Tuscaloosa
• Replacement for Ramsay-McCormack building
• Powell Avenue Steam Plant
• Birmingham Family Dental expansion on 4th Avenue South
• Birmingham Realty Co. Warehouse
• 20 Midtown phase 3
• 2323 2nd Avenue South
• Caldwell Mill Road bridge over Little Shades Creek
• Carver Theatre (renovations)
• Citywalk BHAM
• Grandview Physicians Plaza II
• Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton - Fultondale
• Legacy Arena renovation and expansion
• Live on 1st houses by Navigate Affordable Housing Partners in Titusville North
• The Marshall
• Mountain Brook Junior High School expansion
• Parkside on Dolly Ridge
• Tower on Tenth, redevelopment of the Building Trades Tower
• Tributary Rise apartments
• Watco Safe Performance Center expansion in Fairfield
• Way Station for AIDS Alabama in Smithfield
• Woodlawn High School football stadium & fieldhouse

Demolitions

• January: Quinlan Castle
• Cooper Green Deck
• Southtown Court
• July 4: Julia Tutwiler Hall (1968)
• July: Carraway Hospital
• August 1: Vestavia Hills acquired the former Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge for demolition and redevelopment.
• August 6: The John Looney House in Ashville was damaged by fire.

Context

A volcanic eruption at Hunga Tonga on January 15 caused tsunami flooding across the Pacific. Russia invaded Ukraine. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope began transmitting its first images. Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom. The 2022 midterm elections were held in the United States. Elon Musk purchased Twitter.

Annie Ernaux won the Nobel Prize for literature. Geneticist Svante Pääbo won the Noble Prize for medicine for his research into the Neanderthal genome. The Nobel Peace Prize was shared between supporters of civil society in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Notable people who died in 2022 included actors James Caan, Angela Lansbury, Ray Liotta, Nichelle Nichols, Sidney Poitier, Paul Sorvino and William Hurt; anthropologist Richard Leakey; architect Arata Isozaki; basketball player Bill Russell; comedians Gallagher and Gilbert Gottfried; film directors Peter Bogdanovich and Jean-Luc Godard; football coach Dan Reeves; football player Len Dawson; historian David McCullough; former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe; manga artist Kazuki Takahashi; musicians Angelo Badalamenti, Coolio, Lamont Dozier, Naomi Judd, Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, Meat Loaf, Olivia Newton-John, and Vangelis; news anchor Barbara Walters; novelist Peter Straub; philosopher Bruno Latour; Pope Benedict XVI; Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; record executive Jim Stewart; soccer legend Pelé; former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; and former General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev.

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