The address 222 Holmes Ave. might be familiar to longtime local food enthusiasts. Most recently it was home to The Bakingtist, a science-themed bakery which opened summer 2022 and later transitioned into a baking school before shuttering late 2024.
Before that, the space was part of the footprint of Below the Radar, a brewpub and restaurant which ran from 2012 to 2021.
This is in the original Huntsville Times building, on the corner of Holmes and Greene Street downtown.
Now, 222 Holmes Ave. is shapeshifting once again.
According to a poster in a storefront window there, Razzo Pizzeria is “coming soon” to the 3,600 square-foot space. Razzo will feature “craft pizza” by the slice, local beer, wine, salads and light deserts. The poster also touts “100% naturally leavened sourdough crust.”
“Razzo” is the Italian word for “rocket.” The pizzeria’s logo features a pizza-slice-shaped rocket-ship in place of the “A” in Razzo.
A website at razzopizzeria.com currently reads “under construction.”
A Bessemer man has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of another man who was found dead outside the Midfield Police Department in 2018.
Horace Earl Jackson, 39, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Tuesday to await transfer to the Alabama Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to robbery and murder in the killing of 38-year-old Jeremy Davis.
Court records show Jackson entered his guilty plea in January. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Thomas Thrash sentenced Jackson to 20 years in prison with five years to serve in each case. The sentences will be served consecutively.
Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Midfield Police Department shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13, 2018, on a report of a dead person in a car in the parking lot, sheriff’s officials said.
They arrived at 7:41 p.m. to find Davis in the passenger seat. He was pronounced dead at 7:44 p.m.
In previous testimony, a sheriff’s sergeant said Davis, also known as “JD,” was found slumped over in a vehicle. The driver of the car was not harmed and was talking to police.
There were bullet holes in the passenger door of the car, and there was blood down the side of the door.
Investigators learned the shooting took place in the 5300 block of Salina Avenue, near McCalla.
One witness told authorities he had been in the car with Jackson and another man looking for Davis. He said they intended to kill Davis if they found him, because Jackson believed Davis had broken into his home.
Jackson was armed with an AR-15 rifle.
The witness told detectives the group didn’t find Davis and went back to Jackson’s home. He left the scene shortly after, and did not witness the shooting.
A woman told investigators she was at Jackson’s home when the shooting happened, but she didn’t actually see the gunfire. She said Jackson’s wife, Courtney, gave her a handgun that she had taken from another man’s car and directed the witness to sell it.
The witness did, but police recovered that gun.
The man who drove Davis’ body to the Midfield police station also talked to police. He said earlier that day, he went to Davis’ home to buy marijuana, and the two men smoked in his car. He said Davis got a phone call, and said he needed a ride to a nearby house.
The man said they went to the Salina Avenue home, and that a man wearing a ski mask and armed with an AR-15 started arguing with Davis and ordered both men out of the car.
He said the masked man shot Davis and robbed him of a cell phone and wallet.
Authorities said the witness put Davis’ body in the car and drove off.
He felt like someone was following him and, believing Davis was dead, headed to the police station.
He passed a hospital and another police station on the way to Midfield but said he felt safer going to the Midfield Police Department because it was on a main road.
Another man who said he was at the scene when Davis was killed reported he was with Jackson that afternoon when Jackson thought his home had been broken into.
He said Jackson talked to several people, and developed information that Davis was the culprit. Jackson called Davis, and later Davis showed up with another man.
The witness testified in that earlier hearing that Davis exited the car while arguing with Jackson, and that Davis pulled a gun on Jackson.
Jackson was able to disarm Davis and pulled his own gun out.
During the incident, the man said, Courtney Jackson pulled the second man out of the car and ordered him to the ground, taking his gun as well.
The man said at some point during the argument, Jackson picked up his AR-15 and fired at Davis several times, while Davis begged for his life.
The circuit clerk in Jefferson County’s Bessemer Cutoff Division has been cited with contempt of court for her reported failure to help find missing evidence in 1974 rape case.
Circuit Judge David Carpenter issued the citation against Karen Dunn Burks, saying she has “repeatedly and willfully” refused to comply with multiple court orders to locate the missing evidence.
“This court has been exceptionally patient with the clerk and exceedingly lenient,’’ Carpenter wrote. “No party to any case before this court would ever receive the deference and tolerance that has been bestowed on the clerk in this case.”
Burks, elected as clerk in 2018, is set to appear before Carpenter on March 11 to show cause why she should not be found in contempt.
Burks denied any wrongdoing and said she will soon release more information.
The ordeal has been going on since 2021, when the Conviction Integrity Unity – launched by District Attorney Lynneice Washington – began to look into the conviction of Ervin Harris. The unit is designed to remedy wrongful convictions within her jurisdiction
Harris was convicted of rape in 1975 and served more than 40 years in an Alabama prison.
Though he has completed his sentence, Harris to this day maintains his innocence and is seeking a pardon, and an expungement of his criminal record. He is represented by The Innocence Project in New York.
His lawyers declined to comment
Court records show that among the many items of evidence introduced at Harris’s trial were articles of clothing which may contain DNA.
In a report from the Alabama Department of Toxicology dated Dec. 18, 1974, a state toxicologist described several items of clothing taken from the victim that “revealed the presence of blood and semen.”
At the time of trial, Carpenter wrote in his contempt citation against Burks, there was no way to test to identify the DNA or from whom it may have originated.
In September 2021, the Conviction Integrity Unit filed a motion for the clerk’s office to release the transcripts, evidence and the entire file.
The following month, Burks’ office produced one brown envelope containing only paper documents.
The district attorney’s office discovered from its records that there were multiple items of evidence introduced at trial that could possibly be tested now.
District attorney officials told Carpenter that employees of the clerk’s office said they had looked for evidence in the case, and also verified that some or all of the evidence existed and was in the possession of the clerk’s office.
The first court hearing where Burks testified was held in June 2023.
At that point, Carpenter ordered Burks to certify that employees had searched seven specific locations and to provide the dates and the names of the employees who did the searches.
Carpenter wrote in February that there had not been any certified response.
In April 2024, Carpenter issued a citation for civil contempt against Burks and set a show cause hearing for May.
At that time, the judge didn’t hold her in contempt because he said he received assurances from Burks that she would conduct the searches. She was given 45 days to complete the searches.
In July 2024, Burks sent the court an email saying she had searched all of the requested areas and wrote, “as I stated, no evidence exists. All efforts have been exhausted in this task.
Carpenter said the email was not in compliance with his orders.
In December 2024, Carpenter entered an order requiring Burks to allow investigators from the District Attorney’s Office – who are sheriff’s employees – to accompany the clerk’s office employees to search the seven specific locations.
In January, a status hearing was held. At that point, Carpenter wrote, Burks said the ordered search had taken place in July 2024 and said Deputy Daniel Tipton had been there for the search.
On Jan. 28, Tipton filed an affidavit, testifying that he was told by the clerk’s office he was searching for a rape kit and that he went to “two places, possibly three places.”
At one of those locations, Tipton said, clerk’s office employees didn’t even enter the room.
“The district attorney’s office has made it clear that they are not searching for a rape kit, but for clothing that may contain testable evidence, and other items that appear on the index of evidence introduced at trial,” Carpenter wrote.
Carpenter said he spoke with Burks personally in February and told her to coordinate the ordered searches, since two deadlines had passed.
On Feb. 7, Carpenter issued the citation of contempt for Burks and ordered she appear on March 11 for the hearing. Carpenter suggested she have legal counsel with her, and to bring any keys or card keys or any other devices that are necessary for accessing the requested search locations.
On March 4, district attorney’s officials added an eighth area they would like to search, believing some of the evidence they seek could be in that location.
Carpenter on Wednesday granted the request and ordered the search in the basement of the Bessemer Criminal Justice Center to take place.
Ensley’s 10-story-tall Ramsay-McCormack Building, a historic landmark demolished in 2021 after standing more than 90 years, was supposed to be immediately rebuilt, better than before, by the fall of 2022, Birmingham officials announced in 2020.
Now, four years after the demolition, there has still been no vertical construction begun on the site.
The city, which already delivered $4 million to jump-start the project from 2019 through May 26, 2021, on Tuesday approved up to $6 million more toward the estimated $20 million cost. That includes a $3 million forgivable loan, with the loan forgiven if construction is completed within a deadline of 30 months. It includes an optional additional $1 million loan after completion of the project, pending approval by the Birmingham City Council.
Before approving the additional funding, the Council went into executive session to discuss it because of continuing litigation that has surrounded the project for years.
“We did what we had to do,” said City Council President Darrell O’Quinn after the vote. “I don’t think anybody is super satisfied with the history of that project.”
The item had been scheduled for a consent vote without discussion, but council member Valerie Abbott pulled it off the consent agenda. She noted that the fate of the Ramsay-McCormack building had lingered through several mayors dating back decades.
“We talked about it when Larry Langford was here, we talked about it when Mayor (William) Bell was here, and now we’re talking about it while Mayor Woodfin is here,” Abbott said.
Under the agreement with developers, the city will lease about 6,000 square feet for a police sub-station and city services related to economic and community development. The developer is expected to begin vertical construction within 120 days of the new amended and restated redevelopment agreement from the time it was approved Tuesday.
Irvin Henderson, managing partner of Ensley District Developers, which is overseeing the project, was at City Hall on Tuesday, but declined to discuss why construction halted after the demolition. “I told you three times no,” he said, when a reporter pressed him for comment on the delay.
Irvin Henderson, principal of Ensley District Developers, oversees the planned reconstruction of the Ramsay-McCormack Building in Ensley, which was built in 1926 and demolished in 2021. (Joe Songer | [email protected]).Joe Songer | [email protected]
The city released a statement saying the delays are related to the pandemic in 2020, after funds were allocated in 2019.
“The original Ramsay-McCormack Redevelopment Agreement, dated October 22, 2019, predated the shift caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said. “Nationally, capital development projects experienced significant setbacks. According to industry reports, construction delays and cost escalations became rampant, with some projects being completely abandoned. The pandemic’s impact on supply chains, labor availability, and financing created a volatile environment that continues to affect the construction industry. This context is critical to understanding the dramatic and sustained period of disruption.”
The Ramsay-McCormack Building towered over Ensley from 1929 through 2021, a symbol of its once proud business district in a historic industrial hub of west Birmingham.
The shutdown of U.S. Steel’s Ensley Works steel mill in the early 1980s set off a ripple effect of businesses leaving, with an estimated 34,000 jobs lost in Ensley since then.
Ensley’s business history has also been marred by high-profile crime, including the April 1986 killing of Ensley Grill manager Nathan Madison, and the 2020 killing of Ensley Food Market owner Amin Poonawalla.
After years of legal wrangling over the building that the City of Birmingham bought for $1 from a private owner in 1983, building inspections determined that the building had been neglected so long it was unsalvageable and that its walls would not have been stable enough to keep.
A Jefferson County judge ordered the demolition in 2017.
Marble slabs, terra cotta ornamentation, the entrance window and more than 200 bricks from the original structure were salvaged for use in the new building.
Plans call for the new building to be five stories tall, but each floor will be much larger than the original, making it only 18 feet shorter than the old building. The parapet at the rooftop would incorporate four stars, one at each corner, imitating the original building.
The projected new building, with 30,000 square feet of space, was expected to house offices for Innovation Depot, the City of Birmingham’s Business Diversity Team and Birmingham Promise, and other anchor tenants yet to be announced.
“We are fully committed to investing in the Ensley community,” city spokesman Rick Journey said in a statement released Tuesday. “A key part of that investment involves the completion of the Ramsay-McCormack Building site. The resources approved today supports that commitment for developers to go vertical on the property.”
The statement from the mayor’s office also said:
“In recent years, many developers have experienced the challenges and delays due to the pandemic, supply chain, increased construction costs and interest rate changes. Despite that, the city’s commitment has never wavered concerning this project. Today’s investment supports efforts to get this development across the finish line.”
No public hearing was held before Tuesday’s vote, which angered Ensley business owner Brian K. Rice. He said the city needed an accounting of the money it had already spent on the project before allocating more money.
“Why are we giving a failed developer more funding?” Rice said. “From 2021 to 2025, that’s another four years, and he hasn’t started construction.”
The lot remains an eyesore, he said.
“If you go there, the entire basement of the Ramsay-McCormack is still intact and it has got gravel filling in the basement,” Rice said. “I don’t think that’s considerate of the taxpayers or the business owners in downtown Ensley.”
The Vegas Golden Knights play against the Toronto Maple Leafs in an NHL game tonight. The matchup will begin at 9 p.m. CT on TNT. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV Stream. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
The Golden Knights enter this matchup with a 36-18-6 record, and they have won back-to-back games. In their most recent game, the Golden Knights defeated New Jersey 2-0.
During the victory, Jack Eichel led the Vegas offense. He ended the game with two assists, so he will be a key player to watch this evening.
Eichel currently leads the team in points and assists.
The Maple Leafs enter this matchup with a 38-20-3 record, and they have won five of their last six games. However, the team is coming off a 3-2 loss against San Jose.
In order to bounce back tonight, the Maple Leafs will need to rely on their star forward Mitch Marner. He has 76 points this season, which leads the team.
Fans can watch this NHL game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV Stream. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
Kandace Brown said earlier this year that she was even threatened with DHR for bringing in her three-month-old daughter Parker.
And this issue is not confined to Jefferson County, according to Weaver.
She recently said that she had received at least 40 calls from nursing mothers who were going to be made to serve on a jury in Alabama.
Under SB76, if a mother can provide to the court a written statement certifying that she is a nursing mother, she would be exempt for up to 24 months, according to the bill’s text.
It was amended in the Senate to only require a written statement, instead of a written statement from a healthcare provider.
Sen. Bobby Singleton, D- Greensboro, said he appreciated Weaver working with him on the amendment to not require a medical certification so that the legislature could remove a “tedious” step that could cost some mothers money they can’t afford.
After the two years are up, the mother may be called to reappear for jury duty, per the bill’s text.
Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, has filed a similar bill, HB209, that was recently approved by the House and now moves to the Senate.
Brown has thanked Weaver and DuBose for their work on this legislation.
“I’m thankful that no other mother will have to experience this in the future,” she said.
With Mardi Gras concluding for the year, the Mobile Police Department released totals for the festival season.
According to the department’s figures, approximately 1,367,141 people attended parades during the 2025 Mardi Gras season. This was an increase from 2024’s estimated attendance of about 1,103,235.
Other 2025 totals included 376 towed vehicles (down from 2024’s 415), 33 misdemeanor arrests (down from 34), seven felony arrests (down from nine) and nine lost children.
The department also said that an estimated 236,016 people attended parades on Fat Tuesday. There were also 41 vehicles towed and eight misdemeanor arrests made on the final day of Mardi Gras.
State and local officials believe Trump’s announcement promising tax incentives to bring more ship production back to the U.S., would be beneficial to Alabama’s Port City.
Mobile is home to Austal USA and a network of shipbuilders employing more than 10,000 workers. It is also the city that played a key role in Trump’s political rise, hosting one of his earliest and most electrifying campaign rallies almost a decade ago.
The reactions come after the president vowed to “resurrect the American shipbuilding industry,” which includes both commercial and military vessel building.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said Wednesday that he believes the announcement will be a positive for Mobile, where shipbuilding has long been a major economic driver.
“I can speculate that it will be really good for Austal and any kind of shipbuilding we have going on in Mobile,” Stimpson said. “Right now, the addition of doing submarine components (at Austal) puts us in a different category from other shipyards.”
Austal USA did not respond to a request for comment.
Shipbuilding reactions
Mobile Chamber President & CEO Bradley Byrne (left) chats with Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson (right) during the 27th annual State of the City/County Address on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center in downtown Mobile, Ala.John Sharp
Bradley Byrne, president & CEO with the Mobile Chamber, said he looks forward to learning more about the president’s initiative, and what it might mean for Alabama’s Port city.
“Mobile has been a center for shipbuilding for 200 years, and today, our region continues to play a critical role in supporting America’s maritime and defense needs,” Byrne said. “We are proud to be home to industry leaders, whose workforce and innovation contribute significantly to our local economy and national security.”
Byrne added, “Any federal initiative that strengthens America’s shipbuilding industry has the potential to create jobs, spur investment and reinforce Mobile’s position as a premier hub for shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing.”
UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 21: Rep.-elect Shomari Figures, D-Ala., is seen after drawing chip number nine during the New Member Orientation Room Lottery for office space at the Capitol on Thursday, November 21, 2024. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag
Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures of Mobile said that in theory, Trump’s announcement has the potential to be “good thing for Mobile.” He said it’s unclear exactly what the president has planned for the new White House initiative.
“Right now, this is just a statement from the president without a plan or any additional details that we have seen,” Figures said in a statement to AL.com. “I support economic development opportunities for Mobile, but it’s currently unclear if this will impact Mobile or the State of Alabama at all.”
U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, whose congressional district includes a portion of Mobile County, posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, he posted: “Military recruitment is up. American shipbuilders are getting the resources they need. Peace through strength!”
“I welcome the new shipbuilding office President Trump announced last night and the benefits I believe it will bring to our Alabama shipbuilders,” Moore said in a statement to AL.com. “Rapid changes are needed to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used effectively to fund a lethal Navy that counters the growing threat posed by China and adds vessels to our fleet on time and on budget.”
The shipbuilding industry expands beyond Mobile and affects industries that employ coastal Alabamians. Facilities also exist in Coden and Bayou La Batre, and the massive Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., is only a 40-minute drive to downtown Mobile. That shipyard employs over 11,000 workers and is Mississippi’s largest manufacturer, and the proximity to Alabama gives Mobile County an economic boost.
“We are grateful for the President’s supportive shipbuilding comments to Congress, as we work collaboratively with the government to expand capacity of the industrial base and accelerate throughput in our shipyards to meet a generational increase in demand, in support of the Navy and the nation,” The company said in a statement.
Alabama ranks among the Top 10 in the nation for shipyard employees, with a combined direct and indirect impact of around $1.04 billion in Gross Domestic Product.
Gina Maiola, spokesperson for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, said she believes the new White House office will add more jobs to the state.
“Alabama stands ready to continue doing our part to revitalize and enhance this important industry,” Maiola said.
“By fully utilizing the existing domestic shipyard capacity, the shipyard industrial base can meet the growing demands of national defense, restore American competitiveness, and create thousands of skilled jobs in communities across the nation,” said Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America. “Strengthening the industry-government collaboration is the key to reaching any demand signal to ensure that America remains a global leader in maritime power for decades to come.”
Bridget Wilson, executive director of the Mobile-based Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council (SAWDC AlabamaWorks), said the creation of a White House Office of Shipbuilding signifies “a strong commitment” to the industry and toward producing ships and vessels critical to national security.
“For our region, which has long been a leader in shipbuilding, this initiative could provide essential resources to enhance training programs, expand workforce development efforts, and bolster the pipeline of skilled workers needed to sustain and grow the industry,” Wilson said.
She said that collaboration among industry, education and workforce partners will be key to maximizing the new opportunities and ensuring that Alabama “remains at the forefront” of shipbuilding.
“Mobile’s shipbuilding sector plays a crucial role in both military and private sector production and targeted federal support could help drive innovation, job creation and long-term economic stability,” Wilson said.
Trump’s announcement could also spur additional economic activity in additional Gulf Coast states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Florida. Combined with Alabama, the coastal states have 96,000 jobs either directly or indirectly related to the shipbuilding industry. That represents roughly a quarter of the jobs provided by the shipyard industry, according to the Shipbuilders Council of America.
The four coastal states were heavily supportive of Trump during his past elections. Mobile was site of two campaign rallies during his initial run at the White House. The August 2015 event at Ladd-Peebles Stadium drew his largest crowd to a campaign rally at that early stage in the presidential contest. A little over one year later, in December 2016, Trump held a “Thank You” rally at the same site after winning the presidential election.
This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. on March 5, 2025, to include a statement from Rep. Barry Moore.
The 60th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” and the Selma March to Montgomery will be commemorated this weekend with events focused on the themes of education equity, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Black women judges.
“All of the rights we enjoy today came at a cost, and Selma was at the epicenter of that sacrifice,” said Abina Billups, co-founder of Salute Selma, Inc., which is hosting the events. “We have a responsibility to continue this fight, to honor those who came before us, and to make sure that history is not just remembered—but protected.”
The events commemorate “Bloody Sunday,” March 7, 1965, when demonstrators were beaten by officers as they marched from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery support of voting rights.
The incident helped catalyze the passage of the Voting Rights Act. A march across the bridge, which is a highlight of the anniversary in Selma every year, is planned for Sunday afternoon.
On Friday, March 7, women legal professionals from around the country will gather for a keynote discussion and awards ceremony.
“The commemoration will also highlight the power of Black women in the judiciary with a national call for all Black women judges to gather in Selma as protectors of democracy,” Salute Selma, Inc. said in a press release in February.
A summit on HBCUs will take place on Friday and Saturday with a reception on Friday evening and a panel discussion with civil rights leaders on Saturday, both at Alabama State University.
“Black fraternities, sororities, and civic organizations will mobilize in collective action, reinforcing the power of unity in today’s movement,” the group said.
On Sunday, a gospel and R&B concert will run all morning at Selma Memorial Stadium.
A five-year-long effort to better treat certain chronic diseases is entering a clinical trial in Europe, aided by Huntsville-based gene researchers.
The European Union-funded research into immune-mediated inflammatory diseases involves experts from the public and private sectors, including the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology at Cummings Research Park.
Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own tissues, leading to inflammation and tissue and organ damage, HudsonAlpha said in a news release. They include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. IMIDs are chronic conditions that require lifelong treatment and can significantly impact quality of life.
The DocTIS clinical trial will focusing on identifying combinations of existing drugs to treat six IMIDs, using patients at several U.K. and Spanish medical centers. The goal, according to the researchers, is to bring disease activity down to remission.
Richard M. Myers, HudsonAlpha’s chief scientific officer, M. A. Loya chair in genomics and faculty investigator, said his team has been contributing genomic assistance to the project’s Spain-based lead investigator. Their work helped identify and develop personalized biomarkers that could predict the clinical response to the combination therapies that will be trialed.
“The DocTIS clinical trial to test a combination of drugs is a novel approach that will serve as a model for combination therapies for a wide range of diseases,” Myers said.
