Birmingham Post-Herald from Birmingham, Alabama • 1

hrSrCMr High 78 Low 55 Weather A2 Nursery times Decorator has parents scurrying for his stylish nursery expertise Features FI Catfish fever Warm weather puts fishing for catfish high on anglers' lists Sports C6 Teen mother keeps: dream within reach prepares for college Page D1 Birmingham Post-Herald FINAL EDITION May 2219971 Thursday "TO!" Despite that economic reality Hoover is still prospering financially and reaping the benefits of the Rivcrehaae Galleria's presence within its city limits he said not growing a last a we were for i while" Richard Smith arid "1 think reached a plateau New area shopping centers cut share The increase betwea fiscal 1993 and 1994 was 33 percenL Betwea 1994 and 1995 the increase dropped to 236 percent and in 1996 it was Si percent "New retail construction in surrounding cities accounts tor the small increase in Smith add "For example Brook Highlands (Plaza) which is over a US 280 that's a pretty good-size shopping mall and people who come here south a 280 By William Singletoi Birmingham Fwt-HcraU i The menhig of (bopping oaten uch Brook HlghUmh Plan In the Invernoa area and Wildwood North in Homewood haa taka a small bite out -of sales and use tax revenue the finance director said I And the Mercedes-Benz 1 6-year marriage ends 35 Cental apt to stop and go there rather than coining over to the Galleria or other places in He also noted the Summit a mixed-! use development with about 670000 square feet of retail qce set to open in October in the Cahaba Heights area and a possible shopping center withur the Liberty Park development Please tn Is TAXES page At games during prime time "While I want to support the local school this has nothing to do with Bke or said t-d who Joined WMBG on March 25 "I have to follow what my research dictating and it dearly indicate! that our audience not at an pleased wha the station preempts regularly scheduled CBS Instead of accepting a reduced offer-from WBMG Sanders decided to ex piore other options Re refused to core- meat a negotiations but a official at WBRC-6 confirmed the Fax affiliate interested in obtaining the rights WHRC has a larger local viewing base than WBMG but a Fox affiliate it has fewer hours of primetime network programing in canverstationa with other Sanders said "I hope to know something in the next few dqn went out a little pessimistic about bow all thk would work but I think itt going to work out Just fine We might end up in an eva better situation fries to kidney where going to esperienoe significant growth but nothing in the double Smith who gave a report a the financial condition in Febmaiy aaM aAHtWial phnqifa canton built in surrounding communities are likely to have an impact on sales Bid naw factory In tha Vanca area featuring dancers stagers choirs gl-ant-screa TV sets fireworks celebrities and the M-ciaaa The M-clase appeared at the end of the extravagama ai performers opened a circular platform a the raised central stage Smoke flowed as the giant circle separated Then hum the pit a hydraulic lift lowly raised a diver M-daaa into use tax revenue The revenue Hoover taka in each' year is still impressive growing from $104 million in 1987 the first full year after the Galleria opened hi 1986 to $35J million in 1996 But the percentage increase for the past few years has dropped drastically class Julie HinterFort-Herald Thepubfie gets a view of M-etosa allactivity news media briefing at the Wynfrey Galleria in Hoover Mereedes- BenzlIS International was celebrating tha opening Wednesday of its first US plant located in tha Vance area of Tuscaloosa a wowwnrvevi County the air "It was Hollywood It was Broadway the only way to describe said Ted vonQmnon president of the Metropolitan Development Board which recruits industry for greater Birmingham and waa instrumental in bringing Mercedes to Alabama Please tan to PLANT page AI The young mu told police two men in a second car drove up behind hk 1984 CHdsmobile Cutlaaa fired two bullets into the back window and robbed him of hk car The incident part of a growing pile of reports filed by driven victimized while stopping at traffic Ughk and slop signs Birmingham police reported 155 car robberia in 1996 Forty-four casa have bea reported so far this year with nine occurring in April the last complete month for which police have tabulated car robbery statistics Please tan to ROB page AI By Cary Estes Birmingham Poat-Herald A 16-year relationship betwea the UAB athletic program and WBMG-42 haa come to mend UAB'i local basketball TV package and its basketball and football coaches shows will not be broadcast an WBMG during the upcoming school year officials at the school and the TV station said Wednesday The breakup apparently was a mutual decision following the ouster earlier this year of longtime WBMG General Manager Hoyle Broome a strong supporter of the UAB program who did not hesitate to pre-empt CBS programming in order to air Blazer games "We had a special relationship with Hoyle He was awfully good to us" said Gary Sanders UAB director of broadcasting he left that made it a new Eric Land the new president and general manager at WBMG said he informed Sanders during a meeting last month that the stalks no longer would be aa willing to show UAB Woman sell own The Associated Prew ST PETERSBURG Fla Wha Ruth Sparrow could not come up with the money for her gall bladder surgery she decided to sell a personal Runs good Taking offers read her advertisement in the St Petersburg Times Ms Sparrow 55 want joking- She ran the ad this week and has bea drinking buckets of water for more tha two months to clean out the organ rad have it in prime shape for donation The only problem that her offer illegal have people putting ads in newspapers and magazines to have their utenues for rent for nine Ms Sparrow complained in edition of the Tima "I have a body that no one wank to look at the outside ao I have to go inside and sell the she said Ms Sparrow a nurse became desperate when socked with a 320000 bill Thu iww M-cIms Mercudea Bum M-ciass show given top ratings By Patrick RapiaaU Birmingham Foat-Herald Mercedes-Benz promised that its M-class would be a world-class vehicle the likes of which had never been Hie verdict till might be out a that But Wednesday official unveiling of Mercedes' first all-acttv-was extravaganza the of which Alabama had never BrildiEg Mercedes to presented at tha Foreign JoumaBot Interested In Western techniques El See how Mercedes assembles tho M-elass E6 Before more4han4000 guests the German automaker put a a show for a gallbladder operation to Mvcfa She had dropped her medical kaUN ance four years ago because she coiild not afford the 000 a year premhiqv She offered to pay the bill by (foliating her kiitoey to the hospital but the deal waa turned down Federal and itate lawa prohibit anyone from offering to buy or aell a human organ or tkaie In Florida the of-fense a aeconddegree felony Her offer slipped past the daaified desk at the Tima which stopped running the ad Monday Bayfhxit Medical Center estimated Ms Sparrow still owa about $17000 of her bill and affidak there said they are trying to find xxne financial asks- tance for her So far they have bea unsuccesaftiL Mi Sparrow regrek trying to pawn the kidney She laid she should hare resorted to other methods If I had it to do over Again would've gone to the 7-Eleven aid robbed the place" she said New auto hijacking danger? By Lewis Kamb Birmingham Port-Herald Drivers who obey one of the simplest traffic ndes these days can get themaeiva robbed kktaapped or eva killed what a 20-yoroid Birmingham man found out wha he halted at a stop sign May 10 It waa all kind of said the young man who asked to have his name withheld for fear of retribution from hk attackers "Wha I pit to the stop sign I Just saw bright fighk behind me and 1 heard the ahok and glass Stephen Ga to Port-Hcrald robbery Detective Richard Mi Her of ear robberies Birmingham Police Department haa investigated several false.