🌱 Smucker's Facility In McCalla + Birmingham Zoo's Sick Lion

Get on up, Birmingham! Here's everything you need to know to get this Friday started off right. There was some major news coming on the ecomomic development front, as Gov. Kay Ivey announced Thursday that the J.M. Smucker Co. plans to build a new manufacturing facility and distribution center in Jefferson County, generating large-scale job creation in the Birmingham area. Also in the news,the Birmingham Zoo's 16-year-old lion has been diagnosed with lymphoma. Read more about it below, and have a great Friday!

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First, today's weather:

Plenty of sunshine. High: 59 Low: 39.

Here are the top stories today in Birmingham:

1. Like I was saying, the J.M. Smucker Co. plans to build a new manufacturing facility and distribution center in McCalla, bringing more than 700 new jobs to the Birmingham metro. (Birmingham Patch)
2. The Birmingham Zoo's 16-year-old African lion, Kwanza, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. (WBRC)
3. A corrections officer at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on drug charges. (Birmingham Patch)
4. A cold front is headed to north and central Alabama, meaning Thanksgiving Week is going to be pretty chilly. (Birmingham Patch)
5. Over the past year, UAB has received nearly $849 million in research grants and awards, up from almost $638 million the previous year. (WIAT - CBS42.com)

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Today in Birmingham:

• Get in on some Pickleball Open Play action at the Levite Jewish Community Center (9 a.m.)
• Cheer on UAB Women's Basketball as the Blazers take on Mississippi Valley State. (11 a.m.)
• Do some mingling at the Junior League of Birmingham’s Jingle and Flamingle. (6 p.m.)
• Need a laugh? Make plans to see comedian, actor and voice-artist, Earthquake at the StarDome Comedy Club. (7 p.m.)
• If you love the Beatles, check out The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute at the Alabama Theatre (7:30 p.m.)

Birmingham Patch Notebook

• Birmingham's Theatre District is top on Fodor's Go List. (Bham Now)
• Birmingham Police Department honors the life of Officer Joseph Jerome Daniels, who was shot and killed November 18, 2002. (Facebook)
• Birmingham City Schools' scheduled opening for the Specialty Schools Application will begin on November 29, 2021, and close on January 18, 2022. (Facebook)
• Congrats to Chef Rob McDaniel and his downtown @HelenBham restaurant, which Esquire magazine has named one of the best new restaurants in America. The magazine dined at hundreds of restaurants to determine their winners. (Instagram)
• Holiday Soul with Eric Essix + Five Men returns to UAB's Alys Stephens Center on Dec. 12 (UAB News)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Friday off right! I'll see you soon. If you're enjoying these newsletters, consider bringing some of your friends and neighbors along for the ride. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Michael Seale

About me: I am a lifelong Alabama resident with more than two decades of media under my belt. I have worked for a daily newspaper, a weekly newspaper, a monthly magazine, a television station and a couple of radio stations. I also tried my hand at marketing for a little while. But I love writing news. This opportunity to bring Patch to Birmingham is a chance for my hometown to benefit from a new - and better - way to read and receive news.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Birmingham Daily? Contact me at michael.seale@patch.com.