LEGISLATIVE GREEN UPDATE: We welcome Adam Snyder of Conservation Alabama for his biweekly update of the status of eco-related bills under consideration in the Alabama legislature.

Green is on everybody’s lips these days, whether it’s because they are environmentally conscious or they’ve been drinking too much green beer. Now, thanks to Clover Crawl: Green Home & Garden Expo 2011, made possible by the Green Resource Center for Alabama, you too can get in on the green action.

I never tire of pointing out the virtues of beer vis-à-vis other alcoholic beverages. More ingredients and wider spectrum of flavor than wine? Check. No refined sugars or artificial sweeteners that yo

Another year has come and gone, and though 2010 was particularly full of onerous occasions, that’s no reason not to go out and party your little butts off come New Year’s Eve.

Last week I kicked off a series on the key regions of craft beer in America. I started close to home by covering the Southeast; now it’s time to shift focus to the golden goose of good beer in this country, California.

This past Sunday was a remarkable moment in the history of the beer industry in Alabama. Representatives from all six breweries and beer companies currently in operation in our state were all under one roof for the first time, along with a representative from Mississippi’s only brewery, Lazy Magnolia.

Exciting as it sounds, Alabama Ballet’s production of Dracula isn’t the only Halloween related shin-dig in Birmingham this weekend, not by a long stretch. Here are a few other events you might want to take a look at, if you dare!.

Ten years ago Birmingham Weekly released the very first Menu of Menus, the most comprehensive and up-to-date collection of Birmingham restaurant menus in print. Since then, many things have changed. Exciting new restaurants have opened, a few old favorites have closed, and the pool of cuisine-savvy consumers has been ever expanding. These days Birmingham plays host to a wide spectrum of excellent dining establishments, many of whom have been with us through every edition.

BEST RESTAURANT Top Three: Veranda on HighlandJoe's ItalianLittle Savannah Other "Bests" OceanHot and Hot Fish ClubChez LuluCafe de ParisGianMarco'sBottega26Highland Bar

Get outside, people: Maybe most of you, dear readers, are hardy souls who have continued to go outside all summer during the insane heat and life-sapping humidity that afflicts those who live in the near-tropical American South, perhaps especially here in the benighted province of Alabama.