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Grounds for concern in homes deal delay

WHY are we waiting? That's the cry from residents in a Birmingham suburb who've still seen no sign of the new sports facilities they were promised two-and-a-half years ago when their local allotments were bulldozed to make way for a posh housing estate. Read

Give someone a rocket

NEW Year's Eve was a damp squib in Birmingham - even without the awful weather. Read

At least we know Saddam's gone

THE widely circulated pictures of Saddam Hussein's execution are grotesque, offensive - and absolutely necessary. Read

Right foot forward

THERE have been calls this week to sack Simone Clarke, the so-called "BNP ballerina" whose membership of the far-right party has been exposed by a national newspaper investigation. Read

Brum's very own leaning tower

NAVEED Mughal calls his house The Leaning Tower of Balsall Heath - and it's not hard to see why. Read

Hughes has lost his hero status

CAN a man who left one person dead and another crippled for life ever be seriously considered a hero? Read

Has QE been a victim of success?

MORE than £2 million has been unexpectedly slashed from the budget for training doctors at Birmingham's flagship Queen Elizabeth hospital. Read

Ex-Rover man stung by university 'elitism'

BIRMINGHAM University has been accused of turning its back on the local community and seeking to attract only "the Oxbridge elite" after announcing plans to scrap three courses. Read

Labour power base for ex-Tory

THE Stirrer can reveal that a former Conservative parliamentary candidate with a colourful past has emerged as a leading power-broker in Birmingham's Labour Party. Read

Crime posters are such a cop-out

NO MORE than 100 metres from the police training centre at Tally Ho! in Edgbaston there are chilling notices attached to lampposts warning that "robbers are operating in this area". Read

Will a fest by any other name smell as sweet?

BIRMINGHAM'S Artsfest - billed as Britain's biggest free arts festival - is being axed. Read

NEC snubs the ethical option

HERE'S a message to the NEC from thousands of people who watch shows and concerts there every year - wake up and smell the fair trade coffee. Read

Prejudiced view

BIRMINGHAM Archbishop Vincent Nichols reckons the government is trying to distort the country's morality by enforcing new laws on gay rights. Read

Super green machine set to hit the buffers

IT'S the West Midlands most amazing public transport innovation in years - and in a few weeks' time it faces the axe. Read

Council closes ranks on 'open' space

ANTI-supermarket campaigner Robert Cawte from Solihull has been making some serious allegations about his local council. Read

One Show too big for its roots

THEY called it the One Show, now it's the Gone Show. Read

Homeless lose out as conmen move in

KIND-HEARTED Brummies are being ripped-off by fraudulent Big Issue sellers who are using the magazine as part of a city centre begging scam. Read

Museum pledge on office

GREAT news for everyone who cares about Birmingham's motoring heritage. Read

Full marks for value, none for style

AFTER a weekend in Germany, I can report that the country's football fashion is still rooted in the 1970s - but so, too, amazingly, is the cost of admission. Read

Awesome courage of Marathon Man Dave

SPEND a few days in the company of Blind Dave Heeley and you'll never feel sorry for yourself again. Read