The Blog of Columbus, Georgia

2011-09-25T01:00:00.000-04:00

THE BLOG OF COLUMBUS -> Our other blog starts with poker, then goes in directions you might not expect. See what we mean at "On the Flop!" <- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 25 SEP 11: In Conclusion.... You've probably heard the phrase, "All good things must come to an end." Today I apply that phrase to this blog -- although I realize some of you never have been really sure about how good this blog is.

2011-09-24T03:00:00.003-04:00

24 SEP 11: Mentions of Troy(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following items humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.) Did he do it? I really don't know. Even after hearing and reading plenty of arguments pro and con, I don't know. When it comes to high-profile cases like the one which caused all the controversy

2011-09-23T03:00:00.002-04:00

23 SEP 11: Water-Fall Today is the first day of autumn in Columbus. During my college years, I drove home from campus one fall Saturday morning to relax with the family. But I wound up on top of the house, because the rest of the family decided it was time to put new shingles on the roof. For a while, political science textbooks seemed a bit more appealing. After a hot and dry summer

2011-09-22T03:00:00.001-04:00

22 SEP 11: Where-a-Cop-a Parked Wednesday night was a night of tension and anxiety for a lot of Georgians. You can't blame some of them for being nervous and on edge. It's left to your humor blogger to attempt to offer a bit of comedy relief -- so I will say nothing here today about Atlanta's baseball team losing to Florida again. We'll focus instead on a place I considered the "Central

2011-09-21T03:00:00.000-04:00

21 SEP 11: Call the Bouncers Yes, I know what the big local news story was Tuesday. But no, I'm still not planning to make any jokes about it here - because people on both sides probably are ready to set up a picket line outside my door. Instead, I've noticed something else on Columbus TV in the last 48 hours. If you've been counting the days until the big change at WTVM's digital channel

2011-09-20T00:28:00.000-04:00

20 SEP 11: Something or Nothing? It's been quite a long time since we played a game here about the news of the day. So today let's try one called - hey, the title's already up there - "Something or Nothing?" We'll consider several developments around the area, and determine if they amount to something or nothing. And remember: if it's "next to nothing," it's probably still something. 1

2011-09-19T03:00:00.000-04:00

19 SEP 11: Circus Mark's-imus The weekly Columbus siren test went as scheduled over the weekend. And this time I was awake at 12:00 noon to hear it. It's not that I'm keeping score, mind you - I think that's part of the reason why Riley Land still has a city job. But moments after Saturday's siren test, the phone rang - and it was completely unexpected. Muscogee County School Board

2011-09-18T02:27:00.000-04:00

18 SEP 11: Pipes Down Leave it to our readers to offer challenging topics for jokes. They could have brought up weekend football games, or Saturday being Constitution Day. But no -- today our lead item involves sewer pipes. Humor doesn't get much lower and dirtier than this.... SUNDAY SOAPBOX: The sewer pipes are, uh, dug up by someone who hasn't written us in several weeks. He titled this

2011-09-16T03:00:00.000-04:00

16 SEP 11: Mission Accomplished A little construction is still underway. But as of Thursday, six years of hope and hype officially are over. Base realignment has ended. Fort Benning is a busier place. And Muscogee County schools will have to look beyond Kentucky for help in improving test scores. Thursday was the federal deadline for concluding BRAC, or "base realignment and

2011-09-15T00:49:00.002-04:00

15 SEP 11: Gator of Green Island? Newcomers to our area might find it puzzling. Glenwood School's sports teams are nicknamed the Gators. In east Alabama -- more than 100 miles from the Florida line?! But then again, Harris County isn't exactly known for its loose and roaming tigers.... But real live alligators may be closer to home than you think. Consider this e-mail we received

2011-09-14T03:00:00.000-04:00

14 SEP 11: Donut Hole City? The scoffers in Phenix City say it's wrong for city officials to spend a lot of money to recruit a new downtown Marriott hotel. But maybe they're forgetting something. Tourists checking travel websites might conclude it's the only one within several miles of all the Columbus attractions. Despite the long court fight over lodging taxes, several major

2011-09-13T00:59:00.000-04:00

13 SEP 11: Basket Cases So really -- what is the deal about hand baskets? They simply don't get any respect. When someone talks about going somewhere "in a hand basket," they almost always are going to a place that's bad. You never hear people at church talk about going to heaven in one.... I have nothing personally against hand baskets. I use them often when I pick up a few items

2011-09-12T00:59:00.001-04:00

12 SEP 11: Fighters, Fools and Frauds A military presence covered part of downtown Columbus on 11 September this year. In fact, you might want to avoid part of Front Avenue for the next couple of days -- because the fighting vehicles on display for the Maneuver Conference trade show probably will be slower than your car. A current Colonel and a retired Fort Benning Commanding General

2011-09-11T02:37:00.000-04:00

11 SEP 11: Can I Laugh Now? The weekly Saturday siren test in Columbus did not happen this weekend. That probably disappointed some cynics -- the ones who wanted a siren to interrupt the mayor's proclaimed moment of silence at 12:00 noon. I was napping at noon - awakening at 12:03 p.m. to get out of bed and offer a prayer, noting today's anniversary of the 11 September attacks. It

2011-09-09T01:01:00.001-04:00

9 SEP 11: Facts or Friction It's one thing to spread a rumor to your friends at work or your neighbor over the back fence. It's another thing to spread it in print before thousands of newspaper readers. For one thing, one of those readers actually might do some double-checking to see if it's accurate.... The President of the Chattahoochee County School Board was surprised Thursday

2011-09-08T03:00:00.000-04:00

8 SEP 11: All A-GOP-e Several Republican Presidential candidates debated in southern California Wednesday night. And several Republican leaders in Columbus tried to show they're ordinary people like you and me. They watched the debate at Momma Goldberg's Deli downtown - where years ago they automatically would have chosen Ben's Chop House. The last decade will be remembered in

2011-09-07T03:00:00.000-04:00

7 SEP 11: Judge Teresa? Maybe the Columbus Charter Review Commission is missing the target. We don't need a mayor with the power to fire the city manager. We need one who will take over as presiding judge when the situation demands it - and we currently stand at one judicial opening, heading for two. Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson sounded like a prosecuting attorney Tuesday, if not a

2011-09-06T03:00:00.000-04:00

6 SEP 11: You Make Me Want to Shout "Is this the way to Harris County?" the driver in the other lane asked me in a loud voice Monday morning. This was a nice change from some of the last people to attract my attention while I was driving - those two alleged prostitutes in May. The man in the other lane was driving a pickup truck. And he was heading northbound on Veterans Parkway

2011-09-05T01:30:00.000-04:00

5 SEP 11: Ciudad de Plastico Happy Labor Day to you -- but I have to ask a question. If you have the day off, do you have a "project" planned around the house? Don't you realize you're sort of defeating the purpose of the holiday? Sunday was a big errand day for me, including a trip to the recycling center near Victory Drive. And there was a nice surprise there - as without any

2011-09-04T02:12:00.001-04:00

4 SEP 11: Flowers and Love Columbus can be a "make or break" city for many people dreaming of big media careers. For people such as Rece Davis of ESPN, it can be a stepping stone to the big time. For others.... well, at least I'm still here writing a blog.... SUNDAY SOAPBOX: It didn't receive the attention of Kurt Schmitz, but one of the best TV reporters in Columbus disappeared about

2011-09-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

2 SEP 11: Pump Up the Ball A few weeks ago on my poker night, a man walked to the table with one enthusiastic question for all the other players. "Are you ready for some football?" When he turned to me, the answer was ready. "I really came here to play poker." So imagine my surprise Thursday night at the poker table. I looked up at a big-screen TV about to show the first

2011-09-01T03:00:00.001-04:00

1 SEP 11: You're a High-Priced Flag Welcome to September. We've reached the month for Patriot Day remembering the terror attacks, along with Constitution Day. Yet it appeared for awhile Wednesday Alabama was so broke that it couldn't afford a state flag -- and might have to appeal to Senator Richard Shelby for every spare "Capitol-flown" flag he could get. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley

2011-08-31T03:00:00.001-04:00

31 AUG 11: Mark 'em All Down Before there were Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Katia, another local website was talking in terms of a "hurricane Shelnutt." There are plenty of attorneys who could fit that description, I suppose - since lawyers have a reputation for presenting a lot of hot air in court. But now a Muscogee County Judge openly is accusing attorney Mark Shelnutt of stirring up

2011-08-30T03:00:00.002-04:00

30 AUG 11: Rice and Cohn Didya hear about the big star-studded dinner Monday night at the Trade Center? From what I saw on TV, the main dish was fluffy Rice.... When I took a Monday morning "follow-up" jog downtown, the main vehicle entrances to the Trade Center on Front Avenue already were blocked by yellow tape. I presumed it was a security precaution for Condoleezza Rice's appearance

2011-08-29T03:00:00.004-04:00

29 AUG 11: Sweating By Candlelight "Did you go running this morning?" my next-door neighbor asked from his chair in the shade as I approached the door. "No. Just walking," I said - which is what I do in the neighborhood many Saturday mornings. "I'll run later." He didn't know how much later -- the latest I'd ever run. And it wasn't because a criminal was pursuing me, either. I hadn't planned

2011-08-27T03:00:00.003-04:00

27 AUG 11: Trust the Driver? We split an e-mail from this past week into two parts. Today we return to part one, which referred to the new Georgia license plate.... Hey Richard, in response to the new Georgia tag being offered plain or deluxe, how about one with the phrase, “In No One Do I Trust”. It seems that is appropriate for today’s society. As for the atheists, there are no atheists in h*

2011-08-26T01:17:00.001-04:00

26 AUG 11: Scoreboard Watching The high school football season kicked off in Columbus Thursday night, with Randolph-Clay clubbing Kendrick 33-20. Randolph-Clay has a running back named Cornelius Bennett - the same name as a legendary linebacker with Alabama and the Buffalo Bills. So has any Columbus couple named its baby boy Matt Ryan yet? That game was played at McClung Memorial Stadium - a

2011-08-25T03:00:00.001-04:00

25 AUG 11: Go White to Jail Instant Message to all new families from Fort Knox: If you haven't noticed it already, race relations tend to bubble below the surface of nearly every issue in Columbus. If you want a "city too busy to hate," head for Atlanta. Some people in Columbus seem to have extra time to think about it. The stage is set for what could be Columbus's next racially-charged

2011-08-24T01:17:00.002-04:00

24 AUG 11: A Case of the Shakes OK, you sign-seekers - the ones who think an earthquake rattling the U.S. capital is a deep message aimed at our country and President. Tuesday's quake was the strongest one in Washington since 1897. Within a year of that quake, the U.S. was at war -- but we beat Spain then. Why couldn't we take over Cuba a second time? Some people in our area insist they felt

2011-08-23T03:00:00.001-04:00

23 AUG 11: Peaches on a Plate And you thought this was an "off year" for elections. A winner was declared Monday in a vote which will affect practically everyone in Georgia. And it should be a big job creator -- at least for state prison inmates. Governor Nathan Deal revealed the design of the next Georgia license plate. The creation of a mural designer in Forsyth will be produced on a large

2011-08-22T03:00:00.001-04:00

22 AUG 11: Squish the Bug Hello, my name is Richard - and I'm a cockroach. You know, the sort of thing which loves to hang around kitchens. And if you find me on one bedroom wall, I might drive you right up the opposite one. What - you didn't know I'm a cockroach? Well, I really didn't realize it either. But that all changed last week, thanks to an interview on Paul Finebaum's radio sports

2011-08-21T02:25:00.001-04:00

21 AUG 11: Fee Fi Fo Fum At least they're honest enough at Phenix City Council to admit they're raising taxes. They simply aren't giving people much time to think about it or discuss it. An increase first makes news on Monday, then gets approved on Tuesday - faster than Mayor Sonny Coulter can organize a protest march. SUNDAY SOAPBOX: It's not being a called a tax, but something close to it in

2011-08-20T03:00:00.003-04:00

20 AUG 11: The Best Defense (BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.) The church pastor was talking to his congregation about the recent riots in England -- and how people are protecting their homes and property by purchasing aluminum baseball bats. Of course, this

2011-08-19T03:00:00.001-04:00

19 AUG 11: Rig-Go-Round Rigmarole Which streets are the busiest in Columbus? Now you can know -- as the city government has posted a "traffic count map," with all sorts of numbers showing daily vehicle counts throughout town. It shows Veterans Parkway near Columbus Park Crossing barely has more traffic than Manchester Expressway at Peachtree Mall -- so Cinnabon may be in the right location

2011-08-18T03:00:00.001-04:00

18 AUG 11: Three-Dollar Card Café We're approaching ten months since Wells Fargo became a big-time bank in the Columbus area - and the longer it's here, the less I'm liking it. An announcement Wednesday probably disappointed a lot of customers across Georgia. Instead of bandits robbing the stagecoach, it feels like the Wells Fargo stagecoach is robbing the passengers. Wells Fargo announced

2011-08-17T03:00:00.001-04:00

17 AUG 11: Up to Something Phenix City won the local race to drop gas prices below $3.40 per gallon. Stations on Opelika Road were as low as $3.32 Tuesday night. You'd better hurry to take advantage of this, before the City Council finds out and raises fuel taxes. Phenix City Council continued a wave of tax hikes Tuesday, by affirming a 1.5 percent tax on all rental property. For a typical

2011-08-16T00:25:00.001-04:00

16 AUG 11: The Suite Life Near Cody The fall semester began Monday at public universities across Georgia. I know one man who's checked into a dormitory at Georgia Southwestern State in Americus - at age 47! And to make things more amazing, he's a student instead of the "house parent." Columbus State University anticipates a record fall enrollment - and that's created record demand for student

2011-08-15T03:00:00.001-04:00

15 AUG 11: Half-Court Pres So as we said four weeks ago - are there any branches of Columbus government NOT under investigation? Now we learn a special state prosecutor is sniffing around the courtrooms. If this keeps up, someone on Columbus Council is going to ask for "confessional time" at next week's meeting. The River City Report indicated Sunday a special state prosecutor is

2011-08-14T02:17:00.001-04:00

14 AUG 11: I Is for Impeach Property tours opened Saturday for a big piece of land that's about to go up for auction in western Russell County. The Enon and Savoy plantations with more than 25,000 acres is listed as being in Hurtsboro - but from what I've been told, none of the land is inside the city limits. If it was, the constant complaining about Hurtsboro probably would have led to a

2011-08-12T03:00:00.001-04:00

12 AUG 11: You Can Be a Partial Winner, Too Statistics and percentages can be funny things. If you went three for 17 as a baseball hitter, your average wouldn't be very good. But if you picked three winners in 17 dog races, you might make a profit on the day and go home happy. And if you're three for 17 in romance, I think you match Jennifer Lopez's marital record. VictoryLand owner Milton

2011-08-11T03:00:00.001-04:00

11 AUG 11: Hit the Streets To be honest, the morning run was ordinary. I only made it three-quarters of a mile non-stop, even running at sunrise. If I had run at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:00 a.m., the three-quarters of a mile might have referred to the puddle of my sweat. But something out of the ordinary occurred one morning this week, as I walk/jogged toward home to eat breakfast. I nearly was

2011-08-10T03:00:00.001-04:00

10 AUG 11: Sweet T? Today's post feels like it belongs on Sesame Street, because it's filled with the letter T. In this case, T is for transportation. And taxation. And talk show. And Tea Party, which I think opposes at least one of those three.... A timpani drum is starting to beat for another tax increase in the Columbus area. And this has nothing to do with the city Charter Review

2011-08-09T03:00:00.001-04:00

9 AUG 11: Waive It All Away He may be cracking the whip toward Atlanta's public schools - but Georgia's Governor seemed to do Muscogee County schools a favor Monday. If students can't reach the goal line, he'll do what he can to make the field as short as possible. Governor Nathan Deal seized on an announcement from the U.S. Secretary of Education that states can apply for waivers from the "

2011-08-08T03:00:00.002-04:00

8 AUG 11: Three For the Money It's the first day of a new school year in Muscogee County -- and this year, teachers and administrators may be under as much pressure as the students to succeed. After all, you can't spell "paycheck" without A.Y.P.... So how many Muscogee County parents drove to east Alabama over the weekend to save money on back-to-school items? The sixth annual "sales tax

2011-08-07T02:19:00.002-04:00

7 AUG 11: A Louder Beat Someone in Columbus drives a car with the license plate "DJ CHIP." I know because that car passed me awhile back, heading north on Veterans Parkway. I assume it was driven by the co-host of the WFXE "Foxie 105" morning show - but as fast as he was driving, maybe I should wish it was a car thief. The latest Columbus radio ratings are out this weekend -- and while Foxie

2011-08-05T01:34:00.001-04:00

5 AUG 11: BRAC-a-Brick? The predictions were staggering several years ago - as officials told us Columbus would add a city the size of LaGrange to its population. But the early returns on base realignment are showing a very different trend. It's almost like the new military families are driving to LaGrange, then stopping. Harris County Schools began a new term Thursday, with the superintendent

2011-08-04T03:00:00.001-04:00

4 AUG 11: Badges Behaving Badly?It must be strange for one police officer to arrest another. For one thing, they can probably recite the "Miranda Warning" rights in unison....A former Columbus Police officer was arrested Wednesday on charges of robbing bank. Authorities say Edward Pascucci held up Citizens Trust Bank on Macon Road during the late morning. Don't you wonder if he did it in a proper

2011-08-03T03:00:00.001-04:00

3 AUG 11: Debt Men Walking Some of you read this blog first thing in the morning - so did you sleep better Tuesday night? Our national leaders reached a deal at the last minute. The U.S. government did NOT default on its debts. And the people predicting hyperinflation still can't make a quick fortune selling wheelbarrows. Three out of four area Senators voted Tuesday against the compromise to

2011-08-02T03:00:00.002-04:00

2 AUG 11: Pick Six Shame on me - I'd forgotten. City auditor John Redmond is NOT the most provocative person connected to Columbus city government. He has some competition, in a commission which held a meeting Monday. And unlike Redmond's work, voters actually can decide if this committee is right. The City Charter Review Commission met at the Government Center. And if I heard WRBL's report

2011-08-01T03:00:00.001-04:00

1 AUG 11: Where Does the Money Go? President Obama announced an agreement Sunday night to keep the U.S. government from defaulting on its debts. It came only days after a federal grant took over funding for 38 Alabama state troopers. If Congress votes down the agreement, drivers on U.S. 280 actually may be happy Wednesday instead of upset.BLOG SPECIAL EVENT: For the last month I've kept track of

2011-07-31T02:59:00.002-04:00

31 JUL 11: Backstage Past When we added a new Sunday feature earlier this year, we expected a couple of readers to become "regulars." They both show up today -- and as usual, neither of them brought "devotionals" in the strict sense of the word. Or fried chicken for dinner, either....SUNDAY SOAPBOX: But another visitor gets top position today. This e-mail reached us first, and deals with one of

2011-07-29T02:09:00.001-04:00

29 JUL 11: From Three to Five If there's one local theme that's emerging in 2011, Columbus is shedding the "big town" image to become a medium-sized city. Thursday brought another example of that trend - and if you were awake early enough to see it, you probably have a commute that fits right along with it. WRBL doubled the length of "News 3 This Morning," becoming the first media outlet in

2011-07-28T01:31:00.001-04:00

28 JUL 11: Rumorville "When did you become Robert Schweiger's boy?" a man asked me a couple of weeks ago. I knew what the man meant - but some people might get the wrong idea. So let me set the record straight in an indisputable way: I did NOT have close relations with that man, Mr. Schweiger. I never told.... hey, how did that link get there? The man on a mission to wipe Hurtsboro, Alabama off

2011-07-27T03:00:00.001-04:00

27 JUL 11: Seats of Power In some cities, concert promoters are famous names. In our area, most people probably couldn't have named the major promoter before Tuesday night's Columbus Council meeting. In fact, most people probably would have trouble remembering who performed at the Civic Center concert last weekend. Mike Blackwell is the promoter's name - and for a change, Tuesday night HE was the

2011-07-26T03:00:00.001-04:00

26 JUL 11: In the ArenaTRUE NEWS ITEM: President Obama gave a televised speech on the U.S. debt limit debate Monday night, at the same time "WWE Monday Night Raw" began on the USA Network. "Good evening, my fellow Americans. Tonight I want to take a few minutes to talk with you about an important issue that affects our country, both now and in the future." "Let's talk immediate future, Jack!

2011-07-25T03:00:00.001-04:00

25 JUL 11: Couples Dance Did you know Big Lots holds a "Friends and Family Day" twice a year, when everything in the store is marked down? I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago - and the 20-percent discount led me to buy a new bedroom pillow for the first time in many years. The old one had become flatter than a karaoke singer after three beers.BLOGGER BEGGARS #6-7: I hauled a lot of

2011-07-24T02:16:00.001-04:00

24 JUL 11: Burning Itself Out? The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is a wide-ranging agency. It takes reports of methamphetamine labs around the state. It keeps track of sex offenders and where they live. And after the news of this past week, maybe the G.B.I. should track down dozens of Muscogee County School students -- because they obviously disappeared from the AYP report.SUNDAY SOAPBOX: The

2011-07-22T03:00:00.001-04:00

22 JUL 11: The One in the Middle Two years of my education were spent in a junior high school. But I don't think many children in the U.S. attend "junior high" anymore. That phrase seemed to go the way of junior varsity football teams. In fact, the only place in education where "junior" is popular now is in college football - because top players can skip their senior year and turn pro. The "

2011-07-21T03:00:00.001-04:00

21 JUL 11: What's the Big Deal? WTVM's video section Wednesday evening had one clip headlined: "Raw: Gov. Deal...." Never mind what he was discussing. Democrats had a good laugh simply reading in the mainstream media about Georgia having a Raw Deal. Governor Nathan Deal made the rounds of Columbus Wednesday - but something seemed to be missing. Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson told the Ledger-Enquirer

2011-07-20T01:27:00.001-04:00

20 JUL 11: Folding the Tent Nearly ten years after that terror-filled Tuesday, Fort Benning soldiers continue to head overseas for year-long deployments. Many of them leave spouses and children behind, waiting anxiously for their return -- while dreaming of making money writing scripts for the TV series "Army Wives." One longtime support mechanism for Fort Benning soldiers has evaporated in the

2011-07-19T00:24:00.001-04:00

19 JUL 11: Sexism and the City At first glance, the complaint doesn't make sense. Columbus has a female mayor. A female mayor pro tem. A female school superintendent. A female school board president. So how can there possibly be gender discrimination in city government? Aren't women running practically everything now? Well, maybe they aren't. An attorney revealed Monday three Muscogee County

2011-07-18T03:00:00.002-04:00

18 JUL 11: Darr They Go Again It's reaching the point where it might be easier to list the Columbus city departments and agencies NOT under investigation. Between the city auditor, police detectives and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.... well, I hope Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson gave copies of her receipts from Germany to everyone in the Government Center. The latest agency under the

2011-07-17T02:27:00.001-04:00

17 JUL 11: You Forgot Somebody If you didn't stay up for the big moment, Casey Anthony was released from jail shortly after 12:00 midnight ET. I think the authorities in Orlando could have handled this better -- by waiting to release her until 4:30 a.m., and requiring her to wear funny glasses and a fake red beard to avoid being noticed.SUNDAY SOAPBOX: Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley was

2011-07-15T03:00:00.001-04:00

15 JUL 11: Fast Forward Friday Thursday's schedule was crowded for me. But apparently it wasn't busy in the local news world - since the premiere of a Harry Potter movie was the top story at 10:00 p.m. So we'll depart from our usual format today, and offer quick thoughts about several items making headlines.... 1. FIRE SCANDAL #9. Wait, hold on -- this actually comes from Fire Station #9 in

2011-07-14T03:00:00.001-04:00

14 JUL 11: C'mon, Feel the Noise Give the summer storms in our area credit for one thing -- they usually warn you they're coming. The sky darkens. Thunder usually rumbles. If you can't get to your car and roll up the window before the rain starts, you're without excuse. But this year, the Columbus Emergency Management office apparently has decided the weather needs some help. It happened again

2011-07-13T03:00:00.001-04:00

13 JUL 11: Mr. Don't Know It All The people who insist Columbus has deep-down hidden secrets finally may have been proven right Tuesday. The mayor declared one city department had a well-concealed "conspiracy" for 15 years. And it has nothing to do with how Country's Barbecue prepares its meat. Columbus Council received the final audit report on the Parks and Recreation Department. It shows

2011-07-12T00:10:00.001-04:00

12 JUL 11: Year-Round Letdown? Before our main topic, we have a BLOG EXCLUSIVE which arrived late Monday night. A source close to the situation tells your blog Angelia Curran resigned Monday from the Friendship Volunteer Fire Department. She's scheduled to appear in Montgomery federal court Wednesday on embezzlement charges. Curran might want to track down Milton McGregor's attorney in a hallway,

2011-07-11T03:00:00.003-04:00

11 JUL 11: Testing, 3-1-1 It's one thing to see a pothole in the middle of the street. It's another thing to find a hole in the street - one which isn't supposed to be there. If the old saying is true about stepping on a crack to "break your mother's back," driving into a hole could take an awful toll. I came upon such a hole this past week, as I stepped outside for an evening jog. I took this

2011-07-10T02:40:00.001-04:00

10 JUL 11: Fanning the Flames So we're six months into the term of Columbus Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson -- and outside the Parks Department scandal and a couple of retirements, there have been no wholesale changes at the Government Center. For instance, Fire Chief Jeff Meyer still has his job. Contrary to some speculation, he has NOT quit to become Jim Wetherington's personal chauffeur.SUNDAY

2011-07-09T03:00:00.001-04:00

9 JUL 11: Casey and the Son-Shone Band(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)"What did y'all think about the verdict on the little baby?" That question wasn't surprising this past week, but the person asking the question was. My next-door neighbor stopped me at my

2011-07-08T00:40:00.001-04:00

8 JUL 11: A Sonny-er View "Beware Richard," warned the title of an e-mail I received Thursday. Huh?! Why? I don't run in Phenix City long enough to qualify for a grand jury investigation.... It turned out the message was in response to our Thursday interview with a Phenix City Councilor:Please do not believe anything that comes from the mouth of J. Wetzel. That beard does not act as a

2011-07-07T00:30:00.001-04:00

7 JUL 11: Phenix War II "As of now, it is my intention to run for mayor." The man who said that Wednesday night probably isn't surprising many people. In fact, some might say he's already running Phenix City - and perhaps running over anyone in his way.BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Phenix City Councilor Jimmy Wetzel gave his strongest indication yet that he'll run for mayor next year. And he went much farther

2011-07-06T03:00:00.001-04:00

6 JUL 11: North By Newest If you came here expecting jokes about Tuesday's big national story -- sorry, wrong blog. Even though that story led plenty of local newscasts, I really don't consider Columbus a suburb of Orlando. (Well, OK -- I'll only say this. The last time a "Casey" received this much attention in July, George Brett still was playing baseball for the Royals.) Instead, we have some

2011-07-05T03:00:00.002-04:00

5 JUL 11: This Way or No Way The stairways on the north and south sides of the Government Center look nice. Sometimes they remind me of what Sylvester Stallone would run up and down in a "Rocky" movie. And if the power ever fails at the Springer Opera House, the north stairs can turn into amphitheatre seating for spontaneous performance art. But don't bother climbing those stairs to get inside

2011-07-04T00:19:00.001-04:00

4 JUL 11: Legends of Doom The pastor's sermon topic was "America's Forgotten Motto." Before you click on the link, I should stop and ask if you know what the national motto is. Here's a hint: "Have it your way" was created by Burger King, without any sanction from Congress. The pastor of a small Columbus congregation left no doubt where he stood on our country's condition. Exactly 235 years after

2011-07-03T01:53:00.001-04:00

3 JUL 11: Mac and D's As I drove to this weekend's worship service, something was missing. It wasn't because I left something at home. I carried a "Good Book," a notebook and a hymn book - while the more technologically advanced people in my congregation carried fancy things like cell phones. A small white garage was no longer along Warm Springs Road, near Jordan High School. Emilio's Auto Repair

2011-07-01T03:00:00.002-04:00

1 JUL 11: Reel Old-School Someone told me the other day all movie theaters must go digital by 2015. In fact, that person indicated it's required by federal law. I haven't found any proof of that - but I can think of some Hollywood stars who might interpret such a law to mean showing (ahem) one particular finger during a movie. One theatre in Columbus is NOT going digital. In fact, tonight it will

2011-06-30T03:00:00.001-04:00

30 JUN 11: Number That Tune Once upon a time several states away, I had a dream job during college - working as a part-time D.J. at the only commercial radio stations in town. The Boss wrote on one check stub, "You're doing an excellent job." Then I said the wrong thing on the air one Sunday afternoon - and he told me on a two-way radio, "Now shut up and play records." They don't normally play

2011-06-29T03:00:00.001-04:00

29 JUN 11: One, Way or Another So you thought the fight over trash collection was over. You thought last week's Columbus Council vote on a fiscal 2012 budget settled everything. Unh-unh. Think again. The mayor indicated Tuesday the debate is NOT buried in the landfill - it's simply in a "Blue Bin," bound for recycling. Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson told WTVM a new city review of the Integrated

2011-06-28T03:00:00.001-04:00

28 JUN 11: Better or Best When I read the announcement online Friday, I couldn't resist mentioning it out loud to several people nearby. "Mayor Tomlinson will be tested for HIV Monday morning." Most of the people were stunned -- until I added she was doing it simply as a public service gesture. Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson went to the Columbus Public Library, to take part in National Free HIV

2011-06-27T03:00:00.001-04:00

27 JUN 11: Weather or Nuts At one point during the 6:00 p.m. ET half-hour Sunday, parts of six counties in the Columbus area were under severe thunderstorm warnings. If you happened to watch the infomercial on WRBL, you knew about them. If you watched the newscast on WTVM, you probably didn't. No wonder I've seen people call up the AccuWeather website when local storm sirens sound. How could this

2011-06-26T03:02:00.001-04:00

26 JUN 11: Fountain City 500 If Columbus had a race track like East Alabama Motor Speedway, our title today would be a nice name for a NASCAR or IndyCar event. But of course, this IS Columbus - so if NASCAR showed up, the stands might be only half-full.SUNDAY SOAPBOX: Our title actually does not involve racing -- unless it's a race by some residents to move out of town....Well,Tomlinson just lost

2011-06-24T03:00:00.001-04:00

24 JUN 11: You Miss a Day.... Talk radio listeners know how to end that sentence: ....you miss a lot. I missed two days here because of a necessary road trip, and came home to find I've missed a LOT of interesting local stories. So let's play catch-up today - as opposed to playing with ketchup, which I don't even do with hot dogs. 1. SUMBRY SHUTDOWN. Phenix City Councilor Arthur Sumbry Senior's

2011-06-22T03:00:00.003-04:00

22 JUN 11: Spam On the Grill Because of a busy schedule, we're taking a break from the usual format today. It's one of our occasional SPAM-A-RAMA days -- where we take actual e-mail titles we've received over the months, and offer quick replies to them. Your dose of spam starts. Right. Now.... "SORCERESS GAME PLAN" Really now - that is NOT a nice way to describe the mayor's proposed budget. "

2011-06-21T03:00:00.001-04:00

21 JUN 11: Planes, Detain and Automobile Somehow I have the feeling our main topic today will come up during talk show monologues tonight. It's almost a frequent flier's dream come true - with many of them dreaming an airport security director received a full body cavity search by police. The man in charge of security at Columbus Airport was arrested Monday. Jeffrey Wright is accused of breaking

2011-06-20T03:00:00.002-04:00

20 JUN 11: Sun-Dried Today is clean-up day in parts of Columbus, after Friday's fierce storms. A couple of small trees were ripped down near Golden Park. The "Betsy Ross flag" was blown to the ground near the Space Science Center. There even was damage to the Government Center Annex roof - as if the budget debate didn't blow the roof off it already. Some potentially controversial issues are

2011-06-19T02:14:00.001-04:00

19 JUN 11: Lackey, Dogs Columbus was calm Saturday, after a couple of days of stormy weather. I read one report of a tree blocking the road to the National Infantry Museum - apparently blown down by high winds. This could never happen to Miss Georgia contestants, of course. They know extra coats of hairspray can prevent that. Congratulations to Michaela Lackey, who was crowned our new Miss

2011-06-17T03:00:00.001-04:00

17 JUN 11: At Ease? The Fort Benning Conference Center hosted a job fair for soldiers Thursday. It was sponsored by the website Civilian Jobs, but WLTZ showed plenty of soldiers in uniform. They all may have been thinking the same way - dress like a soldier, and employers will have sympathy toward you. This summer is certainly a season of change at Fort Benning - and not simply because of base

2011-06-16T00:22:00.002-04:00

16 JUN 11: The King of Pops There was a jaw-dropping report on the TV news Wednesday night, and we'll get to that later. But a blog can be all sorts of things - and today, this blog begins as a mix of obituary and tribute. A familiar name here has passed away. And since I'm writing this, it's clearly not I....Thanks to The River City Report, we learned Wednesday Columbus business owner Stephen

2011-06-15T03:00:00.001-04:00

15 JUN 11: What's Done is Done? A report released Tuesday shows a vast majority of U.S. schoolchildren cannot pass a proficiency exam in history. In fact, most fourth-graders cannot explain what made President Abraham Lincoln an important figure. Doesn't this prove it's time to eliminate the penny - and perhaps even five-dollar bills? While educators bemoaned the test results and tried to explain

2011-06-14T03:00:00.001-04:00

14 JUN 11: Two Strikes and a Cloud of Dust A car in the repair shop forced me allowed me to watch the current version of "Let's Make a Deal" several weeks ago. Wayne Brady is far more entertaining than Monty Hall was decades ago. Brady sings, Brady dances a bit - and he even allows the model on the display floor to speak out loud. A convoluted case of Columbus deal-making was settled Monday by

2011-06-13T03:00:00.001-04:00

13 JUN 11: Brady's Bunch True confession: I grew up attending a United Methodist Church. In fact, an Associate Pastor once suggested I consider becoming a minister. Instead, I drifted away to other denominations - where people actually were encouraged to open Bibles during services, and the pages turned at least twice before the service ended. So Pentecost Sunday found me at a service outside

2011-06-11T03:00:00.001-04:00

11 JUN 11: Diamond Vision(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We're pausing this weekend to mark the Biblical festival of Pentecost. We'll have no post Sunday - and today offer this Classic Blog item from 10 Jun 06.)"Welcome back to Christian Poker Showdown, presented by St. Pauli Girl. We're here at the biggest of all big events, the Universal Series of Poker! Former tournament champ and standup comic Gabe Kaplan

2011-06-10T03:00:00.001-04:00

10 JUN 11: Basics Trained What was that line from Paul Olson during a Columbus mayoral forum last year -- if the city wants to attract major industry, "you need rail"? Apparently the city has enough for the area's largest employer. Otherwise, the convoy of moving vans coming from Fort Knox would stretch for several miles. The largest shipment of military vehicles thus far left Fort Knox, Kentucky

2011-06-09T03:00:00.001-04:00

9 JUN 11: Doctor Roboto Let's begin today with a housekeeping note. I adjusted this blog Wednesday night to make it easier to read, if you have a "smart phone" or other mobile device. If you're like me and you only have a "dumb phone," do NOT stare at your keypad attempting to read this blog. The high-tech age is affecting almost everything we do - including a visit to the hospital. St.

2011-06-08T02:52:00.001-04:00

8 JUN 11: Take Your Ball and Stay Home Columbus is supposed to be a baseball hot spot, right? We win state high school titles and Little League regional tournaments, right? So why won't some people allow ball diamonds to be built near their homes? Are they that concerned about victory parades ruining their neighborhoods? A baseball rhubarb was on the Harris County Commission agenda Tuesday night.

2011-06-07T02:19:00.002-04:00

7 JUN 11: The TAP Runs Dry The first big cut came Monday night, in Columbus's season of tight budgets. The bad news for teenage mothers is that their education plans for next term must change. But the good news is that diapers still can be taken to the curb twice a week before school. The Muscogee County School Board voted 6-2 in a special work session to close the Teenage Parenting Center on

2011-06-06T03:00:00.002-04:00

6 JUN 11: Summer Tours This was one of those weekends when I felt in a poetic mood.... In 14-hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In 20-hundred and 11, Columbus leaders are in the heavens. They're flying here, they're flying there. It seems they're flying everywhere. If budget squabbles get you down, it's high time to head out of town. It turns out the Columbus City Manager has an

2011-06-05T03:00:00.001-04:00

5 JUN 11: D.D.-Day Did you know Saturday was National Trails Day? I didn't know until WXTX "News at Ten" mentioned it -- and since Alabama Governor Robert Bentley noted the occasion, at least I trailed him. Friday received a lot more publicity, because it was National Donut Day. Shouldn't these events be more connected? You buy donuts, then leave them on the trail to find your way home if you're

2011-06-03T02:43:00.001-04:00

3 JUN 11: A Triple Double It happened again in Columbus Thursday - another record-breaking temperature, as the high reached 100 degrees F. Maybe two days of triple-digit heat to start June will inspire summer school students to aim for perfection. An air conditioning service company in my neighborhood apparently paid attention to the forecast for this week. It had employees working Monday, on