I had to go Tuesday to two events concerning electronic bingo--the hearing in Birmingham and the Dora City Council discussing the use of the firemen's bingo funds. As far as I could tell, I was the exclusive reporter at both events.
The court hearing was supposed to be on Sheriff's John Mark Tirey's desire to drop a restraining order that would allow him for now to start enforcing rules preventing some bingo halls from operating without enough permits and preventing charities from participating without following other rules such as existing five years and owning land for five years. Somehow, the discussion weaved in and out so many points of argument that at the end of a 12-hour day, I just don't feel going into all the discussions. It is possible we may hear an order on that later, but the real significant news appeared to be that Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance Jr. again emphasized he wants to hurry along the case. He seemed to understand more clearly than ever that lawyers on both sides really want the main issue -- is electronic bingo legal -- to get the priority, as that may decide everything. The judge seemed happy to help that along and stated that he wanted to decide the main question by the end of summer. Remember that he already has a hearing set on Aug. 11 on the main questions, which also includes whether the machines used are slot machines or are they legal to use.
Moreover, participants on both side -- who discussed it somewhat before the judge came in, in my presence -- seemed to get tentative OK to try to work out something on the machine question. There was concern about the problems of getting bingo machine officials and looking at machines and particularly dragging the hearing with tons of technical testimony. What seemed to be evolving was that lawyers on both side were agreeing to find ways to agree on certain points and get evidence in place that would cut down the amount of testimony and time in court. They were so eager at that point that a break was held and lawyers and their clients streamed into the hallway outside the courtroom to discuss some initial points on this. District Attorney Charles Baker was among those out there. After the two-hour proceedings, he seemed very happy that the judge had indicated a ruling by summer's end (in other words, within a little more than two months) and that sides were getting together to streamline this thing. Attorneys on the other side appeared happy with these developments, too.
There were some other points in the day, of course. Attorney Ken Guin, who is also a legislator, tried to make the point that the law to be followed is the constitutional amendment and that brought on discussion on whether the county commission is really the one to be making rules. (You remember they started to do that, got bogged down in status quo concerns and retreated. Attorney Herbie Brewer said others have created false trails using status quo and confused people, and he may be right.) Baker said he didn't know if he agreed with all of Guin's arguments and may file a brief. Also, there was testimony concerning the depositions concerning hours and permits for some of the bingo halls, although it seemed to point that some halls still only have a few permits or no permits to operate.
By the way, Vance was told at one point the Walker County Commission is much like the Jefferson County Commission having control over Jefferson's sewer situation. "And hasn't that worked out well," Vance said to howls of laughter. However, he did apologize to the Walker County Commission for possibly stating inappropriately at an earlier hearing that they deserved some blame over the bingo controversy coming to this point. On another point, District 2 Commissioner Dan Wright attended the hearing--someone pointed out the county's lawyers should be there to keep up with it, even if the commission is not a direct party to the suit, just because it affects the commission so much. If bingo were to be approved, it might help to have Wright or a representative there to know what the judge is thinking.
Meanwhile, at Dora's city council meeting, it was brought up that most of the firemen's turnout gear is five years old or worse. We're talking maybe 17 firemen. I was told the other day four years is about the life of turnout gear; I can't imagine how dangerous that is, because the material is deteriorating and threatens to burn firemen. That's a lawsuit waiting to happen, but it sounds like one of those things that got left behind over the years.
At any rate, the other problem was in a partial solution. Councilman Nick Isbell wanted the city to buy four turnout gear (which could cost up to $1,500 each) as a start, and the fire department's bingo funds would reimburse the city. The fire department has enough bingo funds to buy the four turnout gear, which could take two months to arrive. (No word on how much bingo funds they have.) The council, you will remember, had also said they would not accept bingo funds and were not happy that volunteer firemen were taking bingo funds.
Councilmen questioned why the department didn't buy the gear directly. Isbell said he felt it was a "sign of respect" for the city to do so. The council members said they knew there was a need and wanted to help, even with fundraisers, but they said this approach amounted to a backdoor acceptance of bingo funds. They more or less felt the department should use the funds directly, and they would try to come up with fundraisers for the department's general needs down the road. They also felt they had to be responsible with funds because of the deep cuts they have recently had to make with city employees. (I hope in the next day or two we can play part of that discussion on "The People's Viewpoint," as I think it raises two major issues concerning the need for turnout gear and the use of bingo funds.)
By the way, the city got a grant for turnout gear a while back, but it might be a while before another comes along. As for fundraisers, Isbell noted that they are good, but firemen say they are a lot of extra work when they are already tired from regular work and fighting fires. There was talk about sending out letters to request donations, which brought in up to $3,000 a few years ago.
In other matters, the council agreed to get a computer for the police as they will be required by the state (along with all law enforcement agencies doing accidents) to log in accident reports without paper. It even appears the state will get funds when people come asking for accident reports, not the city, as the city will not keep paper reports anymore. The mayor will check to see if the state has any computers, and if they don't, the city will buy a computer package.
Also, the doctor's clinic should be completed in July, although no doctor is in sight. Local representatives are far apart from grocery chains in coming to any deal to replace Food World, Mayor Chris Edwards said. The city hopes to fill a court clerk, or court magistrate, position as early as this week, and a half dozen applications are already in. The first movie in the park only had 100 people -- and officials said during the council meeting it was because the Daily Mountain Eagle had misprinted that the event was Friday night, not Saturday, and that the correct information was more like a "reminder" on Saturday instead of indicating to be a correction.
Also, let me point something out in fairness. One woman approached the mayor afterward to question why the public did not get to speak at council meetings but I got to ask questions. She seemed rather mad at me--she walked away from me and wouldn't speak to me--but the mayor does have the right to call me down if I get out of hand. (He hasn't.) I didn't realize anyone felt they didn't have that right in Dora. Certainly, we also know of the questions being asked in Carbon Hill on similar questions, as far as how much right a citizen has to approach a city council. I think the woman in questions, the citizens of Carbon Hill and I all have a right, as long as we act reasonably.
I usually try to be respectful and ask questions in certain meetings when I think it would not go over a line; how meetings are set up have much to do with that. I think there is concern that the public has been allowed to speak and things got out of hand, but I think there is a way to allow the public to speak for a few minutes each, if the mayor takes a firm hand. I'm certainly not trying to hog the show, but to ask questions for thousands of other citizens who don't get to come or point out what I've heard in other cities that councilmen don't get to hear. If I ever abuse the privilege, I hope a city official comes to me gently and let's me know...but I also hope a forum exists for the public to be able to have their say in a respectful, organized way.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Mark Baynes
Some of you on my last radio show may have heard Mark Baynes on my program Good Friday Week. The e-mail newsletter at his church, Triad Baptist Church in North Carolina, had this fine article on Mark. The Web version, which has photos, is at http://www.triadbaptist.com/Connections/Articles/connections_revelationroad_06152009.htm, but otherwise here is the story below. Mark is a great Christian musician and you deserve a chance to hear or obtain his music, if you have not already. His own Web site is Mark Baynes.com. ED HOWELL
Journey with Christ: Mark Baynes' Latest Recording Takes Listeners Down "Revelation Road"
Revelation Road is Mark Baynes' third album.
"Christianity is not something that we have figured out, rather it is something that has been and continues to be revealed to us daily. And those revelations only come along the road as we follow Him." Mark Baynes
By Wayne Thompson
Triad Baptist members will soon hear a familiar voice on WBFJ-FM and other Piedmont radio stations — music from "Revelation Road," the third album by Mark Baynes, associate pastor of praise and worship and single adult ministries.
More than three years in the making, the recording's acoustic-based Christian Celtic folk reflects Scotland's musical imprint on Baynes' life and music. He fell in love with Scotland in 2002—and met his future wife there—while visiting friends studying at King's College in Aberdeen. He married Dawn in 2004 and stayed until 2007 when he returned to the United States to join the staff at Triad."The very first CD I did in Nashville, Tenn., was more of a pop/country sound," Baynes said. "Over the last 10 years, I have moved more towards the folk/Celtic style by adding the mandolin, hammer dulcimer and Irish whistles to the instruments I play."Dawn and I have always loved the old hymns, and living in Scotland exposed me to numerous hymns that I had never heard before."
The result was "Hymn of Season" featuring Dawn's lyrics and Mark's music. "I was always encouraging Dawn to write some lyrics, telling her I would try and put some music to it," Baynes recalled. "She gave me the first two verses several years ago and I thought they were brilliant. I tried a variety of melodies and nothing seemed to fit and then I finally had a breakthrough to what you hear on the CD.
"After I had the music, I went back to her and pleaded, 'Please write two more verses!' She did and I couldn't be more happy how it turned out."
A perfectionist who believes in giving God his best whether preaching or singing, Baynes considers "Revelation Road" his most professional recording to date. Nashville recording engineer Gil Gillis put the project together from sessions in Dublin, Ga., and digital files Baynes prepared and mailed.
"Revelation Road" is available for purchase from Baynes, iTunes, Amazon.com and CD Baby, a digital music distribution service.
A constant theme throughout the recording is the Christian life as a journey, whether a sailor daring to set sail again across the sea in "The Winds of God," or a follower boldly saying "yes" to a new life in "Journey With Christ" —one of Baynes' two favorite songs on "Revelation Road."
"I began writing that song while on a trip to Israel," Baynes said. "My home pastor in Dublin, Dr. Cliff Morris of First Baptist, was teaching about the calling of Matthew while we were standing beside the Sea of Galilee. It could have been a day like this, perhaps very near here, he told us, that Jesus looked at Matthew and said, 'Come follow me.' The simplicity of Jesus' call overwhelmed me in that moment as I saw with fresh eyes what the Christian life is: following the Jesus who calls us."
Baynes' other favorite on "Revelation Road" is the musical tribute he wrote to his father, Jack, who adopted Mark shortly after he was born in Atlanta, Ga., and later adopted his sister, Katy, too. "Dad's Song" has since become an audience favorite at Baynes' concerts."It certainly doesn't have a 'Celtic' feel to it but, at the end of the day, I thought it belonged on the record," he said. "My 'Dad's Song' is the most personal song to me for obvious reasons. I'm most grateful to God for that song. After all the labors of love my dad has done for our family, I wanted to give him back a labor of love from my heart. It's just a small reflection of all that he has invested in me. Outside of knowing Jesus Christ and being married to Dawn, I can't think of anything I'm more grateful for than that William Jackson Baynes is my father."
Writing many of the songs in a cramped Scottish apartment, Baynes said that one of his own revelations was realizing a life of faith is always on the move. "The Christian life is never static," he said. "We cannot stand still and follow the Lord. The phrase 'along the road,' occurs in Mark's gospel repeatedly, especially after Peter's confession of Christ. From then on, Jesus is heading directly to the cross. We must follow Jesus along the road as well."When people listen to 'Revelation Road,' I hope they enjoy the excellence of the music. I pray they will not be satisfied with a comfortable routine but will be inspired to ask God, 'What road do you want me walking down?' I hope they will see life as a journey that ends with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, 'I go and prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may also be.' I long that they will keep their eyes fixed on God for revelations of Himself along the road they are called to travel."
Journey with Christ: Mark Baynes' Latest Recording Takes Listeners Down "Revelation Road"
Revelation Road is Mark Baynes' third album.
"Christianity is not something that we have figured out, rather it is something that has been and continues to be revealed to us daily. And those revelations only come along the road as we follow Him." Mark Baynes
By Wayne Thompson
Triad Baptist members will soon hear a familiar voice on WBFJ-FM and other Piedmont radio stations — music from "Revelation Road," the third album by Mark Baynes, associate pastor of praise and worship and single adult ministries.
More than three years in the making, the recording's acoustic-based Christian Celtic folk reflects Scotland's musical imprint on Baynes' life and music. He fell in love with Scotland in 2002—and met his future wife there—while visiting friends studying at King's College in Aberdeen. He married Dawn in 2004 and stayed until 2007 when he returned to the United States to join the staff at Triad."The very first CD I did in Nashville, Tenn., was more of a pop/country sound," Baynes said. "Over the last 10 years, I have moved more towards the folk/Celtic style by adding the mandolin, hammer dulcimer and Irish whistles to the instruments I play."Dawn and I have always loved the old hymns, and living in Scotland exposed me to numerous hymns that I had never heard before."
The result was "Hymn of Season" featuring Dawn's lyrics and Mark's music. "I was always encouraging Dawn to write some lyrics, telling her I would try and put some music to it," Baynes recalled. "She gave me the first two verses several years ago and I thought they were brilliant. I tried a variety of melodies and nothing seemed to fit and then I finally had a breakthrough to what you hear on the CD.
"After I had the music, I went back to her and pleaded, 'Please write two more verses!' She did and I couldn't be more happy how it turned out."
A perfectionist who believes in giving God his best whether preaching or singing, Baynes considers "Revelation Road" his most professional recording to date. Nashville recording engineer Gil Gillis put the project together from sessions in Dublin, Ga., and digital files Baynes prepared and mailed.
"Revelation Road" is available for purchase from Baynes, iTunes, Amazon.com and CD Baby, a digital music distribution service.
A constant theme throughout the recording is the Christian life as a journey, whether a sailor daring to set sail again across the sea in "The Winds of God," or a follower boldly saying "yes" to a new life in "Journey With Christ" —one of Baynes' two favorite songs on "Revelation Road."
"I began writing that song while on a trip to Israel," Baynes said. "My home pastor in Dublin, Dr. Cliff Morris of First Baptist, was teaching about the calling of Matthew while we were standing beside the Sea of Galilee. It could have been a day like this, perhaps very near here, he told us, that Jesus looked at Matthew and said, 'Come follow me.' The simplicity of Jesus' call overwhelmed me in that moment as I saw with fresh eyes what the Christian life is: following the Jesus who calls us."
Baynes' other favorite on "Revelation Road" is the musical tribute he wrote to his father, Jack, who adopted Mark shortly after he was born in Atlanta, Ga., and later adopted his sister, Katy, too. "Dad's Song" has since become an audience favorite at Baynes' concerts."It certainly doesn't have a 'Celtic' feel to it but, at the end of the day, I thought it belonged on the record," he said. "My 'Dad's Song' is the most personal song to me for obvious reasons. I'm most grateful to God for that song. After all the labors of love my dad has done for our family, I wanted to give him back a labor of love from my heart. It's just a small reflection of all that he has invested in me. Outside of knowing Jesus Christ and being married to Dawn, I can't think of anything I'm more grateful for than that William Jackson Baynes is my father."
Writing many of the songs in a cramped Scottish apartment, Baynes said that one of his own revelations was realizing a life of faith is always on the move. "The Christian life is never static," he said. "We cannot stand still and follow the Lord. The phrase 'along the road,' occurs in Mark's gospel repeatedly, especially after Peter's confession of Christ. From then on, Jesus is heading directly to the cross. We must follow Jesus along the road as well."When people listen to 'Revelation Road,' I hope they enjoy the excellence of the music. I pray they will not be satisfied with a comfortable routine but will be inspired to ask God, 'What road do you want me walking down?' I hope they will see life as a journey that ends with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, 'I go and prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may also be.' I long that they will keep their eyes fixed on God for revelations of Himself along the road they are called to travel."
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Guests coming up
Just to let you know, Jasper Councilman Morris Studdard will be on "The People's Viewpoint" at 3:30 p.m. while Jasper Fire Chief Calvin Kluesner will be on at 4:30. James Phillips of the Daily Mountain Eagle, who has been involved with a board to look into a homeless shelter for Walker County, will be on Monday at 3:30 p.m., and Parrish Mayor Wayne Gross will be on the show at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
We're trying in earnest to get more guests in the studio now, as well as get some advertising. Also, we heard last night there have been some problems with the streaming audio on the Internet, but we're now trying to work that out. If you ever hear some problems with the audio on the radio or the Internet, let me or the station (WIXI, AM 1360) know about it immediately so we can fix it. Thanks.
We're trying in earnest to get more guests in the studio now, as well as get some advertising. Also, we heard last night there have been some problems with the streaming audio on the Internet, but we're now trying to work that out. If you ever hear some problems with the audio on the radio or the Internet, let me or the station (WIXI, AM 1360) know about it immediately so we can fix it. Thanks.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Quick Review: "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"
This was the night I decided to try to go back to a drive-in theater that I knew of in my youth, the first time I've been back as an adult. I was greatly disappointed. I had to worry about my Buick (which loves to flash lights at a moment's notice). I had to deal with less-than-adequate gravel area to drive in. They didn't take cards, just cash or checks. You did better if you sat outside my car, because the windshield was really cloudy.
Worst of all, families now bring their children, who pop in and out of cars and are noisy to no end. You could also hear the mothers talking back to the kids, and some that seem to comment on the movie. It was family night out, and I guess if you have families you are used to it. I am used to enclosed theaters and respectful audiences, and I think I will stay there. I also like not dealing with no more light than a cell phone or a flash light. When the lights on the Buick came on again and looked like a lighthouse, I was humiliated enough that I somehow wedged myself out of the parking area (not easy) and fled without finishing the movie.
Thankfully, the movie was as bad as the drive-in experience. In fact, it might have been a perfect drive-in experience, because if you saw the first one, you didn't need much excuse in knowing the plot. The makers of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (the sequal to the popular original) must have known this, because they seemed to rush up the plot at lighting speed so the chase can begin. Apparently the New York museum we loved in the first movie has decided to go high tech and ship most of its materials to the Smithsonian in Washington (like they would take some of the dorky displays). Just as illogical, Ben Stiller's character, who barely got a guard job in the last movie, now is a successful inventor/TV pitch man but drops everything to rescue the artifacts when he finds out there is a REALLY evil curse that puts the come-to-life artifacts in danger.
This garbled plot, apparently written on a napkin at an L.A. eatery for all I know, is rushed through fast, except for stopping for stupid, silly conversations that are supposed to be funny but are not. There is an occasional poke at history or iconic figures that is has a giggle, but that's about it. It is a complete waste of very good talent, including Stiller, Hank Azaria (who also does some voice work, such as the "Thinker," whose "guns" are featured in the commercial), Owen Wilson, Bill Hadder and even the voices of the Jonas Brothers (as the Cherubs). I'll probably see the end of the movie...when it comes on DVD. And I'm really bored. (There must be a lot of bored people out there; so far the film has made $104 million and ranked a B-plus with Yahoo reviewers.)
By the way, before the movie, on the radio where the soundtrack is played, there was 1950s rock, and then on the way home I listened to, of all things, the live broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry, still clear as a bell on WSM 650 AM from Nashville. Those broadcasts were more entertaining than what I dealt with on the screen. That should tell you something right there.
Worst of all, families now bring their children, who pop in and out of cars and are noisy to no end. You could also hear the mothers talking back to the kids, and some that seem to comment on the movie. It was family night out, and I guess if you have families you are used to it. I am used to enclosed theaters and respectful audiences, and I think I will stay there. I also like not dealing with no more light than a cell phone or a flash light. When the lights on the Buick came on again and looked like a lighthouse, I was humiliated enough that I somehow wedged myself out of the parking area (not easy) and fled without finishing the movie.
Thankfully, the movie was as bad as the drive-in experience. In fact, it might have been a perfect drive-in experience, because if you saw the first one, you didn't need much excuse in knowing the plot. The makers of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (the sequal to the popular original) must have known this, because they seemed to rush up the plot at lighting speed so the chase can begin. Apparently the New York museum we loved in the first movie has decided to go high tech and ship most of its materials to the Smithsonian in Washington (like they would take some of the dorky displays). Just as illogical, Ben Stiller's character, who barely got a guard job in the last movie, now is a successful inventor/TV pitch man but drops everything to rescue the artifacts when he finds out there is a REALLY evil curse that puts the come-to-life artifacts in danger.
This garbled plot, apparently written on a napkin at an L.A. eatery for all I know, is rushed through fast, except for stopping for stupid, silly conversations that are supposed to be funny but are not. There is an occasional poke at history or iconic figures that is has a giggle, but that's about it. It is a complete waste of very good talent, including Stiller, Hank Azaria (who also does some voice work, such as the "Thinker," whose "guns" are featured in the commercial), Owen Wilson, Bill Hadder and even the voices of the Jonas Brothers (as the Cherubs). I'll probably see the end of the movie...when it comes on DVD. And I'm really bored. (There must be a lot of bored people out there; so far the film has made $104 million and ranked a B-plus with Yahoo reviewers.)
By the way, before the movie, on the radio where the soundtrack is played, there was 1950s rock, and then on the way home I listened to, of all things, the live broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry, still clear as a bell on WSM 650 AM from Nashville. Those broadcasts were more entertaining than what I dealt with on the screen. That should tell you something right there.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Bulletin: Bham allows electronic bingo
The Birmingham News Web site reports the Birmingham City Council has voted to allow electronic bingo in that city.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sherer will run for re-election; poll worker bill sent to governor
State Rep. Tommy Sherer, D-Jasper, said Thursday afternoon on WIXI-AM's "The People's Viewpoint" that he will run again for re-election to a third term in 2010. No Republican opposition has emerged, but a Republican indicated at Thursday's Walker County Republican Party meeting that that person will make an announcement this year for Sherer's seat. That Republican did not want to make a public announcement at this time. Sherer's announcement is the first that a Walker County legislator will run for re-election, as state Sen. Charles Bishop, R-Arley, announced he will not run. (Republican Greg Reed has announced he will run for the seat.) The status next year of state Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, is uncertain at this time.
Meanwhile, Sherer also announced that his long-suffering poll workers bill passed the Legislature and has been sent to the governor. That was confirmed on the state Legislature's Web site. The statewide bill essentially allows poll workers, who have worked 14 hours in one day at a poll site, to have a split shift. The poll worker would still have to undergo training, but would only work maybe six hours, Sherer said. He has worked for several years to get the bill passed. Sherer said the bill would also have to be cleared by the U.S. Justice Department, but no problem is expected.
Meanwhile, Sherer also announced that his long-suffering poll workers bill passed the Legislature and has been sent to the governor. That was confirmed on the state Legislature's Web site. The statewide bill essentially allows poll workers, who have worked 14 hours in one day at a poll site, to have a split shift. The poll worker would still have to undergo training, but would only work maybe six hours, Sherer said. He has worked for several years to get the bill passed. Sherer said the bill would also have to be cleared by the U.S. Justice Department, but no problem is expected.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Vance may set bingo hearing for August or September
Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Vance Jr. indicated from the bench Tuesday afternoon he wants to set a date to start hearing evidence in the Walker County electronic bingo case, either the week of Aug. 10 or on Sept. 10-11.
Vance was also expected to set a hearing in two or three weeks on a narrowly focused area of the hours of operation of bingo halls in relation to the number of permits had. He said any resulting order would probably be an interim order that governs bingo until he makes his major decision on the legality of electronic bingo in Walker County.
District Attorney Charles Baker said he did not think that would throw off the main hearing if it was set in August or September.
Vance clearly wanted to move the overall matter to conclusion after months of delays. Even after attorney Earl Hillard asked the case be set in September because of other work, Vance said he was open to that but kept mentioning August as a potential time. He also noted he would may have a decision on a date as early as the next day.
"This case has been sitting around awhile. I'm at the point we need to seek closure on the issues presented in this case," Vance said, opening the hearing in his Birmingham courtroom to a roomful of attorneys.
He feels the matter can be addressed in an evidentiary hearing within 60 days, with the primary issues being whether bingo includes electronic bingo -- something he said would take expert evidence -- and whether the business model of a group of charities allowing a co-op to run the games for them is allowable under the law.
"I'm growing increasingly concerned because of time," Vance said at one point in the hearing. He said it was no one's fault that the case had dragged on, saying it was the "nature of the beast" for the legal process to be deliberate. Still, it frustrated him.
"I think everyone wants guidelines but it's been spinning its wheels for two years," he said, noting that was "gnawing" at him.
He agreed with attorney Herbie Brewer that he was being asked to "micromanage" the case in some respect and that he has expressed concern about that. He said the Legislature and the Walker County Commission also failed to act.
"I'm also serving as something of a quasi-regulator," Vance said, saying that is what the motion asks him to do, regardless of whether it was proper or not--and adding he would leave it to others to decide that. On continued arguments, he said lawyers could present evidence the judge did not have authority to act in some respects, noting in the past he has "been spanked by Montgomery for going out too far on a limb."
Vance also revealed he had also been appointed to be the judge in the White Hall bingo case, joking that he is "glutton for punishment" and that he might should stop answering calls from Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, who also asked him to take the Walker County case after another judge dropped out after several months.
He said he had "no strong feelings" on whether to take August or September, but he said he would try to have a scheduling order within a day or so.
Attorneys Thomas Carmichael and Charles Tatum Jr., who are involved in the issue of whether the Yerkwood Fire Department is getting their fair share of bingo funds, pleaded with Vance to accelerate their hearing. Vance said he wanted to hold a separate hearing on that matter because he might not could get all the bingo issues before him done in the main hearing. He also pointed out that the Yerkwood issue is a class action issue, which brings up more legal complications as Vance would have to determine class.
"I candidly admit I put it on the back burner," Vance told Carmichael.
Carmichael said millions of dollars were rolling into the county through bingo, with 80 percent of the profits going to operators, 10 percent going to charities and only 10 percent left to charities. Tatum argued he had been told lawyers representing the bingo interests had been trying from the outset to drag out the case as long as possible to allow operators to make as much money as possible.
Vance said a motion from Sheriff John Mark Tirey on determining how long a bingo hall can open each week could be delayed two or three weeks, noting it raises significant questions. However, he said he was not comfortable ruling on it as evidence should be heard in the matter.
The 75-minute hearing, like others before it, soon bogged down in legal detail as lawyers around the room make points on whether Vance had authority to make some rulings and whether the rights of charities were being trampled.
The issue of "status quo," which involved a temporary restraining order on adding new charities to the case, came up, and with some arguing that the order was given to prevent delays in the process of adding more charities or bingo halls as defendants. Some argued it was just an agreement and not an order.
Baker, who filed suit with the sheriff to get a legal determination on electronic bingo, said many of the issues were just side issues, and he pressed to get on with a ruling on whether electronic bingo is legal and whether the machines used are slot machines. He said those two issues were "98 percent of the things that concern me."
At the end of the hearing, the sheriff's attorney Bill Adair said he would make a motion to drop the status quo restraining order, although Vance was hesitant at this late stage to take that action on the idea it could open the door to more unseen problems.
Baker said he agreed to move to drop the order -- even though he questioned whether it actually existed -- on the idea that it would speed up the case. He said a solution could be found in agreeing that new charities would also agree to immediately join the case.
State Rep. Ken Guin, representing bingo charities, said the county commission made rules but rescinded them because of concern over the meaning of the status quo order. Guin said the judge could clarify the authority of the rules in reference to the authority of the county commission, which would allow the commission to set the rules.
At one point, one attorney attempted to convince Vance that the charities operated the games, not the operators of the co-ops. Vance pressed for what the operators do if the charities run the games. The attorney said the operators "run the bingo halls," which resulted in laughter in the courtroom. Bingo hall attorney Bubba Grimsley later noted different bingo halls have different models of operation, which the judge would need to look into.
Arguments also went into the legality of seven charities due to technicalities in filing paperwork and their location. There was discussion about charities moving from one bingo hall to another despite a restraining order, and whether bingo halls were enticing the charities with bonus payments. Adair said there were reports of photocopies of licenses being displayed and accidents occurring in the permitting process.
After more than an hour of mind-numbing discussion, Vance admitted to having his fill.
"I believe we'll stop now," Vance said to laughs in the room.
Vance was also expected to set a hearing in two or three weeks on a narrowly focused area of the hours of operation of bingo halls in relation to the number of permits had. He said any resulting order would probably be an interim order that governs bingo until he makes his major decision on the legality of electronic bingo in Walker County.
District Attorney Charles Baker said he did not think that would throw off the main hearing if it was set in August or September.
Vance clearly wanted to move the overall matter to conclusion after months of delays. Even after attorney Earl Hillard asked the case be set in September because of other work, Vance said he was open to that but kept mentioning August as a potential time. He also noted he would may have a decision on a date as early as the next day.
"This case has been sitting around awhile. I'm at the point we need to seek closure on the issues presented in this case," Vance said, opening the hearing in his Birmingham courtroom to a roomful of attorneys.
He feels the matter can be addressed in an evidentiary hearing within 60 days, with the primary issues being whether bingo includes electronic bingo -- something he said would take expert evidence -- and whether the business model of a group of charities allowing a co-op to run the games for them is allowable under the law.
"I'm growing increasingly concerned because of time," Vance said at one point in the hearing. He said it was no one's fault that the case had dragged on, saying it was the "nature of the beast" for the legal process to be deliberate. Still, it frustrated him.
"I think everyone wants guidelines but it's been spinning its wheels for two years," he said, noting that was "gnawing" at him.
He agreed with attorney Herbie Brewer that he was being asked to "micromanage" the case in some respect and that he has expressed concern about that. He said the Legislature and the Walker County Commission also failed to act.
"I'm also serving as something of a quasi-regulator," Vance said, saying that is what the motion asks him to do, regardless of whether it was proper or not--and adding he would leave it to others to decide that. On continued arguments, he said lawyers could present evidence the judge did not have authority to act in some respects, noting in the past he has "been spanked by Montgomery for going out too far on a limb."
Vance also revealed he had also been appointed to be the judge in the White Hall bingo case, joking that he is "glutton for punishment" and that he might should stop answering calls from Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, who also asked him to take the Walker County case after another judge dropped out after several months.
He said he had "no strong feelings" on whether to take August or September, but he said he would try to have a scheduling order within a day or so.
Attorneys Thomas Carmichael and Charles Tatum Jr., who are involved in the issue of whether the Yerkwood Fire Department is getting their fair share of bingo funds, pleaded with Vance to accelerate their hearing. Vance said he wanted to hold a separate hearing on that matter because he might not could get all the bingo issues before him done in the main hearing. He also pointed out that the Yerkwood issue is a class action issue, which brings up more legal complications as Vance would have to determine class.
"I candidly admit I put it on the back burner," Vance told Carmichael.
Carmichael said millions of dollars were rolling into the county through bingo, with 80 percent of the profits going to operators, 10 percent going to charities and only 10 percent left to charities. Tatum argued he had been told lawyers representing the bingo interests had been trying from the outset to drag out the case as long as possible to allow operators to make as much money as possible.
Vance said a motion from Sheriff John Mark Tirey on determining how long a bingo hall can open each week could be delayed two or three weeks, noting it raises significant questions. However, he said he was not comfortable ruling on it as evidence should be heard in the matter.
The 75-minute hearing, like others before it, soon bogged down in legal detail as lawyers around the room make points on whether Vance had authority to make some rulings and whether the rights of charities were being trampled.
The issue of "status quo," which involved a temporary restraining order on adding new charities to the case, came up, and with some arguing that the order was given to prevent delays in the process of adding more charities or bingo halls as defendants. Some argued it was just an agreement and not an order.
Baker, who filed suit with the sheriff to get a legal determination on electronic bingo, said many of the issues were just side issues, and he pressed to get on with a ruling on whether electronic bingo is legal and whether the machines used are slot machines. He said those two issues were "98 percent of the things that concern me."
At the end of the hearing, the sheriff's attorney Bill Adair said he would make a motion to drop the status quo restraining order, although Vance was hesitant at this late stage to take that action on the idea it could open the door to more unseen problems.
Baker said he agreed to move to drop the order -- even though he questioned whether it actually existed -- on the idea that it would speed up the case. He said a solution could be found in agreeing that new charities would also agree to immediately join the case.
State Rep. Ken Guin, representing bingo charities, said the county commission made rules but rescinded them because of concern over the meaning of the status quo order. Guin said the judge could clarify the authority of the rules in reference to the authority of the county commission, which would allow the commission to set the rules.
At one point, one attorney attempted to convince Vance that the charities operated the games, not the operators of the co-ops. Vance pressed for what the operators do if the charities run the games. The attorney said the operators "run the bingo halls," which resulted in laughter in the courtroom. Bingo hall attorney Bubba Grimsley later noted different bingo halls have different models of operation, which the judge would need to look into.
Arguments also went into the legality of seven charities due to technicalities in filing paperwork and their location. There was discussion about charities moving from one bingo hall to another despite a restraining order, and whether bingo halls were enticing the charities with bonus payments. Adair said there were reports of photocopies of licenses being displayed and accidents occurring in the permitting process.
After more than an hour of mind-numbing discussion, Vance admitted to having his fill.
"I believe we'll stop now," Vance said to laughs in the room.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Bulletin: April unemployment
Walker Co. unemployment drops 1%, from 8.6 to 7.6 %, in April. Alabama rate stays at 9%; 1st time in 18 mts. state rate doesn't go up.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Review: Valkyrie
It is not hard to approach this movie with unease. This is the Tom Cruise movie where Cruise is a real life hero who tried to kill Hitler from within--and he had to wear that eye patch in the course of the movie. You will remember Germany was not too happy that Tom Cruise, Mr. Scientology and Hollywood super star, would take on such a heavy duty, somber task that weighs on the whole country.
Germany should not have been worried. Cruise is part of a balanced cast and handles his duties well. At the start of the movie, we learn that Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) was injured in Africa, leaving one hand amputated and one eye missing, thus requiring either an eye patch or a false eye. He is disillusioned with Hitler and becomes a traitor to him, making the injuries (and the eye patch) more sympathetic. By circumstances, he joins an underground network of Germans determined to take Germany back from within so that the country can negotiate a peace with the Allies, thus saving lives and Europe in general. The movie shows that this was not just a matter of a few good men, but a vast underground with great intentions, although sometimes bogged down by its own bureaucracy and fear.
Cruise, no longer being the kid movie star, is cool, assured and brave - with the fault of sometimes being a little impatient, but, of course, we are talking about saving as many lives as possible, and time is of the essence. Thankfully, Cruise is not overblown is his portrayal and gives nice, human touches -- not wallowing, but a glance, a shudder, a boiling, all underneath that reserved German exterior. It is one of his best performances in some time, and I think it shows the middle age Cruise is maturing in his acting.
The rest of the cast is excellent, with plenty of moments for others to shine. The story is the thing, and the incident where we heard that a briefcase blew up in a meeting where Hitler was attending is shown to be a much larger operation that caused chains of reaction all across Germany. I had no idea that for a short time, major ministry buildings were handed over and even the Berlin police chief gave assurances there would be no problems from him. For a moment, we can suspend our knowledge of history and can be happy for our heroes...if but briefly.
This is a serious film, meaning the number of explosions (even for a World War II film) is kept to a minimum and adults act like adults. And those of us know history, well, that does take out a certain amount of fun. But watching the planning and dedication of certain heroes that no one talks about -- the German resistance movement from within -- and sweating out the details with them does make this two-hour film, released this week on DVD, one to rent. (The two-disk version has all the extras on it.)
Germany should not have been worried. Cruise is part of a balanced cast and handles his duties well. At the start of the movie, we learn that Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) was injured in Africa, leaving one hand amputated and one eye missing, thus requiring either an eye patch or a false eye. He is disillusioned with Hitler and becomes a traitor to him, making the injuries (and the eye patch) more sympathetic. By circumstances, he joins an underground network of Germans determined to take Germany back from within so that the country can negotiate a peace with the Allies, thus saving lives and Europe in general. The movie shows that this was not just a matter of a few good men, but a vast underground with great intentions, although sometimes bogged down by its own bureaucracy and fear.
Cruise, no longer being the kid movie star, is cool, assured and brave - with the fault of sometimes being a little impatient, but, of course, we are talking about saving as many lives as possible, and time is of the essence. Thankfully, Cruise is not overblown is his portrayal and gives nice, human touches -- not wallowing, but a glance, a shudder, a boiling, all underneath that reserved German exterior. It is one of his best performances in some time, and I think it shows the middle age Cruise is maturing in his acting.
The rest of the cast is excellent, with plenty of moments for others to shine. The story is the thing, and the incident where we heard that a briefcase blew up in a meeting where Hitler was attending is shown to be a much larger operation that caused chains of reaction all across Germany. I had no idea that for a short time, major ministry buildings were handed over and even the Berlin police chief gave assurances there would be no problems from him. For a moment, we can suspend our knowledge of history and can be happy for our heroes...if but briefly.
This is a serious film, meaning the number of explosions (even for a World War II film) is kept to a minimum and adults act like adults. And those of us know history, well, that does take out a certain amount of fun. But watching the planning and dedication of certain heroes that no one talks about -- the German resistance movement from within -- and sweating out the details with them does make this two-hour film, released this week on DVD, one to rent. (The two-disk version has all the extras on it.)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Wet-Dry referendums are likely in Walker County
Well, it has been a long time since I've been in the middle of a wet-dry referendum. Now, I think I'm going to see little ones all over the place.
As you may have heard, the Legislature overrode Gov. Bob Riley's veto the other day to allow cities with populations of 1,000 to 7,000 to have wet-dry referendums in those cities. A number equalling the the total of 30 percent of the voters in the last municipal general election can have their names on a petition sent to the city council. Then the council sets a wet-dry referendum on the sale of alcohol in that city.
Years ago, you used to see these countywide referendums that decided wet-dry issues, and they were grand affairs. In those days, it was the only time preachers got involved in politics, and you would hear a political stump speech right there on Sunday morning. I would not say this is true for all preachers, but some can make for great political stump speakers. We would hear a cascade of statistics about how alcohol can ruin lives (and much of it true, to be sure).
Meanwhile, there would be newspaper ads, flyers and all sorts of excitement. The pro-alcohol people would make their cases for economic progress, but they didn't have opportunities to speak...and even if they did, I wonder how many would have came out for it in public. It was usually faceless committees advocating going wet (much like these full-page bingo ads we now see in the paper that don't identify themselves, either). The pro-wet forces certainly had a hard time competing against those Sunday sermons and concern for families, and in the end they would usually lose in my neck of the woods.
Before I got to Walker County, the city of Jasper went wet, and it is no secret one can go over a couple of borders to get their alcohol. The small cities have always been jealous of the resources that Jasper and other areas have, and alcohol revenue can be included in that. Some of the towns may also be jealous of the bingo revenue, although Carbon Hill has it within its city. Some city departments or boards are benefiting to some extent from bingo revenue or donations. At the East Walker Chamber of Commerce banquet, Sipsey Mayor Anita Sanders was quick to point out renovations on local structures in her town were owed in large part to bingo money. But, as I said, only Carbon Hill actually has any bingo halls.
The envy over alcohol funds becomes more enflamed as the economic downturn has made it tough for the small towns to survive. Carbon Hill and Cordova have not been in great shape for a while, and Dora is undergoing an earthquake of sorts, losing 30 percent of its tax revenue (and possibly more, as Dora Mayor Chris Edwards is beginning to remember businesses lost within the past year).
There was a time when I couldn't imagine small towns with their small churches in rural areas of a county giving over to alcohol sales. But between the economy, changing outlooks and the foothold of electronic bingo, it has not taken long to hear positive responses toward getting alcohol sales. In fact, two towns are looking at it.
Carbon Hill, in fact, is practically jumping up and down to do it. I talked informally with council members and city officials after a called city council meeting before the override, and it was clear the city leaders had no problems with either bingo or alcohol.
After the override, Carbon Hill Mayor Chris Hart said, “We want to get our ducks in a row first,” adding he wants to city with city attorney and state Rep. Ken Guin to go over the bill. “This would boost our economy dramatically," he said.
Edwards, who will discuss dealing with the economic downturn in a called council meeting Thursday night, received several phone calls about the issue the day I called him. “I do think there is a strong push for it," he said.
He said it is an option the council will want to look at as alcohol sales would help to recruit a replacement for Food World (once the cash cow for Dora) or some other major restaurants that have passed over the city before. He said he understands Publix will not come to a city without alcohol sales, for example. He also noted the city deals with residents going to Jasper and Jefferson County on either side looking for alcohol.
Cordova Mayor Jack Scott said Tuesday he hadn't talked about it with the council, and he didn't know if it would pass considering the church vote. However, he would just as soon the alcohol revenue came to his town than to go to Jasper, saying something has to be done to pay the bills in Cordova. He would favor selling alcohol in retail settings, although he would oppose an open bar to yet.
The only public distancing from the issue came from Sumiton Mayor Petey Ellis, who said it had not been brought to the council and if someone brought it to them, then they would consider it. He also noted the city is in good financial shape. Maybe they do oppose alcohol sales. Still, that left a lot of wiggle room as far as taking a stand. That could come in handy if a petition is ever presented. For that matter, the wet forces in this old-fashioned small town might want to be positioned in an old-fashioned faceless committee. (It was interesting I brought it up at a city council meeting, and none of the other council members said a word about the subject.)
Mind you, petitions may not come tomorrow, but they could come in time. I have stated before in a column I am not really happy with the idea of going wet, but -- having fought against the tide of electronic bingo sweeping into the county that we are now awash in -- I am resigned that it may come anyway because of the desire to bring in restaurants and other establishments that won't come to a dry county.
What is almost incredible is that we haven't solved the bingo issue. The Alabama Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, not only didn't resolve that issue statewide, but threw another one in our lap to chew on at the same time. Now we have more controversy than ever before to go to war with each other over.
It's enough to drive someone to drink -- and they may drive all the way to the polls to do it.
As you may have heard, the Legislature overrode Gov. Bob Riley's veto the other day to allow cities with populations of 1,000 to 7,000 to have wet-dry referendums in those cities. A number equalling the the total of 30 percent of the voters in the last municipal general election can have their names on a petition sent to the city council. Then the council sets a wet-dry referendum on the sale of alcohol in that city.
Years ago, you used to see these countywide referendums that decided wet-dry issues, and they were grand affairs. In those days, it was the only time preachers got involved in politics, and you would hear a political stump speech right there on Sunday morning. I would not say this is true for all preachers, but some can make for great political stump speakers. We would hear a cascade of statistics about how alcohol can ruin lives (and much of it true, to be sure).
Meanwhile, there would be newspaper ads, flyers and all sorts of excitement. The pro-alcohol people would make their cases for economic progress, but they didn't have opportunities to speak...and even if they did, I wonder how many would have came out for it in public. It was usually faceless committees advocating going wet (much like these full-page bingo ads we now see in the paper that don't identify themselves, either). The pro-wet forces certainly had a hard time competing against those Sunday sermons and concern for families, and in the end they would usually lose in my neck of the woods.
Before I got to Walker County, the city of Jasper went wet, and it is no secret one can go over a couple of borders to get their alcohol. The small cities have always been jealous of the resources that Jasper and other areas have, and alcohol revenue can be included in that. Some of the towns may also be jealous of the bingo revenue, although Carbon Hill has it within its city. Some city departments or boards are benefiting to some extent from bingo revenue or donations. At the East Walker Chamber of Commerce banquet, Sipsey Mayor Anita Sanders was quick to point out renovations on local structures in her town were owed in large part to bingo money. But, as I said, only Carbon Hill actually has any bingo halls.
The envy over alcohol funds becomes more enflamed as the economic downturn has made it tough for the small towns to survive. Carbon Hill and Cordova have not been in great shape for a while, and Dora is undergoing an earthquake of sorts, losing 30 percent of its tax revenue (and possibly more, as Dora Mayor Chris Edwards is beginning to remember businesses lost within the past year).
There was a time when I couldn't imagine small towns with their small churches in rural areas of a county giving over to alcohol sales. But between the economy, changing outlooks and the foothold of electronic bingo, it has not taken long to hear positive responses toward getting alcohol sales. In fact, two towns are looking at it.
Carbon Hill, in fact, is practically jumping up and down to do it. I talked informally with council members and city officials after a called city council meeting before the override, and it was clear the city leaders had no problems with either bingo or alcohol.
After the override, Carbon Hill Mayor Chris Hart said, “We want to get our ducks in a row first,” adding he wants to city with city attorney and state Rep. Ken Guin to go over the bill. “This would boost our economy dramatically," he said.
Edwards, who will discuss dealing with the economic downturn in a called council meeting Thursday night, received several phone calls about the issue the day I called him. “I do think there is a strong push for it," he said.
He said it is an option the council will want to look at as alcohol sales would help to recruit a replacement for Food World (once the cash cow for Dora) or some other major restaurants that have passed over the city before. He said he understands Publix will not come to a city without alcohol sales, for example. He also noted the city deals with residents going to Jasper and Jefferson County on either side looking for alcohol.
Cordova Mayor Jack Scott said Tuesday he hadn't talked about it with the council, and he didn't know if it would pass considering the church vote. However, he would just as soon the alcohol revenue came to his town than to go to Jasper, saying something has to be done to pay the bills in Cordova. He would favor selling alcohol in retail settings, although he would oppose an open bar to yet.
The only public distancing from the issue came from Sumiton Mayor Petey Ellis, who said it had not been brought to the council and if someone brought it to them, then they would consider it. He also noted the city is in good financial shape. Maybe they do oppose alcohol sales. Still, that left a lot of wiggle room as far as taking a stand. That could come in handy if a petition is ever presented. For that matter, the wet forces in this old-fashioned small town might want to be positioned in an old-fashioned faceless committee. (It was interesting I brought it up at a city council meeting, and none of the other council members said a word about the subject.)
Mind you, petitions may not come tomorrow, but they could come in time. I have stated before in a column I am not really happy with the idea of going wet, but -- having fought against the tide of electronic bingo sweeping into the county that we are now awash in -- I am resigned that it may come anyway because of the desire to bring in restaurants and other establishments that won't come to a dry county.
What is almost incredible is that we haven't solved the bingo issue. The Alabama Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, not only didn't resolve that issue statewide, but threw another one in our lap to chew on at the same time. Now we have more controversy than ever before to go to war with each other over.
It's enough to drive someone to drink -- and they may drive all the way to the polls to do it.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Quick Review: Good summer reading
Since it is summertime, this is the time to read some relaxing books that are a short read and not inexpensive. I've read a few of late that I would suggest.
"Crazy 'O8: How a Cast of Cranks, Rougues, Boneheads and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History" pretty well tells the tale in the title. Author Cait Murphy (who has penned an additional Q&A for the paperback edition by Smithsonian Books, $14.95) wrote this dandy 300-page book a couple of years ago but it is easy to find in 2008 paperback edition. Essentially Murphy proposed this was baseball's best year and devotes detailed attention in the book to the season, save for a quick review of the World Series. Like baseball itself, the action along the way and the characters involved make for the real story. There is a lot of attention devoted to the New York Giants and the Chicago Cubs (when the Cubs was a real ballteam), but there are plenty of other teams and characters to devote time to. We learn about Tinkers to Evers to Chance (who didn't like each other but became famous because of a poem), battling John McGraw, the hated Ty Cobb, pitcher Christy Mathewson (who once went to the showers to early and had to be dragged out of the showers to save a game) and poor Fred Merkle, who's mistake on the field became known as "Merkle's Boner" and branded him for the rest of his life.
Best of all, Murphy takes time to examine how different the game was in those days, when pitchers were still the heroes, ballfields were starting to be replaced for becoming fire traps (and some still had crowds in the outfield). The equipment was primitive and catchers barely crouched instead of squated. Crowds would go into the streets to watch large signs that showed a game in progress by lights and other means. Of course, some things don't change: There was a financial panic in 1907 that sounds way too familiar in details and owners worried if patrons would come back to the ballpark. (They do.) Team owners and league presidents sweep their problems (in this era, gambling and fan violence) under the rug. Honus Wagner stages a walkout and doubles his salary--to $10,000. Fans, however, make only $7 a week on the average, and a 50 cent ticket is something that can only be afforded starting with the middle class.
There is a lot of rich detail and characters that I can't do justice to here, and I won't. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you anyway. It is a delight to read, even for the casual baseball fan, and there are many seventh-inning stretches to look at other events and circumstances outside of baseball. It is a fascinating time capsule that brings the era to life.
Also, at just over 300 pages, we have "The Groucho Letters," which is a paperback 2007 reprint from Simon and Schuster, reintroducing a 1967 classic. Here we sample the historic letters coming to and from Groucho Marx, who proved with pen to be mightier and merrier and and heck of a lot more wicked than the sword. Groucho needed no ghostwriters for this, as evidenced by the fact his letters at the time had been given to the Library of Congress, where they remain. Not only do we read Groucho writing to literary, stage and screen wits, but we get to read his mail, from the likes of E.B. White, Fred Allen, Goodman Ace, Nunnally Johnson, James Thurber, Harry Truman, S.J. Perelman and others. We see a serious side of Groucho in many of the letters, but we get the Groucho we know as well. On a tax matter, he said, "The government has some curious notion that I owe them $1,000,000. I claim I owe only $3.85." He winds up saying, "On this I expect to fight them tooth and nail (nail more than tooth, only because I have more nail than tooth." When Warner Brothers warns him not to use "Casablanca" in the Marx Brothers movie "A Night in Casablanca," he writes a grand series of letters confounding the Warner Brothers lawyers, saying he will sue over "brothers" because the Marx Brothers were around before Warner Brothers. That alone is worth the $16 price of the paperback.
In case you thought I didn't read serious stuff, I'm starting 2007's "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" by Amity Shlaes (paperback, Harper Perennial, 400 pages). It takes a new look at the Depression and will apparently try to paint Roosevelt and his business opponents as neither heroes nor saints, as they both do good and bad along the way. However, it is interesting that the book proposes some of Roosevelt's policies meddled too much and caused the crisis to linger long after it did in Europe, causing another sharp downturn late in the 1930s as he tried to raise taxes and balance the budget. Looks like it will be interesting.
I would also recommend "Presidential Courage" by Michael Beschloss (Simon and Schuster, 2007) as he looks at a series of presidential crisis situations and how men like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan faced them. It makes for a good comparison of the presidency and the more than 300 pages goes quickly.
"Crazy 'O8: How a Cast of Cranks, Rougues, Boneheads and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History" pretty well tells the tale in the title. Author Cait Murphy (who has penned an additional Q&A for the paperback edition by Smithsonian Books, $14.95) wrote this dandy 300-page book a couple of years ago but it is easy to find in 2008 paperback edition. Essentially Murphy proposed this was baseball's best year and devotes detailed attention in the book to the season, save for a quick review of the World Series. Like baseball itself, the action along the way and the characters involved make for the real story. There is a lot of attention devoted to the New York Giants and the Chicago Cubs (when the Cubs was a real ballteam), but there are plenty of other teams and characters to devote time to. We learn about Tinkers to Evers to Chance (who didn't like each other but became famous because of a poem), battling John McGraw, the hated Ty Cobb, pitcher Christy Mathewson (who once went to the showers to early and had to be dragged out of the showers to save a game) and poor Fred Merkle, who's mistake on the field became known as "Merkle's Boner" and branded him for the rest of his life.
Best of all, Murphy takes time to examine how different the game was in those days, when pitchers were still the heroes, ballfields were starting to be replaced for becoming fire traps (and some still had crowds in the outfield). The equipment was primitive and catchers barely crouched instead of squated. Crowds would go into the streets to watch large signs that showed a game in progress by lights and other means. Of course, some things don't change: There was a financial panic in 1907 that sounds way too familiar in details and owners worried if patrons would come back to the ballpark. (They do.) Team owners and league presidents sweep their problems (in this era, gambling and fan violence) under the rug. Honus Wagner stages a walkout and doubles his salary--to $10,000. Fans, however, make only $7 a week on the average, and a 50 cent ticket is something that can only be afforded starting with the middle class.
There is a lot of rich detail and characters that I can't do justice to here, and I won't. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you anyway. It is a delight to read, even for the casual baseball fan, and there are many seventh-inning stretches to look at other events and circumstances outside of baseball. It is a fascinating time capsule that brings the era to life.
Also, at just over 300 pages, we have "The Groucho Letters," which is a paperback 2007 reprint from Simon and Schuster, reintroducing a 1967 classic. Here we sample the historic letters coming to and from Groucho Marx, who proved with pen to be mightier and merrier and and heck of a lot more wicked than the sword. Groucho needed no ghostwriters for this, as evidenced by the fact his letters at the time had been given to the Library of Congress, where they remain. Not only do we read Groucho writing to literary, stage and screen wits, but we get to read his mail, from the likes of E.B. White, Fred Allen, Goodman Ace, Nunnally Johnson, James Thurber, Harry Truman, S.J. Perelman and others. We see a serious side of Groucho in many of the letters, but we get the Groucho we know as well. On a tax matter, he said, "The government has some curious notion that I owe them $1,000,000. I claim I owe only $3.85." He winds up saying, "On this I expect to fight them tooth and nail (nail more than tooth, only because I have more nail than tooth." When Warner Brothers warns him not to use "Casablanca" in the Marx Brothers movie "A Night in Casablanca," he writes a grand series of letters confounding the Warner Brothers lawyers, saying he will sue over "brothers" because the Marx Brothers were around before Warner Brothers. That alone is worth the $16 price of the paperback.
In case you thought I didn't read serious stuff, I'm starting 2007's "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" by Amity Shlaes (paperback, Harper Perennial, 400 pages). It takes a new look at the Depression and will apparently try to paint Roosevelt and his business opponents as neither heroes nor saints, as they both do good and bad along the way. However, it is interesting that the book proposes some of Roosevelt's policies meddled too much and caused the crisis to linger long after it did in Europe, causing another sharp downturn late in the 1930s as he tried to raise taxes and balance the budget. Looks like it will be interesting.
I would also recommend "Presidential Courage" by Michael Beschloss (Simon and Schuster, 2007) as he looks at a series of presidential crisis situations and how men like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan faced them. It makes for a good comparison of the presidency and the more than 300 pages goes quickly.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Charles Bishop bows out of Senate
It is probably a dicey affair to be talking about your boss when your boss is a state senator making news, but it is quite public that District 5 state Sen. Charles Bishop, R-Arley, also is behind the new radio talk show, "Voice of the People," that I joined recently on WIXI, 1360 AM, along with Bucky Rizzo. Bishop himself sometimes appears on the program as a host.
Of course, you would think if Bishop was going to announce that he was not going to run again, his resident news anchor would be the first to know. Well, you just have to know Bishop. He is unpredictable, but that's what makes him so interesting. He really got interesting just after lunch Thursday when I read on the Birmingham News Web site that he was not going to run again for the Senate in 2010.
"I've been giving you hints," he told Bucky on the phone before the show, confirming the news. (We must train the old man on the difference between hints and confirmation. I take it this could be useful in the future. As in, "We can't use hints.")
Having said that, I didn't know what Bishop would do. In fact, Bishop still hints he could run for another office or participate in someone else's campaign. At 71, I don't doubt he wouldn't do either. Time will tell.
The immediate impact, of course, is that we have an open seat in District 5. When Bishop came out of retirement to run for an open seat in 2006, that race became hotly contested in both the primary and the general elections. The primary season was fairly civil, but the general election became the stuff of legend. It was brutal and there was little area for gray. The Democrats and the Republicans both opened up the wallets wide for quite an ad campaign. The Daily Mountain Eagle, eager for revenue like all newspapers these days, is probably salivating at what is coming next year in revenue - and dreading the accusations that may make their way into proposed ads.
Suffice it to say we already have candidates on both sides. Steven Aderholt, who lost the District 4 Walker County Commission race last year, announced in the middle of the 2008 election cycle he was running for the seat. Minutes after I announced the news Thursday on WIXI, Walker County Republican Party Chairman Curtis Poe called the show to say that state GOP executive committee member Vicki Drummond of Jasper had told him she was running for the position. (Interestingly, Poe admitted on the air she didn't know he was going to announce this to the public. So much for party discipline.) Poe said Vicki ran for a seat on the national committee and lost by like two votes.
I expect the crowd will only get thicker with time. It would be interesting to see if some of the candidates from the last race, including Republican Ed Frazier and Democrats Byron McMath and Larry Cagle (the latter being the general election nominee last time), will enter the race.
Something else that should be fascinating is to watch the money trail. There can be no doubt that electronic bingo forces will filter money or advertising to some Democratic candidates. (Keep in mind the Senate will now lose both Bishop and Sen. Hank Erwin, two of the strongest opponents of electronic bingo. Erwin is running for lieutenant governor.) State Rep. Ken Guin's newspaper, the Corridor Messenger, practically became a party newspaper in 2008 with extra editions and full page ads paid for by the state Democratic organization. Between all that and an open seat, the money should flow like Niagara Falls after a rain.
Of course, Bishop will miss out on some of this. It would have been another bitter race probably, and we would have been sick of seeing Democratic TV and print ads reminding us of the punching incident Bishop had with Sen. Lowell Barron. Bishop may have been thinking of this, but I suspect his business interests, which continue to take up more time, and the changing climate of Montgomery had more to do with it. He also went down to help out Future Interstate 22 and instead found much of his time devoted to fighting electronic bingo.
At any rate, even if he runs for something else, it ends a chapter in the Senate that will have stretched for nearly three decades, as he previously served in 1983-90 -- a time that included George Wallace's last term as governor. No doubt he will be remembered for the punch -- something he has regretted to some extent -- but he's done much good for the county in that seat as well. Over the years he fought for agriculture and industry, including his time when he held posts in the cabinet over those areas. Certainly in his last term, he fought electronic bingo tooth and nail to help prevent the county from having a black eye for industrial development. Perhaps it was more of a draw at times, but he certainly prevented victories for the other side.
There is probably much more to be said, but I admit to being a little biased. Over the past few months, as my career has been trying to find itself after leaving the Daily Mountain Eagle, Bishop has been as helpful as anyone out there and has been a good friend -- a little unpredictable at times, yes, but in the end loyal and supportive. He has provided a means to keep bread on the table and give me a new lease on a local news career that I didn't expect to have. I don't know what I would have done without him. Many people don't see this side of him while he is in the public eye, but he has done many acts of kindness when you were not looking. I'm grateful that I'll still be working with him in the future.
And, of course, still trying to guess what the old fox will do next. If you find out first, let me know.
Of course, you would think if Bishop was going to announce that he was not going to run again, his resident news anchor would be the first to know. Well, you just have to know Bishop. He is unpredictable, but that's what makes him so interesting. He really got interesting just after lunch Thursday when I read on the Birmingham News Web site that he was not going to run again for the Senate in 2010.
"I've been giving you hints," he told Bucky on the phone before the show, confirming the news. (We must train the old man on the difference between hints and confirmation. I take it this could be useful in the future. As in, "We can't use hints.")
Having said that, I didn't know what Bishop would do. In fact, Bishop still hints he could run for another office or participate in someone else's campaign. At 71, I don't doubt he wouldn't do either. Time will tell.
The immediate impact, of course, is that we have an open seat in District 5. When Bishop came out of retirement to run for an open seat in 2006, that race became hotly contested in both the primary and the general elections. The primary season was fairly civil, but the general election became the stuff of legend. It was brutal and there was little area for gray. The Democrats and the Republicans both opened up the wallets wide for quite an ad campaign. The Daily Mountain Eagle, eager for revenue like all newspapers these days, is probably salivating at what is coming next year in revenue - and dreading the accusations that may make their way into proposed ads.
Suffice it to say we already have candidates on both sides. Steven Aderholt, who lost the District 4 Walker County Commission race last year, announced in the middle of the 2008 election cycle he was running for the seat. Minutes after I announced the news Thursday on WIXI, Walker County Republican Party Chairman Curtis Poe called the show to say that state GOP executive committee member Vicki Drummond of Jasper had told him she was running for the position. (Interestingly, Poe admitted on the air she didn't know he was going to announce this to the public. So much for party discipline.) Poe said Vicki ran for a seat on the national committee and lost by like two votes.
I expect the crowd will only get thicker with time. It would be interesting to see if some of the candidates from the last race, including Republican Ed Frazier and Democrats Byron McMath and Larry Cagle (the latter being the general election nominee last time), will enter the race.
Something else that should be fascinating is to watch the money trail. There can be no doubt that electronic bingo forces will filter money or advertising to some Democratic candidates. (Keep in mind the Senate will now lose both Bishop and Sen. Hank Erwin, two of the strongest opponents of electronic bingo. Erwin is running for lieutenant governor.) State Rep. Ken Guin's newspaper, the Corridor Messenger, practically became a party newspaper in 2008 with extra editions and full page ads paid for by the state Democratic organization. Between all that and an open seat, the money should flow like Niagara Falls after a rain.
Of course, Bishop will miss out on some of this. It would have been another bitter race probably, and we would have been sick of seeing Democratic TV and print ads reminding us of the punching incident Bishop had with Sen. Lowell Barron. Bishop may have been thinking of this, but I suspect his business interests, which continue to take up more time, and the changing climate of Montgomery had more to do with it. He also went down to help out Future Interstate 22 and instead found much of his time devoted to fighting electronic bingo.
At any rate, even if he runs for something else, it ends a chapter in the Senate that will have stretched for nearly three decades, as he previously served in 1983-90 -- a time that included George Wallace's last term as governor. No doubt he will be remembered for the punch -- something he has regretted to some extent -- but he's done much good for the county in that seat as well. Over the years he fought for agriculture and industry, including his time when he held posts in the cabinet over those areas. Certainly in his last term, he fought electronic bingo tooth and nail to help prevent the county from having a black eye for industrial development. Perhaps it was more of a draw at times, but he certainly prevented victories for the other side.
There is probably much more to be said, but I admit to being a little biased. Over the past few months, as my career has been trying to find itself after leaving the Daily Mountain Eagle, Bishop has been as helpful as anyone out there and has been a good friend -- a little unpredictable at times, yes, but in the end loyal and supportive. He has provided a means to keep bread on the table and give me a new lease on a local news career that I didn't expect to have. I don't know what I would have done without him. Many people don't see this side of him while he is in the public eye, but he has done many acts of kindness when you were not looking. I'm grateful that I'll still be working with him in the future.
And, of course, still trying to guess what the old fox will do next. If you find out first, let me know.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
race cars vs. tornadoes
I just had to point out that during tonight's tornado outbreak, Fox 6's exasperated weatherman wound up having to explain why they were having to give tornado warning coverage.
That was incredulous, except for the fact it was a split screen situation. The other screen was a live broadcast of the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, a NASCAR race carried by the Fox network.
With tornado warnings issued and the state map lit up with more colors than a Christmas tree on fire, the weatherman noted that the station had already gotten a number of nasty e-mails from race fans. It seems the fans were angry that the races were downsized to a small screen, while the weather was getting the big picture.
You could tell the weatherman was barely keeping it under control, not really wanting to tell off the rednecks. He said that there were Alabamians who were in danger of being wiped out by a tornado and that this was a prime function of the station.
He actually had to explain that, in the middle of a tornado outbreak. I'd be hot under the collar, too.
Now, it is true my county was one of those that was under attack by the tornadoes. It is also true I am not the world's biggest NASCAR fan, although I usually have a good feeling when Jeff Gordon wins. I think it is like when you move into the state and you have to pick Alabama or Auburn, lest someone decides to deport you for being a suspected terrorist or a carrier of swine flu from Mexico. At any rate, racing has its good points and is a fine thing to follow. There are many fine people who follow and participate in the races, and who set a good example.
However, when you are in the first row at Talladega, you almost ask for being in the line of danger. Someone standing at the a crawfish boil in downtown Birmingham and suddenly finding out they may be in the line of tornadoes, that is something else. All of us in this area being in the line of tornadoes or even high winds, that is something else.
One of the major functions of broadcasters and news personnel is to tell you when imminent danger is near, whether it is weather, a meteor, Martians, a terror attack, whatever. We live in an area where people routinely die from high winds, and many times there is not much time to prepare. It also has the characteristic of not booking a more convenient time.
It is amazing that 35 years after the fact, I remember I could not watch one of those NBC mystery movies (I recall it being the "Snoop Sisters") when the April 1974 tornadoes came through. There have been times when I missed seeing a TV show when storm coverage comes on for another part of the state. I was not happy, but I wasn't mad at the TV station.
NASCAR and its fans have grown up in many respects, but sometimes still have to work on the stereotypes that befall that sport. Unfortunately, some of the fans Saturday night -- and I would trust it was a small minority of them -- proved that the idea of a stupid redneck watching a car race on TV and complaining about the interruption for, oh, say, impending deadly weather shows us that we still have a few people left to give racing and Alabama a bad image.
I just hope that if the worst happens (which I wouldn't wish on them anyway) and they find their trailer and their 15 hunting dogs blown away, and that rusty 1976 Chevrolet truck topples off of its cinder blocks in the front yard...well, I just hope it was at a convenient time for them.
That was incredulous, except for the fact it was a split screen situation. The other screen was a live broadcast of the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, a NASCAR race carried by the Fox network.
With tornado warnings issued and the state map lit up with more colors than a Christmas tree on fire, the weatherman noted that the station had already gotten a number of nasty e-mails from race fans. It seems the fans were angry that the races were downsized to a small screen, while the weather was getting the big picture.
You could tell the weatherman was barely keeping it under control, not really wanting to tell off the rednecks. He said that there were Alabamians who were in danger of being wiped out by a tornado and that this was a prime function of the station.
He actually had to explain that, in the middle of a tornado outbreak. I'd be hot under the collar, too.
Now, it is true my county was one of those that was under attack by the tornadoes. It is also true I am not the world's biggest NASCAR fan, although I usually have a good feeling when Jeff Gordon wins. I think it is like when you move into the state and you have to pick Alabama or Auburn, lest someone decides to deport you for being a suspected terrorist or a carrier of swine flu from Mexico. At any rate, racing has its good points and is a fine thing to follow. There are many fine people who follow and participate in the races, and who set a good example.
However, when you are in the first row at Talladega, you almost ask for being in the line of danger. Someone standing at the a crawfish boil in downtown Birmingham and suddenly finding out they may be in the line of tornadoes, that is something else. All of us in this area being in the line of tornadoes or even high winds, that is something else.
One of the major functions of broadcasters and news personnel is to tell you when imminent danger is near, whether it is weather, a meteor, Martians, a terror attack, whatever. We live in an area where people routinely die from high winds, and many times there is not much time to prepare. It also has the characteristic of not booking a more convenient time.
It is amazing that 35 years after the fact, I remember I could not watch one of those NBC mystery movies (I recall it being the "Snoop Sisters") when the April 1974 tornadoes came through. There have been times when I missed seeing a TV show when storm coverage comes on for another part of the state. I was not happy, but I wasn't mad at the TV station.
NASCAR and its fans have grown up in many respects, but sometimes still have to work on the stereotypes that befall that sport. Unfortunately, some of the fans Saturday night -- and I would trust it was a small minority of them -- proved that the idea of a stupid redneck watching a car race on TV and complaining about the interruption for, oh, say, impending deadly weather shows us that we still have a few people left to give racing and Alabama a bad image.
I just hope that if the worst happens (which I wouldn't wish on them anyway) and they find their trailer and their 15 hunting dogs blown away, and that rusty 1976 Chevrolet truck topples off of its cinder blocks in the front yard...well, I just hope it was at a convenient time for them.
Friday, May 1, 2009
The death of Bruno's
If anything could get me to come out of my hybernation on the blog (sometimes life IS more important, thank you), it would certainly have to be the death of the Bruno's grocery chain, which seemed to finally come this week when it auctioned itself off. Southern Foods bought it; they purchased the Food World in Hamilton a while back and made a mess of it before it finally died as well. I am not terribly hopeful of what is coming.
It may be that Jasper and Dora will be spared anymore suffering. The Birmingham News reported today that it had the list of probable stores to be liquidated, and those two cities were on the list. Assuming that is true, it would mean that Jasper is down to two major chain stores, Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie, as well as Son's and another store at the Parkland area. East Walker County would now only have one major store (Wal-Mart, of course) and a local store. Dora would be deprived of a major generator of sales tax revenue and the shopping center would lose its big anchor. Jasper would have a big hole in that major quadrant where 78 and Airport collide, and it will be interesting to see in a lesser economy if anyone takes it over soon. (I would point out Goody's nearby is still vacant.)
This is personally sad for me, because Bruno's is responsible for funding my childhood upbringing. Dad was employed there for something like three decades, ironically starting in Jasper. Although he lived in Winfield, he commuted seemingly everywhere, including Haleyville, Jasper, many stores in the Birmingham area, Russellville and finally Hamilton, where he retired. He was a meat cutter and eventually a meat department head in a number of stores.
It was during his time in Birmingham in particular that he got to know many of the people in the company, even those at the top. His conversations have always included tales of the patriarch, Joe Bruno, known as "Mr. Joe." It was a family operation, and they family stayed connected to the business. It always impressed me that the family, devout Catholics, would have a cross set up in the store around the business office, and the stores would be blessed upon opening.
As many of you know, they were community minded and funded a number of institutions, particularly in the Birmingham area. They also loved to hold an open house at the warehouse, and considering they knew all the vendors, it was quite an affair indeed. Of course, the warehouse was something to behold, and they took great pride in showing it off.
Now, those days are over. I've heard many inside and outside the company reflect back to the plane crash that killed several executives, including family members. "The company was never the same after that plane crash," they say, shaking their heads. That is correct. Not only was the management not the same, but Bruno's faced a tide of change in the supermarket industry. The change was Wal-Mart, which stomped in on the scene like a giant, undercutting everyone and swamping with volume. There had been a half-hearted attempt between Bruno's and K-mart to do something like what Wal-Mart does now, but it went nowhere. Moreover, Dad still maintains that the company lost its way in customer service in the end, which is the only thing it could really compete with.
Even if the Jasper and Dora stores survive, it will not be the Bruno's we knew. It will not be the Bruno's bear smiling at us from the grocery ads. It will not be the Bruno's that started a world class golf tournament and funded educational and spiritual institutions. It will not be the Bruno's that introduced Big B drugs when we didn't have mammoth national drug stores on every corner. It will not be the Bruno's that really introduced the big grocery store concept with Food World, with its amazing selections.
Perhaps most of all, it's not Mr. Joe. When the Bruno family left, so did the heart of the company. The reputation of the name is the only reason that the patient is only now dying of cardiac arrest.
It may be that Jasper and Dora will be spared anymore suffering. The Birmingham News reported today that it had the list of probable stores to be liquidated, and those two cities were on the list. Assuming that is true, it would mean that Jasper is down to two major chain stores, Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie, as well as Son's and another store at the Parkland area. East Walker County would now only have one major store (Wal-Mart, of course) and a local store. Dora would be deprived of a major generator of sales tax revenue and the shopping center would lose its big anchor. Jasper would have a big hole in that major quadrant where 78 and Airport collide, and it will be interesting to see in a lesser economy if anyone takes it over soon. (I would point out Goody's nearby is still vacant.)
This is personally sad for me, because Bruno's is responsible for funding my childhood upbringing. Dad was employed there for something like three decades, ironically starting in Jasper. Although he lived in Winfield, he commuted seemingly everywhere, including Haleyville, Jasper, many stores in the Birmingham area, Russellville and finally Hamilton, where he retired. He was a meat cutter and eventually a meat department head in a number of stores.
It was during his time in Birmingham in particular that he got to know many of the people in the company, even those at the top. His conversations have always included tales of the patriarch, Joe Bruno, known as "Mr. Joe." It was a family operation, and they family stayed connected to the business. It always impressed me that the family, devout Catholics, would have a cross set up in the store around the business office, and the stores would be blessed upon opening.
As many of you know, they were community minded and funded a number of institutions, particularly in the Birmingham area. They also loved to hold an open house at the warehouse, and considering they knew all the vendors, it was quite an affair indeed. Of course, the warehouse was something to behold, and they took great pride in showing it off.
Now, those days are over. I've heard many inside and outside the company reflect back to the plane crash that killed several executives, including family members. "The company was never the same after that plane crash," they say, shaking their heads. That is correct. Not only was the management not the same, but Bruno's faced a tide of change in the supermarket industry. The change was Wal-Mart, which stomped in on the scene like a giant, undercutting everyone and swamping with volume. There had been a half-hearted attempt between Bruno's and K-mart to do something like what Wal-Mart does now, but it went nowhere. Moreover, Dad still maintains that the company lost its way in customer service in the end, which is the only thing it could really compete with.
Even if the Jasper and Dora stores survive, it will not be the Bruno's we knew. It will not be the Bruno's bear smiling at us from the grocery ads. It will not be the Bruno's that started a world class golf tournament and funded educational and spiritual institutions. It will not be the Bruno's that introduced Big B drugs when we didn't have mammoth national drug stores on every corner. It will not be the Bruno's that really introduced the big grocery store concept with Food World, with its amazing selections.
Perhaps most of all, it's not Mr. Joe. When the Bruno family left, so did the heart of the company. The reputation of the name is the only reason that the patient is only now dying of cardiac arrest.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Jasper City Council - called work session
E-mail from Jasper City Clerk Kathy Chambless: "The Jasper City Council will hold a work session Friday, April 17, 2009, at 12:00 noon in the Council Chamber located at Jasper City Hall. This work session is being held to discuss procedures concerning garbage collections, drainage matters, update on the construction of a pool for Southside, and amendment to the business license ordinance for peddlers, and other matters."
Talk of the Town cancelled; Shelby will not be broadcast
I would have gotten this word out earlier (AT&T's DSL went out yesterday afternoon), but we WJLX will not broadcast Sen. Richard Shelby's town hall meeting today, and, perhaps just as importantly, I won't be on the air myself, as "Talk of the Town" is no more. I will be moving to WIXI, 1360 AM, effective Monday, April 20, to be a co-host on "The People's Viewpoint" with Bucky Rizzo and (occasionally) Charles Bishop from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
I have enjoyed my show and the crew at WJLX, and I would have done it for a long time. I wish them well, and they have done the same for me; we part on good terms. However, the ad revenue just wasn't there at this time to support the show. I depended on that revenue for my revenue, and the bad economy never gave it a chance. With the economy getting somewhat of a break recently, and after some discussions with those involved with "The People's Viewpoint," there may be a way this new show can work out. I think we will be blending some elements from my show and Bucky Rizzo's show, which was also formerly on WJLX. I will still be bringing the local and state news on this show. I should also point out the time slot and the signal strength should amount to an improvement.
At any rate, thank you to everyone who supported "Talk of the Town." I think it was a journalistic success and proved that we can have another way to bring newsmakers into your homes, offices and cars. I hope you'll follow me to 1360 AM.
I have enjoyed my show and the crew at WJLX, and I would have done it for a long time. I wish them well, and they have done the same for me; we part on good terms. However, the ad revenue just wasn't there at this time to support the show. I depended on that revenue for my revenue, and the bad economy never gave it a chance. With the economy getting somewhat of a break recently, and after some discussions with those involved with "The People's Viewpoint," there may be a way this new show can work out. I think we will be blending some elements from my show and Bucky Rizzo's show, which was also formerly on WJLX. I will still be bringing the local and state news on this show. I should also point out the time slot and the signal strength should amount to an improvement.
At any rate, thank you to everyone who supported "Talk of the Town." I think it was a journalistic success and proved that we can have another way to bring newsmakers into your homes, offices and cars. I hope you'll follow me to 1360 AM.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
ComeUnity cancelled tonight
Jim Odom said the ComeUnity Christian group that meets on Thursday nights has cancelled tonight due to the weather.
School closings in Walker, area start at 1 p.m.
This is Ed Howell at noon. The following school systems will close at 1 p.m. today because of storms: Walker Co., Sumition Christian, Cullman Co., Fayette County, Winfield City, Marion County. Winston County and Jasper City will close at 2 p.m.
Bevill State is still holding classes, as of noon. The Carbon Hill City Council will still meet at 6 p.m. as of this hour.
Jason Simpson of ABC 33/40 says a moderate risk of severe risk of thunderstorms, tornadoes and such will likely hit most of Walker County between 4 and 9 p.m.
Bevill State is still holding classes, as of noon. The Carbon Hill City Council will still meet at 6 p.m. as of this hour.
Jason Simpson of ABC 33/40 says a moderate risk of severe risk of thunderstorms, tornadoes and such will likely hit most of Walker County between 4 and 9 p.m.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Adkins will run for superintendent; Tirey will run again
The big news Friday was political as Cordova High Principal Jason Adkins confirmed he will run for Walker County superintendent of education in 2010, vying for a seat held now by Vonda Beaty. (She is in her first term.) Sheriff John Mark Tirey also announced will run for fifth term as sheriff. That news came out of interviews during an active two hours at the Jasper Mall as "Talk of the Town" was simulcast on WJLX and WJBE at the Home and Garden Show.
Attorney Herbie Brewer, who represents bingo charities, came on the show to discuss the issues around electronic bingo at the moment. Walker Wilson came on to talk about the retail recruitment committee at the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, as well as the banking industry in Walker County. (His own bank, the Bank of Walker County, also marked its fifth anniversary Friday, which he remarked on.) The only disappointment was that we couldn't get state Rep. Ken Guin, who had a schedule change and offered to come on by phone, but our situation of doing a remote at the mall was not easily set up for tape playback and called-in phone interviews, which we usually do a lot of at the studio. Hopefully we'll have him on the show soon.
We also had a pretty robust news segment, as unemployment figures announced Friday showed the rate going up again in Walker County and slightly above the state and national figures. (Winston and Marion counties are now above 14 percent.) The Jasper City Council had a work session and indicated it would likely go with a lessor Blue Cross plan for employees that will eliminate their drug card and require them to start filing for prescriptions (although they get 100 percent on generics). They also were told they have very good chances to get a $250,000 grant for a new senior citizen center. However, they also have a total debt of more than $11 million and they are still seeing declines in the sales tax. I also had news about the bingo hearing in Birmingham, where agreement seemed near to allow the release of bingo charity applications to the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition.
Overall, I am well pleased with the day, and my thanks to everyone who participated. The crew at the radio station did a great job overcoming difficulties to bring this remote, and hopefully we can do more.
Attorney Herbie Brewer, who represents bingo charities, came on the show to discuss the issues around electronic bingo at the moment. Walker Wilson came on to talk about the retail recruitment committee at the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, as well as the banking industry in Walker County. (His own bank, the Bank of Walker County, also marked its fifth anniversary Friday, which he remarked on.) The only disappointment was that we couldn't get state Rep. Ken Guin, who had a schedule change and offered to come on by phone, but our situation of doing a remote at the mall was not easily set up for tape playback and called-in phone interviews, which we usually do a lot of at the studio. Hopefully we'll have him on the show soon.
We also had a pretty robust news segment, as unemployment figures announced Friday showed the rate going up again in Walker County and slightly above the state and national figures. (Winston and Marion counties are now above 14 percent.) The Jasper City Council had a work session and indicated it would likely go with a lessor Blue Cross plan for employees that will eliminate their drug card and require them to start filing for prescriptions (although they get 100 percent on generics). They also were told they have very good chances to get a $250,000 grant for a new senior citizen center. However, they also have a total debt of more than $11 million and they are still seeing declines in the sales tax. I also had news about the bingo hearing in Birmingham, where agreement seemed near to allow the release of bingo charity applications to the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition.
Overall, I am well pleased with the day, and my thanks to everyone who participated. The crew at the radio station did a great job overcoming difficulties to bring this remote, and hopefully we can do more.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
bingo hearing and more
I will be covering the Walker County bingo hearing at 3:30 p.m. in Room 330 of the Jefferson County Courthouse on Thursday, March 26. I'll be representing not only WJLX but also the Alabama Baptist weekly newspaper. This is the hearing that involves the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition wanting to see the permit applications for electronic bingo charities in Walker County, as there are questions about the validity of some charities.
Meanwhile, I learned this week that a full list of the charities is on display at the Walker County Courthouse, along with expiration date and assigned bingo hall. It is in a narrow basement hallway outside of the bingo compliance officer's office -- under glass. No paper copies are allowed to be distributed, and there were lines of bingo-related people in the hallway when it first went up trying to scribble the information down on paper.
As for Thursday, because of the hearing and the home and garden show being set up by my station for this weekend, the show will be taped in advance but will feature a reading of the full statement released by Jasper Councilman Johnny Rollins to WJLX on Tuesday about the new position being created for a public works director/engineer. Rollins said it was released to other Jasper media as early as March 2 but was never published. Since he is an elected councilman (as opposed to just anyone coming off the street to vent), I feel obligated to read the entire statement as a matter of record. Mayor Sonny Posey has denied some of the allegations in the statement. I also hope to include the recorded statement from Bevill State's president concerning the cuts that could be approved by the state board of education on Thursday.
On Friday, I will be on both WJLX-AM and WJBE-FM from 2-4 p.m., a special two-hour live broadcast from the home and garden show at the Jasper Mall. We hope to feature Sheriff John Mark Tirey and banker and chamber retail official Walker Wilson, as well as some others we are trying to line up. We hope you will join us at the center of the mall Friday, as well as on the radio and the Internet.
I'm still proud of what we're doing on this show. We were the only news organizations to cover the last Dora City Council meeting over the past week (and the first to report on Carbon Hill's meeting). We were the first in the county to report about the rise in the county unemployment rates, and we reported today that state Rep. Tommy Sherer abstained on the food sales tax vote because he was not comfortable with how the funding would be made up. We were the first to report about the public works director/engineer matter from Jasper's meeting and ran a 30-minute segment taped from the meeting hours earlier. We were the first to report that the county had been confirmed to receive more than $200,000 in stimulus funds and that it would have more time to use the money, thus preventing the county from having to give the money back. We were the first to report that Dora firemen had formed a bingo charity to help the fire department using the department's name in the title...while the council had earlier voted not to receive bingo money. (We ran a long portion from that discussion as well.) We've been the first to report stock closings and breaking legislative developments from Montgomery.
I hope we can offer a service in breaking the local stories of interest and bringing listeners into public meetings, as well as informing and entertaining them with our guests. No other news outlet in Walker County is offering anything like we do, and I hope advertisers and listeners in our market will support this effort. Again, we are also streamed live on http://www.walkercountyradio.com/ and the shows are archived there for a week to be downloaded.
A final word for the moment: I'm getting so old I am forgetting my age. I got off track during a morning show on WJBE Wednesday. I think someone asked if I was 32 and I kept saying I was 36. Actually, I meant to say I turned 46. In fact, it got me messed up all day and I had to keep correcting myself, for some reason. I think we can now really say I am old when I can't remember how old I am! At any rate, 46 or not, I appreciate the many kind words I received Wednesday. It has been a difficult time of transition, and the day was a welcome comfort to me.
Added to this happiness on Wednesday was my interview that day with Jarrod Jones, which I think was important for many people to hear concerning the problem of sexual problems and looking at it from a Christian perspective. I would encourage you to look up this show on the Web site, archived as Wednesday's show, and give it a listen. You can also find links to his material at http://www.jarrodjones.com/.
Meanwhile, I learned this week that a full list of the charities is on display at the Walker County Courthouse, along with expiration date and assigned bingo hall. It is in a narrow basement hallway outside of the bingo compliance officer's office -- under glass. No paper copies are allowed to be distributed, and there were lines of bingo-related people in the hallway when it first went up trying to scribble the information down on paper.
As for Thursday, because of the hearing and the home and garden show being set up by my station for this weekend, the show will be taped in advance but will feature a reading of the full statement released by Jasper Councilman Johnny Rollins to WJLX on Tuesday about the new position being created for a public works director/engineer. Rollins said it was released to other Jasper media as early as March 2 but was never published. Since he is an elected councilman (as opposed to just anyone coming off the street to vent), I feel obligated to read the entire statement as a matter of record. Mayor Sonny Posey has denied some of the allegations in the statement. I also hope to include the recorded statement from Bevill State's president concerning the cuts that could be approved by the state board of education on Thursday.
On Friday, I will be on both WJLX-AM and WJBE-FM from 2-4 p.m., a special two-hour live broadcast from the home and garden show at the Jasper Mall. We hope to feature Sheriff John Mark Tirey and banker and chamber retail official Walker Wilson, as well as some others we are trying to line up. We hope you will join us at the center of the mall Friday, as well as on the radio and the Internet.
I'm still proud of what we're doing on this show. We were the only news organizations to cover the last Dora City Council meeting over the past week (and the first to report on Carbon Hill's meeting). We were the first in the county to report about the rise in the county unemployment rates, and we reported today that state Rep. Tommy Sherer abstained on the food sales tax vote because he was not comfortable with how the funding would be made up. We were the first to report about the public works director/engineer matter from Jasper's meeting and ran a 30-minute segment taped from the meeting hours earlier. We were the first to report that the county had been confirmed to receive more than $200,000 in stimulus funds and that it would have more time to use the money, thus preventing the county from having to give the money back. We were the first to report that Dora firemen had formed a bingo charity to help the fire department using the department's name in the title...while the council had earlier voted not to receive bingo money. (We ran a long portion from that discussion as well.) We've been the first to report stock closings and breaking legislative developments from Montgomery.
I hope we can offer a service in breaking the local stories of interest and bringing listeners into public meetings, as well as informing and entertaining them with our guests. No other news outlet in Walker County is offering anything like we do, and I hope advertisers and listeners in our market will support this effort. Again, we are also streamed live on http://www.walkercountyradio.com/ and the shows are archived there for a week to be downloaded.
A final word for the moment: I'm getting so old I am forgetting my age. I got off track during a morning show on WJBE Wednesday. I think someone asked if I was 32 and I kept saying I was 36. Actually, I meant to say I turned 46. In fact, it got me messed up all day and I had to keep correcting myself, for some reason. I think we can now really say I am old when I can't remember how old I am! At any rate, 46 or not, I appreciate the many kind words I received Wednesday. It has been a difficult time of transition, and the day was a welcome comfort to me.
Added to this happiness on Wednesday was my interview that day with Jarrod Jones, which I think was important for many people to hear concerning the problem of sexual problems and looking at it from a Christian perspective. I would encourage you to look up this show on the Web site, archived as Wednesday's show, and give it a listen. You can also find links to his material at http://www.jarrodjones.com/.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Aderholt on Monday's show
Aderholt Press sent a message to the members of Friends of Rep. Robert Aderholt.-------------
-------Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Aderholt on the Radio Monday
Congressman Aderholt will be on the radio several times tomorrow (Monday). First, he will be on the Matt Murphy morning radio show at 8:45am Central (9:45 EST) to talk about the AIG controversy, the out-of-control federal spending and the Cap & Trade debate in Washington. You can listen to this interview on 1070am WAPI in the Birmingham metro area or online at www.wapi1070.com. Later in the day, Rep. Aderholt will be on the "Talk of The Town Radio Show w/Ed Howell" at 2:15pm Central (3:15pm EST). You can listen to this interview on 1240am in or nearby Walker County or online at www.walkercountyradio.com.
God Bless, Aderholt Press Office
-------Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Aderholt on the Radio Monday
Congressman Aderholt will be on the radio several times tomorrow (Monday). First, he will be on the Matt Murphy morning radio show at 8:45am Central (9:45 EST) to talk about the AIG controversy, the out-of-control federal spending and the Cap & Trade debate in Washington. You can listen to this interview on 1070am WAPI in the Birmingham metro area or online at www.wapi1070.com. Later in the day, Rep. Aderholt will be on the "Talk of The Town Radio Show w/Ed Howell" at 2:15pm Central (3:15pm EST). You can listen to this interview on 1240am in or nearby Walker County or online at www.walkercountyradio.com.
God Bless, Aderholt Press Office
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Talk of the Town at Home and Garden Show
"Talk of the Town" is planning to hold a special two-hour broadcast at the Walker County Home and Garden Show at 2 p.m. Friday, March 27, that will be simulcast on both WJLX and its FM sister station. It will be our first remote broadcast, our first two-hour show and our first time to be simulcast on both the stations. We are trying to get guests lined up for the show, which I understand should be broadcast from near the center of the Jasper Mall. (Considering how some guests have cancelled or gotten lost in the past week or so, this may be the first publicly broadcast nervous breakdown in history, but hopefully it will go well.)
Hopefully, if you show up to watch, you might get a chance to ask some questions yourself on the air. I was just sitting here thinking we should have a giveaway to people who come up watch. Of course, I've seen a lot of cheap things given away at things like this. (I suggest we give away Brett Elmore to the first one who wants him. That's about as cheap as it gets.)
Also, we have smoothed out problems with the live stream on www.walkercountyradio.com so that you should be able to stream it, at least if you have high speed Internet. It will continue to be archived by suppertime and available for a full week for each broadcast.
It is a gamble to say who will be on because of breaking news and cancellations but some highlights we are planning for include Carbon Hill Chris Hart today (Friday) and Cordova Mayor Jack Scott on April 1. Dora Mayor Chris Edwards is set for April 15. I would also like to point out two Christian-themed guests that I hope you will especially tune in to, as they are personal friends I recommend: Christian youth speaker and author Jarrod Jones (www.jarrodjones.com) on March 25 (my birthday) and singer Mark Baynes (www.markbaynes.com) on April 7.
Hopefully, you'll like what we are doing on the broadcast, and I would love to hear feedback.
Also, I hope you will visit around on my Web site at www.edhowellcommunications.com and realize I can handle some of your photography, Web site and other communication needs. I will be upfront with you and help you to fit a project to within your budget. We're all tight on our spending these days, and I can do you a bargain job without sacrificing quality.
Hopefully, if you show up to watch, you might get a chance to ask some questions yourself on the air. I was just sitting here thinking we should have a giveaway to people who come up watch. Of course, I've seen a lot of cheap things given away at things like this. (I suggest we give away Brett Elmore to the first one who wants him. That's about as cheap as it gets.)
Also, we have smoothed out problems with the live stream on www.walkercountyradio.com so that you should be able to stream it, at least if you have high speed Internet. It will continue to be archived by suppertime and available for a full week for each broadcast.
It is a gamble to say who will be on because of breaking news and cancellations but some highlights we are planning for include Carbon Hill Chris Hart today (Friday) and Cordova Mayor Jack Scott on April 1. Dora Mayor Chris Edwards is set for April 15. I would also like to point out two Christian-themed guests that I hope you will especially tune in to, as they are personal friends I recommend: Christian youth speaker and author Jarrod Jones (www.jarrodjones.com) on March 25 (my birthday) and singer Mark Baynes (www.markbaynes.com) on April 7.
Hopefully, you'll like what we are doing on the broadcast, and I would love to hear feedback.
Also, I hope you will visit around on my Web site at www.edhowellcommunications.com and realize I can handle some of your photography, Web site and other communication needs. I will be upfront with you and help you to fit a project to within your budget. We're all tight on our spending these days, and I can do you a bargain job without sacrificing quality.
court hearing on Thursday
Bucky Rizzo, the chairman of the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition, told me tonight that a court hearing on the coalition's motion to release the applications for charities in the county, is set for 3:30 p.m. next Thursday, March 26, in Birmingham.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A better county Web site
Today on "Talk of the Town," assistant University of Alabama journalism professor Chris Roberts, an old friend of mine, came on for a few minutes to discuss the fairly new trend of Web sites for county governments. In Sunday's Birmingham News (his old newspaper), Roberts talked about the subject in an ed-op piece, which also coincided with Sunshine Week. That is a time set aside to emphasize the importance of making government documents and resources available to the public at large and calling attention to what is legally in place to do such work.
Finding government information on Web sites may sound like a small subject, but many people are now getting much of their information from Web sites now. Perhaps some people are poor and can't afford a computer, but in that case others with a computer can take more time to look up that information for the less fortunate. However, we are moving to a society where many people have access to computers, even at libraries for free.
Moreover, in a very busy world we live in today and with commuter situations that take people out of the county to work, it is easier to look up this information by the Internet. Making it available allows the public to do what reporters have done for years -- to be the watchdog over the government. By putting contracts, bids, court dockets, arrest information, meeting agendas and more on the Web, we are able to better keep track of government officials. It is not to say everything they are doing is bad, but it makes for more transparency and quicker response in the 21st century to have material scanned in quickly for the public to browse through.
In the old days, they might have to fight traffic, pay fees for photocopying and then carry reams of paperwork. Now government is available to watch over while sitting in your pajamas at a computer. Maybe it shouldn't be THAT comfortable, but it certainly makes it easier for the common folk, especially the busy ones who have jobs to do, to find out what the people they are paying are actually doing.
Roberts uses the example in Sunday's column that former Jefferson County Commissioner Jeff Germany, who used non-profits to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends and relatives, could have been tracked as the spending was in line items in county agendas and minutes -- records that Roberts said are still not online.
Roberts and some of his students marked Sunshine Week by conducting the first survey in the state that I know about concerning county Web sites. (A similar one is being finished about city Web sites. The county results can be found at www.chrisrob.com/sunshine.) What they found out is discouraging. Out of 67 counties, 25 still don't have Web sites and the rest vary wildly in the quality of useful information. Only 17 counties even include the minutes of minutes and only 11 had timely links to agendas for upcoming meetings.
That brings us to Walker County, which pays Walker Web $1,500 a year to maintain a Web site (http://www.walkercounty.com/) that has been around for a while. However, some departments have apparently never even submitted information to complete their pages, such as the sanitation department. Walker County did state the time but did not include the place of the meetings. The agendas are not posted, as a county official indicated it has not been set up for her to make the postings herself and sometimes the agenda is not completed anyway. More than two dozen other counties have their agendas posted online.
The county does post some contact information and commission district maps. There is an ability to pay for some items, such as in renewing tags online, printing business license applications to pay by mail, renewing hunting and fishing licenses online and paying sales tax revenue online. However, on the flip side, finding property values and a property map was not apparent. About 29 counties gave an employee directory, but Walker did not have one. It did not post its budget, contracts or requests for bids. No police or sheriff reports, nor any jail logs, were on the site (even though Carbon Hill and Winston County were doing similar items on their Web sites). The county did not follow Winston's lead to put court dockets directly on the site; instead, it gave a link to the state's AlaCourt site, which usually requires a subscription fee.
It would seem that it is time to sit down with Walker Web and county departments to see what can be done for taxpayers to get their money's worth. To his credit, Walker County Commission Chairman Bruce Hamrick said today he was interested in looking into an update and noticed recently some things were still missing from the site. He wanted a breakdown of some of the information from Roberts' study in comparison with other counties. He did note there is the problem of how smaller counties can afford to provide so many services on a Web site and that there is only so much time to make postings.
Hamrick did note there is a possible solution being bantered around. There is apparently some talk within the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama to possibly handle the service for all the counties, apparently pooling resources. Roberts said Monday that this would be an excellent idea and hopes that it takes off as a way to help the counties. It could particularly help many smaller counties that may feel they cannot afford in some ways to tackle a project. Certainly there has been great advancement in the state court system for bringing online services online, as lawyers are now getting used to filing and researching cases electronically. The association and the Alabama League of Municipalities might be able to undertake similar projects.
At any rate, county and city Web sites are the next wave of government service. Anyone who thinks it is premature to discuss the impact of the Internet can only see newspapers shutting down in Denver, Seattle and other areas to note that the future is here. It is imperative that the public be served in an efficient, cost-effective way. It also helps the public to take up its role again as the true boss of all those politicians who try to take advantage of the voters.
Interesting thing about that study, by the way: When I noted one or two mistakes in the results concerning Walker County, Roberts admitted he had already started finding them and updating the results. In fact, since they went online, others around the state are calling in. Believe it or not, he didn't sound displeased, because this is the point about oversight that he is making when it comes to the general public. If they can start correcting the study this quickly, think what they could do with county and city governments when their material goes online.
Finding government information on Web sites may sound like a small subject, but many people are now getting much of their information from Web sites now. Perhaps some people are poor and can't afford a computer, but in that case others with a computer can take more time to look up that information for the less fortunate. However, we are moving to a society where many people have access to computers, even at libraries for free.
Moreover, in a very busy world we live in today and with commuter situations that take people out of the county to work, it is easier to look up this information by the Internet. Making it available allows the public to do what reporters have done for years -- to be the watchdog over the government. By putting contracts, bids, court dockets, arrest information, meeting agendas and more on the Web, we are able to better keep track of government officials. It is not to say everything they are doing is bad, but it makes for more transparency and quicker response in the 21st century to have material scanned in quickly for the public to browse through.
In the old days, they might have to fight traffic, pay fees for photocopying and then carry reams of paperwork. Now government is available to watch over while sitting in your pajamas at a computer. Maybe it shouldn't be THAT comfortable, but it certainly makes it easier for the common folk, especially the busy ones who have jobs to do, to find out what the people they are paying are actually doing.
Roberts uses the example in Sunday's column that former Jefferson County Commissioner Jeff Germany, who used non-profits to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends and relatives, could have been tracked as the spending was in line items in county agendas and minutes -- records that Roberts said are still not online.
Roberts and some of his students marked Sunshine Week by conducting the first survey in the state that I know about concerning county Web sites. (A similar one is being finished about city Web sites. The county results can be found at www.chrisrob.com/sunshine.) What they found out is discouraging. Out of 67 counties, 25 still don't have Web sites and the rest vary wildly in the quality of useful information. Only 17 counties even include the minutes of minutes and only 11 had timely links to agendas for upcoming meetings.
That brings us to Walker County, which pays Walker Web $1,500 a year to maintain a Web site (http://www.walkercounty.com/) that has been around for a while. However, some departments have apparently never even submitted information to complete their pages, such as the sanitation department. Walker County did state the time but did not include the place of the meetings. The agendas are not posted, as a county official indicated it has not been set up for her to make the postings herself and sometimes the agenda is not completed anyway. More than two dozen other counties have their agendas posted online.
The county does post some contact information and commission district maps. There is an ability to pay for some items, such as in renewing tags online, printing business license applications to pay by mail, renewing hunting and fishing licenses online and paying sales tax revenue online. However, on the flip side, finding property values and a property map was not apparent. About 29 counties gave an employee directory, but Walker did not have one. It did not post its budget, contracts or requests for bids. No police or sheriff reports, nor any jail logs, were on the site (even though Carbon Hill and Winston County were doing similar items on their Web sites). The county did not follow Winston's lead to put court dockets directly on the site; instead, it gave a link to the state's AlaCourt site, which usually requires a subscription fee.
It would seem that it is time to sit down with Walker Web and county departments to see what can be done for taxpayers to get their money's worth. To his credit, Walker County Commission Chairman Bruce Hamrick said today he was interested in looking into an update and noticed recently some things were still missing from the site. He wanted a breakdown of some of the information from Roberts' study in comparison with other counties. He did note there is the problem of how smaller counties can afford to provide so many services on a Web site and that there is only so much time to make postings.
Hamrick did note there is a possible solution being bantered around. There is apparently some talk within the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama to possibly handle the service for all the counties, apparently pooling resources. Roberts said Monday that this would be an excellent idea and hopes that it takes off as a way to help the counties. It could particularly help many smaller counties that may feel they cannot afford in some ways to tackle a project. Certainly there has been great advancement in the state court system for bringing online services online, as lawyers are now getting used to filing and researching cases electronically. The association and the Alabama League of Municipalities might be able to undertake similar projects.
At any rate, county and city Web sites are the next wave of government service. Anyone who thinks it is premature to discuss the impact of the Internet can only see newspapers shutting down in Denver, Seattle and other areas to note that the future is here. It is imperative that the public be served in an efficient, cost-effective way. It also helps the public to take up its role again as the true boss of all those politicians who try to take advantage of the voters.
Interesting thing about that study, by the way: When I noted one or two mistakes in the results concerning Walker County, Roberts admitted he had already started finding them and updating the results. In fact, since they went online, others around the state are calling in. Believe it or not, he didn't sound displeased, because this is the point about oversight that he is making when it comes to the general public. If they can start correcting the study this quickly, think what they could do with county and city governments when their material goes online.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Paint me a bingo hall, Randy Owen
Well, I have say I am a little disappointed in Randy Owen of Alabama, as he has gone over to the side of bingo. So much for a wholesome reputation.
On Wednesday the House Tourism and Travel Committee voted to approve the bingo bills that would set up 14 large bingo halls in the state, including two in Walker County. According to the Associated Press, the committee passed a version of the bill that would allow games in Etowah, Greene, Houston, Lowndes, Jefferson, Macon, Mobile and Walker counties. The committee took out Calhoun County, which was in the original version. Lucky Calhoun.
The identical Senate committee held a public hearing on the identical Senate bill but did not take an identical vote. In fact, they held no vote at all, for some reason.
Perhaps they were not serenaded like the House committee was. According to the AP, "The legislation attracted support from country music entertainers, who say it will help a country entertainment center be built near Dothan. Tracy Lawrence sang 'Paint Me a Birmingham' for the House committee, and Alabama singer Randy Owen told the Senate committee that there is no place he'd rather play than Alabama."
Paint me a bingo hall, Mr. Owen. And use some pretty colors to mask the ugly mess we're creating. Be sure to use green, the color of money.
By the way, going through the bill, I uncovered something interesting. There is a section that indicates that while the current bingo amendments for the counties would be scrapped, the governing authorities under those old amendments would have the ability to pick the operators of the two bingo halls for that county. In other words, the Walker County Commission would get to pick the two bingo halls which would have at least 1,000 machines each and would cost at least $50 million to build. Once that word gets around, the reaction should be quite interesting.
There is no question there is a big push this time to pass the bills. Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association has already staked out a position, noting 70 percent of the 20 percent tax on the gross would go for education. The ink had barely dried on the newspapers announcing the plan on Friday before a weekend blitz of TV commercials started to advocate the passage of the bills. The commercials were so cheery that you would have thought you were voting for motherhood and apple pie.
Of course, the commercials also want to tout that you will be getting rid of illegal gambling. Oh, really?! The same illegal gambling that some of the same supporters are not just pushing for, but operating? Give me a break.
It becomes even more interesting when looking at other factors. The economy becomes a bigger player in this than it ever has before. We can talk about the faked charities, the crime committed to get money to play bingo, the poor people and elderly who are losing funds that they would otherwise use to pay bills and more...but money in a severe recession such as this will take center stage every time. One of the latest full page pro-bingo ads plopped down in local newspapers (still without identification, of course) blows up huge photos of Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, of all things, the quintessential cop. (I would bet...if I bet...that the ads used the images without copywrite permission, because I saw no hint of that. Heck, they won't even identify themselves!) It blew up that and another publicity photo from "Dragnet" with the headline, "Just the facts, ma'am," the famous cliche to come out of the TV show.
It then led into figures, which are true, showing the Walker County's unemployment rate has been lower than that of surrounding counties. It then made this statement:
"Over 1,400 individuals are directly employed by the Charity Bingo industry in Walker County. That's almost 5% of the entire workforce of Walker County. Tourism in Walker County is at an all-time high. Charity Bingo brings visitors to the area, which keeps local businesses thriving."
Of course, there is no way to double-check those numbers since the bingo halls are almost unchecked and have been from the beginning. But as the county has given itself over so freely and the bingo halls are hiring like mad, I would not doubt it has come to this. Kill bingo and you kill Disney World, the golden goose that draws in the crowd. And who would want to put our county into an economic tailspin?
Well, maybe those folks could do legal work for Attorney General Troy King. He may need it soon.
The Birmingham News and the Montgomery Independent reported that a federal grand jury has been meeting to question Troy King's former employees, with U.S. Attorney Alice Martin in the room. Not only do there appear to be questions of King taking retribution on those who don't see eye-to-eye with his supporters, but there are questions, according to reports, about why King seems to allow some bingo halls in the state to remain unchecked while he allegedly acts to close others. And this comes on the heels of a very public, nasty falling out between King and Gov. Bob Riley over bingo, with Riley telling the Alabama Baptist that King has simply been "wrong" in his stand. Riley apparently met with Walker County bingo opponents, heard from King, then heard from his own legal experts and concluded something was not right. King didn't even make the cut on Riley's anti-gambling task force.
Yes, that's the kind of tourism we need. New York Times reporters staying in our motels covering the attorney general of Alabama on trial.
Reports indicate Riley will oppose the new bingo bills in the Legislature, and so will a number of Republicans. One senator said it was dead on arrival. Then again, when Nashville comes to sing in front of legislators and bingo halls start using Joe Friday as a poster boy, anything goes. Stay tuned.
On Wednesday the House Tourism and Travel Committee voted to approve the bingo bills that would set up 14 large bingo halls in the state, including two in Walker County. According to the Associated Press, the committee passed a version of the bill that would allow games in Etowah, Greene, Houston, Lowndes, Jefferson, Macon, Mobile and Walker counties. The committee took out Calhoun County, which was in the original version. Lucky Calhoun.
The identical Senate committee held a public hearing on the identical Senate bill but did not take an identical vote. In fact, they held no vote at all, for some reason.
Perhaps they were not serenaded like the House committee was. According to the AP, "The legislation attracted support from country music entertainers, who say it will help a country entertainment center be built near Dothan. Tracy Lawrence sang 'Paint Me a Birmingham' for the House committee, and Alabama singer Randy Owen told the Senate committee that there is no place he'd rather play than Alabama."
Paint me a bingo hall, Mr. Owen. And use some pretty colors to mask the ugly mess we're creating. Be sure to use green, the color of money.
By the way, going through the bill, I uncovered something interesting. There is a section that indicates that while the current bingo amendments for the counties would be scrapped, the governing authorities under those old amendments would have the ability to pick the operators of the two bingo halls for that county. In other words, the Walker County Commission would get to pick the two bingo halls which would have at least 1,000 machines each and would cost at least $50 million to build. Once that word gets around, the reaction should be quite interesting.
There is no question there is a big push this time to pass the bills. Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association has already staked out a position, noting 70 percent of the 20 percent tax on the gross would go for education. The ink had barely dried on the newspapers announcing the plan on Friday before a weekend blitz of TV commercials started to advocate the passage of the bills. The commercials were so cheery that you would have thought you were voting for motherhood and apple pie.
Of course, the commercials also want to tout that you will be getting rid of illegal gambling. Oh, really?! The same illegal gambling that some of the same supporters are not just pushing for, but operating? Give me a break.
It becomes even more interesting when looking at other factors. The economy becomes a bigger player in this than it ever has before. We can talk about the faked charities, the crime committed to get money to play bingo, the poor people and elderly who are losing funds that they would otherwise use to pay bills and more...but money in a severe recession such as this will take center stage every time. One of the latest full page pro-bingo ads plopped down in local newspapers (still without identification, of course) blows up huge photos of Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, of all things, the quintessential cop. (I would bet...if I bet...that the ads used the images without copywrite permission, because I saw no hint of that. Heck, they won't even identify themselves!) It blew up that and another publicity photo from "Dragnet" with the headline, "Just the facts, ma'am," the famous cliche to come out of the TV show.
It then led into figures, which are true, showing the Walker County's unemployment rate has been lower than that of surrounding counties. It then made this statement:
"Over 1,400 individuals are directly employed by the Charity Bingo industry in Walker County. That's almost 5% of the entire workforce of Walker County. Tourism in Walker County is at an all-time high. Charity Bingo brings visitors to the area, which keeps local businesses thriving."
Of course, there is no way to double-check those numbers since the bingo halls are almost unchecked and have been from the beginning. But as the county has given itself over so freely and the bingo halls are hiring like mad, I would not doubt it has come to this. Kill bingo and you kill Disney World, the golden goose that draws in the crowd. And who would want to put our county into an economic tailspin?
Well, maybe those folks could do legal work for Attorney General Troy King. He may need it soon.
The Birmingham News and the Montgomery Independent reported that a federal grand jury has been meeting to question Troy King's former employees, with U.S. Attorney Alice Martin in the room. Not only do there appear to be questions of King taking retribution on those who don't see eye-to-eye with his supporters, but there are questions, according to reports, about why King seems to allow some bingo halls in the state to remain unchecked while he allegedly acts to close others. And this comes on the heels of a very public, nasty falling out between King and Gov. Bob Riley over bingo, with Riley telling the Alabama Baptist that King has simply been "wrong" in his stand. Riley apparently met with Walker County bingo opponents, heard from King, then heard from his own legal experts and concluded something was not right. King didn't even make the cut on Riley's anti-gambling task force.
Yes, that's the kind of tourism we need. New York Times reporters staying in our motels covering the attorney general of Alabama on trial.
Reports indicate Riley will oppose the new bingo bills in the Legislature, and so will a number of Republicans. One senator said it was dead on arrival. Then again, when Nashville comes to sing in front of legislators and bingo halls start using Joe Friday as a poster boy, anything goes. Stay tuned.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
News Bulletin: Carbon Hill City Council gets National Guard Armory
The Carbon Hill City Council voted Thursday night to get the National Guard Armory property, ending a long issue that began in the Phillip Howard administration when the decision was made by the state to close the armory.
The council essentially will only pay $17,000 for the property. Lt. Col. Mark Weeks (Ret.), in representing the state, wrote an e-mail to Carbon Hill Mayor Chris Hart, which Hart read at Thursday night's meeting. The state agreed to a price of $50,000, but the price had a credit of $33,000. Hart said essentially the city would write a check for $17,000.
The transaction will include the property in "as is" condition and excludes a metal storage building that has already been removed, Hart said. The decision was unanimous except for Councilman Horace Jones, who stepped out of the room momentarily.
Councilman Scott Wright said just the land alone was worth the purchase price.
Hart said after the meeting the site will be used as part of park improvements and that he hopes to get grants to renovate the building. Hart said the overall park complex would be a youth center, with the armory useful as a basketball court and as a community center where birthday parties and other events could be held.
The council essentially will only pay $17,000 for the property. Lt. Col. Mark Weeks (Ret.), in representing the state, wrote an e-mail to Carbon Hill Mayor Chris Hart, which Hart read at Thursday night's meeting. The state agreed to a price of $50,000, but the price had a credit of $33,000. Hart said essentially the city would write a check for $17,000.
The transaction will include the property in "as is" condition and excludes a metal storage building that has already been removed, Hart said. The decision was unanimous except for Councilman Horace Jones, who stepped out of the room momentarily.
Councilman Scott Wright said just the land alone was worth the purchase price.
Hart said after the meeting the site will be used as part of park improvements and that he hopes to get grants to renovate the building. Hart said the overall park complex would be a youth center, with the armory useful as a basketball court and as a community center where birthday parties and other events could be held.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A bingo dilemma in Dora
If anyone needs an example of the dilemma faced by good people who decide to use bingo to fund good things, Dora may be a good example after Tuesday night's work session of the Dora City Council.
(NOTE: Ed Howell's "Talk of the Town" on WJLX, 1240 AM in Jasper, will air the 24-minute debate on its 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, broadcast, which can also be heard live and over the next week on www.walkercountyradio.com.)
At one point, the council began to discuss about the proceeds of a bingo charity called the Dora Fire Department Community Action Group. A while back, the outgoing council before the new administration took office voted to have the fire department not accept electronic bingo funds.
Councilwoman Kristie Tuggle, who opposes electronic bingo, was not happy that a charity was set up with the name "Dora Fire Department" in the long title. She felt it still gave the impression the fire department was collecting electronic bingo funds under this charity, which Dora Mayor Chris Edwards said is registered with Country Classic Bingo.
Told by Edwards, the former fire chief, that the group is separate private group and that the sheriff had approved it as a charity, Tuggle responded, "But I think it is misleading that it says Dora Fire Department Community Action Group, because they do no own the Dora Fire Department and that is the implication that that name gives. That name needs to go away because that is giving the implication this council has voted no on bingo but, yes, we've started a charity to accept money for the fire department."
The impression that the fire department was involved turned out to be more than passing. Edwards, pressed on who was involved with the group, revealed five or six members of the fire department were behind it. Councilman Nick Isbell, who is part of the volunteer fire department, was revealed during the meeting as one of the firemen who is part of the charity. He said it was designed to collect funds that could be used in time solely for fire department equipment, although no funds have been transferred yet.
Tuggle said the city is liable for the equipment purchased. Isbell said if "someone dies because we don't have the proper equipment, who's fault is that?" He said some of the current equipment is 15 years old. He also asked how was this different than accepting alcohol and tobacco taxes.
"Look how crooked the government is and we accept money from it," Isbell said. (Well, you may have us there, but ...)
He also alluded to some long-standing allegations that money intended for the fire department went missing. (As I recall, then-Mayor George Sides denied this last year.) Isbell said the money was set up so that it would not go through the General Fund, although someone later said any funds for the city have to go through the General Fund.
Isbell said the group had a tax account number. When Tuggle asked where the group's account was set up, Isbell said, "Do I have to tell you?" Edwards then said, "It doesn't have to be discussed here at all because it ain't city business."
"I think it is city business because we voted no," Tuggle said.
Eventually, Councilmen Gary Thomas and Hezekiah Walker also expressed concern about using the fire department's name in the charity's title.
Edwards and Isbell said the group was set up last summer. Did we say last summer? Yes, and there lies another problem. Even though Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey approved the bingo charity, it apparently does not meet the requirement that the charity needed to be set up for five years and own property for five years. Asked what property the charity owned, Isbell said during the meeting he was not sure about that.
Council members were mostly concerned about the name, indicating that if the group changed the name, it would be alright. They did not want to give the impression that the fire department was taking bingo money, and having "Dora Fire Department" in the name would not make a good impression. However, here's the question I have: Even if you change the name and accept a donation, isn't that the same thing as prevented by the council resolution? This was set up by firemen who belong to the fire department for the benefit of the fire department. You could call it the Mystic Order of the Benevolent Tuna Salad Appreciation Society and it still appears to be the Dora Fire Department.
Moreover -- and let's forget what the sheriff has or has not been approved; the whole permitting process for charities is pretty much in shambles -- there appears to be no doubt that the charity does not follow the most basic rules, practically the only rules we seem to agree on for bingo in this county: The charity must have existed for 60 months and own land for that amount of time. (Tuggle said Tuesday night the East Walker Chamber of Commerce "didn't meet the guidelines but they still let the chamber have it," referring to approval to be a bingo charity. No one from the chamber was present at the meeting.)
This is not to say that the Dora Fire Department is a sham or that the department doesn't do good works. That is not to say it doesn't need good equipment and more funds, especially in this economy. The department and Isbell do a good job, and I appreciate the service they do. Anyone who remembers Sept. 11 and has seen the movie "Fireproof" can't begin to state how much we appreciate their service.
However, the firemen of this county opened the door to this, perhaps with a certain amount of naivete, after a bingo lawyer promoted the benefits of electronic bingo at a firemen's meeting. Starved for cash, the fire departments signed up to be charities, following the Pied Piper all the way down the path we have all been forced to take. It has now come down to the point that firemen feel they have to create some fire department appreciation society to get charity funds (albeit before the council apparently voted to prevent firemen from participating).
I can understand the frustration of charities, particularly of firemen. It is easy to go after bingo money; I've been put into some tempting situations recently, some of which would really only be incidental in connection, but I've decided against those situations as best as I can manage for the sake of erring on the side of avoiding conflicts with my stand and my associations. Turning down money and opportunities is not easy, but racing after bingo money is not the answer.
And even if it was, taking the road that Dora firemen went down appeared to be in conflict with the wishes of the city council. The group easily could have changed its name after the vote, but even then it walked like a fireman, talked like a fireman and acted like a fireman. The fire department should have abandoned the effort.
I hope the Dora firemen can find another source of funding if it needs turnout equipment that badly, and after 15 years it probably does. But this was one fire the department should have put out and didn't. It is a lesson of how easily we can get burned by this raging blaze that seems intent on leaving our county in ashes.
(NOTE: Ed Howell's "Talk of the Town" on WJLX, 1240 AM in Jasper, will air the 24-minute debate on its 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, broadcast, which can also be heard live and over the next week on www.walkercountyradio.com.)
At one point, the council began to discuss about the proceeds of a bingo charity called the Dora Fire Department Community Action Group. A while back, the outgoing council before the new administration took office voted to have the fire department not accept electronic bingo funds.
Councilwoman Kristie Tuggle, who opposes electronic bingo, was not happy that a charity was set up with the name "Dora Fire Department" in the long title. She felt it still gave the impression the fire department was collecting electronic bingo funds under this charity, which Dora Mayor Chris Edwards said is registered with Country Classic Bingo.
Told by Edwards, the former fire chief, that the group is separate private group and that the sheriff had approved it as a charity, Tuggle responded, "But I think it is misleading that it says Dora Fire Department Community Action Group, because they do no own the Dora Fire Department and that is the implication that that name gives. That name needs to go away because that is giving the implication this council has voted no on bingo but, yes, we've started a charity to accept money for the fire department."
The impression that the fire department was involved turned out to be more than passing. Edwards, pressed on who was involved with the group, revealed five or six members of the fire department were behind it. Councilman Nick Isbell, who is part of the volunteer fire department, was revealed during the meeting as one of the firemen who is part of the charity. He said it was designed to collect funds that could be used in time solely for fire department equipment, although no funds have been transferred yet.
Tuggle said the city is liable for the equipment purchased. Isbell said if "someone dies because we don't have the proper equipment, who's fault is that?" He said some of the current equipment is 15 years old. He also asked how was this different than accepting alcohol and tobacco taxes.
"Look how crooked the government is and we accept money from it," Isbell said. (Well, you may have us there, but ...)
He also alluded to some long-standing allegations that money intended for the fire department went missing. (As I recall, then-Mayor George Sides denied this last year.) Isbell said the money was set up so that it would not go through the General Fund, although someone later said any funds for the city have to go through the General Fund.
Isbell said the group had a tax account number. When Tuggle asked where the group's account was set up, Isbell said, "Do I have to tell you?" Edwards then said, "It doesn't have to be discussed here at all because it ain't city business."
"I think it is city business because we voted no," Tuggle said.
Eventually, Councilmen Gary Thomas and Hezekiah Walker also expressed concern about using the fire department's name in the charity's title.
Edwards and Isbell said the group was set up last summer. Did we say last summer? Yes, and there lies another problem. Even though Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey approved the bingo charity, it apparently does not meet the requirement that the charity needed to be set up for five years and own property for five years. Asked what property the charity owned, Isbell said during the meeting he was not sure about that.
Council members were mostly concerned about the name, indicating that if the group changed the name, it would be alright. They did not want to give the impression that the fire department was taking bingo money, and having "Dora Fire Department" in the name would not make a good impression. However, here's the question I have: Even if you change the name and accept a donation, isn't that the same thing as prevented by the council resolution? This was set up by firemen who belong to the fire department for the benefit of the fire department. You could call it the Mystic Order of the Benevolent Tuna Salad Appreciation Society and it still appears to be the Dora Fire Department.
Moreover -- and let's forget what the sheriff has or has not been approved; the whole permitting process for charities is pretty much in shambles -- there appears to be no doubt that the charity does not follow the most basic rules, practically the only rules we seem to agree on for bingo in this county: The charity must have existed for 60 months and own land for that amount of time. (Tuggle said Tuesday night the East Walker Chamber of Commerce "didn't meet the guidelines but they still let the chamber have it," referring to approval to be a bingo charity. No one from the chamber was present at the meeting.)
This is not to say that the Dora Fire Department is a sham or that the department doesn't do good works. That is not to say it doesn't need good equipment and more funds, especially in this economy. The department and Isbell do a good job, and I appreciate the service they do. Anyone who remembers Sept. 11 and has seen the movie "Fireproof" can't begin to state how much we appreciate their service.
However, the firemen of this county opened the door to this, perhaps with a certain amount of naivete, after a bingo lawyer promoted the benefits of electronic bingo at a firemen's meeting. Starved for cash, the fire departments signed up to be charities, following the Pied Piper all the way down the path we have all been forced to take. It has now come down to the point that firemen feel they have to create some fire department appreciation society to get charity funds (albeit before the council apparently voted to prevent firemen from participating).
I can understand the frustration of charities, particularly of firemen. It is easy to go after bingo money; I've been put into some tempting situations recently, some of which would really only be incidental in connection, but I've decided against those situations as best as I can manage for the sake of erring on the side of avoiding conflicts with my stand and my associations. Turning down money and opportunities is not easy, but racing after bingo money is not the answer.
And even if it was, taking the road that Dora firemen went down appeared to be in conflict with the wishes of the city council. The group easily could have changed its name after the vote, but even then it walked like a fireman, talked like a fireman and acted like a fireman. The fire department should have abandoned the effort.
I hope the Dora firemen can find another source of funding if it needs turnout equipment that badly, and after 15 years it probably does. But this was one fire the department should have put out and didn't. It is a lesson of how easily we can get burned by this raging blaze that seems intent on leaving our county in ashes.
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