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7 JAN 04: THE END OF ONE

I write this on the first anniversary of my first blog posting. Without my knowing it, a friend of mine in Columbus beat me to the blogging trend by a couple of days. And since she wrote some very nice words about me the other day, I'd feel guilty if I trash-talked her here.

The topic of my first blog [6 Jan 03] was the inauguration of a new Columbus Mayor. As it happened, Bob Poydasheff called a news conference Tuesday - and instead of smiles and free food at the Trade Center, the Mayor was trying to stop gnashing teeth, and a boycott OF the Trade Center.

Mayor Poydasheff urged everyone to be patient with the state investigation of the Kenneth Walker shooting. And he said talk by Rainbow/PUSH of an economic boycott of city-owned facilities would work against his goal of "one Columbus." If we really want one Columbus, the same people should show up at both Riverdragons and Cottonmouths games.

Mayor Bob Poydasheff says it would be "counter-productive" to bring national news media to Columbus, to cover civil rights groups' protests of the Kenneth Walker shooting. Huh?!?! Certainly the Convention and Visitors Bureau could work out some discount hotel rates for them, as it does for SOA Watch.

I didn't realize until Tuesday that as Columbus "Public Safety Director," Mayor Bob Poydasheff is over the Police Department - but NOT the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department. Either something was overlooked in consolidation three decades ago, or Ralph Johnson staged the quietest coup in Georgia history.

NAACP President Edward DuBose asked Columbus Council Tuesday night to create a "Citizens' Review Board" for allegations of misconduct by law officers. Mayor Poydasheff replied this is a complicated matter - with questions such as whether the board should have subpoena power. That detail hasn't stopped some law officers in recent months....

The mysterious deputy who shot Kenneth Walker four weeks ago has hired an attorney, who talked with reporters Tuesday. Amazingly, the attorney WAS named on television - but if he won't name his client, why should I name him?

The lawyer for "Deputy X" repeated a claim we've mentioned here before - that the Deputy is a victim, just as Kenneth Walker is. I thought Oprah Winfrey was trying to lead a nationwide drive against this sort of thinking....

As I pondered the possible protests by Rainbow/PUSH Tuesday, something suddenly struck me. About 100 people were at Monday night's rally - but tens of thousands of other African-American residents across Columbus were NOT. Does this mean civil rights groups don't really speak for them? Or were all these people afraid Sheriff's officers might raid the church
and arrest them?

Across the river, Phenix City Mayor Sonny Coulter announced Tuesday he'll seek reelection in August. Look for him at convenience stores on Sundays this summer -- reminding people of how liquor sales have expanded since he took office.

(So will the "Sunday church crowd" try to find someone to challenge Sonny Coulter? The best-known potential candidate may be a man who's on TV every week - only he's preaching at Lakewood Baptist Church.)

BLOG UPDATE: Let's use the anniversary of this blog to update you on some topics mentioned recently:

+ My next-door neighbor's granddaughter has been arrested, and is behind bars awaiting trial for vandalizing the grandmother's apartment. [7 Nov 03] Grandma not only won't bail the teenager out -- she doesn't want the 18-year-old suspect in her home anymore. So which record label will discover this teen, and make her a rap star?

After attending a court hearing on her granddaughter, my next-door neighbor told me the teenager is going to serve time for what she did. "She's going to the BIG court," Grandma said several times. I never realized the ceilings in Juvenile Court were so low.

+ I'm more than halfway through the "Premium Bread" I bought at Publix [27 Dec 03] -- and I'm sorry to report the loaf has a couple of hidden airholes in it. Now I feel a lot better about putting regular unleaded gas in my car.

+ Muscogee County School Superintendent John Phillips marked one year on the job. He planned a quiet celebration with his friends - so that potential chief of staff's Russell County house could get some use.

COMING SOON: A song for picketers to sing, as they march outside Sheriff Ralph Johnson's office....

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© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.