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26 FEB 04: PRE-SPRING CLEANING
Riverfest may be two months away, but travel through the Historic District and you'll find plenty of work already is underway. This week I saw city crews trimming trees along First Avenue at 7:45 in the morning. We certainly don't want any workers passing out in the 60-degree afternoon heat.
You may not realize Riverfest is moving this spring from South Commons to the heart of the Historic District, on Broadway. It's a logical move, since the event benefits the Historic Columbus Foundation. And if you feel slighted, several law offices are within walking distance for filing lawsuits.
When I heard Riverfest was heading to Broadway, the first thing that came to mind was one structure which didn't quite fit the Historic District's image. The 600 block of Broadway had a long two-story apartment building which appeared to have
low-income tenants. I say this because only a couple of grills were on porches, and they had no lids.
So why am I mentioning the apartment building in past tense? Because in the last few days, it suddenly has been torn down. Heavy equipment was on the lot last weekend, but it was gone when I passed by Wednesday afternoon. Maybe crews squeezed it onto that long train of military tanks, heading back to Fort Benning.
The former apartment building is now an empty lot, with 19th-century houses all around it. When you out-of-towners come to Columbus for a RiverCenter concert, it'll be the perfect spot for parking your RV.
(So will that open space become a Riverfest stage? Will the stages be put in the middle of Broadway? And can people like me a block away charge $20 an hour for parking?)
Uh-oh -- I just realized with the demolition on Broadway, I live in one of the few apartment complexes left in the Historic District. Before I start spring cleaning this weekend, maybe I should stop at the supermarket - for some moving boxes.
Also in the Historic District, Sixth Street was practically closed several weeks ago between Broadway and Front Avenue. The street was filled with a pile of gravel, as if the old railroad tracks there needed repair. Yet in all my years, I have yet to see anyone from the Booker T. Washington Apartments use those tracks to get to the Space Science Center.
BLOG UPDATE: After hearing Wednesday that the "Columbus South Revitalization Task Force" wants a new name put on Victory Drive, we'd like to begin the official debate with some suggestions:
+ Roy Bourgeois Boulevard. He's brought so many SOA Watch protesters down that road over the years....
+ Soot Street. To reflect the area's most distinctive feature.
+ Calle Ocho. Yes, Miami already uses that name - but consider how many Hispanic businesses are on that road now.
+ South Boulevard. It's simple, it's factual - and some tourists might mistakenly think they're in Montgomery.
(I can't help wondering what the folks at the V.F.W. Hall on Victory Drive think about a possible name change. If it happens, will they start calling it Defeat Drive?)
BLOG-BLAH-BLAH: Do you have a new original name for Victory Drive? E-mail us, and let's discuss this.
THE BIG BLOG QUESTION: The first few votes were FOR the firing of Deputy David Glisson. But the last several votes were against it -- and we wind up with 70 percent of voters (7-3) saying Glisson should stay in the Sheriff's Department. I only hope this poll doesn't get me added to the Walker family's $100 million lawsuit.
Now other items from a very wet Wednesday:
+ Because of afternoon rain, I went running indoors at the St. Luke Fitness Center downtown - and what did I find when I walked inside the gym but six Phenix City Fire Rescue officers! I never felt safer and more secure on a jog in my life....
(You could tell they were Phenix City Fire Rescue employees because almost of them had matching T-shirts saying so. Now which candidate for Mayor will promise to build an indoor fitness center on their own side of the river?)
+ Columbus High School's women handled Hephzibah in basketball playoff action at the Civic Center. But the Blue Devils somehow lost track of time, because they raced out of the locker room to the court just as the second half was starting. I can't explain it -- especially since they played well before "The Bachelorette" came on.
(Columbus senior Keisha Swanier was worth the price of admission. She plays with no fear, knows how to get open, and made some good-looking no-look passes. In fact, I dream of trying one of those "no-look passes" on Coach Ashley
Powell....)
+ Ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore went before a "stand-in" state Supreme Court, hoping to get his job back. You don't think the regular justices who recused themselves spent the afternoon watching "The Passion of the Christ," do
you?
(Roy Moore noted before the hearing that the Ten Commandments are on display NOW inside the Alabama Judicial Building - while his big monument remains in a closet. Why, he asked? Well, Moore should know the answer. The Commandments now appear with other historical documents - something he declared unacceptable in the Alabama law library.)
+ Clear Channel Communications announced a new "zero-tolerance" policy for obscenity at all its stations. That includes eight radio stations in Columbus, where the on-air staff will be offered "training" in what they cannot say. You need to be
TRAINED in this?! We can see it now -- a room full of announcers saying "FREAK" over and over.
(Clear Channel's Columbus Operations Manager Brian Waters admits obscenity is not a big problem here - in part because of the area's "slower pace." Huh?! Do people only swear when they're driving 70 miles per hour?)
+ Instant message to John Edwards and John Kerry: Why do you keep telling us you "approved" your commercials for the Georgia Presidential Primary? Most of the time, you're doing all the talking. Is President Bush the only candidate with a
speechwriter?
COMING FRIDAY: Perhaps the most unique concert review you'll ever read.... and a comment Kenneth Walker's family and lawyer won't want to read....
© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.