20 APR 05: CHARTER TAKES FLIGHT
All I wanted was a refreshing cup of diet cola - but I was surprised when I visited the Spectrum store near South Commons Tuesday evening. There was NO line to buy Mega Millions lottery tickets, even though the jackpot was $168 million. Are high gas prices keeping all the Alabama drivers at home?
Georgia lottery money supports education programs - but not all of them. So two Muscogee County grade schools plan a different approach, by applying to become "charter schools." Neither one of them specializes in mathematics - so they won't become "chartier" schools.
Clubview and Wynnton Elementary Schools have applied to be designated charter schools. If Georgia's school board approves, they'll each receive $205,000 over three years - and then every other school principal in this area will line up in Atlanta to fill out paperwork.
Clubview Elementary wants to use charter money to expand a focus on international studies called the "I-B Program." The report I saw on TV Tuesday night didn't explain what I.B. stands for. Maybe "Increased Bucks...."
Wynnton Elementary would use charter school funds to expand arts programs. For instance, there could be dance classes after school -- turning private dance studio managers into unlikely Republicans, because of lost revenue.
If you've lived in Columbus for a while, you may recall the last time charter schools came up. A man applied to start one of his own several years ago, only the Muscogee County School Board turned him down. I wonder where this man is now - on the faculty of Calvary Christian or Brookstone.
Is this what officials had in mind when they came up with "charter schools" - a potential cash cow for existing schools to tap? Or was the goal really to try new and different ideas in education? Then again, maybe the local candidates for this gave up on this - and you can find them doing home schooling for much less now.
BLOG UPDATE: The Kenneth Walker case is scheduled to go back to court today. I say "scheduled" because the NAACP is involved - and officials with that group love to push elected officials to the brink of a courtroom, before settling for less than they demand. So they're a bit like North Korea....
Today's Government Center court hearing is about whether former deputy David Glisson should have been allowed to speak to a grand jury last November WITHOUT taking an oath. He wasn't sworn in then - and supporters of Kenneth Walker have sworn at the special prosecutor ever since.
A Georgia NAACP official hinted Tuesday today's court hearing could determine whether or not civil rights groups boycott Riverfest this weekend. Ed DuBose told WRBL a ruling for a second grand jury could make pickets unnecessary. Of course, Kenneth Walker's widow still might like a place to sign autographs....
Ed DuBose's comment was news to other civil rights leaders. They told WRBL the Riverfest boycott is on, no matter what happens in court today. They don't want all that money they've spent for picketing permits and protest signs to go down the drain.
Meanwhile, Virginia Peebles of the Historic Columbus Foundation told Columbus Council Tuesday Riverfest is important to the city. After all, how else are local people to learn other recipes for barbecue sauce?
Columbus NAACP President Bill Madison urged vendors to stay away from Riverfest. But WRBL reported Tuesday night the number of vendors is up this year -- from 135 to 144. I'd heard of "white flight," but what we have here may be white spite.
BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: We called it correctly here on Monday -- and the new Pope did NOT name himself George Ringo I. For our next trick, we predict Ed DuBose will NOT be elected Mayor of Columbus next year.
German Cardinal Josef Ratzinger was selected as the new Roman Catholic Pope. I can see the headline in anti-Catholic religious publications now: "THE RAT TAKES THE CHEESE."
(The new Pope Benedict XVI has a reputation for being quite conservative when it comes to doctrine - so perhaps some U.S. Catholics will refer to him under their breath as "Benny Hun.")
But I expect the new Pope will cause some changes in the Catholic world. For instance, don't be surprised if local restaurant owners add "Eggs Benedict XVI" to their menus.
Someone told me Tuesday she wasn't sure she'd want to be the 16th in anything, including Pope. But sometimes being #16 in line can be a good thing. In U.S. history, he turned out to be President Abraham Lincoln.
Did you notice it took only two days and four ballots to select a new Pope? That's what happens when none of the cardinals are from Florida....
Now some other things you might have missed Tuesday, while watching for smoke:
+ A group of business professionals from Russia began a three-week visit to Columbus, with a welcoming event at the Government Center. Some of the visitors are Russian dining executives. Uh oh - I'm not sure that many local restaurants serve Russian salad dressing.
+ The Korean company Maxforma Plastics announced it will open a plant in the Northeast Opelika Industrial Park. It will make plastics for the new Hyundai plant in Montgomery -- and all the workers can get together after hours to throw darts at pictures of North Korea's dictator.
+ The Columbus Parks Department announced due to budget cuts, as of mid-May recreation centers will be closed on Sundays. What a shame - now people actually will have to jog on sidewalks for exercise.
+ A property owner told WXTX "News at Ten" crime in the Peabody neighborhood has increased since the Peabody Apartments were closed and torn down. Huh - a housing project shuts down, and crime goes UP?! Are people living in crawl space, under homes?
+ Overnight repaving work began on the J.R. Allen Parkway. Lanes will be closed from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for several months -- so please adjust your high-speed drag races accordingly.
+ The Phenix City Council approved a five-cent increase in tobacco taxes, to pay for a new visitors' center at Fort Mitchell. If this doesn't bring in more tourists, Mayor Jeff Hardin may get mad and actually annex Fort Mitchell into the city limits....
+ Georgia's Governor signed the "Slam Spam" bill into law. It will become illegal to use minors to send "spam" e-mails -- which will upset some business owners, who count on teenage children to know everything about the Internet for them.
(The "Slam Spam Law" also forbids people from sending more than 10,000 e-mail offers per day. I refuse to take any chances with a lawsuit - so I'll limit the mention of CD offers and PayPal donations today to two each.)
+ "Inside Edition" reported the Georgia State Patrol arrested actor Chris Tucker over the weekend, for driving 120 miles per hour on the highway. This man takes his "Rush Hour" movies a bit too literally....
(Chris Tucker reportedly told a Georgia trooper he drove 120 miles per hour because he was late for church. Who told him God sends down lightning bolts on worshipers who show up late?)
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