10 MAY 05: TAKE IT OUTSIDE

Georgia's Governor ended weeks of guessing Monday, by signing a tough anti-smoking bill into law. But Sonny Perdue missed an opportunity to make it really dramatic - by having both a pen and a cigarette lighter at the table, to either sign the bill or burn it up.

Governor Sonny Perdue admitted he did a lot of soul-searching about the smoking bill. But he finally decided the health costs to the state were worth new restrictions -- which only continues an old stereotype. Republicans make tough decisions based on their wallets.

Come July 1, smoking will be illegal in many public areas of Georgia where people younger than 21 might be present. So if things seem a bit cloudier than usual on the south edge of Columbus, it could be more than a controlled burn at Fort Benning - it could be all the Victory Drive nightclubs.

Your blog documented last week how almost all fast-food restaurant chains in Columbus already are smoke-free [2 May]. It now appears Captain D's will have to join them - but maybe that chain can take this idea one step further. Have smoking and no-smoking drive-through lanes....

Restaurants such as the Cannon Brew Pub will need to have an outdoor area for smoking - on either the sidewalk in front, or a porch in back. People dining inside might feel the urge to try that stronger beer Georgia legalized last year.

Phenix City officials admit they might see an increase in business, as Columbus smokers cross the river to eat at places with no smoking restrictions. Add that to Phenix City's Sunday alcohol sales, and it looks like the bad old days of "Sin Town U.S.A." are coming back.

The Georgia smoking ban DOES have some fine-print, though - as several public places are exempt:

+ Smoking areas of "international airports." All Columbus Airport needs now is one flight a week to Bermuda....

+ Hotels. Without this one, Georgia tobacco farmers might have to hold annual conventions in somebody's barn.

+ "Long-term care facilities." So residents at Muscogee Manor can puff on cigarettes until the end - and amaze all the staff members, who wonder how they survived so long smoking them.

(Remember, young people: Cigarette smoking - it isn't Kool.)

BLOG UPDATE: The Muscogee County School Board recommended Monday night that Kevin Francois's cell phone suspension be stricken from his record. Board members also quietly gave thanks for a new Georgia state law, keeping public officials' cell phone numbers secret.

Muscogee County School Board members reported they've received e-mails from as far away as Australia, about Kevin Francois's suspension from Spencer High School. This may prove once and for all how "zero tolerance" policies can boomerang....

A lively discussion occurred at a school board work session about Kevin Francois's suspension. Superintendent John Phillips said the issue was unruly behavior toward faculty, and children of deployed soldiers should NOT receive special treatment. So much for having all those students wear yellow ribbons, as a sign to teachers.

But school board member John Wells suggested the board apologize for what happened with Kevin Francois, and move on. Maybe he read the message board I read the other day - where someone used the suspension to declare all Georgians are crazy, so that explains former Senator Zell Miller. [True!]

School board member "Fife for Five" Whiteside said a stack of e-mails resulted from news reports being "taken out of context," about Kevin Francois's cell phone call from his mother in Iraq. Whiteside might have a point there. If Francois's mother had called during a CRCT test, that would have been a REAL scandal.

The work session ended with school board members suggesting military parents overseas call school counselors, who will get the children for phone conversations. In fact, the counselors might try to work out a three-way conference call with military recruiters....

E-MAIL UPDATE: What's this -- "IsOurCitySafe" finding common ground with the Columbus Mayor?! Read carefully, and you'll find it:

I was listening to our fine Mayor Bob on Rock 103 early Sunday morning when I began to think to myself...I wonder if anyone else listening can smell all the b/s that is coming out of his mouth with every breath he takes.

I am not saying that our city is crime ridden and its not safe to go outside at all, but Bob was blabbing on and on about how safe our city is despite the shortage of Public Safety personnel. I know that Bob has been reading the emails I have been sending out about how our fine city ranks as far as different types of crimes. Our city has an above average crime rate compared to other cities our size. Out of 8 categories, our city is above average in 6 categories. Does this not make you wonder what Bob is talking about when he blabs and blabs about how safe our city is? Bob was talking about how you cant prevent murders even if you had a Police Officer on every street in Columbus. Bob is right about that, but it is a known fact that almost all other types of crime is deterred by an adequate amount of patrol officers doing preventive patrol. In our fine city, due to the shortage of Officers, preventive patrol is nearly non-existent. It is also a known fact that pro active traffic enforcement reduces the amount of traffic accidents, traffic related deaths, and D.U.I's. It also helps in reducing insurance rates because the amount of traffic accidents are reduced. Bob was talking about how the Police Department has had a shortage of Officers since he was on council. My question to Bob would be..if you know there has been a severe problem for so long, why haven't you done anything about it? A recent study stated that Columbus should have 70-75 more Police Officers than it does in order to provide adequate Public Safety services. Ft. Benning is getting more soldiers in the next few years. I wonder how in the world we are going to provide services to those people when we can barely service the citizens we have now.

What are you morons in the ivory tower waiting for? Fix the problem!!

Thanks,

Wade Sheridan

Wow -- Wade listens to Rock 103 FM? I assumed a law-loving man like this would listen to right-wing country music instead....

If "preventive patrol is nearly nonexistent" in Columbus, Wade needs to go riding around town with me. I've spotted patrol cars almost everywhere I've gone in recent days - from the Historic District to downtown to midtown. In fact, I'm starting to wonder if blog-readers with badges are waiting for ME to run a stop sign.

Am I ever glad this e-mail brought up the benefits of "proactive traffic enforcement," because I have BREAKING NEWS along this line. On Monday, I saved a pile of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

No, really! An online quote from Geico saved me more than 75 dollars on car insurance over my current agent. The web site even had a gecko smiling at me with the price - but the gecko still isn't doing a robot dance, so that site is NOT "da bomb."

It's been 16 years since Geico insured my car. Two roommates I had in 1989 offered (well, kind of insisted) they start sharing in the driving around metro Atlanta. Their driving records were so bad, Geico canceled my coverage EARLY! The company was smarter than I was - because I didn't kick out one man for stealing until a year later.

The folks at Geico are so smart that when I called to accept car insurance coverage Monday, they knew exactly how much damage I had when I hit a deer in a rental car on vacation five years ago - more than $2,900. So who's monitoring THESE workers for identity theft?!

But I'm digressing: hopefully Wade realizes Columbus Police isn't the only area in town which has had a staff shortage for years. The newspapers have printed so many "help wanted" for nurses, you almost wonder why anyone trains to be a doctor nowadays....

Maybe the answer to "fix the problem" and hire 70 new Columbus Police officers is to do what Detroit's Mayor is proposing. Kwame Kilpatrick wants to put a two-cent "fast food tax" on items sold at places such as McDonald's. Try that in Columbus, and the Hardee's "six-dollar burger" actually might cost six dollars.

By the way, if Wade is reading this - I entered your name the other day in a Pepsi online sweepstakes, to win a big new car. I'm trying to get you something fancier than the City Manager's purported new Corvette.

With that soap opera updated, let's check other quick things from Monday:

+ Fort Benning's Rangers began a week of late-night training on post. This news probably caused concern at some businesses near the main gate. The Lucky 7 Lounge actually might have to come up with a lunch menu.

+ Thursday night's country concert by Montgomery Gentry at the Columbus Civic Center was postponed. If this duo shows up on a stage in Austin, Texas, maybe THEN people will be ashamed about losing the Riverdragons.

(By the way, an online check Monday found the National Basketball Developmental League already has removed the Riverdragons' page from its web site. Couldn't it give this team a decent cyber-funeral - like selling souvenir jerseys for half-price on eBay?)

+ The Columbus High School girls' golf team won the Georgia AAA team title. The team was led by medalist Grace Kim, who now can follow the example of Georgia golf legend Nancy Lopez -- by dating and marrying Columbus High baseball star Iain Sebastian.

+ Philadelphia Eagles football player Roderick Hood announced plans to hold a youth football camp in Columbus in June. Hood is a Columbus native - but I hope this event doesn't have some cutesy name like, "Camp in da Hood."

+ Instant Message to Georgia Public Broadcasting: When I see you showing George Jones country music specials as you did Monday night, I can't help wondering - how far away from your planned budget are you?

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