9 NOV 05: SHUTTERED BY SEVEN

It's bad enough for businesses to reduce their hours, because of crime. But when the Post Office does that, it becomes a bigger concern -- since the people there aren't supposed to be afraid of "gloom of night."

The midtown Post Office branch one block from Wynnton Elementary School has posted plans to adjust its hours. The service hours will not change, but the lobby hours will be cut -- so some postal customers will have extra time to think outside their boxes.

Signs on the midtown Post Office door say the lobby will be closed at night and on Sundays beginning December 3, because of growing "burglary and vandalism" in the area. Hmmmm - the Public Safety Center reduced its public hours a few months ago, but never used this excuse.

The midtown Post Office lobby will be locked every weeknight at 6:30 p.m., and not reopen until 6:00 the next morning. At this time of year, it's dark by 6:30 - but will this be the case during summer as well? Won't this give criminals two free daylight hours to scope out the building, and plan strategy?

The reduced lobby hours are noteworthy at this Post Office, because of its location -- less than one mile from the AFLAC Tower. And here I thought they added all that security fencing to guard against international terrorists....

(Then again, AFLAC may not have much to worry about. Potential criminals may have heard by now about that million-dollar gift for a national Martin Luther King memorial.)

But to be honest, the midtown Post Office is following a trend of other places in the Wynnton Road area. Popeye's Chicken locks its doors to be "drive-through only" by 9:00 p.m. It was tempting to ask a couple of months ago if the staff had cut a deal with high-priced gas stations.

The Wynnton Road Chick-fil-A also tends to lock up for the night by 10:00 p.m. - even on weekends. This should help partygoers know once and for all "when the cows come home."

Are burglary and vandalism cases on the rise in the center of Columbus? I haven't seen any numbers to give a definite answer, but the Post Office wouldn't lock up its lobby almost 12 hours a day without good reason. Maybe someone heard tourists from France were coming to town....

We mentioned here several months ago that Columbus's burglary rate has increased steadily since 1999 [7-9 Jun]. So instead of locking things up early, why not keep them open 24 hours a day? Certainly some survivors of Hurricane Katrina are still job-hunting -- and people from New Orleans are used to all-nighters.

There were plenty of other things, which we noticed on Tuesday:

+ The temperature in Columbus climbed above 80 degrees F. -- warm enough that a child rode around my apartment complex courtyard in a motorized buggy. From the noise, I thought sure the lawnmower man was making a year-end visit....

+ TSYS presented a check for more than $849,000 to the Columbus-area United Way. It's a record donation for.... hey, wait a minute! This is TSYS! Couldn't they transfer this money with a credit or debit card?

+ The Mega Millions jackpot drawing was for $225 million - yet WRBL still didn't show it live at 11:00 p.m., choosing to tape-delay it about ten minutes. If you've been broke this many years, I guess a few more minutes won't matter much.

+ Georgia Power executives went before Columbus Council, to discuss a 30-year extension of its agreement to provide the city with electricity. Councilor Mimi Woodson questioned whether it's wise to extend the deal that long. After all, what if Georgia Power hires a bunch of sex-crazed and selfish pro football players?

+ Tony Lamar defeated three opponents, to win a full term as Talbotton's Mayor. There apparently wasn't much mudslinging in this race - because that Talbot County Recreation Center bathroom looks just as scuzzy as ever.

+ Elsewhere, the wife of Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley was elected to the Hamilton City Council. If the city police budget winds up being cut, you'll know which woman to call to complain....

(And in another race, Charles Gibson was elected to the Lumpkin City Council. Does this mean he won't have time to become the new anchor of "ABC World News Tonight?")

+ Alabama Governor Bob Riley called for a boycott of Aruba, because of the way authorities have handled the Natalee Holloway case. It's been more than five months since Holloway disappeared -- so the death of Rosa Parks may have affected the governor more than we realized.

+ The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case from Americus, about whether officers can search a house if one spouse supports it and the other objects. They could write a book about this one: "Men Are From Prison Break; Women Are From Law and Order."

+ "Riverdance" opened a three-night run at the Columbus RiverCenter. How many wives persuaded their husbands to buy tickets, by falsely telling them Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals would do his version?

+ The Atlanta Hawks lost their home opener 103-97, and dropped to 0-4 for the season. The N.B.A. schedule-maker was no dummy - bringing in Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, to make sure Philips Arena had a crowd.

+ Instant Message to the organizers of this weekend's "Pig Fest" in Richland: Do you plan to be fair and balanced about this? You know - a Cow Fest, a Chicken Fest, a Turkey Fest....

Your PayPal donations can keep this blog ad-free and independent-minded. To make a donation, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post a reply.

If you quote from this in public somewhere, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-05 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.