27 JAN 06: ACCESS DENIED II
It's a rare day when we have a blog sequel - and this one really isn't. Call this title a reminder of why you should recycle....
We actually have two access issues today, neither of them about cable television. First there's Fort Benning -- where officials confirmed Thursday they will NOT reopen the access point at St. Mary's Road. If you even try to enter there, the controlled burners may come after you.
Concrete barriers were set up at the St. Mary's Road access point to Fort Benning after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Now they're apparently there to stay. And if Fort Benning could stack several of them on top of each other, we might have a new racquetball court in town.
A Fort Benning spokesman told WRBL the barriers at St. Mary's Road would be removed only for two reasons. One would be if an emergency required someone to be rushed off post for medical treatment -- but of course, a well-timed train on Buena Vista Road would get in the way of that.
The second reason for removing the concrete barriers at St. Mary's Road would be if Columbus needed to make a mass evacuation. For example, if the weather forecast calls for an inch of snow....
Some people who live on St. Mary's Road are NOT pleased by Fort Benning's decision. They're concerned about having only one way to go when they leave their homes. Now they know how visitors to Riverfest feel, around 4th and Broadway.
On top of that, Columbus Council recently approved the construction of about 300 new homes along St. Mary's Road. Maybe this will finally convince a local radio station to bring back traffic reports....
Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland visited Columbus this week, and said alternative access roads are being planned for people on St. Mary's Road. For instance, there could be an entrance to Fort Benning on Cusseta Road - which could be exactly what some car thieves have been waiting for.
At another corner of Columbus, a meeting was held late Thursday on moving the "Streetscape" project to the 1000 block of Broadway. Business owners are quite concerned about this construction work - since this is a block of Broadway which people actually like to visit.
Some of us saw this concern coming months ago, when Streetscape work started. The 1000 block of Broadway has become a bustling spot after dark, with clubs and restaurants -- and now the city plans to rip it up?! What Peachtree Mall manager is over this project, anyway?
An executive with Freeman and Associates told WRBL the Streetscape work between 10th and 11th on Broadway will be done in quadrants, starting this spring. And some of the work may be done on weekends, so downtown loft residents won't need any Fountain City Coffee to wake up on Saturday mornings.
Buddy Nelms of The Loft said special promotions might be needed in the spring, to keep visitors coming to his nightclub during the Streetscape work. For instance, he could bring in the loudest rock bands on the planet to drown out the noise.
One possibility under discussion for the 1000 block of Broadway is to open public access to an alleyway, so customers can park and enter nightspots. Apparently the late-night drunks who use the alley for bathroom breaks will need to move up a block or two....
Contractors admit the Streetscape work might mean the end for some businesses in the 1000 block of Broadway. Hopefully the city won't tear apart an area finally making progress after all these years. But don't be surprised if "Club Oxygen" hands out actual oxygen masks, for handling the dust.
Now let's get to work on other items we unearthed on Thursday:
+ The day's mail brought me an offer to try Netflix free for a month. One page had a list of "new releases" - in November. If this is how fast the DVD service works, there had better not be any late fees.
+ WXTX "News at Ten" reported investigators from Aruba plan to visit Auburn University, to interview classmates of Natalee Holloway. Holloway planned to enroll at the University of Alabama - but c'mon, folks! The flag teams can't possibly be THAT competitive.
(One tabloid I saw Thursday claimed Natalee Holloway became a "sex slave." If they can't find her body, how do we know that? Have all the young men in Aruba added extra notches to their belts?)
+ Third Brigade Major Steve Warren told WRCG's "TalkLine" after serving in Iraq, the "tolerance for silliness and frivolity" by returning soldiers has gone down. So much for the theory that this blog would gain new readers....
(Steve Warren also noted soldiers returning to Fort Benning from Iraq have to be reminded to stay in their own lanes when they drive. I think ALL drivers need to be reminded of this - especially the speeders on Interstate 185.)
+ Atmos Energy announced its cost of obtaining natural gas will drop 24 percent in February. Hooray - now if the weather forecasters will stop showing us those maps of Canada, and claiming a cold wave is coming in a couple of weeks....
+ Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox officially launched her campaign for Governor. She criticized state officials for not traveling to Detroit, to appeal for saving the Ford Hapeville plant. Maybe they're so used to taking from lobbyists that they don't know how to give back.
(Of course, you could turn this argument the other way. If Cathy Cox can do commercials about investment scams, why hasn't she done ads urging people to visit their Southern Ford Dealers?)
+ A state office building near the Georgia Capitol was named after the late Senator Paul Coverdell. Governor Sonny Perdue said he'd never heard anyone have anything bad to say about Coverdell. Apparently he never watched the Michael Coles attack ads several years ago....
+ The Columbus Cottonmouths held off Huntsville 4-2, in a game marred by five game-stopping fights. It was "C.S.U. Night" at the Civic Center, but "WWE Smackdown Night" would have been more appropriate.
+ Chattahoochee Valley Community College split a basketball doubleheader with the Faulkner State Sun Chiefs. The Sun Chiefs?! It sounds like what you call the board of a solar paneling company.
+ Instant Message to the Krystal near 55th and Veterans Parkway: About your sign outside: "TRY OUR NEW BREAKFEAST. IT BRAIN FOOD" - whoever puts those letters up must not have eaten it.
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