4 JAN 06: ON THE ROCKS
Columbus Council approved the expansion of a rock quarry Tuesday night - a project that might take 25 or 30 years to complete. What are they going to do, use all that rock to build a new AFLAC Tower?
The vote was 8-1 to allow the expansion of a quarry in Fortson, but it came after about two hours of debate. Concerned residents near the quarry tried to explain the quarry makes a lot of noise - but if politicians have learned to ignore noises they don't like, so can these people.
(Rock and noise - is this really a surprising connection? I mean, unless you listen to Sunny 100 FM....)
Fortson resident Mike Brooks told Columbus Council the blasting from the rock quarry is so bad, it turns pictures on his walls. This younger generation simply doesn't appreciate what it has. Years ago, moving pictures at home were something to brag about.
Another resident who expressed concern about the Florida Rock quarry was Columbus Regional executive Tom Titus. If only the workers used one of those fancy medical lasers to break up rocks....
The Columbus Council meeting followed nine months of negotiation between Florida Rock and Fortson residents. Thankfully, everything was settled peacefully - because let's face it, the quarry has the advantage in throwing rocks.
A Florida Rock attorney told WRBL the quarry has appointed a liaison to work in the Fortson neighborhood. We're assuming this is the person with the loudest voice in the company....
For some puzzling reason, the city consulted the Historic Columbus Foundation about the Fortson rock quarry expansion. As if flying boulders will soar halfway across town, and fall on homes in St. Elmo?
The Historic Columbus Foundation decided it has no objections to the Fortson quarry expansion, as long as Florida Rock meets several conditions. Thinking back to 2005, some of these should be obvious -- such as no guardrails on the sides of the property.
But seriously -- here are some of the REAL conditions Florida Rock has to meet to expand its quarry, and satisfy the Historic Columbus Foundation:
+ Reduced noise levels. Wow, you mean they didn't do any dynamite blasting in Columbus 100 years ago?
+ A berm on one side of the property that's 30 feet high. This not only will reduce noise - it should be enough to withstand a category-five hurricane.
+ A $25,000 "contribution" to the Historic Columbus Foundation. Now hold on here - at some airports in Nigeria, wouldn't this be called bribery?
It's that last detail which may raise some eyebrows. Some people think the Historic Columbus Foundation has too much power over development in Columbus. Now it will get a nice "contribution" to endorse an expanded rock quarry. Council candidates this year may find the donation process works in reverse.
On another matter, Columbus Council approved changes in city rules for accrediting massage therapists. So who was the person at WRBL who decided to put "massage PARLORS" on the screen during the 11:00 p.m. news? I think there's a slight difference there....
E-MAIL UPDATE: First we had a critic of the Burkard Awards [1 Jan] - but now we have the other side:
Thanks for the wonderful award Richard. Sorry I wasn't able to come to Columbus to pick it up in person. I did however write about this honor in my blog, The News & Observer.
Happy New Year!
Joshua McKinney
Yes, the former meteorologist has joined the blogging brigade. His blog has many things about the weather - and also a good bit about international soccer. Yet I don't recall him ever doing any forecasts from the Woodruff Farm complex.
Joshua McKinney's working these days with a regional cable news channel based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In fact, the name of his blog is the same as the big Raleigh newspaper - yet he says he never realized that until he set up his blog. Hmmmm - if we take Ledger-Enquirer.blogspot.com , then call the publisher....
When Joshua McKinney moved north, someone else moved with him. We had e-mail Tuesday from her as well -- former Columbus TV reporter Gretchen Bartelt:
Richard-
When you say WISCONSIN you say it all!
Go Badgers!
ps- have you ever tried limburger? Might work wonders with the ladies... :)
Limburger cheese? Oh no, please. I've seen those Guinness beer commercials set in Green Bay, and I know better....
Yes, Gretchen Bartelt is a Wisconsin native - so she probably was smiling throughout Monday's Capital One Bowl win over Auburn. If she still lived in Columbus, people would have felt her badgering more personally.
BLOG UPDATE: Oh yes, we almost forgot -- West Virginia held on to beat Georgia 38-35 early Tuesday in the Sugar Bowl. So our "projection" of the outcome was correct, and I'm feeling a lot better about the coming election year.
Now other bits and pieces from Tuesday:
+ It was the first anniversary of the Columbus Public Library's opening. Hopefully you noticed there was NO big-money ceremony -- and NO six-story-tall cake cut in front of the building.
+ The organizers of SafetyCab reported people received 343 free taxi rides during the holiday season. That's exactly the same number as a year ago - so perhaps these were the usual tavern customers.
+ The Columbus Cottonmouths beat Florida in overtime, for their eighth win in a row. They had a run like this in 2005, you know - and now if the Southern League will move up its playoffs about three months....
+ WRBL found a redshirted Florida State football player in the stands, at the Taylor County-Pacelli basketball game. And it was on the night Florida State played in the Orange Bowl! Did he get caught with linebacker A.J. Nicholson, violating team rules?
(Then again, maybe that redshirt player knew something - because the Orange Bowl dragged on until 1:00 a.m., and Florida State lost.)
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