12 MAR 06: CHILL BILL VOLUME ONE

How much stranger could the Kenneth Walker case be? The former deputy who shot Walker remains uncharged with any crime - while one of the Walker family's attorneys now could go to prison for years....

Which Columbus Saturday night newscast declared former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell was "off the hook" - even though he was convicted on three counts of tax evasion? You almost get the feeling some Democrat political activist put that on the screen.

After thinking it over, maybe the Columbus newscast's "off the hook" declaration is right after all. I expect Bill Campbell will receive probation for tax evasion, just as fellow Democratic Mayor Henry Cisneros did for several crimes in the 1990's. Cisneros is now a TV network executive - so Bill Campbell may get his own show on B.E.T.

There was no word Saturday on whether Bill Campbell would remain on the legal team of Kenneth Walker's family, in its huge civil suit against the city. There also was no word on whether David Glisson's attorney would demand Campbell appear at all future court proceedings in an orange jumpsuit.

It actually was a split decision late Friday, in the federal corruption trial of Bill Campbell. The former mayor was acquitted of corruption and racketeering charges, but convicted of tax evasion -- and if adultery still was against the law, he'd be facing a life sentence.

Federal prosecutors used the corruption trial to expose all sorts of sins about Bill Campbell. The steamiest one was that the former Atlanta Mayor cheated on his wife, with former Atlanta news anchor Marion Brooks. She moved on, to be an anchor in Chicago. He may move on to a federal prison in Alabama.

The Bill Campbell affair with Marion Brooks was the hottest rumor in Georgia journalism for years. I heard it from journalists in Atlanta, yet no one ever gave me proof to bring it out in the open. In short, there's no Matt Drudge in Georgia right now....

Marion Brooks admitted to the adulterous affair with Bill Campbell on the witness stand. Yet for some reason, her Chicago TV station never mentioned it in newscasts. Hey, that reminds me -- this week marks one year since the WRBL pregnancy discrimination trial.

(The Chicago TV station's web site even noted at one point its Marion Brooks biography was its most popular page. How many visitors were disappointed to learn she's now married and pregnant?)

Prosecutors used Marion Brooks and other witnesses to claim Bill Campbell accepted bribes while Atlanta Mayor, and used the cash for adulterous trips. What have we come to in this country, when credit cards are considered more respectable than cash money?

Would Columbus news media cover up a scandal involving a news anchor? Actually, there was one in the late 1990's - when former anchor Patricia Hargarten was arrested for drunk driving on Veterans Parkway. Let's just say there are times when the Ledger-Enquirer is allowed to break a story....

Several jurors in the Bill Campbell trial told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Saturday they came very close to finding him guilty of racketeering. But confusion about the date of a cash exchange saved him. It's a wonder Campbell didn't get confused about all HIS dates.

One juror told the Atlanta newspaper of the corruption charges against Bill Campbell: "we kind of figured he was guilty, but they couldn't prove it so we couldn't convict." That's funny -- "kind of figured" is good enough for right-wing radio talk shows.

Bill Campbell declared outside the federal court the acquittal on racketeering charges restored his honor. Apparently three counts of tax evasion are something everybody does -- but the Internal Revenue Service can only audit so many people at a time.

When Bill Campbell first was elected Mayor of Atlanta, the song played at his victory party was the soul classic, "Don't Mess With Bill." If there's a lesson from this seven-week trial, perhaps Mr. Campbell shouldn't do any messing, either....

But what will the family of Kenneth Walker do? It can't help your cause in a civil lawsuit to have an attorney at the table who's been convicted of felonies. But then again, it can't help the defense to have a law officer at the table who hasn't been able to find work for two years.

BLOG UPDATE: If you missed the MACE protest outside Carver High School this past week [8 Mar], pictures are now posted on the teachers union's web site. The pictures and captions are so self-promoting, they never mention the school principal still has his job.

The photo gallery reveals something I didn't realize - MACE actually staged TWO protests in Columbus this past week. A second one was held in an unstated location, demanding the firing of Muscogee County Superintendent John Phillips. If the group had given some advance notice, that might have drawn a big crowd....

There's even a photo of the protesters enjoying an "after the picket dinner" at the home of the father of MACE chair John Trotter. If mom and dad are cooking dinner, you have to ask why this union isn't protesting for pay raises.

Now for some closing thoughts from a weekend which feels more like May than March:

+ Potential developers examined plans to build a marina complex near the Oxbow Meadows science center on South Lumpkin Road. City officials say it will be called the "Oxbow Meadows Marina" - an announcement which must have ruined Al Fleming's dreams.

+ Russell County Constable Bob Schweiger made his second appearance on WRBL in three weeks, and claimed "armed gangs roam the streets at night" in Hurtsboro. In a town that small, an "armed gang" could be defined as two or three people.

(But this time, WRBL actually talked to someone else in Hurtsboro - and a local attorney accused Constable Bob Schweiger of having "racial tendencies." What does that phrase mean? Does he listen to country music all day?)

+ Alabama State Representative Albert Hall warned if anyone else takes his parking spot at the state Capitol, he'll deflate their tires. [True/WTVM] Of course, all you'd have to do is ask other lawmakers for help - as their hot air could reinflate them in no time.

+ Columbus High and Russell County had a long-awaited baseball showdown - at a tournament in LaGrange. Excuse me, but isn't there enough money in the city budget for extra staffing at Golden Park?

(Russell County won the big game 5-3 over Columbus, and a transfer student from Columbus scored one of Russell County's runs. But I want to check the box score for something else - how many times the transfers were caught stealing.)

+ GCW Wrestling featured a special guest appearance by "The Total Package," Lex Lugar. Some of us can remember when the "total package" meant a rental car for your vacation.

+ Instant Message to the driver of a Toyota 4x4 who passed me on Victory Drive with the Alabama license plate "HPY2BHR": NC2CU2.

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $2.17 a gallon at Dolly Madison on Victory Drive.... milk for $2.50 a gallon at Spectrum.... and the Harlem Globetrotters to beat whomever they're playing today at the Civic Center....

COMING MONDAY: Our tribute (?) to the late Slobodan Milosevic....

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