29 MAR 06: THE SECOND CITY

Really now, Mr. Mayor - did you say what we think you said Tuesday? That Columbus is lacking in first-class hotels? We might expect you to say that about airline seats, but not that....

The occasion was a Columbus Chamber of Commerce economic announcement - one of those events where the Chamber doesn't tell reporters what the news is until they show up. What would happen if the reporters stayed away? Would they miss a new business owner ripping up the contract in disgust, and driving away?

But anyway: the Columbus Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday a new "extended stay hotel" will open near Columbus Park Crossing next year. In law enforcement, I believe an "extended stay hotel" refers to the state prison system.

Homewood Suites will open a hotel with about 90 rooms on Whittlesey Boulevard, across the street from Ken Thomas Acura/BMW. Why is an extended stay hotel going there? Is it going to take THAT long to fill out the paperwork on a five-year lease?

But it was Mayor Bob Poydasheff's comment about Homewood Suites which grabbed our attention: "This is what we've been lacking in Columbus, quite candidly, something that's first class...." The Mayor's office at the Government Center
must not have a window facing the downtown Marriott.

I've never stayed overnight at the Marriott Hotel downtown, but the lobby area seems very nice to me. I've eaten at Houlihan's restaurant and enjoyed that as well. But are they "first-class?" For some of us who settle for Motel 6 and McDonald's on road trips, they probably would be....

(Do you think Mayor Poydasheff was making a subtle religious statement here? Maybe the Marriott isn't "first class" because the chain puts copies of the Book of Mormon in all the rooms.)

Maybe it's the extended stay concept which makes the new hotel "first class" in the mayor's eyes. But there's an "Extended Stay America" on Armour Road - and even Amerisuites, just across J.R. Allen Parkway from where Homewood Suites will be. Maybe their free breakfast is nothing but little cereal boxes.

Perhaps Mayor Poydasheff simply was caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, when he suggested Columbus has no first-class hotels. But hopefully he won't be surprised, if some hotels turn him down for election night parties....

By the way, did you notice "The Prestige Group" which is investing 15 million dollars in Homewood Suites includes Columbus Councilor Glenn Davis? If his project is being praised by Mayor Poydasheff on TV, I guess it's time to strike Davis from the list of potential election challengers.

BLOG UPDATE: New development is NOT pleasing everyone in West Point. Tuesday brought word of a semi-organized group which seems to oppose the new Kia plant. Has someone made it clear to these people - Kia is based in SOUTH Korea?

Some people in the Gray Hill community near West Point had a meeting last Friday night, to vent their frustrations with the Kia deal. They complained no signs have been posted yet to rezone land for the auto plant. If they were, of course, they might complain again about what an eyesore the signs are.

Jim Gilmore is a spokesman/critic for the Gray Hill group. He says he's heard nothing but negative comments about Kia from neighbors -- and some neighbors have such nightmares about it that their stomachs are churning. I thought Kia was making cars, not launching rocket ships to other planets.

The people of Gray Hill explain they moved to rural Troup County for peace and quiet, away from the noise of big cities. Now Kia's billion-dollar factory is coming - and the residents apparently are convinced the cars will have muffler problems.

The rural residents also seem concerned that West Point might annex their homes. Are they really surprised by this? If West Point grows any farther west, it'll become East Lanett, Alabama....

Speculation also is swirling around Gray Hill that once construction begins on the Kia plant, neighborhood water wells will become polluted or dry up. But perhaps a compromise can be worked out here - to let Gray Hill residents have free car washes on the assembly line.

Some West Point city officials chalk up the Gray Hill grumbling to people simply afraid of change. I have another theory about this, which no reporter seems to have brought up. Are all these complainers driving U.S.-made Fords and Chevys?

E-MAIL UPDATE: Some messages to us can be probing and pointed:

As a longtime blog reader, please answer me this: Why do you never mention WTVM? You constantly mention WRBL in your blog by name, but you when a WTVM story hits your blog it's referred to "a story on the evening news". The other day you stuck your neck out and even mentioned "the biggest Columbus TV station"....wonder who that is? What do you have against WTVM? This reader demands an answer!

There could be many possible explanations for this question. For instance: ignore something long enough and it goes away -- but that doesn't seem to work with illegal immigrants.

OK, I'll confess -- this observant reader has outed me. Your blog admittedly has faced some pressure over the years not to mention, uh, er, that station between channels 8 and 10. It's nothing I have against it -- it's really what it has against me.

The source of the pressure concerning, uh, er, that station formerly owned by AFLAC actually doesn't mind if we mention WRBL a lot. After all, its viewership tends to be so small that any publicity is probably better than none at all.

. As for that reference to the "biggest Columbus TV station" [21 Mar] - we actually used the plural "stations," and included WRBL as well as that, uh, er, other one. Both of them had severe weather coverage last week, while WLTZ's staff probably was asking if it was a "Deal or No Deal."

Speaking of TV stations -- which local wise guy has created a Myspace.com page about WXTX "News at Ten" anchor Roszell Gadson? I'm told Gadson didn't do it. Is this the next scurrilous trend to hit this web site - creating bogus biographies, then demanding ransom to take them down?

Now if I may be allowed to stop squirming, we'll finish with some other items from Tuesday's news:

+ The Columbus Public Library hosted a public forum on immigration reform. Councilor Mimi Woodson told (yes) WRBL a crackdown on illegal immigrants will lead to "innocent people in jail and criminals on our streets." Is she sure about that? Can't the criminals take the jobs that illegals are working now?

+ Another new restaurant opened on Broadway. This one is called Rhino's, next to the Bradley Theater. I will resist the obvious borderline joke here - because the encyclopedia shows a rhinoceros really is NOT horny.

(Meanwhile, I didn't know until the other day that Crystal River Seafood on Manchester Expressway had closed. Apparently it competed in a duel to the death with B. Merrill's - and Logan's Roadhouse counted out both of them.)

+ Huntsville handled Columbus 3-2, to eliminate the Cottonmouths from the S.P.H.L..playoffs. Coach Jerome Bechard now faces a big decision - does he punish his players by ordering them to keep the mohawk haircuts throughout the off-season?

(You realize, of course, the end of the Cottonmouths season officially means spring has come to Columbus. The idea of waiting azaleas to bloom at Callaway Gardens is SO 1980's....)

Your PayPal donations can build a better blog, and keep it 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.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 6432 (+ 202, 3.2%)

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

© 2003-06 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.