9 JUL 06: HISTORIC HISTRIONICS

Perhaps I should be thankful to post this blog entry. I went jogging on Broadway through the Historic District around 9:30 Saturday night -- and no Columbus Police car stopped me on suspicion of ruining the neighborhood. If I had spat on the lawn, it might have been even worse....

There's concern in the Columbus Historic District right now that criminals might be moving in. A recent e-mail sent around the neighborhood cited several reasons for concern -- including littering. No wonder no Jehovah's Witnesses have knocked on my door during their summer convention. They might have dropped some copies of "The Watchtower," and risked arrest.

WRBL interviewed the President of the Historic District Preservation Society about the crime concern -- and much to my surprise, that leader is Richard Hagler. You know, the attorney for David Glisson. Hagler's home and office are in the same neighborhood as the NAACP and Urban League office -- yet those groups don't seem to be complaining about it.

It was Richard Hagler who made the now-infamous statement that the late Kenneth Walker should have been home with his family after 9:00 on a weeknight. So as President of the Historic District Preservation Society, why isn't Hagler demanding Riverfest weekend concerts stop running until 10:00 or later?

I'm glad to see Richard Hagler is concerned about crime in the Historic District -- but let's be honest here. I've lived in "The District" for nine years, and it's had scofflaws all along. For instance, the neighborhood has at least two halfway houses for people recovering from various things -- matching the number of restaurants open for lunch there.

Maybe Richard Hagler is at home with his family when the late crowd shows up at Little Joe's package store at Sixth Street and Third Avenue. The "preservation" which interests those people usually does NOT include their livers....

I should note I did NOT receive Richard Hagler's e-mail about crime in the Historic District. That's probably because I'm not a member of the Preservation Society - and I'm not sure the people in the historic homes really want to see apartment-dwellers like me preserved, anyway.

This blog has documented some of the curious people who come through the Historic District -- from people selling "fine china" after midnight, to homeless people living in crawl spaces. If Richard Hagler only now is concerned about crime in the neighborhood, I'm wondering which direction he drives when he leaves home to go shopping.

Please don't misunderstand: I'm very happy to live in the Historic District. I live within walking distance of the Government Center, the Trade Center, the RiverCenter, the Civic Center - and maybe someday the Phenix City Amphitheater will be renamed the Jeff Hardin Center.

(And for awhile there, I was even able to drive by Judge Bobby Peters's house on First Avenue every day, hoping to get a glimpse of the current woman he was dating.)

But those of us who have lived in the Historic District for awhile know it's not exactly paradise. I was reminded of that on Independence Day, when I looked out my window toward the Dillingham Street Bridge. There should NOT have been two fireworks shows going, but there were....

So if Richard Hagler considers me a suspect in the recent rise of littering and vandalism in the Historic District, I apologize. I'm NOT the one to blame - but I'm also not going to lock my door at dark and huddle in front of the computer all night. Besides, a Saturday night run might end with me tripping over the real criminal.

E-MAIL UPDATE: "Pro-Poydasheff" is the title of this message to us -- edited slightly for content:

I'm pretty sure few if no one here has met Bob Poydasheff. The budget passed to where police get paid more; everyone was screaming for that weren't they? Yes they were. Beyond his Greek and free living lifestyle, he loves this city more so than anyone I've ever met. he is a great man…he was a colonel of your army, a d**n fine mayor for 4 years (how bad is your life now than it was in 2002? Answer me that with a good response and then we'll talk.) He's trying his best to let everyone do they're part…I don't want another police chief telling my police chief what to do…that's stupid. Shotgun the campaign, also not smart, Wetherington will peak early as he has now. And they're using the same Jed Harris technique of telling people he's a democrat (in a non partisan election) I mean…Jims a great guy, I know his family and love them to death. He's a good ole boy from Columbus and most would rather see a Columbus boy than a Bronx man….but in the end, it's not what you want to see, it's who will do the better job. And that's why I'm going to vote for "paupoo" (Greek for grandfather)

So this race for mayor seems to come down to one basic question -- will voters pooh-pooh paupoo?

What's this business about Mayor Bob Poydasheff having a "free living lifestyle?" I've seen him at the opera, I've seen him at Ashley Nix's house - but I've never thought to look for him at some of those clubs on Victory Drive.

The writer raises an interesting scenario about Jim Wetherington becoming mayor. He would become Public Safety Director, just as Bob Poydasheff is now -- but would a former police chief nit-pick over everything the current chief does? Or would the current chief show up the former one, by showing how DNA research is conducted?

Someone will have to explain to me the phrase, "Shotgun the campaign." I haven't heard the National Rifle Association come up in the mayor's race at all....

Yes, Jim Wetherington is a Democrat in this nonpartisan mayor's race - but keep in mind not every Democrat is for him. Judge Bobby Peters wrote the Ledger-Enquirer endorsing Bob Poydasheff for a second term, one or two years ago. Which reminds me -- who IS Roxann Daniel backing in this race, anyway?

Now for other notes from a practically-comfortable July weekend:

+ Many Columbus gas stations lowered their prices eight cents a gallon, only a couple of days after going up 12 cents. Perhaps owners heard the midweek warning of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams about three-dollar gas by the weekend - then realized few people in Columbus watched him and panicked.

+ Someone fired a shot through the window of the Fort Mitchell Post Office. C'mon, folks - don't blame the letter carrier for delivering the high electric bill....

+ WRBL reported a driver crashed a car through the front window of Fat Freddie's Bar-B-Q on Hamilton Road. Some people act like they have a constitutional right to a drive-through lane.

(Let's all be thankful the restaurant staff was in the back, when the car crashed through the front window. Someone named "Fat Freddie" probably couldn't have jumped away in time.)

+ The Columbus Catfish held a "Halloween Night" game at Golden Park - on July 7! I must have missed the "Back to School Night" in the middle of May....

SCHEDULED MONDAY: An e-mail sends us to a Baptist Church.... and it's about politics....

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