15 SEP 06: MILLION-DOLLAR MILGEN MYSTERY?

What do Clint Eastwood and Bobby Peters have in common? We're breaking news about both well-known names today -- and both men have connections to the same Columbus murder case. But no, Judge Peters has NOT been hired to be the next "Dirty Harry."

BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Muscogee County Judge Bobby Peters confirmed to your blog Thursday he's assisting with a book project about the killing of a Fort Benning soldier. It's the case of Captain Richard Davis, who was stabbed dozens of times in woods along Milgen Road in 2003. If only they had clear-cut the land to build college apartments sooner.

Judge Bobby Peters told me the book about the death of Richard Davis is only in the research and planning stages right now. He noted it does NOT have a publisher yet. But if John Mark Karr can have a book deal already....

Judge Bobby Peters told me he believes the full story of the death of Richard Davis has not been told - even though CBS News reviewed the case on "48 Hours" four months ago [21 May]. But we shouldn't be surprised by this. A former attorney knows about how to find different angles - it's called the appeals process.

I didn't realize until Judge Bobby Peters mentioned it that he was the attorney for one of the suspects in the Richard Davis case. He defended Mario Navarrete before he was elected judge in 2004. Now that I know this, I'm not sure Judge Roxann Daniel knew -- because surely she would have brought it up in that nasty campaign.

Judge Bobby Peters says he can't quite accept the claims that Captain Richard Davis was killed by fellow Fort Benning soldiers simply because Davis threw coins at a Platinum Club dancer. Perhaps so, but this is Columbus -- where it didn't take much to start gunfire outside the old Boom Boom Room.

Judge Bobby Peters says he's heard stories that Richard Davis was contacted by a "Mexican gang" - only the gang didn't realize Davis was Filipino-American, not Hispanic-American. How far have we fallen in this country when even the gangs are guilty of profiling?

You may recall we received e-mail last week about Bobby Peters meeting with Richard Davis's father [5 Sep]. The Judge told me Thursday he now believes District Attorney Gray Conger will agree to release Davis's remains to the family, after three years of waiting. Your tax dollars are paying for cold storage, whether you realize it or not.

Judge Bobby Peters is quick to point out he is NOT assisting with this book project during office hours. In fact, he admits he has trouble finding time to help -- because his duties as a judge have him working from 8:00 a.m. to about 5:15 p.m. five days a week. Why, he barely has enough time to write temporary restraining orders....

Judge Bobby Peters explained he's providing only "technical help" with the book project, while Cilla McCain is doing the bulk of the writing. She's a Columbus native who now lives in the north Georgia mountains -- one of those places where she's probably already unplugged the air conditioner for the season.

Cilla McCain told me Thursday night she'd love to have Bobby Peters coauthor her book about the Richard Davis case. But we'll have to wait for the Judge to write a book of his own. Should he write about his years in public service in Columbus -- or would a book about his dating history sell better?

Cilla McCain revealed she's not the only one interested in the Richard Davis story. She said screenwriter Paul Haggis of "Million Dollar Baby" fame is writing a fictionalized version of the case, and hopes to have Clint Eastwood play Davis's father. Hmmm - so Hilary Swank might play Bobby Peters's law office secretary....

And that's not all - as Cilla McCain told me CBS News plans to do a "48 Hours" follow-up program about the Richard Davis case, with material not shown in May. This is what happens when Katie Couric changes networks in the middle of the year.

Cilla McCain says she has her own theory about why Richard Davis was stabbed in 2003, but she's not ready to reveal it yet. So who knows? She might attempt to blame it on a Mexican gang - or she might have evidence that a convoy of Platinum Club dancers followed Davis, seeking at least a credit card.

Cilla McCain told me her goal in this book is to provide "justice for the family" of Richard Davis. She explains father Lanny Davis can't believe three suspected soldiers received plea bargains, while the main culprit in the killing did not receive the death penalty. This wasn't traditional "Southern justice" - it was more like a federal appeals court in San Francisco.

In fact, Cilla McCain expects Mario Navarrete will receive a new trial for his role in the killing of Richard Davis. Not because Bobby Peters was his lawyer - but because the attorney who replaced Peters after the 2004 election was weakened by cancer. So if this case didn't have enough famous names already, Eve Tidwell might show up in court.

Cilla McCain has written novels and short stories, but never a nonfiction book project like this one. She says it's kept her busy all summer, and a book proposal won't be ready for publishers until October or November. This proposal will be so large, it might be mistaken for a suspect's appeal brief.

Cilla McCain says she hopes to focus her book on the effects of Richard Davis's death on his family. She notes there's never been a killing like this, with members of the same Army platoon turning on one of their own. Not in the U.S. Army, at least. Maybe when Saddam Hussein ruled over Iraq....

E- MAIL UPDATE: Yet another message about the late Dr. Eric Buffong? Yes, one more....

I wanted to speak to you earlier but I was was busy celebrating [smiley face] , I would not mind talking with you again in ref to the Good Doctor!!!!!

Who would have sent this message? A woman who claims Dr. Buffong abused her in his office - a woman we interviewed for this blog earlier this year and called Gina [9 May]. For her, the only "good" about the doctor may have to do with good riddance.

The woman called us at home the other night, and didn't have anything more to add to her e-mail. From a base human standpoint, I can see why she might celebrate Dr. Eric Buffong's death. It's a bit like the way many Atlanta Falcons fans felt, when owner Rankin Smith died. After years of losing, I almost expected a celebration on Peachtree Street.

Yet looking at this from a distance, I'm ashamed for this woman "celebrating" Dr. Eric Buffong's death in a car crash. Death should be a sober subject - unless maybe you've played those Columbine video games I saw on TV Thursday night.

Next we move to the Muscogee County schools....

What? King Phillips is going to build himself a royal palace with millions of tax dollars while our kids are still in old portable buildings and 10' wide trailers that if on a residential lot Special Enforcement would have condemned..

Well! I think I see your point. If the school district is going to have a new main office, the staff should work in trailers for a year or two first. It's called "feeling your pain."

There's been talk in recent weeks about possibly building a new main office for the school district on the grounds of Columbus Public Library. From what I understand, there's NO final decision yet. They could be creative, paint the new building green and try to disguise it as a park.

The Muscogee County School District was a front-page topic in the Ledger-Enquirer Thursday, but for another reason. The schools have a shortage of 2,710 textbooks. I never realized Columbus had so many hungry dogs....

The Muscogee County School Board will vote next week on replacing the missing 2,710 textbooks. They'll cost about $149,000, which computes to about 55 dollars a textbook. Our schools don't need desks for those books - they need fancy coffee tables for displaying them.

As for Muscogee County School Superintendent John Phillips - and by the way, I don't refer to him as "King;" I tend to call him "Papa John...." as in pizza....

But anyway: Dr. John Phillips will make another trip to Washington next week. He's still trying to gain money from Congress for expansion required by base realignment. Maybe he should take Northern Little League baseball players with him - because they're becoming selling points for almost everything else in Columbus.

Now for other notes from a warm Thursday:

+ A twilight run down Broadway revealed WRBL didn't quite tell the full story with its Wednesday "StreetScape" update. The west side of the STREET is now open in the 1000 block - but the SIDEWALK isn't completely open yet. And the street isn't quire wide enough anymore for me to share the path with a wide-body pickup.

+ The Russell County School Board interviewed three finalists for Superintendent. One of them is 37-year-old Robert Griffin, who told WRBL he's "not going to retire in two or three years." That's nice to know - but in Russell County, he might be more likely to face arrest in that time.

+ The Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau reported tourists spent about $291 million in the area last year. I'm not sure how the bureau figures out this number. Maybe restaurant owners are keeping secret logs of all the diners who don't have Southern accents.

+ Samsung pledged one million dollars to the new National Infantry Museum. Samsung is a South Korean company - so maybe the large green space on the museum grounds will include a demilitarized zone.

+ Top-ranked LaGrange jolted Jordan in high school football 45-0. I don't want to say this was an ugly game - but Jordan's red home uniforms disguised the blood stains very well.

+ Online reports indicated the band Green Day will perform at the Atlanta Falcons' upcoming game in New Orleans. They've stumped me with this one. Shouldn't Green Day appear at a Philadelphia Eagles game -- or at least the Tulane Green Wave?

+ Instant Message to the big rig driver who honked his horn, as I turned onto U.S. 431 northbound. I was about four seconds ahead of you. You had a left lane available, from what I saw. Was your speeding truck lacking both brakes AND steering?

COMING SATURDAY: Who's laughing at some people's disasters? You may not believe the answer....

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