29 NOV 06: UPTOWN VS. GOING DOWN

The President of Uptown Columbus announced Tuesday his organization is thinking about buying the Bradley Theatre on Broadway. Wouldn't that theatre look great in a nice shade of Business Improvement District purple?

Uptown Columbus President Richard Bishop revealed his interest in the Bradley Theatre, as Columbus Council considered recent complaints about unrest there. You may have seen the home videos of big crowds on the sidewalk on weekends, with occasional scuffles. You'd think the Chamber of Commerce would be promoting this, as proof of downtown's big comeback....

(Of course, how good are these home videos if they haven't made YouTube yet? We found one there Tuesday night from S.O.A. Watch weekend, which claims to show "a riot" downtown. Moving your camera back and forth wildly outside the Trade Center doesn't seem like a riot to me.)

Some downtown residents say the owner of the Bradley Theatre has turned it into a virtual nightclub, by holding weekend parties where alcohol is served. And here's the worst part - the theatre isn't showing any first-run movies during the parties.

The Bradley Theatre's owner says he's been abiding by city rules. The owner's name is Dave Thirruppathi, so I'm surprised he doesn't focus on holding concerts. You know, for some music Thiruppathi....

But Columbus Police officials announced at the Council meeting they will no longer allow off-duty officers to work at the Bradley Theatre. That rule applies to bars and nightclubs - but I'm not sure if there's an exemption for churches which serve wine during communion.

Dave Thirruppathi revealed at the Columbus Council meeting he's had the Bradley Theatre on the market for a year. Apparently he's been unable to convince potential buyers the "StreetScape" project on Broadway will end someday.

So Uptown Columbus is considering purchasing the Bradley Theatre. President Richard Bishop said it's a location which can hold 1,500 people. So that card I found guaranteeing 5,000 people at a Fountain City Classic party must have included the brawlers on the sidewalk....

Richard Bishop may have something different in mind for the Bradley Theatre. He told WRBL it might be a theatre. Oh no - does Columbus really need another antique mall?

It appears easy to read between the lines of Tuesday's announcements at Columbus Council. If Uptown Columbus buys the Bradley Theatre, the big open-to-all weekend parties will stop. So those revised applications for Club Roc in Phenix City can't be completed soon enough.

It also seems many of the Bradley Theatre's parties have catered to young African-American people. If Uptown Colunbus buys the theatre, it would better fit the "target audience" for Broadway - people who listen to WCGQ 107.3 or WGSY "Sunny 100." Country music fans don't even have hay bales in the middle of Broadway to sit on anymore.

It would be nice if the Bradley Theatre was modified to offer the same sort of thing the Carmike 15 is showing - digital versions of special movies and major sports events. I guess this already is happening to some extent. One home video clip showed "Extreme Freestyle Fighting" on the marquee - only the tape seemed to show it happening on the sidewalk.

E-MAIL UPDATE: OK, it's not quite a "Blog Exclusive" if part of it is also in the Ledger-Enquirer. But we posted Tuesday's main story first (yes, we checked) - and that story led to this message:

Richard,

You mentioned the movie being made about the Iraq veteran who was murdered in Columbus. The newspaper also did an article about it this morning. But neither of you said where it was going to be filmed. Has it been decided yet? Is Columbus a possibility? Enquiring minds want to know!

Wanna be an "Extra"

I went back to the IMDB listing Tuesday, to answer these questions. I regret to tell you most of the filming of "In the Valley of Elah" is taking place in New Mexico. So don't go spending that "extra" paycheck on a new wardrobe at Parisian just yet.

An IMDB message board led me to a web site which is advertising for actors in "In the Valley of Elah." The producers actually are looking for military veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq, to appear in the cast. Let's all hope they don't act like the killers of Richard Davis, and turn on the movie's director.

By the way, the Mick Walsh article at the Ledger-Enquirer's web site DOES say "In the Valley of Elah" will be filmed in New Mexico and Morocco. Maybe that nice front-page picture of Charlize Theron distracted some male readers....

Now let's get caught up on mayoral matters - beginning with the outgoing one, and an item we mentioned Monday:

How interesting that Mayor Bob asked the Ledger not to break the story of the police vice squad problem until after the elections..The article writter said it was not ready ..didn't matter did it...

I guess it didn't - but where is the follow-up to this? Where is Mayor-Elect Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington, to explain what he plans to do about the new Special Operations Unit? Has he been out of town, trying to fill all the police department openings before taking office?

Our last e-mail goes back to a former mayor:

Judge Peters got married huh!?! I had't heard anything about this tidbit till reading your blog [26 Nov]. I never heard rumor of his lady till then and was shocked he married again. I am curious as to why she is going by only two last names (KIm Peters) and dropped the first name Yongmi althoghter??? To sound more American maybe??? The ad was very short although colorful. Good Luck to them both.

You raise an interesting question, but my follow-up call to Judge Bobby Peters still has not been returned. Perhaps he's been too busy getting down to (ahem) judicial business....

We should note in Asian culture, the order of names can be opposite those of Western countries. So Kim could be her given name, with Yongmi as the maiden name. But I suppose Yongmi could always come back, when the newlyweds check into nearby motels.

We thank all of you who write us, and now let's check other Tuesday headlines:

+ The high temperature in Columbus was 76 degrees F. But I toughed it out, and refused to plug in my computer room floor fan. With no web-cam plugged in, you never let them see you sweat.

+ The evening news showed an outdoor classroom at Lakewood Elementary School in Phenix City. We knew Alabama's Governor wanted to save money by getting back to the basics of education -- but reducing the lighting bill seems like a bit much.

+ The interim Columbus Finance Director promised to start submitting regular budget reports. The City Manager will get one every month. Columbus Council will get one every quarter. And Columbus journalists will get one every time they have the money to file legal documents.

+ The Macon City Council considered a proposal to fine panhandlers 500 dollars. Who came up with this idea?! They'll have to beg three times as hard, to raise the money.

+ Former President Jimmy Carter appeared on the PBS "NewsHour," and accused the Bush administration of doing nothing to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace in six years. With all due respect, Mr. President - have you noticed our government has been busy with other things? They're called Iraq and Afghanistan....

+ Louisville head football coach Bob Petrino said he is NOT interested in taking over at Alabama. I'm not sure if he's simply happy with his current job - or if he doesn't want to see Auburn trustee Bobby Lowder, even once a year from a distance.

+ The Auburn men's basketball team needed a big comeback plus overtime to beat Nicholls State of Louisiana -- at home. I wouldn't bet any Nicholls on the Tigers winning the Southeastern Conference title....

+ Hockey's Atlanta Thrashers beat the New York Rangers 5-4 in overtime. The winning goal was scored by Bobby Holik, the 300th of his career. But I'm not inviting him to my home - because as we all know, a Holik can waste energy.

(At one critical point late in the game, Thrashers radio announcer Dan Kamal twice yelled "SIT DOWN!" to the boisterous Madison Square Garden crowd. I thought that arena had press boxes for the broadcasters - but maybe they've been turned into skyboxes for all of Donald Trump's assistants.)

+ Instant Message to Jared from Subway: Congratulations! By putting down Burger King's "BK Stackers," you win the prize for the first attack ad of the Georgia runoff.

COMING THURSDAY: We're asked to evaluate an updated local web site....

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