13 JAN 08: UN-REGISTE-D
Columbus was supposed to be mentioned Saturday night on "America's Most Wanted." So where were we? Was our case shown in the middle of a commercial break -- while most ordinary guys like me were busy checking on the N.F.L. playoff game?
The front page of Friday's Ledger-Enquirer promised America's Most Wanted would have an update on the Michael Registe case. Registe has been missing six months, wanted for killing two Columbus State University students. My first thought was that Registe might have snuck into the Fox control room, and stolen the videotape about his life.
When John Walsh never mentioned Michael Registe on America's Most Wanted, I knew what I had to do. I became a web detective, and went online for answers. Looking back, I should have put on a fedora hat to do this - but Matt Drudge might have sued me for identity theft.
Step 1: I call up the America's Most Wanted web site. Michael Registe isn't on the home page, but several sketches of suspected killers are. That's a pretty sneaky idea for this show -- drawing a crowd.
The web site has an "advanced search" tab at the top of the home page -- but I'm told it's NOT operating at the moment, due to heavy traffic on the web site. A likely story. America's Most Wanted has been off the air about five minutes. It shouldn't take that long for thousands of viewers to type in tips.
Step 2: I go to the most likely source of searching - Google. Amazingly, a search for Michael Registe shows a page for America's Most Wanted as the top item. Is this a sign of a cover-up - or concealing evidence?
A click of that top item on the Google search leads me to the America's Most Wanted section on Michael Registe. It's labeled as a "web exclusive." Uh-huh. Stealing concepts from this blog will get you nowhere....
The back-door hidden web section shows Michael Registe could be using several aliases. He reportedly fled to the Caribbean using the name Hakeem Penn - and maybe he belongs with some Hakeems in the "pen" at Guantanamo Bay.
The web profile tells me something I didn't know before - that Michael Registe fled the mainland after another Columbus shooting in 2005. He reportedly fled to St. Thomas both times. Do the Virgin Islands have any towns with "sinner" in their names?
Michael Registe may currently be hiding with relatives on the Caribbean island of Dominica. But would people there even watch America's Most Wanted? Unless they want to be reminded of how crime-free their small country is, by comparison?
The profile posted of Michael Registe shows he has tattoos on both arms. The left arm has letters in Chinese and the words "706 Ganxta." So he fits the description of far too many local criminals - being unable to spell.
Step 3: I check the Ledger-Enquirer's web site, to see if the newspaper had updated its front-page Friday story on Michael Registe. Was it told about the case being moved off the America's Most Wanted telecast, to a "web exclusive?" There's no update to indicate either way. Maybe the editor should call 1-800-CRIME-TV to report being flim-flammed.
P.S. I hardly ever watch America's Most Wanted, so I was a bit surprised by one segment featuring a stripper taken hostage by her boyfriend. It showed a rather steamy "reenactment" of the woman's nightclub act, right down to her wearing little more than a bra backstage. I guess this is what it takes to compete with C.S.I. reruns on Saturday nights....
E-MAIL UPDATE: Back to the Ledger-Enquirer's web site, and an article we referred to here Friday....
Dear Richard:
Long time, no see, Sweetie!
I just clicked on the link to Ms. Sledge's article about the old Sears building in your January 11 post. As you know, I'm not the most technologically proficient person in Columbus (or even in my house--my eight year-old knows more than I) and I had never seen her work on-line before. I was absolutely floored by the hateful comments posted by apparently anonymous writers. I'm not sure the Ledger is doing a service to the community by allowing people to post such venom when, it appears, they are too spineless to sign their names to it. What possesses people?
Maxine Hardy
What possesses people, you ask? I could give you the theological answer - but in Columbus, the answer could be something even simpler than that. It's called ignorance....
But it's not simply a chain of attacks against columnist Kaffie Sledge. Ever since the Ledger-Enquirer opened its articles for immediate online comments, I've noticed several which might politely be called mean-spirited. Maybe they're the people who never called "TalkLine," because they were afraid of being on radio.
The Internet era has been trumpeted for its promotion of free speech. For better or worse, the people who leave comments at the Ledger-Enquirer's web site are exercising theirs. So do the people who write this blog -- only with our format, it takes a few days for a good debate to get rolling. Time to think before you write can be a good thing....
And let's see if the weekend news inspires people to write us some more:
+ The pastor at the church I'm attending declared "soda pop" is a Satanic corruption of water. No wonder Dr. John Pemberton left Columbus long ago - he knew the Bible Belt fundamentalists would run him out of town.
+ Two former Talbot County firefighters were arrested, on charges of torching a Talbotton tax office last November. This crime clearly makes no sense at all. For one thing, shouldn't angry taxpayers set fire to it in April?
(The suspects include a father and son -- the son being former firefighter Norman Cable. People across Talbot County suddenly sounded like Shaggy in that DirecTV commercial: "Zoiks, it's the Cable guy!")
+ WRBL reported Wal-Mart is considering buying the old Baker High School site, and turning it into a Super-Center. Now that's the way to spark a controversy. Do we bring plenty of business and jobs to Victory Drive, by tearing down its most historic building? Or do we move it down the street -- where the demolition of Baker Village turns out to be perfectly timed?
+ The Courier reported the End Zone Sports Bar on First Avenue has closed. The bar was hurt by its hard-to-find location - since many people in Columbus think north of downtown, the only thing west of Second Avenue is a riverbank.
+ A new "soldier and family assistance center" opened at Fort Benning. I noticed on TV that it has a game room, where people can throw darts - which could be perfect for the Iraq veterans fighting post-traumatic stress disorder.
+ Columbus State University held its annual winter "Visitation Day" for parents. Is there a better name for this thing? I mean, local jails and prisons have those things as well....
+ The Four Points Sheraton hotel hosted a "Starving Artists' Sale." If they're so starving, how can they afford to rent space at this hotel - much less buy TV commercial time?
+ The owners of the Atlanta alternative radio station known as 99-X announced it will go off the main FM dial. Cumulus Media promises the station will keep broadcasting online and on high-definition radio -- but for most people, the old approach has 99-Xpired.
+ Southern California football coach Pete Carroll told CBS Sports he had only a "casual conversation" with the Atlanta Falcons, and is NOT interested in becoming their head coach. So why not go after Brian Billick? He won a Super Bowl in Baltimore -- and he's won division titles with quarterbacks almost as ordinary as Atlanta has now.
+ Instant Message to WDAK Radio: You heard about Marion Jones, right -- six months in prison?! So maybe it's time to drop that public service announcement, where she talks about good sportsmanship....
SCHEDULED MONDAY: A police chief under fire.... can you guess where?....
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