7 FEB 08: SLIGHTLY OPEN SEASON
Instant Message to Columbus Council: It looks like there's a loophole, to get the water flowing again all over town. Simply offer an ordinance declaring all city fountains open to public swimming....
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced Wednesday all outdoor swimming pools will be exempt from water restrictions this summer. Countless swimmers breathed a sigh of relief - because after all, this is an Olympic year.
The director of Georgia's Environmental Protection Division explained outdoor swimming pools in the maximum drought zone use seven million gallons of water a day. The total daily water use in North Georgia is close to 100 million gallons - but you still might want to put a weight limit on cannonball divers.
But while outdoor swimming pools won a water exemption, state officials said they're not ready yet to end the restrictions on fountains. For the "fountain city" of Columbus, this is a bit distressing. Without water running, several fountains look as strange as an Albert Paley sculpture in front of a library.
(Someone pointed out to me if the water doesn't start flowing through fountains soon, Garrison Keillor's next trip to Columbus will NOT have the fountain outside the RiverCenter reminding him of his prostate.)
A few fountains have kept flowing in Columbus all winter, in spite of the water restrictions. I'm not sure how Cheddar's restaurant gets away with the one outside its front door -- unless it's requiring all customers to go outside to fill up glasses.
Governor Perdue also announced outdoor watering can resume in the hardest-hit drought zone. But as they say in commercials, some restrictions apply. There's an alternate day schedule, from midnight to 10:00 a.m. You have to water lawns with a garden hose. And I wouldn't be surprised if violators have to paint their grass a dingy tan color.
Governor Perdue said the drought situation across the Southeast is NOT over yet. But Wednesday night's late news showed how the level of West Point Lake has gone up more than ten feet in recent weeks. Two factors are behind this: plenty of rain - and the January cold, which meant people didn't sweat and dehydrate as much exercising outside.
The announcement about reduced water restrictions came on the same day Governor Perdue signed a comprehensive water plan for Georgia. It divides control over water allocation into districts - so at least the protesters carrying empty buckets won't have to march as far.
But Governor Perdue may not be smiling completely about Georgia's water situation. A federal appeals court ruled earlier this week that an agreement giving Georgia more control over allocation from Lake Lanier was illegal. Alabama Attorney General Troy King made it sound like the biggest victory for his state since Nick Saban was hired in Tuscaloosa.
BLOG CORRECTION: A second look at our credit card receipts shows we put the wrong name on the restaurant where we bought a beggar lunch [30 Jan]. The Chinese restaurant on South Lumpkin Road actually is called the Sonny Diner - spelled like Sonny Perdue, not a sunny day. Sometimes you can tell which businesses are owned by Republicans....
Other events on South Lumpkin Road top the remaining Wednesday news:
+ The South Columbus branch library closed early, because of a leaking water line. The stacks of Columbus Times newspapers in the reference section simply were not absorbent enough to clean up a big spill.
+ WRBL reported burglars damaged Millie's Corner on South Lumpkin Road early Monday. This store and restaurant used to have a large watchdog on the premises. But manager Lefty Incarnacion says he's now been burglarized three times - so maybe the dog was stolen in the first crime.
+ "National Signing Day" in high school football found Carver receiver Jarvon Fortson stiff-arming Auburn, and signing a letter of intent with Florida State. I'm not sure what makes Florida State so much better - unless someone promised Fortson one of those clothing discounts at a Tallahassee shopping mall.
(The Rivals web site declared Alabama had the best high school signing day, and an Opelika-Auburn News reporter said Alabama beat Auburn out of all of the top five football prospects they both wanted. If the Crimson Tide can develop better-trained police dogs on the sidelines, look out....)
+ Kentucky escaped Auburn with a 66-63 win in men's college basketball. The attendance at Beard-Eaves Coliseum was 5,352, which Tiger broadcaster Rod Bramlett declared "the worst crowd I have ever seen for an Auburn-Kentucky game." He obviously doesn't go to Lady Tiger home games very often.
+ Which local office just discovered the reason why no faxes had arrived for six days - and solved the problem by changing its toner cartridge? Some repair person was cheated out of the easiest 75 dollars of the year....
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