10 MAR 08: E IS FOR EVERYTHING

We've received a big stack of e-mails on all sorts of topics in the last few days. We'll plow through them as best we can today -- but first let's take a moment to make all you "mouse potatoes" feel guilty....

BLOG SPECIAL EVENT: We now have a full "Blog of Columbus" team for the Walk Georgia campaign. Your blogger/captain is being joined by:

+ Samantha - whose workouts have included a recent steep walk to the top of a lighthouse. I'm not sure that quite qualifies for mountain climbing, but it's close.

+ Madison - a woman who hasn't told us yet how she's exercising. The list of options on the Walk Georgia web site ranges from "gardening" to "jump rope." But I wouldn't recommend both at the same time.

+ Matthew, whom Madison describes as "my partner." In exercise, at least. I won't dare assume they share a law office.

As of Sunday afternoon, 24 teams were entered in the Muscogee County Walk Georgia event -- and the Blog team was lagging in 18^th place. We're far behind the front-running first-place "Walking Divas." They've traveled the equivalent of 241 miles in eight days - which makes me wonder if they spend all day testing bicycle tires.

Maybe we can psych all the teams out by announcing a FREE FOOD ALERT! Arby's is offering free curly fries all day today, because Matt Kenseth won the Saturday NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. If only Arby's had a restaurant within walking distance of my home....

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now to your messages - and we begin with a news story that has been nothing to joke about:

Richard,

Thought you might find this interesting. I posted a comment to News Channel 3's website about why so much attention was given to a pretty, white, and, probably, wealthy Auburn student who was murdered this week. While the story is sad and I grieve for the family, I asked why so much attention.

After submitting my comment, a pop up showed telling me that my comment would be reviewed, then posted. That was one hour ago, and the comment has still not been posted. I didn't know media outlets were censoring logical and objective questions about their coverage.

Sign of the times, I'm sorry to say. Maybe you'll pose the question why the same attention isn't given to non-white and poor people who are killed EVERYDAY and in greater numbers. Money can't buy you love, but it can buy you the sympathy of a nation.

AR

A check of the comments at WRBL's web site Sunday showed nothing about the amount of coverage given to the Lauren Burk case. But I found one person who wrote it's "time to move from America." Hmmmm - you don't hear much about the murder rate in Cuba....

I don't claim to know why WRBL makes the decisions it does. Perhaps it considered a comment about its coverage "off-topic" -- that the real issue is the search for Lauren Burk's killer, not how much it was mentioned on TV. And if O.J. Simpson isn't the killer, you know the coverage eventually will fade.

Some people may be wondering why the "Levi's Call" alert involving three Columbus children isn't getting as much attention as the Lauren Burk case. I think that's because the child search is focused on Tennessee, while the Burk case had an entire university with thousands of students on edge in our area. Higher anxiety can mean higher attention - but I've never been married with children, to really know.

The attention on the Lauren Burk killing is likely to linger one more day - as the murder suspect could make his first court appearance today, while a memorial service for Burk is held at Beard-Eaves Coliseum in Auburn. Some people probably want the court case put in a big arena, too. But cable news channels will give you a much better view of that....

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION is asking if you think the news coverage of the Lauren Burk case is being overdone. But as for a lack of attention being given to "non-white and poor people who are killed everyday" - I wouldn't make that comment very close to the Muscogee County Sheriff. The memories of Kenneth Walker still linger.

Here's another e-mail about the Lauren Burk case -- apparently sent before an arrest was announced:

I talked to the mom of an AU freshman who lives on campus..She is concerned for her daughter's safety remembering the U of FL campus several years ago..She has been thankful for the increase of campus security. Nancy Grace has really given this national coverage the last few nights. However,these events can happen any where in the USA now..What is happening to our country?

What seems to be happening is that the high school students who thought about bloodshed are growing older. And they may have noticed many college campuses are much more wide open - if you don't mind parking blocks away, because you don't have the right sticker on your car.

We should note Lauren Burk was killed away from the Auburn University campus. But after hearing about the arrest in Phenix City, I'm wondering if security was increased at other east Alabama colleges. Could this suspect have threatened students at Southern Union, or Chattahoochee Valley Community College? Yet there wasn't even the usual round of bogus rumors at Smiths Station High School.

Let's move to something completely different, and what one e-mailer calls "downright comical." Two readers notified us about an apparent mix of the Columbus newspaper with a megachurch....

I thought you might find this fact interesting. As of Friday afternoon, you are no longer allowed to post the word "Purvis" on ANY Ledger-Enquirer message board.



It has been tested and even on comment sections that have nothing to do with Cascade Hills Church or Bill Purvis, the word Purvis now activates a filter that will not allow your post to appear. There are a number of four letter words that are treated the same way however, so maybe it is appropriate.



I understand that there have certainly been some interesting comments about Purvis, some true others not. However when Purvis chose to become a public figure and put himself before 394 Million people (according to his web site a months ago, the number has now changed to a still unrealistic figure of 200 Million), he opened himself up to public scrutiny and criticism. This is like Brittany Spears trying to keep TMZ from using her name.



I wonder if the others involved in this Purvis/Cascade Hills mess are going to get the same treatment from the LE, or will their names still be fair game on the message boards. I think that is a legitimate question don't you?



I am sorry but it appears to me that this guy has some serious control and personality issues.

We did our own test Sunday, to confirm this. We posted two anonymous comments at a Ledger-Enquirer web site article on the Midwestern blizzard. One comment naming Bill Purvis did NOT appear -- but another comment without his name was posted. To be fair, we should note the first comment also named Mayor Jim Wetherington.

We left a phone message with the Ledger-Enquirer newsroom Sunday afternoon - and there was no response by Sunday night. But c'mon now: why would a secular newspaper bow to the (alleged) demands of a local pastor, and have his name filtered from online comments? Especially when the pastor openly talks about how he does NOT advertise in the Saturday "Faith and Values" section?

Other e-mails in recent months have told us any Ledger-Enquirer web site article about Cascade Hills Church sparks dozens of comments there. But maybe this filtering isn't about the Pastor at all. It's sad to point this out, but you can't spell Purvis without P-U-R-V.

What else is on readers' minds? How about Muscogee County schools....

I only caught the end of Dr Pennick's statement about unused portable classrooms..How many did she say were being used now? She should ask James Walker about the portables..He said he questioned the principals and they said that no student gets wet walking in the rain to a portable..Go figure that statement out.. I saw where Mr Walker's local property tax was paid to keep the building out of the tax auction..So,why didn't he pay it years ago and continue to pay? We all pay out property taxes.

Muscogee County Deputy Superintendent Robin Pennock only gave a number about unused portables -- and there are about 40 of them. You won't mind, I'm sure, if she borrows one this summer for moving items out of her office....

This reader has been very concerned for a long time about school children getting wet, going to and from classes in portables. It's time some community group took a stand about this. Next summer, let's expand those "school supply drives" and add umbrellas.

SSSHHH - don't tell anybody, but not everybody pays property taxes. If you rent an apartment instead of owning a home, you don't. If you take the bus instead of owning a car, you don't. And if you live in public housing, Georgia's House Speaker really wanted you to pay up this year - and start paying a consumption on all those potato chips at the convenience store.

Our last e-mail today is tied to taxes....

Richard;

From what you have seen - has the city done any sort of study regarding how sales in town might increase if they allowed the current SPLOST to expire?

My logic being that if the tax were to expire - the sales tax would go down (obviously), possibly prompting more spending, which could more than make up for the money that might be generated through the additional 1% tax.

Since the net effect of renewing both taxes (school and city) is 0 - I'm not too concerned, but would like to know all avenues were explored. I'm also surprised that the extremely regressive nature of sales taxes has not been brought to the forefront.

While I'm generally not in favor of raising taxes (understanding that sometimes you have to raise taxes in order to cover the services demanded by the public), I would be more in favor of removing the property tax freeze but grandfathering all existing freezes in place (IE: if you lived in a house from now until eternity, your property tax would remain frozen, but if you move after the change takes effect - you would be subject to increases).

Thanks for the blogging;

-Joseph-

Perhaps you're not aware that Columbus already has tax advantages over Phenix City. The state gasoline tax is lower. The sales tax on groceries is much lower. And you'll notice there hasn't been a rush to build a Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Smiths Station.

You still have six more forums around the city, to express your views on the proposed one-percent "streets and safety" sales tax. The next one is Tuesday night at the Columbus State University Cunningham Center - which is a bit surprising, since C.S.U.'s Carmen Cavezza did so much to promote the TAD vote without success.

This blog has thousands of visits every month, from Columbus and around the world. To advertise to them, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 639 (- 48, 7.0%, record low)

TRUDGE REPORT, DAY 8: Racquetball practice, 30 minutes. (Another 30 minutes on 2 Mar also counts.) Total: 24.2 miles run, 2.55 walked

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

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