19 JUN 08: THE COLUMBUS GRAND PRIYA

"Are you trying to feed my habit?" the guest of honor asked someone across the table.

"Which one?" I asked in interruption.

"My margarita habit," the woman joked. And to think that she said this on a Wednesday night, when she was far from El Vaquero.

That exchange occurred during a farewell dinner for Priya Aujla. Wednesday marked her final evening on TV news in Columbus, as she's moving to North Carolina. This is called working your way up - at least up the east coast.

But the problem is that Priya Aujla will NOT be working right away. She hopes to be hired by a couple of TV stations in Charlotte - but for the moment, she's unemployed. And she doesn't exactly have the muscles to get a part-time job with a NASCAR pit crew.

Priya Aujla chose to move to Charlotte primarily for love. Her boyfriend lives there. And if a woman is going to become married, the "Queen City" is probably a fitting place....

It's not that unusual for TV reporters to move from Columbus to Charlotte. Tracy Flanagan did it in the late nineties, and Patty Pan did it a few years ago. They simply waved as they drove by the Atlanta TV stations - because they both wound up working at WAGA. [True!]

(In fact, one Charlotte station on Priya Aujla's wish list is the current home of longtime Columbus sportscaster Bruce Snyder. It would have been only fitting if his last words on leaving town were, "Seeeee yaaaaa!")

Priya Aujla hopes to ultimately be a TV reporter in Florida, since her family lives in the Orlando area. "I have to be near a beach," she said. Hopefully she's practiced one key position for any reporter there - leaning on one foot, as a tropical storm blows through.

Please correct me if I'm wrong - but is Priya Aujla the first "Indian-American" TV reporter in Columbus? Her name reflects a family background from India. Before you ask -- no, I've never asked if her parents run a motel.

One other note about Columbus television emerged from the Priya Aujla dinner. WRBL apparently is going back to part-time sports coverage, as Jack Rodgers is being dropped. Considering Rodgers also works at a local hospital, he's used to seeing surgical cuts like this....

I'm being told WRBL will only have sportscasts five days a week, on the days when Shawn Skillman is working. As for those other two days - well, isn't WLTZ's Jeremy Moss available on weekends?

This reduction will mean Columbus will have one TV station with a full sports staff, one with a one-person staff, and one with its reporter located in Iowa. If anyone asks you to explain the difference between NCAA Division I, II and III, point out this example.

BLOG UPDATE: Richard Hyatt's web site is filling in more details on the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, and its stand on the one-percent sales tax question. He says the alliance isn't exactly urging a yes vote on the question - but agreeing "not to oppose it." That's a noticeable difference. It's like a father "not opposing" his daughter's marriage to the dropout flipping burgers for a living.

Mayor Jim Wetherington reportedly promised the I.M.A. he'll create a citizen's committee, to offer advice on crime prevention. So don't be surprised if the number of street dances in Columbus suddenly jumps this fall.

Let's see what else made news on Wednesday....

+ The high temperature in Columbus was a downright comfortable 88 degrees F. With low humidity, it was a refreshingly nice day -- and when you can make it all day in June on one bottle of water, that's refreshing.

+ The evening news took a close look at Rivertown Ford's promise of "88 cents per gallon gas" if you buy a car. The deal only lasts until the end of the year, and the dealership pays you in cash for the gas. What a wonderful way to encourage one-tank local vacations....

+ WRBL reported the new U.S. 80 interchange for Phenix City's Hughston Hospital could be ready by late July. Those workers had better hurry - because we don't want that exit to open, and lead to a shut-down building.

+ WLTZ reported the Phenix City Streetscape project is being delayed by materials found in the ground under Broad Street. Construction crews say the "dirt is bad," and needs to be replaced by "good dirt." Those "Sin City" vices of the 1950's extended even deeper than I thought.

(You may recall work was stopped on a Phenix City industrial park last year, because its dirt was bad as well. Apparently there are some things that Miracle-Gro cannot improve.)

+ The annual Rod Hood Football Camp opened at Kinnett Stadium. It happens to have been moved because McClung Memorial Stadium's field has been torn up for resodding. Hmmmm - do you think someone will borrow from the new Yankee Stadium, and bury a Carver High School jersey at the 50-yard line?

+ The evening news reported the Columbus Sports Council is making a bid for the Southeast headquarters of Little League baseball. One requirement is that a host stadium have two acres of land available, for ESPN vehicles. How many Cadillacs do these major league players-turned-analysts drive?

+ Instant Message to Columbus Technical College: Wow - your first class of respiratory care students had a perfect graduation rate?! That's enough to make every member of the faculty breathe easier.

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