4 SEP 08: BOOMER BUST

We were somewhat stumped for a local blog topic Wednesday night -- but a reader sent an e-mail which bailed us out, and surprised us as well:

You spoke about Columbus radio the other day. I tuned in to 95.3 FM and I think I heard them tag themselves as 'The Ride'. The music seemed about a decade newer than what I'd heard previously. I also heard some Christian rap on 103.7, something I don't think I've ever heard on any radio station.



Did I hear 95.3 right?



Best to you (Go Jayhawks)

Yes, you heard it right -- things sound different these days at 95.3. While WRLD's web site doesn't reflect a change, the days of "Boomer 95.3" apparently are over. And since you mentioned my beloved and undefeated alma mater Kansas, I apologize for not noticing.... uh, well.... Boomer sooner.

(Yeah, yeah, I know - Kansas's "undefeated" record is 1-0. But did you notice the Jayhawk women's soccer team beat Auburn the other day? So much for those powerhouse "football" programs in the Southeastern Conference.)

But I digress: WRLD-FM 95.3 is indeed now "The Ride." Amazingly, there's a radio station in Pennsylvania at 95.3 FM which calls itself "The Bridge." Whether you can take The Ride all the way to The Bridge, I'm not really sure....

In another amazing feat, both The Ride and The Bridge are billing themselves as playing "classic hits." Maybe this explains why the Columbus Symphony Orchestra now has a billboard proclaiming IT has the "original classic rock."

There's a definite difference in the music, between Boomer 95.3 and The Ride. The old format had "Top 40" tunes from the 1950's and 1960's. The new format reminds me a lot of "album rock" stations such as WVRK "Rock 103" - which means the artists are at least 95 percent whiter.

An example of one of The Ride's "classic hits" late Wednesday night was Bruce Springsteen singing "I'm On Fire." You know, the 1985 tune where his voice is far more mellow than he'd ever sound if he REALLY was on fire....

(But what I sampled Wednesday night puzzled me a bit. Shouldn't a station called "The Ride" play songs from the old country music band with McBride?)

The Boomer 95.3 blow-up change reflects a great deal more than a new stack of CD's. It's the first big format switch since PMB Broadcasting agreed to buy Archway Broadcasting's stations. No, replacing "Wild Bill" with Bear O'Brian on WKCN doesn't really count....

The switch to The Ride actually may disappoint some people - the ones who guessed WRCG's talk radio format might jump to FM, and replace Boomer 95.3. Clark Howard would have loved this switch, because you'd get two-channel stereo of his show for the exact same price.

If you were a big fan of Boomer 95.3's oldies tunes, from Motown to Elvis Presley to The Beatles, there may be an awful truth for you in this change. You're getting older -- as in so old that you're not in the prime age group for radio advertising. The products you want apparently are now on the network TV news at 6:30 p.m., such as the prescription drugs with strange names.

If you want the Boomer 95.3 music instead of those products - sorry. No other Columbus radio station is playing it right now. Hopefully you won't mind waiting for those "MyMusic" specials four times a year on public television.

Speaking of local radio - did you know Doug Kellett is back on the air in Columbus? He's co-hosting a weekly one-hour show called "The Bama Report" on WEAM-AM, about Alabama football. So instead of non-stop talk against Democrats, you probably get non-stop talk against Auburn.

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E-MAIL UPDATE: As you might guess, the judicial ruling to let Hurtsboro remain a city also brought a couple of comments Wednesday. And as you might guess, one came from the Constable - only in a "cc" of a letter to the Ledger-Enquirer:

To: Ben Holden....

"Mr." Ben:

Well! the long wait is over. Yesterday a Macon County judge shattered all hope for improved conditions in Hurtsboro! To add insult to injury; he assessed costs against the petitioners and slammed the door on any appeal. I must congratulate the attorney who reresented the town. He used his rhetoric to contort our claims and research to find legal errors in the petition. He convinced the court that we couldn't provide evidence to verify our claims. It was a "catch 22" because he too, couldn't provide documentation to the contrary!

I, in particular, have been seeking access to the public records for more than five years. I'm particularly interested in the Annual Disclosure (which is required by law) because I know it's non-existent! Every approach has been taken - every approach has been denied!

A few month's ago, the Grand Jury agreed that the records should be explored. Since then; the The District Attorney and even the State Examiner's have been stonewalled and any indiscretions remain sealed against the world.

As you can see, even though Hurtsboro's citizens have complained, and the media has exposed the sordid conditions that exist, this ruling will effectively seal their miserable future until extensive change is initiated!

Perhaps it's futile, but I intend to continue to seek that change!

Constable R.J. Schweiger

You can tell Robert Schweiger is a Democrat -- because "loser-pays" lawsuit rules are loved by Republican lawmakers, for protecting some big bank accounts.

I'm not exactly sure what the "Annual Disclosure" is, but it may have occurred in Hurtsboro Wednesday night. At least the mayor gave what seemed to give her annual interview to a news reporter....

Outgoing Hurtsboro Mayor Sandra Tarver-Yoba told WRBL the complaints offered as grounds to dissolve the city were "baseless." She could have gone farther, you know - and called some of Robert Schweiger's insults tasteless.

Our second e-mail about Hurtsboro offers more points than the petition drive had signatures....

Richard, The judge's ruling on the status of Hurtsboro did not surprise me even though from what I've read and heard the petitioners had a good case to dissolve the town.

1. It would have been preferable to have a judge from further away than from the next county presiding. My guess is that the judge knew individuals involved in the case.

2. I read in the paper that it was a Probate Judge who was presiding. Remember in Alabama a Probate Judge does not have to be an attorney or have any legal knowledge or training. So how could anyone expect a good solid legal opinion.

3. Was the judge black? Since he was from Macon County I assume he was. All the elected officials in Hurtsboro who wanted to retain the city were black.

4. I would suggest that the petitioners if they wish to pursue the matter hire an attorney from Montgomery and get the case into a different court far removed from Russell and Macon Counties.

5. Tommy Worthy is now batting 0 for 2 in representing citizens trying to get something done with their town government (does anyone remember the Smiths Station case from 8 years ago?)

6. In the Smiths Station case the Probate Judge said "he didn't care whether those incorporating the town had followed the state laws or not" and when the citizens appealed all the way to the State Supreme Court and spent around $20,000. on Tommy Worthy and the law firm he worked for the AL Supreme Court ruled their attorneys had not prepared their paperwork correctly! In other words, they got took to the tune of $20,000! That's why I recommend attorneys in Montgomery who know what they are doing and who do not have an ax to grind in the local matter.

7. The petitioners should get the national media involved. The national media likes to show corrupt little southern towns. There have been movies made and books written on crooked southern sheriffs.

8. And since the town's officials won't provide access to their financial records there should be a way to keep them from receiving any more local, state or federal money until they do.

I urge the good people of Hurtsboro not to give up. Prove to the elected officials that they can be held accountable.

I'm assuming Russell County Judge Alford Harden selected the Macon County judge who heard the case. If Hurtsboro's city government had lost, do you think it would have had the money to pay a judge's gas bill from Huntsville?

A Google search for Alfonza Menefee late Wednesday night showed he's been a Macon County Probate Judge at least six years. So he has experience behind the bench - in fact, more experience than Barack Obama and Sarah Palin have in Washington politics combined.

But oh please -- do we have to make this fight over Hurtsboro a racial issue? It seems Robert Schweiger has taken great pains to avoid taking his complaints in that direction. And as we've mentioned here before, his e-mails have belittled residents without regard for skin color or national origin.

Yet if you must know, we found Judge Alfonza Menefee's name on a list of chapter presidents for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. So the odds are high that he's African-American - but in Alabama, doesn't that also increase the odds that he's a Democrat? As Robert Schweiger is?

Time doesn't permit me to comment much farther on these points - but how nice of this writer to propose the continuance of classic Southern stereotypes in movies or on TV. It's too bad Carroll O'Connor isn't still alive to have a role in this....

Let's quickly wrap other items which came to mind Wednesday:

+ Phenix City police reported two men got into a fight at the Edmond Estates apartments. One man wound up shot in the leg, while the other was pounded in the head with a hammer. There must be a better way to remove a jammed bullet from a shotgun....

+ Steve & Barry's announced several store closings in Georgia and Alabama. There's no word yet on what will happen in Columbus and Opelika. But the Montgomery store will close - the only store presently open at Montgomery Mall. Come December, John Phillips will be available to help the managers turn that building into a nice library.

+ TMZ showed pictures of Michael Jordan at a Labor Day softball event in Atlanta. He was shown batting, fielding and running the bases - all with a cigar stub in his mouth. But remember, this could have been worse. Jordan could have made a big wager, on whether the cigar would fall out.

+ Florida beat Atlanta 5-3 in baseball, before a crowd in Miami counted by the Associated Press at about 600 people. Quick, get the Columbus Sports Council down there! The move of the Catfish may allow us to trade up.

+ Instant Message to all the Republican Convention delegates: I know, you're probably tired of hearing about it. But don't you get the strange feeling that last year's movie "Juno" had a misspelled title - and it should have been "Juneau?"

COMING FRIDAY: Are we just making all this stuff up? A reader wants to know....

Today's main topic was the result of a blog reader's tip. To offer a story tip, advertise to our readers, make a PayPal donation 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: 1105 (+ 46, 4.3%)

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