19 NOV 08: MIMI VS. MEANIE?

We could have called Tuesday's Columbus Council meeting a "lame duck session." Except all the Councilors are coming back next year -- and I don't think Aflac CEO Dan Amos was in attendance.

The Columbus Council meeting had a tense moment or two. The worst may have come when Councilor Mimi Woodson had too much of Bert Coker. I might have guessed Skip Henderson would have been the one to crack - since he put up with Coker in all these campaign forums, before defeating him two weeks ago.

Councilor Mimi Woodson had spoken during the meeting about a program she supports in her district. Then Bert Coker accused Woodson of trying to help illegal immigrants -- as if he considers it the District of Colombia.

Mimi Woodson was not pleased by Bert Coker's accusation, and claimed she felt threatened by comments he'd made in the past. Imagine if Coker had won the at-large Council seat. Wayne Anthony might be calling Coker and Woodson to the Pastoral Institute, for weekly therapy.

I'm told security officers approached Bert Coker after Mimi Woodson stated her objections, but Coker then walked out of the meeting. On this day, the old cowboy was in no mood for a showdown at high noon....

How interesting that Bert Coker returned to Columbus Council, when he's already told us he plans to run for the Muscogee County School Board in 2010. Maybe it's because Columbus Council provides more TV exposure - since that old-fashioned school board only meets once a month.

The Columbus Council meeting also included comments on the Frank Lumpkin III case. They came from the NAACP President and Lumpkin's attorney - and as expected, they talked directly to the council and right past each other.

NAACP President Bill Madison tried to compare the Frank Lumpkin III case to the shooting of Kenneth Walker. But there's one big difference he's overlooking. Lumpkin called for 911 for backup, and it never came.

Frank Lumpkin III's attorney Frank Martin noted both alleged shooting victim Rodney Matthews and his mother are now in jail. He suggested the real lesson is that parents should bring up their children better. Well, maybe he was talking about that shooting. Or maybe he was talking the settlement Columbus Council approved, in the Zachary Allen case....

Remember Zachary Allen? The son of Councilor Gary Allen finally came up again Tuesday. WRBL reported Columbus Council approved a settlement with the woman whose car was hit by Zachary Allen's EMT vehicle two years ago. If this settlement had been approved one month earlier, Gary Allen's opponent in the election might have remembered to bring it up.

A busy schedule Tuesday prevented us from making calls on several e-mails. So we'll try again Wednesday, and quickly check other headlines now....

+ Several local web sites indicated Columbus had snow flurries at 9:00 p.m. ET. After a bright sunny day, this news was amazing. Does someone living near the airport have a winter display that's gone too far?

+ Phenix City Mayor Sonny Coulter announced the Streetscape project will be delayed three more months. He says part of the work on Broad Street will have to be redone, because the median is too wide for a four-lane road. The chances of this street being renamed Jeff Hardin Parkway are now about one in five million.

+ Major General Michael Barbero became the new commander of Fort Benning. How many naive new soldiers will see or hear that name, and ask who his jockey is?

+ WXTX "News at Ten" did an investigation of area school zones - and found on one street in Auburn, 11 school buses went faster than the speed limit. But I think this is explainable. Bus drivers are trying to get noisy children out of their minds as soon as possible.

+ The Georgia Department of Labor admitted thousands of unemployment checks are being delayed this week. So please - do NOT accuse Senator Saxby Chambliss of confiscating the checks, in exchange for winning the runoff election.

+ The Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced a deer hunter shot and killed a cougar at West Point Lake. Wow - just in time to inspire the Columbus State women's soccer team in the NCAA regionals.

+ Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville admitted to reporters he's keeping his players "out of the office as much as possible" during this off week. The better for hiding those moving boxes, I suppose....

(OK, I confess - I'm feel guilty when it comes to Tommy Tuberville. A few Auburn fans seem to be taking my jokes about a possible firing too seriously. But at least they're not writing Tennessee coach Philip Fulmer, and noting he wouldn't have to put his orange wardrobe on sale.)

+ Instant Message to Café 431 in Phenix City: Be thankful the City Council voted Tuesday to ban smoking in all restaurants. Now school teachers will come back - the ones staying away because your sign for the smoking area is misspelled "dinning room."

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