26 NOV 08: THAT WAS PANELESS
The wind was strong in Columbus Tuesday - but not THAT strong. Not gusty enough to cause windows of downtown buildings to shatter. Although sometimes I wonder how those old buildings on Broadway don't lose a few bricks when loud rock bands play....
Whoever fired shots toward the Aflac Tower two weeks ago may have struck again this week. An office window of the downtown Wachovia Bank was wide-open Tuesday, with shattered glass all around it -- reportedly for a second day. Local robbers apparently have been too busy focusing on convenience stores to notice.
The wide-open window was on the 13th Street side of Wachovia Bank, only two windows from the entrance. At first I wondered why the staff hadn't covered the open window with some kind of board. But then I realized people would get the wrong impression, and think another big bank had failed.
Not only was the Wachovia window smashed and wide-open, but small pieces of glass still covered the sidewalk on 13th Street. If this break occurred Monday as I was told, shouldn't someone have swept it up before I saw it Tuesday afternoon? Or do the Business Improvement District vacuum cleaners only come by once a week?
"They're supposed to come out and fix that," a teller inside the bank told me. But at first, she wasn't exactly sure how the window was broken. I didn't dare suggest a customer became angry, because of a home foreclosure.
Instead I borrowed from the Monopoly game, and attempted to offer a bank error in Wachovia's favor. "Maybe a customer was overjoyed about the interest rate on his C.D." The teller was not fooled by this logic for a second -- as if she has a checking account like I do, paying pennies a month in interest.
Then the teller started talking about the Carmike Cinemas building, on the other side of First Avenue. "They have glass that's double-pained...." I'm not sure how she knew that -- unless all these workers start their day down the street at The Coffee Beanery, by talking about architecture and engineering.
At last the teller revealed what apparently happened to the Wachovia office window - that someone shot it out with a pellet gun. From what she said, I wonder if the Carmine Cinemas office was a target as well. Is someone waiting for Carmike's display of flying reindeer to come out?
The teller openly hoped the office window would be repaired quickly. Otherwise, "we may have bums in the bank." I suddenly felt much better about the two checks I was depositing.
What happened to Wachovia may be a repeat of the series of random gunshots around Columbus two weeks ago. Or perhaps a deeper message is being sent here - that our area needs more turkey shoots every November.
Others might sense a sinister plot behind the Wachovia window shooting. When I worked in radio news years ago, I attended a news conference by the local Socialist Workers Party. Someone shot a hole in their office window, and members were sure it was a targeted conspiracy. My suggestion that it was random was rejected. But since you never hear about that party today, maybe I was wrong.
The downtown Wachovia Bank never seems to have much in the way of security guards. This week's window shooting could change that - unless, of course, they're already cutting costs before the merger with Wells Fargo.
Other delicious dish from downtown tops the Tuesday news in review:
+ Columbus Council considered a proposal to change its meeting schedule. Regular sessions would occur on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, while the first Tuesday would be reserved for proclamations. Yippee - a monthly Proclamation Day! We may show up, to see if anyone else declares us "Idiot of the Week."
+ WLTZ continued its focus on Mayor Jim Wetherington, by showing grade-school children visiting his Government Center office. He has a regular program for invited youngsters called "Mayor for a Minute." I can understand why the age limit is fairly young - certainly younger than Bert Coker or Paul Olson....
+ Harris County School Superintendent Susan Andrews was on display at a public forum, as the third finalist for the Muscogee County position. Andrews explained one of her goals will be to restore "the trust of the people in public education." For starters, that top-floor restroom in the new administration building could be open to everyone.
+ Richard Hyatt's web site reported Indy's restaurant on Whitesville Road will close soon. With costs going higher and higher, the managers can't count simply on an "Indy 500" in receipts anymore.
+ The Saxby Chambliss Senate campaign confirmed Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will visit Georgia next Monday in his behalf. How will the Jim Martin campaign respond to this - by bringing in Tina Fey?
+ Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville talked with WRBL about the online rumors concerning his future. Tuberville declared the Internet is "wonderful for our sport, and for our country." It sounds like he's auditioning for another job - not at Clemson, but with the Obama administration.
+ Instant Message to the curators of the Little White House in Warm Springs: Aw, c'mon - all you've added to the display is an old-fashioned manual typewriter. Is that really worth a story in the LaGrange Daily News? Tell me where you find working ribbons for them, and that WILL be news.
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